Anti-gay persecution, corruption cloud Sochi Winter Olympics

Transcription

Equality lawsuit
filed in Wisconsin
The ACLU charges that
state law banning samesex marriage violates the
U.S. Constitution.
full coverage, pages 8–11
February 6, 2014 | Vol. 5 No. 6
Anti-gay persecution, corruption
cloud Sochi Winter Olympics page 4
10 Meet the couples
Wisconsin couples suing
for marriage equality simply want recognition and
security for their families.
18 High concept
Milwaukee’s auto show
will roll out concept cars
en route to success or
speeding toward failure.
19 Playing gods
Actor Kellan Lutz’s Greekgod body explains why he
keeps getting cast as one,
most recently as Hercules.
24 Entertainment briefs
Check out what’s
happening in the world
of entertainment here in
Wisconsin and beyond.
27 Wine & chocolate
WiG offers a guide on
pairing the two most
cherished — and healthful
— foods of love.
2
WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM
News with a twist
STAND YOUR
COOKIES
In California, a man was
arrested for pulling a gun on
a Girl Scout who was selling cookies as anti-choice
groups launch yet another
boycott because the youth
organization’s “national
leadership continues to
show its attachment to
pro-abortion leaders and
organizations,” said John
Pisciotta, director of ProLife Waco. “I am offended
that the Girl Scouts honor
pro-abortion activists like
Wendy Davis and Kathleen
Sebelius and hold them up
as leaders to be emulated
by our young women and
girls,” he added.
WiGWAG
O b a m a :
Marijuana,
“as you noted
A longtime state DemoMr. President,
cratic Party consultant says
is less dangerpop singer Clay Aiken is
ous than alcoconsidering a run for Congress. The American Idol hol ‘in terms of its individrunner-up from 2003 has ual impact on consumers.’”
talked with the Democratic
Congressional Campaign STATE OF THE OOPS
During his state of the
Committee about whether
to challenge Republican state address on Jan. 22,
Rep. Renee Ellmers for the Wisconsin Gov. Scott
seat representing North Walker praised a registered
Carolina’s 2nd District. The sex offender with three
35-year-old Aiken is gay drunk-driving convictions
and has a son, Parker, who as a symbol of his adminwas born through in-vitro istration’s success. “Each
of these people were (sic)
fertilization.
looking for a job, or a better opportunity, over the
POT REP
U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, past three years,” Walker
D-Colo., wants to show off said, referring to a group
his state’s newest indus- of people standing with
try — retail marijuana — to him onstage. One of them,
President Barack Obama Christopher Barber, 32, has
and Senate Majority Lead- had his probation revoked
er Harry Reid. Polis sent for two separate convicboth men an invite to tour tions, including a 2005
his state and see how new conviction on third-degree
marijuana regulations are sexual assault charges. He
being implemented. Polis, has also been convicted of
who is openly gay, pointed forgery, battery and drunk
out in his letter to Barack driving.
SINGING REP?
Februar y 6, 2014
‘THE HAPPY LADY
DANCE HOUR’
By Lisa Neff & Louis Weisberg
but … she has allowed me
to sing and deliver a mesEllen DeGeneres now sage in the Holy Ghost and
has viewers in China for tongues.”
her
celebrity-focused,
light-hearted daytime talk MIXING IT UP
Tune into the telecast of
show. Warner Brothers
announced the deal with the Westminster Kennel
Sohu.com in mid-January. Club Dog Show this month
The Ellen DeGeneres Show and you just might see
will be streaming on the some all-American mutts
video site about 48 hours mixing it up with the Labafter it airs in the United rador retrievers and the
States. DeGeneres tweet- French bulldogs. The show
ed: “My show’s now on in is opening to mixed-breed
China! You can retweet competitors for the first
this, or tattoo it on your time. The whatever pups
can compete in a new agillower back.”
ity trial, but Best in Show
remains reserved for the
POLITICAL TONGUE
A woman who’s seek- purebreds.
ing to become Alaska’s
next U.S. senator recently STILL SOUNDING OFF
The voice of late actor
uploaded a video of herself on YouTube speaking in and gun advocate Charltongues while fully clothed ton Heston is being used
in a steam room. “I’m at the in a Republican’s run for
Alaska Club West and I’m the Michigan House. Gary
spending a little time in the Glenn said he’s using
steam room with Suzie,” excerpts from two ads
Republican candidate Kath- Heston recorded — one
leen Tonn said to the cam- for a 1986 campaign to
era. “Suzie doesn’t know pass right-to-work legislaJesus Christ as her savior, tion in Idaho and another
from Glenn’s unsuccessful
run for Congress in that
state in 1992. Glenn told
The Saginaw News that he
and Heston kept in touch.
Glenn also has a son named
Heston.
NOT QUITE
SUNDANCE
Well, there just haven’t
been many good roles since
Erik Estrada portrayed
Officer Frank “Ponch”
Poncharello in ChiPs. Early
this month, the actor was
invited to the Thomas Road
Baptist Church In Lynchburg, Va., for the premiere
of his latest film. Uncommon
is about fictional Rosewood
High School and teens who
“struggle against political
correctness to defend their
privilege to worship, meet
and perform.” Produced
with the help of the ultraright Liberty Counsel, the
film also stars LC founder
Mat Staver as himself. Can
we say direct to DVD?
Find more WiGWAG at
www.wisconsingazette.com.
| Februar y 6, 2014
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Februar y 6, 2014
Playing games in Putin’s Russia
By Lisa Neff
Staff writer
“Faster – Higher – Stronger” — that’s the Olympic
motto. But for the Winter Olympics set to begin
on Feb. 7 in Sochi, Russia, add “controversial,”
“risky,” “corrupt,” “environmentally
bankrupt”
— and “anti-gay.”
Coverage of the Sochi
Games has been eclipsed
by the outrage unleashed
last year when Russian
lawmakers enacted a measure allowing authorities to
arrest, detain and fine people who deliver “propaganda of nontraditional sexual
relations” to minors. Russian
President Vladimir Putin has
repeatedly defended the
law, which essentially forbids any public display of
same-sex affection or public
statement of pro-gay support.
Within Russia, the provision has sanctioned an
official crackdown on LGBT
civil rights work and cultural
celebrations such as Pride. It
also has spurred hate-motivated violence, including
sexual assaults and bashings, some of them fatal, by
right-wing extremists.
Outside Russia, human
rights advocates have
condemned the legislation and its attendant violence through a variety of
protests and actions. They
launched a series of campaigns to raise money for
LGBT causes in Russia,
foster global awareness of
Russia’s civil rights abuses,
press Olympic leaders to
speak out against intolerance and rally athletes to
embrace the Olympic Spirit,
which embodies mutual
understanding, friendship,
solidarity and fair play.
Even before the Olympic
torch arrived in Sochi, those
campaigns had achieved
results — some of them
large, some small.
On Jan. 31, a coalition
of 40 groups — including Amnesty International,
Human Rights Watch and
the Human Rights Campaign — sent an open letter
to Olympic sponsors urging
them to denounce Russia’s
anti-gay law and to run ads
promoting LGBT equality
during the Games.
P H O T O : A P/ S E R G E I G R I T S
OLYMPIC DELUSIONS: Drag queens change costumes during a break in their show in Mayak, one of two gay clubs in
the Black Sea summer resort of Sochi, Russia. Sochi Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov insists that there are no LGBT people
in his city of 343,000 residents. President Vladimir Putin’s harsh crackdown on gays has provoked an international
outcry that threatens to overshadow the Games.
“LGBT people must not
be targeted with violence
or deprived of their ability
to advocate for their own
equality,” the letter said. “As
all eyes turn toward Sochi,
we ask you to stand with
us.”
A day earlier, a ballerina in
handcuffs took an Amnesty
petition — signed by more
than 330,000 people — to
Moscow. The petition called
for a repeal of the law.
A week ahead of the
opening ceremony, the German Olympic Sports Confederation released photographs of its athletes’ wearing rainbow-themed uniforms, although there was
some confusion concerning
the motives behind the fashion statement.
In New Zealand, the parliament passed an unprecedented, unanimous resolution that read: We “wish
our athletes competing in
the Winter Olympics in
Sochi well, and note Russia’s recent passing of antihomosexual
legislation,
and ask the New Zealand
Government to urge other
governments and the Winter Olympics Organizing
Committee to protect the
rights of all people in Rus-
sia regardless of their sexual
orientation.”
In Sweden, a “Live and Let
Live” video featured thousands of Swedes singing the
Russian national anthem
in the Stockholm Olympic
Stadium in support of LGBT
people in Russia. Organizer
Sean Kelly suggested “protesting using the Russian
national anthem, making it
a proud song for people of
all colors and orientations.
Singing for those who can’t.”
The sports ministers
of Sweden and Finland
announced they would not
attend the opening ceremony, and German President Joachim Gauck, French
President Francois Hollande
and European Union Justice
Commissioner Viviane Reding are skipping the games
altogether.
President Barack Obama
said he would not lead the
U.S. delegation to Sochi,
and neither would the first
lady — who attended the
Summer Olympics in London — nor the vice president or second lady. Instead,
the president sent former
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano
to lead a delegation that
includes three openly gay
athletes — tennis legend
Billie Jean King and former
Olympians Caitlin Cahow
and Brian Boitano.
“President Obama is
extremely proud of our
U.S. athletes and looks forward to cheering them on
from Washington,” a White
House statement said. “He
knows they will showcase to
the world the best of America — diversity, determination and teamwork.”
Meanwhile, mayors of
U.S. sister cities with Russian cities called for repeal
of the anti-gay law: “This
law represents a disconcerting violation of basic human
and civil rights and does not
reflect the ideals or beliefs
of our citizens, nor do we
believe that it reflects the
values of the citizens of
the Russian sister counterparts.”
Also, the Human Rights
Campaign, the largest gay
rights group in the United
States, continued to grow its
Love Conquers Hate campaign, with celebrities helping to generate more than
$100,000 to support the
LGBT movement in Russia,
where Sochi might become
a Stonewall.
Anastasia
Smirnova,
coordinator of the coalition
of Russian LGBT organizations, accepted a recent
contribution from the campaign: “While the safety of
our community continues
to be put at risk, more and
more individuals and groups
stand up to defend and promote equality.”
The continued support,
she added, “will help this
energy last and will contribute to a safer and better life
for LGBT people in Russia.”
OTHER
CONTROVERSIES
Seven years go, Vladimir
Putin aggressively courted
Olympic officials to select
the summer resort of Sochi
— one of the Russian despot’s favorite places — as
the site of the 2014 Winter
Olympics. From the beginning, there were concerns
about the climate of the
region. Two test events in
Sochi had to be cancelled
in February 2013 because
of a lack of snow and rainy
weather.
The resort city on the
Black Sea is un the only subtropical region of Russia.
Palm trees line the streets.
Part of the $51 billion
price tag for the Games —
by far the most expensive
Winter Games in Oympic
history — is the result of the
most massive snow-making
project ever undertaken.
About 230 million gallons of
water have been deployed
to cover an area equivalent
to 500 football fields with
two feet of artificial snow.
The Games are also overshadowed by the threat of
terrorism. The Islamist militant group Vilayat Dagestan
has promised “a present”
for visitors to Sochi. At the
end of December, the group
claimed rsponsibility for
two suicide bombings that
killed 34 people in the city of
Volgograd, 420 miles from
Sochi.
A U.S. Navy command
ship and guided missile frigate have been stationed in
the Black Sea to respond to
possible emergencies.
Corruption further clouds
the Winter Games. CBS
Sports reported recently
that Gafur Rakhimov, one
of the “four or five most
important people in the heroin trade in the world,” was
instrumental in swaying the
IOC’s decision to stage the
games in Sochi.
The head of the Russian
Olympic Committee publicly praised Rakhimov, who’s
currently under criminal
indictment in Uzbekistan,
for his “single-minded work”
in sealing the deal for Sochi
by obtaining needed votes
from some Asian countries
involved in the slection process.
Also, numerous complaints have been lodged
by Olympic contractors and
vendors who allege they
were forced to pay bribes
and kickbacks to Russian
officials overseeing the construction of venues. (See
editorial, page 16.)
ON THE COVER
London activists hold
mocking placards of
Russian
President
Vladimir Putin to protest his country’s draconian anti-gay law
and demand a change
of venue for the Winter
Games. Photo by AP/
Lefteris Pitarakis
BRING
YOUR
NIGHT
TO
LIFE.
WiG’s Olympic Guide
P H O T O : A P/ VA D I M G H I R D A
PUTIN ON THE GAMES: Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives at the welcome ceremony for Russia’s Olympic team on Feb. 5, in Sochi, Russia.
Athletes will compete for
98 gold medals at Sochi,
including in 12 new events.
The United States has
sent 230 athletes — 105
women and 125 men and a
strong representation from
Wisconsin — to compete.
That’s the largest athlete
delegation of any nation in
the history of the Winter
Olympics. At the last Winter
Games, Team USA brought
home 37 medals, including
nine gold.
Mikaela Shiffrin, competing in the women’s slalom, is
one U.S. favorite, along with
snowboarding sensation
Shaun White and five-time
Olympians Billy Demong
and Bode Miller.
Australian snowboarder Belle Brockhoff, who is
openly gay, has been one of
the most outspoken critics
of Putin and Russia’s antigay policy. She said she’s
been cautioned against
waving a rainbow flag, but
says that she’ll hold up six
fingers for Principle 6, the
anti-discrimination provision in the Olympic Charter.
Expect a lot of attention
for the Jamaican bobsled
team, which raised money
for its trip to Russia at the
Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.
SEEING IS BELIEVING
NBCUniversal holds the
broadcast rights in the United States and plans to offer
230 hours of coverage on
NBCSN, 185 hours on NBC,
45 on MSNBC, 43 on USA
Network, 36 on CNBC. It
will also stream about 1,000
hours on nbcolympics.com,
where viewers will find lots
of live footage.
Former Olympians Ato
Boldon, Tara Lipinski and
openly gay skater Johnny
Weir will provide commentary. Bob Costas, who has
said he plans to ask Putin
about gay rights, will host
the network’s coverage for
the 10th time.
PROTESTING PUTIN
Russian authorities hope
to corral political protesters
— who must get permits to
demonstrate — in the village of Khost, about 7 miles
from Olympic venues.
Athletes, under the International Olympic Committee Charter, cannot engage
in any demonstration of
“political, religious or racial
propaganda.”
The Committee to Protect
Journalists has expressed
concerns that Russian
authorities have harassed
and prevented journalists
from covering sensitive stories in Sochi, leading to concerns about free speech at
the Games.
BUYING AND
BOYCOTTING
Olympic
sponsorship
already has brought trouble
for some companies. CocaCola has been dropped from
a gay magazine’s Brand of
the Year contest due to its
sponsorship of the Sochi
games. Queer Nation targeted Coca-Cola using
Coke’s 1970s TV ad featuring the song “I’d Like to
Teach the World to Sing”
containing images of antigay violence in Russia.
Sponsors Atos, Dow
Chemical, General Electric,
McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter & Gamble,
Samsung and Visa also have
faced criticism. “Corporations with a track record of
support for equality should
not shy away from their
espoused values by staying
silent as Russia wages an
attack on its LGBT community,” said Ty Cobb, director of global engagement
for the Human Rights Campaign.
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
The Nevada Gaming Control Board is working with
the International Olympic
Committee to prevent fixing. Casinos in Nevada
can’t take bets on Olympic
events, but regulators plan
to monitor offshore sports
betting and other activity.
5
WIGWAGGY
Sochi Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov has proven he isn’t
ready for the close-ups certain to come with his city
being illuminated under a
global spotlight. In an interview with BBC Panorama,
the mayor boasted, “Our
hospitality will be extended
to everyone who respects
the laws of the Russian Federation and doesn’t impose
their habits on others.”
Asked about Russia’s antigay law and gays living in
Sochi, Pakhomov said, “We
do not have them in our
city.” Nonetheless, the city
has several gay bars.
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MINING MEDALS
| Februar y 6, 2014
6
Februar y 6, 2014
Obama’s SOTU thrills fans, disappoints others
DID YOU KNOW?
Ronald Reagan started the shout out
tradition at the State of the Union in
1982. Reagan paid tribute to Lenny
Skutnik, a federal worker who dove into
the freezing Potomac River to rescue
an Air Florida crash victim. Since then,
it has become tradition for the president to recognize special guests who
join the first lady in the viewing box.
This year, the guests included basketball player Jason Collins, who came out
as gay last spring, and Army Sgt. 1st
Class Cory Remsburg, who is recovering from serious injuries suffered in a
roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan.
— L.N.
against income inequality and for economic
justice for the working poor,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of
the Wisconsin-based Voces de la Frontera.
This, she said, shows the president can use
executive action to “achieve victories for
the people who elected him in the face of
obstruction by the most unpopular Congress in history.”
P H OTO : A P
She called on Obama to “do the same
President Barack Obama is greeted by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, along with, from left, Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele with today’s deportation crisis, and use his
and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, after stepping from Air Force One upon his arrival in Milwaukee on Jan. 30. The president visited legal executive authority to provide real
General Electric’s Waukesha Gas Engines facility to speak about job training. The visit was part of his post-State of the Union tour.
relief for America’s immigrant families, who
Speaker John Boehner repeatedly has said ing concrete steps to help address income are being torn apart at historic levels since
By Lisa Neff
there’s no way the bill will advance in the inequality,” said Heather Cronk of the he took office campaigning on federal immiStaff writer
direct-action group GetEqual. “However, I’m gration reform.”
President Barack Obama promised in his House.
Environmentalists also said the president
Human Rights Campaign president Chad disappointed, saddened and offended that
State of the Union a year of action on the
economy and environment, equality and Griffin said Obama’s SOTU message “failed the president … refuses to take similar exec- fell short in his pledges. “President Obama
immigration — and he said he’s ready to to address the needs of LGBT workers look- utive action to end discrimination based says he recognizes the threat of climate
leave Congress in the dust to reach the ing for a fair shake in this economy. Not on sexual orientation or gender identity by change, but he sure doesn’t act like it,” said
May Boeve, executive director of 350.org,
only was there no call for the House to federal contractors.”
administration’s goals.
Others in the progressive community also the green group that has organized mas“America does not stand still, and neither pass a federal law to protect LGBT workers
will I,” the president said on Jan. 28. “So nationwide, President Obama also side- said they were thrilled but disappointed. sive demonstrations against the proposed
whatever and whenever I can take steps stepped his commitment to take action Why, for example, won’t the president take Keystone XL pipeline from the tar sands of
without legislation to expand opportunity where Congress has left off, leaving out an executive action to halt deportations, which Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.
“You can’t say you care about ending canfor more American families, that’s what I’m order prohibiting discrimination by federal skyrocketed during his first term, leading
contractors.”
some immigration reform advocates to refer cer and then go buy a carton of cigarettes —
going to do.”
and you can’t say you care about the climate
“I’m thrilled that President Obama is rais- to him as deporter-in-chief.
Progressives responded with enthusiasm,
“We applaud President Obama’s pro- and then go dig up more fossil fuels,” Boeve
but criticized Obama’s decision not to do ing the minimum wage for federal contraceven more with executive orders. The long tors, finally leading by example and tak- posed minimum wage hike in the fight said. “We need real leadership from this
president, not more lip service. Rejecting
list of planned executive actions isn’t long
the Keystone XL would be the perfect place
enough, said civil rights advocates, who for
to start.”
years have called on the president to sign an
Congress and in more than 30 states,
At the Center for Biological Diversity,
order protecting gay, lesbian, bisexual and
including Wisconsin, to raise the miniKieran Suckling said the president’s “‘year
transgender workers employed under federmum wage to a livable one.
of action’ rightly includes climate change,
al contracts. In 2008, when he campaigned
Democrat Kelly Westlund, a candidate
but his plans for fighting carbon pollution
for the White House, Obama promised such
for the 7th Congressional seat held by
just aren’t bold enough or big enough to
an order.
Republican Sean Duffy, recently launched
head off disaster. Unless President Obama
In his speech, the president vowed execua petition urging Duffy to back a hike in
changes course, he will help usher in an era
tive action to raise the minimum wage from
the minimum wage. “People of northern
of climate chaos.”
$7.25 to $10.10 for those employed under
Wisconsin deserve a representative who
Leaders in the Republican Party, meanP H OTO : CO U RT E SY
new federal contracts, but a White House
will be an ally and strong voice for workwhile, said Obama would create a different
Democrat Kelly Westlund.
outline on the State of the Union listed LGBT
ing people, and that means increasing the
type of chaos if he attempted to do too
workplace discrimination under “continuing
minimum wage that will lift families out
much with executive action. “The president
WORKING FOR WAGES
to work with Congress.”
of poverty,” Westlund said during a news
must understand his power is limited by
The president in late January said he’ll conference call hosted by the Progressive
That’s not likely to be successful unless
our Constitution, and the authority he has
sign an executive order raising the mini- Change Campaign Committee.
the midterm elections send a majority of
doesn’t add up to much for those without
mum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 for those
Democrats to the House. The Employment
Recent polls show at least 55 percent
opportunity in this economy,” Boehner said.
employed under new — not existing or of Americans support raising the miniNon-Discrimination Act, a bill that would
renewed — federal contracts.
ban job discrimination based on sexual orimum wage.
Editor’s note: The Associated Press contribMeanwhile, legislation is pending in
entation and gender identity, passed in the
— L.N.
uted to this story.
U.S. Senate last fall, but Republican House
| Februar y 6, 2014
myART
myIDENTITY
myPECKSCHOOL
“The Peck School is a supportive
community that has allowed me
to be myself without judgement,
and has allowed me to grow as
a person and as an artist.”
See Levi’s work in the upcoming
Mainstage Theatre productions
of Laughing Stock (Mar 5-9)
and Urinetown (Apr 30-May 4)!
Levi Miles, BFA Costume Production for Theatre
BA History and Religious Studies
Anticipated graduation Spring 2015
arts.uwm.edu
7
8
Februar y 6, 2014
Wisconsin couples sue for marriage equality
By Lisa Neff
Staff writer
The American Civil Liberties Union delivered an early valentine to gay and lesbian
couples in Wisconsin. The ACLU, representing four same-sex couples, filed a federal
lawsuit in Madison on Feb. 3 that demands
marriage equality in the state.
The couples and ACLU of Wisconsin legal
director Larry Dupuis announced the move
at the Madison Concourse Hotel in a midday news conference.
“These families simply want the security and recognition that only marriage provides,” Dupuis said. “They have built their
lives and raised children here.”
The couples are:
• Judi Trampf and Katy Heyning of Madison.
• Roy Badger and Garth Wangemann of
Milwaukee.
• Charvonne Kemp and Marie Carlson of
Milwaukee.
• Carol Schumacher and Virginia Wolf of
Eau Claire.
Three of the couples want to get married
in Wisconsin and a fourth couple wants
the state to recognize their marriage from
Minnesota.
In Wisconsin, same-sex couples can
enter into registered domestic partnerships, which provide limited protections.
But same-sex couples cannot marry. Voters
in 2006 approved a constitutional amendment barring marriage between two people
of the same sex, as well as legal recognition of same-sex relationships substantially
similar to marriage.
State law also refers to marriage as the
union of a “husband and wife.”
The equality lawsuit names Republican
Gov. Scott Walker as a defendant, along
with state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, Revenue Secretary Richard G. Chandler,
State Registrar Oskar Anderson, Eau Claire
County District Attorney Gary King, Milwaukee County Clerk Joseph Czarnezki and
Dane County Clerk Scott McDonnell.
The ACLU of Wisconsin, the national
ACLU and the law firm of Mayer Brown filed
the suit —Wolf v. Walker — in U.S. District
P H O T O : A P/J O H N H A R T
John Knight, of the national American Civil Liberties Union’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project, speaks during a news conference announcing the filing of a federal lawsuit on behalf of four Wisconsin couples challenging the legality of Wisconsin's ban on
same-sex marriage
Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.
The attorneys want the court to declare
the state’s amendment and laws barring
gays and lesbians from marrying in violation
of the Equal Protection and Due Process
clauses of the U.S. Constitution.
In the preliminary statement, the equality brief states, “Marriage is universally
recognized and celebrated as the hallmark
of a couple’s love for and commitment to
each other. When two people marry, they
commit personally and publicly to build a
life together, and they ask their families,
friends, communities and government to
respect, honor, and support that commitment. Marriage has long been recognized
and valued for its beneficial contribution
to the welfare of society and to individual
happiness. Lesbians and gay men in Wisconsin are denied the freedom afforded to
different-sex couples in this state to have
their loving, committed relationships recognized through marriage.”
The filing came about a month after fed-
eral judges in Oklahoma and Utah overturned state constitutional amendments
barring recognition of same-sex marriages.
It came the day before a two-hour federal
court hearing in a challenge to Virginia’s
anti-equality amendment.
The filing also came less than eight
months after the U.S. Supreme Court, in
U.S. v. Windsor, overturned the federal provision barring the federal government from
recognizing same-sex marriages. In another
COUPLES next page
COUPLES from prior page
ruling, the high court cleared the way for the
overturning of an anti-gay marriage amendment in California.
Since the high court decisions, federal
agencies have released rules for same-sex
couples to access the more than 1,100 federal benefits and rights associated with marriage. Meanwhile, the number of lawsuits
seeking marriage equality has ballooned to
more than 40 in 20 states and the number
of states where gays can marry has grown
to 17 plus the District of Columbia.
The Wisconsin brief notes the advances
elsewhere in the country: “Yet Wisconsin, a historic leader in marriage equality,
maintains one of the most restrictive bans
on marriage for same-sex couples in the
nation. Wisconsin’s constitutional amendment barring same-sex couples from marrying not only denies loving, committed,
same-sex couples the dignity and status
that only marriage can confer on their relationships and their families, it also prohibits
the extension to same-sex couples of the
same legal protections, duties, and benefits that married couples are allowed by
law. The State deprives same-sex couples
of these rights and freedoms for no other
reason than their sexual orientation and
their sex.”
John Knight, a staff attorney with the
ACLU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project, said, “More and more Americans over the past few years accept the idea
that same-sex couples and their families
shouldn’t be treated differently than other
families. It is our hope that Wisconsin will
soon join the other 17 states in granting the
freedom to marry.”
Now, for gay and lesbian residents of
Wisconsin to marry, they must leave the
state. Yet Wisconsin law makes even that a
crime, punishable by up to nine months in
jail and a $10,000 fine.
“It is wrong for the state to treat these
loving and committed couples as secondclass citizens, and it is cruel to place them in
a catch-22 where they can’t even travel elsewhere to obtain federal protections without
their marriage being labeled a crime,” said
Dupuis.
Van Hollen on Feb. 3 pledged to defend
the amendment in court. “This constitutional amendment was approved by a large
The filing came less
than eight months after
the U.S. Supreme Court,
in U.S. v. Windsor,
overturned the federal
government’s provision
barring same-sex
marriages. Wisconsin
has one of the most
restrictive bans on
same-sex couples in the
nation.
majority of Wisconsin residents. I believe
the amendment is constitutional, and I will
vigorously defend it,” he said in a statement
released by his office.
Democratic state Rep. Jon Richards, who
is running for attorney general, issued a
statement backing marriage equality: “Like
so many loving families across the state,
my wife Andrea and I are pleased that the
federal court here, as it has in so many other
states, will have a chance to rule that the
U.S. Constitution ensures that every loving
couple should be treated equally.”
“As attorney general, it will be my obligation to the citizens of Wisconsin to defend
their constitutional rights — rights that
I believe are currently being violated for
same-sex couples,” Richards continued. “I
support marriage equality, and under my
leadership, the Department of Justice will
be an ally of those seeking equality for all
individuals in Wisconsin.”
In January, Virginia’s new attorney general, a Democrat, reversed his Republican predecessor’s position on equality and sided
with plaintiffs in a major push to overturn
that state’s anti-gay marriage amendment.
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| Februar y 6, 2014
9
FOR THE RECORD
The American Civil Liberties Union, in the marriage equality brief filed on Feb. 3,
FOR
THE RECORD
in Madison,
argues:
The
American Civil
Union,
in subjected
the marriage
equality
briefpeople
filed ontoFeb.
3, in
• “Wisconsin
and Liberties
this country
have
lesbian
and gay
scorn
Madison,
argues:
and discrimination
for many years, and they have done so because lesbians and
• “Wisconsin
this country
have subjected
lesbianofand
people
scorn and
gay
men formand
intimate
relationships
with a person
thegay
same
sex.toAlthough
discrimination
for many
years, and
havesome
donesteps
so because
lesbians
and gay men
Wisconsin and
this country
havethey
taken
to reduce
discrimination
form
intimate
relationships
a person of
sex. Although
Wisconsin
and
against
lesbians
and gays,with
Wisconsin’s
banthe
onsame
marriage
for same-sex
couples
this
taken somevestige
steps of
to the
reduce
against lesbians
and
is acountry
strikinghave
and continuing
long discrimination
history of discrimination
towards
gays,
Wisconsin’s
on marriage for same-sex couples is a striking and continuing
lesbians
and gayban
men.”
vestige
of the long history
of discrimination
lesbians
and gayfrom
men.”
• “Wisconsin’s
discriminatory
exclusiontowards
of same-sex
couples
marriage
• “Wisconsin’s
discriminatory
of or
same-sex
couples government
from marriage
does
does
not serve any
compelling,exclusion
important,
even legitimate
internot
serve any compelling, important, or even legitimate government interest.”
est.”
• “Providing
to only
only a
• “Providingsame-sex
same-sexcouples
couplesaccess,
access,via
viadomestic
domestic partnership
partnership status,
status, to
portion
of the
protections
andand
responsibilities
of of
marriage,
while
denying
a portion
of the
protections
responsibilities
marriage,
while
denyingthem
themthe
esteem
and universal
recognition
of marriage,
can only
explained
as an effort
the esteem
and universal
recognition
of marriage,
canbeonly
be explained
as an to
denigrate
andlesbian
gay persons.”
effort tolesbian
denigrate
and gay persons.”
• “The
the fundamental
fundamentalright
righttotomarry
marrythe
the
person
• “TheDue
DueProcess
ProcessClause
Clause protects
protects the
person
of of
one’s
liberty, dignity,
dignity, autonomy,
autonomy,famfamily
one’schoice
choiceand
andrelated
relatedconstitutional
constitutionalrights
rights to
to liberty,
integrity,
and association.
Wisconsin’s
marriage
banban
does
notnot
permit
same-sex
couily integrity,
and association.
Wisconsin’s
marriage
does
permit
same-sex
ples
to marry
nor does
permit
the recognition
of theof
marriages
of same-sex
couples
couples
to marry
nor itdoes
it permit
the recognition
the marriages
of same-sex
lawfully
entered
into
outside
of outside
Wisconsin.”
couples
lawfully
entered
into
of Wisconsin.”
10
Februar y 6, 2014
State’s same-sex couples seek
security for their families
Meet the same-sex couples leading the
drive for marriage equality in Wisconsin:
Judi Trampf and Katy Heyning of Madison: Trampf, 53, and Heyning, 51, met in
college at the Girl Scout National Center
in Wyoming. They were part of a group of
women from the Midwest who would get
together outside of summer camp.
“We were interested in each other, but
fate would have it that one of us wouldn’t be
free to date,” Trampf said. “After four years,
we finally started dating long distance, and
eventually we both wound up in Madison.”
In July, the women will celebrate their
25th anniversary. Both work at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where
Trampf is director of human resources and
diversity, and Heyning is dean of the College
of Education and Professional Studies.
After they had been together 15 years,
P H OTO : CO U RT E SY T H E AC LU O F W I SCO N S I N
Trampf’s family insisted the women have a Plaintiffs and partners: Charvonne Kemp, left, and Marie Carlson live in Milwaukee.
ceremony to recognize and celebrate their
commitment. Also, in 2009, they became hospital staff provided emergency care, but cy, and his doctors put him into a medically
domestic partners. However, the registered deferred further health care decisions to induced coma to allow his body to stabilize.
Wangemann’s coma lasted more than
partnership does not provide the same Heyning’s brother. And although Heyning
rights, let alone societal status, as marriage. had trouble concentrating and responding three weeks. During that time, Badger
In 2002, Heyning suffered a seizure after the seizure, medical providers contin- included Wangemann’s father in meetings
while traveling with Trampf. The women ued to question her, failing to address any with the medical team to discuss treatment.
The surgeon felt confident Wangemann
had drafted power-of-attorney documents, questions to Trampf.
“If we were legally married, we’d know would recover, and he was right — Wangebut they weren’t carrying the papers. So
we have the same protections as other mann is living cancer-free.
couples,” Trampf said. “We would have
But the couple later learned that while
property, visitation and other rights. We Wangemann was in the coma, his father
wouldn’t have to wonder what was covered tried to override Badger’s power of attorney
if one of us is ill or dies.”
to take Wangemann off life support. Father
“We want to know that if someone is in and son no longer speak to one another.
the hospital, we can see each other and
“What upset me most wasn’t that he
have the right to make decisions for each wanted to take me off life support,” Wangeother,” Heyning added. “Judi is the love of mann said. “What hurt the most was that
my life, and we’ve been together in sickness my father still didn’t see Roy as my spouse
and in health. We want recognition of that.” after all this time.”
Roy Badger and Garth Wangemann of
Charvonne Kemp and Marie Carlson of
Milwaukee: Badger, 56, and Wangemann, Milwaukee: Kemp, 43, and Carlson, 48,
58, have been together 37 years. They met have been partners more than seven years
through mutual friends when they were and raised two sons. Kemp is an accountant
students at the University of Wisconsin- and Carlson is a raw material handler for
Milwaukee and got together on Election a manufacturing company. They want to
Day in November 1976.
get married — and they want to do it in the
“Garth voted Carter and I voted Ford,” state they call home.
Badger said. “I was really rooting for Betty.”
“We’ve thought about going to MasBadger, who’s lived in Wisconsin since sachusetts or Canada, but we decided that
age 12, has worked as an editor at UWM if nobody else is going to recognize it, it
for 32 years. Wangemann, a native Wis- doesn’t mean what it’s supposed to mean,”
consinite, was laid off last spring from his Carlson said. “I want to call Charvonne my
customer service position, but is temping wife and have people understand what that
for his old employer while looking for a new means.”
job. The couple attends a UCC church and
Kemp and Carlson are involved parents.
has two dogs — Daisy and Winston.
Together they’ve raised Alexander, 21, and
“We have a lot in common, and we always Christopher, 11, who are Kemp’s sons from
have a lot to talk about,” Wangemann said. previous relationships. Kemp and Carlson
“Roy is very gentle and giving, and he’s were active in the PTA at Christopher’s
always been very honest and forthright.”
school, holding offices. Kemp served twice
A few years ago, Wangemann was diag- on search committees to pick new princinosed with lung cancer and had most of pals. The boys would like to see their moms
his right lung removed. At the suggestion get married.
of Wangemann’s surgeon, the men had
“I feel that the commitment I’ve made
papers drawn up, granting Badger power of to Charvonne and the boys, and the one
attorney. Following Wangemann’s surgery
FAMILIES next page
in August 2011, he had a medical emergen-
| Februar y 6, 2014
P H OTO : CO U RT E SY T H E AC LU O F W I SCO N S I N
Judi Trampf, left, and Katy Heyning live in Madison. They are one of four same-sex couples suing the state for marriage equality.
FAMILIES from prior page
they’ve made to me, should be allowed to be
legal,” Carlson said. “I want to proudly walk
with my family. I want to do it the right way
and the right way is marriage.”
Carol Schumacher and Virginia Wolf of
Eau Claire: Schumacher, 60, and Wolf, 74,
grew up in Kansas and moved to Wisconsin
in 1977. Schumacher worked as an elections
administrator and city clerk, and is retired.
Wolf is a retired Unitarian Universalist minister and a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
They have been together 38 years, since
their very first date in 1975. They were the
first couple to join the Eau Claire domestic
partner registry in 2009, and they got married on their anniversary in December by a
judge in Minnesota.
Schumacher and Wolf raised a son and
daughter together — Wolf’s children from
a previous relationship — and now have
four grandchildren. Their granddaughters, in
particular, very much want the couple’s marriage to be recognized in Wisconsin.
Schumacher and Wolf routinely have been
denied benefits afforded to legally married
couples. When Schumacher worked for the
city of Eau Claire, she was denied family
medical leave many times when Wolf had
surgeries, illnesses and injuries. They’ve also
even been denied a family membership at a
local health club.
“The protections and benefits we’re missing out on are still really important to us,”
Wolf said.
Editor’s note: Compiled from ACLU profiles.
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founded by and for the LGBT Community.
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11
12
Februar y 6, 2014
Virginia changes course on gay equality
‘Virginia has been
on the wrong side
of desegregation,
interracial marriage and
single-gender education.
It’s time to be on the
right side of the law.’
P H O T O : A P/ B O B B R O W N
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring
speaks at a news conference at his office
in Richmond, Va., where he stated he
reversed the state’s legal position on marriage equality.
By Lisa Neff
Staff writer
When Eric Thompson first heard new
license plates would include his state’s “Virginia is for lovers” slogan, he immediately
thought, “Only for the straight ones.”
But Virginia’s new leadership is taking a
different course on marriage equality and
Thompson and his boyfriend might some
day proudly display a “Virginia is for lovers” plate on their car as they drive around
Arlington. Republican Bob McDonnell is out
and Democrat Terry McAuliffe is in at the
governor’s mansion; Republican Ken Cuccinelli is out and Democrat Mark Herring is
in as attorney general.
One of Herring’s first official actions after
taking his oath in January was to announce
that the state would drop its defense of a
constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
Instead, he joined the same-sex couples and
civil rights advocates trying to overturn the
measure in federal courts.
“Virginia has argued on the wrong side of
some of our nation’s landmark cases — in
school desegregation in 1954, on interracial
marriage with the 1967 Loving decision, and
in 1996 on state-supported single-gender
education at VMI,” Herring said. “It’s time
for the Commonwealth to be on the right
side of history and the right side of the law.”
There are two marriage equality suits
pending in Virginia — Bostic v. Rainey was
filed in federal court in Norfolk and Harris v.
McDonnell was filed in Harrisonburg.
In both cases, same-sex couples sued the
state registrar of vital records, who carries
out the constitutional and statutory bans on
same-sex marriage. The lawsuits obligated
the attorney general to appear on Rainey’s
behalf to present the Commonwealth’s legal
position and to make a constitutional judgment on whether Virginia’s laws conflict
with the U.S. Constitution.
Cuccinelli was defending the anti-gay
amendment. But Herring, like a growing
number of elected officials across the United States, said the prohibition conflicts with
the Constitution.
“I swore an oath to both the U.S. Constitution and the Virginia Constitution,” he said.
“After thorough legal review, I have now
concluded that Virginia’s ban on marriage
between same-sex couples violates the 14th
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution on two
grounds: Marriage is a fundamental right
being denied to some Virginians, and the
ban unlawfully discriminates on the basis of
both sexual orientation and gender.”
FREEDOM TO MARRY
Did you know? National Freedom to
Marry Day is celebrated on Feb. 12. The
observance dates back to 1998 and was
founded by the National Freedom to
Marry Coalition of civil rights advocacy
groups.
Marriage equality states: State law
allows same-sex couples to marry in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii,
Iowa, Illinois (June 2014), Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico,
New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and
Washington, as well as the District of
Columbia.
Getting closer: Federal judges overturned constitutional amendments prohibiting gays from marrying in Utah and
Oklahoma but the states are appealing.
Meanwhile, Nevada’s attorney general
is reviewing the validity of the state’s
defense of its anti-gay ban against a legal
challenge.
Estimating equality: More than 38
percent of the U.S. population lives in
a state that either has the freedom to
Gay rights advocates cheered the decision with frequent mentions that a federal
case out of Virginia — Loving — had led to
overturning bans on interracial marriage in
1967.
But anti-equality forces accused Herring
of shirking his obligations. The head of the
ultra-right National Organization for Marriage said he should be impeached.
Herring, however, said he would be shirking his duties if he defended an unconstitutional measure.
And his voters knew who they were sending to Richmond: Though Herring voted
against marriage rights for gay couples as
a state senator eight years ago, he campaigned for equality in 2013.
A hearing took place Feb. 4 in the Bostic
case, which is being argued by attorneys
with the American Foundation for Equal
Rights, the same team that successfully
marry or honors out-of-state marriages
of same-sex couples.
About 41 percent of the population
lives in a state with either marriage or a
broad legal status such as civil union or
domestic partnership.
About 43 percent of the U.S. population lives in a state that provides some
form of protections for gay couples.
In the majority: A poll conducted by
Anzalone Liszt Grove Research found 59
percent of respondents in the central
region of the U.S. — including in Wisconsin — support marriage equality.
In the courts: About 40 marriage
equality lawsuits are pending in state
and federal courts, including, as of early
February, Wisconsin.
On the agenda: Jim Bennett, the Midwest region director for Lambda Legal,
and Chris Clark, Lambda’s attorney in the
Midwest office, will talk about winning
the freedom to marry and federal marriage law at the Wisconsin LGBT Leadership Conference in Milwaukee. The conference takes place Feb. 7–9.
— L.N.
challenged California’s anti-gay Proposition
8.
When the court convened, AFER almost
immediately asked the judge to rule in favor
of equality, a request taken into consideration along with the arguments against the
amendment.
“Every day these discriminatory laws
remain in effect is another day gay and
lesbian Virginians and their families are
harmed and treated as second-class citizens,” said AFER executive director Adam
Umhoefer.
Thompson said the state’s change of
course leaves him optimistic that he and his
boyfriend will be cruising to the Arlington
County Circuit Court Clerk’s office to apply
for a marriage license later this year. “We
know we can marry in D.C.,” Thompson said.
“But Virginia is where we live and want to
marry. Virginia is where we fell in love.”
13
| Februar y 6, 2014
NATIONAL BRIEFS
P H OTO : W I K I CO M M O N S
DWINDLING POPULATION
U.S. conservationists, such as those with
the National Resources Defense Council,
are concerned about the record low number
of monarch butterflies that returned this
year to wintering grounds in the mountains
of Mexico. They say the annual butterfly
migration is at “serious risk of disappearing.” Monarchs, which migrate from Mexico across North America and back every
year, have been in serious decline since the
1990s.
COURT: JURORS CAN’T BE
EXCLUDED BASED ON SEXUAL
ORIENTATION
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
ruled in January that people cannot be
removed from a jury due solely to their
sexual orientation or gender identity.
The National LGBT Bar Association said
in a statement that the ruling ensures the
scope of “Batson challenges” will now
extend to LGBT people. In Batson v. Kentucky, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1986
that peremptory challenges could not be
used to remove a juror based solely on race.
The decision stems from a 2011 case
between GlaxoSmithKline and Abbott
Laboratories. GlaxoSmithKline argued that
Abbott unfairly increased the price of Norvir, a drug that combats HIV. The court
ultimately ruled in favor of Abbott, but
GSK appealed on the grounds that Abbott
unfairly removed a juror based on sexual
orientation, arguing that the removal should
have been disallowed due to Batson.
In other national news …
• TransCanada began delivering oil
from a hub in Cushing, Okla., to customers in Nederland, Texas, early Jan. 22. The
$2.3 billion pipeline is the Gulf Coast — or
southern portion — of TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline. The longer
Keystone XL, which would transport heavy
tar sands crude from Canada and oil from
North Dakota’s Bakken shale, requires a
permit from the Obama administration,
because it crosses an international bor-
C E L E B R A T I N G
L E A D E R S H I P
&
der. In late January, the State Department
released a review of the pipeline proposal
but the Obama administration is waiting
for more information.
• Union membership in the U.S. held
steady at 11.3 percent in 2013, but losses
among state and government workers suggest an ominous trend for organized labor.
Unions added about 282,000 new members in the private sector as the economy
improved. But that was partly offset by the
loss of 118,000 members in the public sector. In Wisconsin, union membership in the
public sector fell from 53.4 percent in 2011
to just 37.6 percent in 2013.
emergency injunction request to the court
of appeals to get Idaho to halt this illegal
program, and we hope that the federal
government in the future will take more
seriously its public trust responsibility to
protect the wilderness from state efforts to
exterminate native wildlife.”
• Public Policy Polling in a recent survey
found a plurality of Florida voters — about
47 percent — favor legalizing same-sex
marriage in the Sunshine State; 44 percent
oppose gay marriage. A sizable percentage also endorses medical marijuana —
and they’ll get the chance to vote for it in
November.
• The National Coalition of American
Nuns, in an open letter, questioned why
Catholic institutions such as the University
of Notre Dame are challenging the federal Affordable Care Act. The nuns said,
“Spurred on by the U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops, these organizations are
attempting to hold hostage all women by
refusing insurance to them for contraceptives.”
• South Dakota state Sen. Ernie Otten
introduced two bills that would allow businesses to refuse service to LGBT people,
specifically same-sex couples seeking to
hire professional services for their weddings. Similar legislation is pending in
Kansas.
• The Idaho Department of Fish and
Game said it was halting its wolf extermination program in the Middle Fork region
of the Frank Church–River of No Return
Wilderness. Earthjustice attorney Tim
Preso responded, “We are sorry it took an
wisconsingazette.com
H O N O R I N G
B A Y A R D
— from WiG reports
updated all day.
R U S T I N
Thursday evening, March 20, 2014
!
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t
a
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Sav
5:30-8pm
at the Marcus Center for The Performing Arts Bradley Pavilion 929 N Water Street, Milwaukee
Diverse
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14
Februar y 6, 2014
REGIONAL BRIEFS
BURKE WOULD RAISE
MINIMUM WAGE TO $10.10
Democratic gubernatorial candidate
Mary Burke said she supports raising
Wisconsin’s minimum wage up to as
much as $10.10 an hour, putting her at
direct odds with incumbent Republican
Scott Walker.
Burke made the comments in an interview that aired Feb. 2 on UpFront with
Mike Gousha.
“I think increasing the minimum wage
leads to people being able to support
themselves and their families, and we
can do it in a way that’s not going to hurt
job creation,” Burke said.
The state’s minimum wage is currently
$7.25 an hour.
Walker has spoken out against legislation that would gradually raise the minimum wage, calling the proposals “political grandstanding.” The Democratic bills
are in committees in both chambers,
which are controlled by Republicans.
Burke had earlier said she favored a
smaller increase of about 35 cents an
hour. But she now endorses the Democrats’ plan to raise the minimum wage in
three increments, up to $10.10 an hour in
two years.
Burke said: “The research shows in
states that have raised the minimum
wage above the federal wage that it has
absolutely no impact on unemployment
rates.”
— AP
DEMOCRATS ACE, REPUBLICANS
FLUNK CIVIL RIGHTS TEST
Wisconsin Democrats Tammy Baldwin,
Mark Pocan, Gwen Moore and Ron Kind
received perfect scores in the Leadership
Conference on Civil and Human Rights ratings for the first session of the 113th Congress.
The Republicans in the state’s congressional delegation didn’t score so well: U.S.
Sen. Ron Johnson and U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble received zeros. U.S. Reps. Sean Duffy,
Paul Ryan and Jim Sensenbrenner received
scores of 8 percent. Tom Petri received a 15.
The coalition used 13 votes in the House
and 19 votes in the Senate that dealt with
civil rights protections, jobs, the budget,
education, immigration reform, presidential
nominations, violence against women and
other issues.
The coalition’s report began with a critical look at the first session of the 113th
Congress, one of the least productive on
record: “Even routine business — such as
keeping government doors open, raising the
debt ceiling, and confirming highly qualified judicial and executive branch nominees
— fell victim to obstruction, brinkmanship
and political posturing. On more complex
issues like jobs, housing and immigration,
the obstacles were even greater. As a result,
the 113th Congress was one of the least
productive on record — and one of the least
popular — as Congress’ approval rating
plummeted to an all-time low of 9 percent
and Obama’s approval ratings sank to their
lowest point as well.”
While the Republicans did poorly on the
civil rights test, they scored high on another
test — that of loyalty to the extremist
tea party agenda, according to Americans
United, a liberal advocacy group.
In other news…
• Illinois gay rights advocates are pre-
paring to protect lawmakers who voted
for the state’s marriage equality law at
the polls. Equality Illinois, a statewide civil
rights group, said in a call for support: “A
number of legislators who courageously
supported marriage equality now find
themselves under threat from serious
primary challengers due to their vote for
equal marriage. In fact, many of these
challengers are not only anti-marriage
equality, but they also pledged to roll back
the new marriage law if elected.”
• The Iowa Supreme Court agreed to
review the conviction of Nick Rhoades, an
HIV-positive man, under a law criminalizing HIV exposure. He was sentenced to
25 years in prison and required to register
as a sex offender after having a one-time
sexual encounter with another man during which they used a condom. “The facts
here don’t add up to a conviction, and we
are confident that the Iowa Supreme Court
will agree,” said Christopher Clark, Senior
Staff Attorney for Lambda Legal. “A person
who engages in safe sex, as Nick did, does
not have the intent required to support a
conviction under Iowa’s law concerning the
criminal transmission of HIV.”
• Hillary Rodham Clinton supporters
in early voting Iowa are organizing, even
though she hasn’t said she’ll run in 2016.
Top Iowa Democrats gathered in January in
Des Moines to build support for a potential
Clinton White House bid. The event’s hosts
include the state chairs for Clinton’s 2008
campaign and President Barack Obama’s
2008 campaign.
• Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan
hasn’t said whether he’ll be running for
president in 2016, but he recently identified one job he won’t be seeking: Speaker
of the House. Ryan said the job would take
away too much time from his family.
— from WiG and AP reports
ORGANIZATION BRIEFS
ber.com.
In other news …
• Diverse & Resilient and Fair Wisconsin
are co-hosting the Wisconsin LGBT Leadership Conference taking place at the Hyatt
Regency Milwaukee Feb. 7–9. The conference includes workshops on advocacy,
health care, politics, philanthropy, education, faith and other topics. Kris Hermanns,
executive director of the Pride Foundation,
and Mara Keisling, executive director of the
National Center for Transgender Equality,
deliver the keynote remarks. For more, go
to wilgbtleadership.org.
P H O T O : W W W.W I S LG B T C H A M B E R . C O M
Jason Rae, founder and executive director of the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of
Commerce, is the chair of the Milwaukee
County Human Rights Commission.
• CODEPINK wants to know if you
HEART whistleblowers. The activist group
is joining V-Day in its 1 Billion Rising for
Justice campaign and encouraging people
to proclaim their passion for the truth on
Valentine’s Day. Write a whistleblower,
submit an “I Heart the Truth” photo on
Tumblr and sign up for the cause. For more,
go to www.codepinkalert.org.
T 
...
RAE RE-ELECTED CHAIR OF
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Jason Rae, founder and executive director of the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of
Commerce, was re-elected in January as
the chair of the Milwaukee County Human
Rights Commission.
“It’s an honor to represent and advocate
for the people of Milwaukee County as
chair of the Human Rights Commission,”
Rae said. “It’s important that people from
different perspectives and backgrounds
come together to address the most pressing
issues of human rights in Milwaukee County. I look forward to continuing to serve the
people of Milwaukee County in this role.”
County Executive Chris Abele appointed
Rae to serve on the commission in 2012.
Rae was first elected the commission’s chair
in December 2012.
“It is my hope that during this next year
as chair we can continue making Milwaukee
County a welcoming and diverse community for all people,” he said.
For more, go online to www.wislgbtcham-
• Human Rights Campaign’s Time to
Thrive conference to protect and encourage LGBT youth features more than 50
workshops. The event takes place Feb.
14–16 in Las Vegas. For more, go to timetothrive.org.
• LGBT civil rights advocates gathered
in Houston in late January and early February for the annual National Conference on
LGBT Equality: Creating Change. More than
4,000 people participated in more than
350 workshops and seminars. For more, go
to www.creatingchange.org.
• Equality Illinois says U.S. Sen. Mark
Kirk is the recipient of the civil rights
group’s annual Freedom Award. Kirk, a
Republican, receives the award at EI’s gala
in Chicago on Feb. 8. Kirk has championed
workplace protections for LGBT people
and, as the battle over marriage equality
intensified in his state, came out for equality. For more, go to www.equalityillinois.us.
P ROGRESSIVE . A LTERNATIVE .
| Februar y 6, 2014
15
16
{ Editorial }
No medals for
Olympic Committee
When the International Olympic
Committee chose Sochi to host the 2014
Winter Games, it inadvertently put a
spotlight on one of the world’s most
unapologetically corrupt, bigoted and
despotic nations. If committee members
thought the event would have a civilizing effect on Russia, they should have
looked to the 1936 Summer Olympics
in Berlin.
The choice of Vladimir Putin’s favorite
semitropical resort to host the Winter
Games is proving to be an unparalleled
disaster on several fronts in addition to
the iffy weather.
The IOC’s selection of Sochi was a
slap in the face of LGBT people everywhere. Russia has criminalized public
displays of non-heterosexual behavior
and expressions of pro-equality sentiment. Putin’s government openly
encourages and coddles gay bashers
and killers.
With a price tag of $51 billion, the
Sochi Games are already the most
expensive in history — five times as
costly as the Vancouver Games. The
outrageous cost overruns are largely
due to bribes, payoffs and kickbacks to
Putin’s cronies, who run the government
in the same fashion as the Mafia.
A report by Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister, and Leonid
Martynyuk, a member of the Solidarity
movement, claims Russian officials have
stolen nearly three times Putin’s original estimate of $12 billion to produce
the games. Olympic contractor Valery
Morozov is one of many to be stung
by public officials. He says he was told
by local Olympic officials to add about
$30 million to his bill, which he was
instructed to turn over to them through
phantom companies.
Februar y 6, 2014
WiG’s WEB PICKS
Some of our
favorite recent
pictorials from
cyberspace
After going public with the scam,
Morozov learned that a hit was ordered
on him. He’s living, for now at least,
under asylum in the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, the state company
Olympstroi, which is in charge of Sochi
construction, is the subject of three
criminal investigations. Of course, it’s
not likely that any of them will reach a
courtroom, much less that anyone will
face punishment. Russia’s deplorable
prison camps are filled with political dissenters like the recently released punk
rockers Pussy Riot, not with the criminals who generate much of the nation’s
economic activity.
Russia’s ruthless treatment of the
former Soviet Union’s satellite nations
has unleashed a backlash that makes
the nation among the most despised
on earth — and consequently one of
the most vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
Bombings in Volgograd timed in connection with the passing of the Olympic
torch through the city on Dec. 30 killed
34 people.
Muslim groups have issued a chilling
warning to expect more of the same. The
Pentagon has assured the press that the
U.S. Navy has stationed a destroyer and
an amphibious ship in the Black Sea near
Sochi in case a crisis arises.
We believe that a crisis arose on the
day the IOC chose Sochi for the Winter
Games. The Olympics were created to
stand for a “universal quest for peace,
moral integrity and an exalted mix of
mind, body, and spirit that transcends
culture.” Nothing about the savage, corrupt nation of Russia embodies that
standard.
If disaster should strike the Games,
IOC members who pushed to have them
held in Sochi must be held accountable.
CEO/PRINCIPAL
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WiG Publishing, LLC. © 2013
Please recirculate and recycle this publication.
Louis Weisberg
lweisberg@wisconsingazette.com
NATIONAL EDITOR
Lisa Neff
lmneff@wisconsingazette.com
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
Eric Van Egeren,
Maureen M. Kane
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CONTRIBUTORS
Kaitlyn Weisensel
kweisensel@wisconsingazette.com
Anita Gielow
Katie Belanger, Stephanie Beecher,
Jamakaya, Mike Muckian, Jay Rath,
Matthew Reddin, Anne Siegel, Gregg
Shapiro
The triumph of love
ON THE RECORD
“I’m so embarrassed because
people are taking pictures of me
and I don’t know how to smile,
and just be awkward, so I stick my
tongue out, because I don’t know what else to do.”
— Troubled teen idol MILEY CYRUS explaining to
Barbara Walters why she’s always photographed
with her tongue hanging out of her mouth like a dog
suffering from the heat.
“I don’t hate him at all. I still think he’s cute.
— Out singer LANCE BASS saying that he forgives
Juan Pablo Galavis, of ABC’s “The Bachelor,” for telling a journalist that he didn’t think a gay or bisexual
bachelor would set a good example for kids. Galavis
also said gays are perverts.
“To state as a fact that a scientist dishonestly
molests or tortures data to serve a political agenda
would have a strong likelihood of damaging his
reputation within his profession, which is the very
essence of defamation.”
— JUDGE FREDERICK H. WEISBERG ruling that
a defamation suit brought by climatologist Michael
Mann against the far-right publication National
Review can proceed. The publication had compared
Mann to child molester Jerry Sandusky for writing
that global warming is real. The far right is heavily
funded by the fossil fuel industry.
“(Homosexuality) is not accepted here in the
Caucasus where we live. We do not have them in
our city.”
— Sochi Mayor ANATOLY PAKHOMOV insisting
there are no gay people in Sochi, a town of 343,000
residents that has several gay bars.
“Woody Allen is a living testament to the way
our society fails the survivors of sexual assault and
abuse.”
— DYLAN FARROW, daughter of Woody Allen’s
ex-partner Mia Farrow, in an open letter graphically
describing the sexual abuse she endured from Allen,
whom she regarded as her father. Farrow called
out the stars who have worked with Allen for their
silence on the issue.
“Today, the American people saw two very different visions for America. President Obama laid out a
bold, proactive plan to improve the lives of millions,
while the Republican Party in the House of Representatives spent the day rolling back basic freedoms
for women across this country.”
— ILYSE HOGUE, president of NARAL Pro-Choice
America, reacting to President Obama’s State of the
Union address on the same day that House Republicans voted to prohibit the use of federal funds,
including tax credits, to subsidize premiums for
insurance policies that include abortion coverage.
“If Mr. Putin listens to my album for an entire
week and can still pee standing up, then this Sochi
business has been for nothing!”
— Singer BOY GEORGE tweeting about the
impact that Russia’s new anti-gay law has had on
the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi.
| Februar y 6, 2014
Opinion
JAMAKAYA
Valentine’s Day 2014 is
shaping up to be one of the
happiest for many gay and
lesbian couples in America.
Abetted by the 2013
Supreme Court decision
that repealed part of the
Defense of Marriage Act,
nine more states legalized
same sex marriage in the
past year, bringing the total
to 17 states and D.C.
The movement has
been buoyed by pop culture endorsements, most
notably the award-winning
megahit “Same Love” by
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.
The song’s performance at
the Grammy Awards was
followed by the kind of joyfully chaotic mass nuptials
celebrated for years at Pride
festivals, this time broadcast to a billion people. A
glowing, specially deputized
Queen Latifah presided over
the ceremony.
HBO just debuted a new
Opinion
TIM DAHLBERG
The countdown to Sochi
was supposed to be joyous, a celebration of all
things Russian and Olympic. Instead it’s been nothing but a grim reminder that
Olympic officials had no
idea what they were getting when they bought into
Vladimir Putin’s visions of
surf and snow and handed
him a Winter Olympics to
call his own.
Every day seems to bring
a new threat or another
warning. Every day strains
the nerves more, to the
point where some athletes
are telling family and friends
it’s not worth the risk to go,
even for the most important
moment of their lives.
Suicide bombings a few
hundred miles away, with
threats of more to come in
Sochi itself. A militant group
nearby with an immense
hatred of Putin’s Russia and
little regard for human life.
And a general uneasiness
series called Looking. about
gay friends and lovers. The
commercial networks also
are increasing their gay
characters and storylines in
comedies and dramas. How
lovely that we’re not just
lesbian psychos, gay serial
killers and suicidal depressives anymore! Now we get
to fall in love, get married,
screw up our kids and break
each other’s hearts just like
straight people do!
Although political action
is essential to expand marriage equality (which is still
banned in 33 states, including Wisconsin), pop culture
is playing a critical role in
normalizing same-sex love.
With same-sex marriage an
increasing fact of life, the
censoriousness that denied
and distorted our emotional
and sexual lives is giving
way to greater openness
and more complex portraits.
The most effective element in the political campaign and popular messaging is love. Emphasizing
the love and commitment
same-sex couples feel for
each other is a powerful
way to humanize and build
empathy for people who
have been perceived as different and transgressive, if
not downright evil.
Power structures have not
been kind to gay and transgender people. Historically,
most religions declared
us sinful, the law made us
criminals and the medical establishment labeled
us mentally ill. Rejection,
imprisonment and torturous
experiments to change our
natures were once the norm.
Coming out, creating
communities and organizing
for change have destroyed
these defamatory perceptions and cruel practices.
Progress has been swift in
comparison to other movements for social justice,
some of which entailed centuries of struggle. We never
would have advanced as
we have without the movements for racial equality and
women’s liberation lighting
our way.
But our strongest motivation has been love. I’ve seen
17
it expressed continuously
over the four decades I’ve
been involved in Wisconsin’s LGBT community.
I’ve seen love in the commitment of many long-term
couples to their partners
and children in the absence
of legal, social and financial
supports for their families.
I’ve seen love in the countless unpaid hours activists
have put into organizing
support groups, Pride events
and lobbying campaigns.
I’ve seen love in the
extraordinary leadership
LGBT people have displayed
in responding to HIV/AIDS,
raising money and awareness, and tending to the
personal needs of those
affected. I’ve seen love in
the efforts to ease the burdens on LGBT youth, to protect them from hatred and
rejection, and to guide them
to a healthy adulthood.
It’s all about love. This
Valentine’s Day, kiss your
sweetie and give a collective
hug to the community that
helps sustain your love and
your life.
An Olympics on edge
that no matter how many
billions they’ve spent, the
Russians really aren’t ready
for this at all.
Consider: The same
Islamic militants who in
2004 assassinated the
Russian-backed
leader
of Chechnya — the father
of the current president
— have not only declared
their intention to attack the
games but also demonstrated they have the creativity
and means to do it.
“There is precedence to
this,” warned Lt. Col. Robert Schaefer, a Green Beret
who literally wrote the book
about the brutal conflict in
the North Caucasus region.
“It’s important to think
about how (Chechen president Ramzan) Kadyrov’s
father was killed at a stadium rally. During construction at the stadium they
buried two 155 mm artillery
shells in the concrete below
the VIP bleachers. Then
they waited until the elder
Kadyrov attended and they
detonated it.”
Think about that as you
watch the opening ceremo-
nies unfold in all their grandeur on television.
Yes, Olympics have been
a target of terrorists ever
since the 1972 massacre of
Israeli athletes and team
members in Munich. A lone
wolf bombing in Atlanta
killed one person in 1996,
and the Winter Olympics in
Salt Lake City was clouded
by fears of the 9/11 attacks
that had taken place just
months earlier.
But never have the threats
seemed so real as they do
in Putin’s playground by the
Black Sea, just on the other
side of the mountains from
an area steeped in blood
and years of conflict that
include two recent wars
between Russia and Chechnya unmatched for the brutality on both sides.
“It doesn’t take an expert
to look at that region and say
the Olympics will be such a
large target that insurgents
will not try to do something,” said Schaefer, who
will be in Sochi as a security
analyst for NBC. “There has
been an average of 10 to 15
attacks in North Caucasus
every month in recent years.
It’s just now the press is
paying more attention to it.”
That’s more than can
be said about the IOC delegates who decide where
every Olympics will go. They
were won over in 2007 by
a personal appearance by
Putin, voting for his Olympics over Pyeongchang,
South Korea, and Salzburg,
Austria, after being assured
that the coastal area of
Sochi and the snow-capped
mountains behind it would
provide a spectacular backdrop for the games.
Apparently, the delegates
never read the history about
a region long in turmoil. Or
maybe they were too busy
having cocktails and getting
pictures taken with Putin to
look at a map that shows
Dagestan, now the most
volatile part of the area, is
just 300 miles east of Sochi.
Now the best hope for an
Olympics that never should
have been in Sochi is that
this is one more time that
Putin gets what he wants.
Tim Dahlberg is an AP
sports columnist.
18
Februar y 6, 2014
AUTO GAZE
Concept cars that made it — or didn’t
By Dee-Ann Durbin
AP auto writer
Prototype cars — also called “concepts”
— appear at every auto show, including the
greater Milwaukee event set for February.
They’re a way for companies to test ideas
and they hint at future design concepts.
Audi, Nissan, Kia, Volkswagen and others
had concept cars at this year’s Detroit auto
show, which opened to the public Jan. 18.
Some will be nearly identical to the cars that
wind up in dealerships; others will be more
outlandish.
Here are some past prototypes that
debuted in Detroit over the last decade, and
what happened to them.
FIVE THAT MADE IT
CHEVROLET VOLT (2007) — GM’s revolutionary electric car with a backup gas
engine debuted as a sexy concept car in
2007. So fans were disappointed with the
dull looks of the production version revealed
a year later. The car required significant
design changes to improve its efficiency. But
at least the idea made it to market. The Volt
went on sale in 2010.
FISKER KARMA (2008) — The hybrid
sports car, with its long hood and flowing
lines, wowed crowds as a concept car in
2008. The $95,000 Karma went on sale
three years later. But it was plagued with
safety recalls, and Fisker eventually halted
production and filed for bankruptcy protection. That wasn’t the Karma’s final chapter,
however. At last year’s auto show, a company called VL Automotive showed the Destino — a Karma body with a Corvette engine
under the hood. This year, VL Automotive is
expected to show off a convertible Destino.
CADILLAC CONVERJ (2009) — A rakish
Cadillac with the Chevy Volt’s plug-in hybrid
powertrain wowed crowds in 2009, a recession year when there was little to cheer
about in the auto industry. The Converj,
renamed the ELR, re-emerged in production
form at the 2013 show, and is set to go on
sale early this year.
FORD VERTREK (2011) — There’s no
Vertrek on the lot at your local Ford dealer.
But there is a Ford Escape, the small crossover SUV that the sleek Vertrek foreshadowed in its 2011 Detroit debut. The new
Escape was a radical departure from the
boxy old version, and customers welcomed
it. The Escape was the 9th best-selling
vehicle in the U.S. last year.
HYUNDAI HCD-14 (2013) — The elegant
HCD-14 previewed the new Genesis, which
Hyundai revealed this year. Some details
P H O T O : F O R D M O T O R C O M PA N Y
The Vertrek concept car, shown at the auto shows in 2011, foreshadowed the Ford
Escape.
from the concept, like the rear-hinged rear
doors and the giant grille, didn’t survive.
But the Genesis teems with new technology, including automatic parking and compatibility with the Google Glass wearable
computer.
FIVE THAT DIDN’T
DODGE KAHUNA (2003) — Aimed at
surfers, the Kahuna was a cross between a
Woodie wagon and a minivan. It did have
one feature that eventually made it into
Chrysler’s minivans: flexible seats that were
a forerunner to the Stow ’N’ Go seating
introduced in 2005.
INFINITI KURAZA (2005) — With the
boxy, wagon-like Kuraza, Infiniti was exploring how to give equal seating space to six
passengers. It never made it to Infiniti showrooms. But the concept bears an uncanny
resemblance to the seven-passenger Ford
Flex.
CHRYSLER IMPERIAL (2006) — The
beautiful and imposing Imperial sedan was
more Rolls Royce than Chrysler. An homage
to Imperial sedans of the 1930s and 1940s,
the Chrysler Imperial was rumored to be
headed for market in 2010. But before that
could happen, Chrysler filed for bankruptcy
protection, and the Imperial disappeared.
MAZDA FURAI (2008) — A super car
with wildly undulating lines was the apex
of Mazda’s nagare — or “flow” in design
language. A fire accidentally destroyed the
lone model that same year. But before its
demise, the Furai helped Mazda prove its
sporting chops.
TOYOTA A-BAT (2008) — The funky
A-Bat pickup truck had a 4-foot bed that
could be extended to 6 feet, as well as a fourpassenger compartment. Toyota shelved
it when the recession slowed demand for
pickups — especially weird-looking ones.
!
T
U
O
WiG
| Februar y 6, 2014
19
WISCONSIN GAZETTE ENTERTAINMENT
Kellan Lutz lives childhood fantasies
By Izumi Hasegawa
The Interview People
Actor/model Kellan Lutz might look familiar for his
roles as Emmett Cullen in the Twilight movies or as
Poseidon in 2011’s Immortals. Or you might recognize
him as one of the models featured in the 2010 Calvin
Klein X underwear campaign.
The buff 28-year-old is currently on screen in The
Legend of Hercules, in which he plays the title role.
When he’s not playing gods, Lutz is supporting PETA
and efforts to rebuild New Orleans. He also endorsed
the documentary film The Paw Project, which discourages the cruelty of declawing cats.
Izumi Hasegawa: Let me remind you that after
“Immortals” I told you that you would be resurrected
and be immortal again.
Kevin Lutz: And look, here I am as another god.
You go from one god to being another god. Have
you been able to distinguish all of the scars and injuries yet on your body?
I do, I do. They are my tattoos. I have no tattoos. I
view my scars as my memories. I’m not a journalist,
but my body tells a story. As people ask, “Where is
that from?” there is a good story with it.
What is your best scar from this project?
Uh … (Laughs.) You had to go there. Riding a horse,
you get a lot of chaffing, which I learned, and it’s not
quite fun when you’re wearing a skirt and you don’t
have jeans on. So, I have, on my ass, two lines of scars
(laughs) that I had to put a lot of bio-oil on to heal as
fast as I could. So, there’s my most iconic scars.
You work out a lot, so what was going through
your mind when you were working out for this film?
I live an active lifestyle. I really enjoy being outdoors, and I’d rather play basketball or snowboard. I
have fun in the gym. I get creative. I compete against
myself. As soon as it feels like work — I don’t like
working. That’s why I choose these projects that are
fun to me. As a little kid, I had middle-child syndrome.
I grew up on a lot of land, with a lot of farm animals,
and I had a lot of alone time. I was able to use my
imagination and create the world of Tarzan, of HeMan, of Hercules, of Ninja Turtles. It was a lonely
time that I filled with my fantasy world. Hercules was
always that original hero for me, and now that I’m
an actor — I never had the dream to be an actor — I
found this passion that I get to re-live and fulfill this
childhood dream of bringing this character to the big
screen. I was very well prepared for it, because of my
education and my knowledge of Greek mythology. I
really loved The Iliad and The Odyssey. I read those
before they were mandatory in school. With preparing to ride the horse and the sword fighting, I had
Liam McIntyre, as my brother in arms, who played
Spartacus. I love that show. Everyone on this film was
family. I’m proud of everyone’s hard work. But Liam,
being the fighter that he is — I came to him as humbly as I could and I was like, “Look. I don’t have time
to really learn. Will you help me?” And he was like,
“Yeah, brother.” You know, he’s Australian, and he’s
all happy. We would just battle each other. I was living
my childhood dream. I fully embraced it.
This is the most diverse, physically, that you’ve
done in terms of the disciplines — with the battle
sequences and the horse riding. How much did you
work with your stunt coordinator in terms of training
for the individual disciplines?
God, that man — he’s like Indiana Jones. He’s our
main stunt coordinator and just such a great lad.
You can either have a stunt coordinator who knows
his stuff but doesn’t know how to work with actors,
much like directors, and I was blessed on this movie
because Renny (Harlin) is such a visually stunning
director who knows how to work with actors. Raleigh
(the stunt coordinator) is the same way. He’s done
James Bond. He did Alexander and was telling me
stories about him riding a horse, and he lost control
of the horse and had to bail and flew right into a tree.
The rigorous hours that I had to learn how to ride a
horse, as fast as I did within the scenes — he made
me feel like an all-star. Toward the end of the movie,
he was like, “I don’t know how you did it!”
How many of the stunts did you get to do yourself? Or did you have a stuntman do them for you?
I had a stuntman named Danko that looked like
me and had the most boring time on the set because
I did everything. There were a few times when, due
to my rigorous schedule, I had Kurry, who was my
horse rider, and Danko, who was my fight double. I
was working double units, six-day weeks — whenever
I couldn’t work, they would step in, because I was in
every single shot, which I loved. A big difference from
Twilight days where I wanted more, but script-wise
this was all I was doing. I love working, I love being on
set, and time goes by the fastest when you’re on set.
Sixteen hours just fly by.
What’s it like for you watching the movie?
I’ve never felt such a sense of accomplishment. I’m
so proud of the work that I did and for me, for the
inner child that’s always in all of us.
20
Februar y 6, 2014
Latest music releases by groups with
upcoming Wisconsin performances
By Gregg Shapiro
Jamie Stewart.
Contributing writer
PENTATONIX PERFORMS ON FEB. 11
AT THE RIVERSIDE IN MILWAUKEE
The 2011 winners of NBC’s talent show The
Sing-Off, a cappella group Pentatonix, featuring out founding member Mitch Grassi,
returns with PTX Vol. II. The disc includes
three Pentatonix originals, including “Natural Disaster,” “Run To You” and “Love Again”
(which has club hit written all over it).
As with the group’s previous EP, Pentatonix exhibits great taste when it comes
to cover material, including Macklemore &
Ryan Lewis’ “Can’t Hold Us,” Jessie Ware
and Sampha’s “Valentine” and Calvin Harris
and Ellie Goulding’s “Need Your Love.” They
save the best for last with a delirious Daft
Punk medley, which incorporates seven
of the Grammy-winning electronic dance
duo’s tunes, ranging from early (“One More
Time”) to late (“Get Lucky”). Sky Ferreira.
the modern pop of “I Blame Myself” and
“Love in Stereo,” the tracks on this album
prove that Sky Ferreira’s time has come.
Pentatonix.
DALE EARNHARDT JR. JR.
PERFORMS ON MARCH 13 AT
TURNER HALL BALLROOM IN
MILWAUKEE
XIU XIU PERFORMS ON MARCH 3
AT THE FREQUENCY IN MADISON
Lucius.
LUCIUS PERFORMS ON FEB. 22 AT
HIGH NOON SALOON IN MADISON
Mixed-gender quintet Lucius is nothing
short of luscious on the tasty, assortedflavors debut album Wildewoman. The title
cut suggests vintage country influences,
with its “howdy pardner” tip of the cowboy
hat. “Turn It Around” turns it around, spicing things up with a post-modern girl group
vibe about a woman “looking through the
wrong end of a telescope.” Lucius changes
it up again with the folksy blues of “Go
Home” (just wait for the “I don’t need you
anymore” wail) and “Hey, Doreen” is a pop
delight. Just when you get comfortable,
Lucius conjures tUnE-yArDs in the rhythmic
tribal cacophony of the aptly named “Nothing Ordinary.” Just as swiftly, Lucius returns
to acoustic territory on the pretty “Two
of Us on the Run.” “Monsters” could be
the soundtrack to your night terrors, while
“How Loud Your Heart Gets” returns your
pulse rate to normal. As much homage to Nina Simone as it
is a deconstruction, Nina by Xiu Xiu, led by
queer frontman Jamie Stewart, may not
only change the way you listen to Simone,
but also the way you listen to Xiu Xiu. With
so much from which to choose, Nina also
says something about Stewart’s choice of
songs (why, for instance, did he choose to
forego “Mississippi Goddamn” and “Feeling Good”?) Stewart sounds as though he’s
been smoking filterless cigarettes on the
scorched and still smoldering “Don’t Smoke
in Bed.” “Pirate Jenny” is suitably Brechtian
and as dramatic as you might expect. “See
Line Woman” picks up the pace considerably, and Stewart rises to the occasion,
whereas “Wild Is the Wind” blows in on the
subtlest of breezes. Not entirely abandoning the Brian Wilson
surfer influence and kissing everything with
Flaming Lips-style flair, dynamic Detroit
duo Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. revs up the electro
dance music effects on the aptly titled The
Speed of Things. Restarting their engines and
driving in the electro lane, DEJJ leaves others in its dust on dazzling dance tracks such
as “Run,” “Mesopotamia,” “War Zone,” and,
of course, “If You Didn’t See Me (Then You
Weren’t On The Dancefloor).” Speed kills! SKY FERREIRA PERFORMS ON
MARCH 9 AT BMO HARRIS BRADLEY
CENTER IN MILWAUKEE
Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and Katy
Perry better keep a collective eye on Sky
Ferreira, whose long-awaited full-length
debut Night Time, My Time was one of the
best albums of 2013. Edgy and exhilarating,
Ferreira, who co-wrote all 12 songs, is an
undeniable force, confidently drawing on a
range of styles and effortlessly making them
her own. From the Suicide-inspired electro
on “Omanko” and “Ain’t Your Right” to the
timeless retro of “Boys” and “24 Hours” and
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
21
| Februar y 6, 2014
‘Whipping Man’ takes rare look at Confederate Jews
By Matthew Reddin
Contributing writer
The Whipping Man begins like a lot of
other fictional works set in the post-Civil
War South: The scion of a slave-holding
family returns home, wounded in defeat, to
find that two of his family’s former slaves
are the only remaining residents of the
plantation. The three spend the next few
days pondering their futures in a radically
altered world.
But writer Matthew Lopez’s play has a
twist that fundamentally shifts the terrain
of his story: The plantation-owning soldier
and his former slaves are Jewish, and the
perplexed trio grapple with their futures
amid the ruins while coincidentally preparing for a Passover Seder, a ritual Jewish meal
that celebrates the Hebrews’ liberation from
slavery in Egypt.
Director Brent Hazelton says the coincidence is true to history. In 1865, Passover
began within the week of Lee’s surrender
at Appomattox Court House, and one-third
of the United States’ Jewish citizens (about
50,000, he estimates) lived in the South.
Hazelton is not aware of any historical
evidence that Southern slaves were also
raised Jewish, as both the older Simon
(James Craven) and the younger John (Ro
Boddie) are in the play. But it’s entirely possible, since Jews accounted for 1.25 percent
of all Southern slave owners. And it certainly makes for an interesting dramatic setting.
“You have this really interesting question: With a belief system that is so firmly
grounded in a liberation from slavery, how
do these people become slaveholders?”
Hazelton asks. “Then, you’ve got people
who are actually slaves and actually Jews
at the same time, trying to work out the
larger theological implications of that.”
And work it out they must, from the confining, shadowy wreckage of their former
home, a haunting combination of refuge
and prison that none of them can escape.
Caleb DeLeon (Josh Landay), the returning
Confederate soldier, is physically trapped,
limping into the home with a gangrenous
leg that must eventually be amputated. But
neither Simon nor John can leave either,
Hazelton says, as they haven’t decided
whether to stay and work for DeLeon for
wages or embark into the changed world
around them.
Add in the fact that each possesses a volatile secret, and the room in which they’re
trapped becomes even more claustrophobic.
Hazelton says the play feels like a mix
of Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller and
August Wilson — high praise indeed, but
praise that he says Lopez earns. “There’s
really strong emotional hooks for the individual characters, and everybody’s wrestling with these huge ideas; but there’s also
a lot of interesting, really fundamentally
American questions in there, about how we
let one another into our lives,” he says. “It’s
a really smart, really complex play.”
Much of the complexity comes from how
Lopez’s characters tackle the elephant in
the room — the emancipation that has
forever changed both the country and the
three individuals. Simon and John have different attitudes toward the change. John
feels entitled to “equality in the strongest
sense of the word,” a perspective that
grates against Simon’s cautious pragmatism. Simon believes that freedom can’t be
given, but that it must be earned.
While Caleb’s enlistment in the Confederate army was based more on defending
ON STAGE
The Whipping Man opens Feb. 8, and
runs through March 16 at the Rep’s
Stiemke Studio. Performances are 7:30
p.m. on weeknights, with 1:30 p.m.
Wednesday matinees; 8 p.m. Fridays and
Saturdays; and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sundays.
Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased
at 414-224-9490 or milwaukeerep.com.
The rebel soldier and
his former slaves are
Jewish. They grapple
with their futures
while celebrating the
Hebrews’ freedom from
bondage in Egypt.
his homeland than defending slavery, the
institution is still all he’s ever known, and
Hazelton says he spends much of the play
wrestling with the implications of slavery
as his family’s legacy. The three characters’
shared faith colors their opinions and reactions as each tries to determine what his
religious and moral obligations demand of
him.
Hazelton says unanswered questions put
the trio in a holding pattern, preventing
them from moving forward.
“Suddenly the world has changed for
these people,” he says. “The world they
woke up in that morning bears no resemblance to the one they went to sleep in.”
With contemporary America still haunted by the ramifications of slavery, it’s understandable why these three characters at the
dawn of emancipation would be so baffled,
Hazelton adds.
While the play has special cultural significance for Jewish and African-American
audiences, the universal human drama at
its core will connect with all audience members, according to Hazelton.
“You’ve got three people locked in this
really big struggle,” he explains. “When
we’re hitting it, it’s a pretty compelling
thing to watch. … It’s a very easy play to put
yourself into.”
22
Februar y 6, 2014
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra gives
us richer lives, but are we giving back?
By Thomas Fritsch
Special to WiG
I can clearly remember my first piano
lesson — in a big, gray house in a suburb
of Cleveland. It was 1977, and I was 9 years
old. Little did I know that I would spend
many hours of my life in that place, where
music would become a part of me in a very
real sense.
Classical music is in my DNA. When they
moved to this country in the late 1950s, my
German parents brought European sensibilities about it with them. WCLV, our classical radio station in Cleveland, played in the
background most every day. I was swaddled
in its reassuring and familiar sounds.
My parents ranked classical music on a
par with great literature, painting, architecture and sculpture. My dad believed it
provided an acoustic history of the time it
was composed. To him, listening to classical
music was time travel.
As a teen, I attended Cleveland Orchestra
concerts with a friend when my parents
were too tired from the week’s work to use
their season tickets. Even at 13, I knew I
was part of something magical. During the
1980s, Christoph von Dohnanyi directed the
Cleveland Orchestra. Some of the concerts
were so accurate and lyrical that I remember them even now.
In my later teens, I entered piano competitions and took part in more recitals than I
can count. At age 17, I had the opportunity
to play Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D
minor with the Canton (Ohio) Symphony —
an unforgettable experience. Now, at age
46, I still play and practice the piano when I
have time. Like countless others, I wish I had
practiced more when I was younger. But my
ongoing exposure to serious music changed
me forever. I know that I would be a lesser
person today if I had not been engaged
by the works of such masters as Bach,
Beethoven and Brahms over my lifetime.
The reason I’m sharing my personal journey with classical music is to put a face
on the plight of the Milwaukee Symphony
Orchestra, which stands at a perilous crossroads. A confluence of events has resulted
in a deficit of $5 million that threatens the
orchestra’s existence. (For details, listen
to an interview with the orchestra CEO
Mark Niehaus at wuwm.com/post/reportmilwaukee-symphony-orchestra-needs5-million-avoid-shutdown.)
The situation is particularly disturbing
because the MSO has never sounded better. The orchestra has been showered with
accolades. Following a recent appearance
at Carnegie Hall, the MSO was described by
The New York Times as “a shiny young exam-
P H OTO : T H O M A S F R I STSC H
The author practices piano during his boyhood in Cleveland.
ple of America’s virtuoso orchestra tradition,” adding: “One rarely has the opportunity to luxuriate in such sonic splendor.”
Go to a concert and you’ll understand.
You can feel the players’ burning energy as
they collaborate with some of the greatest
minds in history, producing an acoustical
experience that electrifies the mind and
pulls at the heart. A live MSO performance
has transformative power.
I have a vested and practical interest in
seeing the MSO survive and flourish. My
partner of 17 years plays principal bassoon.
But even if Ted were not part of my life, I
would be devastated to watch this remarkable ensemble buckle under a weight of
debt that has been unfairly attributed to
“poor management.”
The contributions of the LGBT community to classical music cannot be overemphasized. According to musicologists,
likely LGBT composers include Schubert,
Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Aaron Copland,
Leonard Bernstein, Jennifer Higdon and
Wendy Carlos. Born in 1939 as Walter Carlos, Wendy Carlos composed tracks for
films such as A Clockwork Orange, The Shining and Tron.
And so I ask you, all of my LGBT brothers
and sisters and allies, to visit the MSO’s
website at www.mso.org and make a contribution. I’ve wondered whether we could
even live in Milwaukee without the cultural and economic benefits of a first-rate
orchestra. Perhaps we could, but I believe
our lives would be diminished.
Thomas Fritsch is director of the Parkinson
Research Institute of the Wisconsin Parkinson
Association. He is at tfritsch.pri@gmail.com.
Florentine Studio artists
enchant in ‘Opera’s
Greatest Hits’ program
By Tom Strini
From striniblogspot.com
Before Julie Tabash, Erin Gonzalez, Aaron
Short and Pablo Siqueiros even sang a note
the evening of Feb. 1, happiness filled the
Florentine Opera Center.
And why not? The four young singers,
the S-A-T-B Florentine Studio Artists, stood
beaming and eager in full view before the
concert. A big crowd of opera fans and
friends of the company — many of them
know one another and the singers — socialized amiably. The room, the Florentine’s
Riverwest rehearsal space, made us feel like
insiders.
For most of its life, the building was a
factory, complete with truck-sized overhead
door. A few years ago, owners Cathy and
Mario Costantini, who operate the La Lune
Collection furniture company in the same
complex, leased it to the opera company.
Now it’s like a tech start-up’s hip loft.
This Opera’s Greatest Hits program was
my first chance to hear this edition of the
Studio Artists for a full evening. The very
capable Ruben Piirainen accompanied. Scott
S. Stewart, the Florentine’s chorus master,
oversees the studio artists. He arranged the
program and served as master of ceremonies. Stewart introduced the 14 numbers,
but the singers gave prefaces to set the
scene. Smart. All four singers showed great
poise and a sense of humor in speaking to
the crowd. They’re charmers; just being in
the room with them is fun.
And what voices! Excellent intonation, full
support and projection, clear articulation all
around. Gonzalez’s rich, dark mezzo, especially, impressed.
The repertoire, quartets and duets aside,
comprised the sorts of pieces you might
hear at the Metropolitan Opera Auditions:
“Una voce poco fa” (Rossini’s Barber), “Una
furtiva lagrima”(Donizetti’s Elixir), “Habañera” (Bizet’s Carmen) and so on.
But Stewart also chose a few pieces
that you don’t hear that often. Either they
haven’t quite made the leap from opera to
recital, or the operas have fallen out of the
P H O T O : K AY L A B R U S S / F LO R E N T I N E O P E R A
The S-A-T-B Florentine Studio Artists.
rep and the selections live on only in recitals
and contests. Siqueiros gave an excellent
account of “O vin disspie la tristesse” from
Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet, and Short made
every second count in the two-minute “It’s
about the way people is made, I reckon,”
from Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah.
Tabash, Siqueiros, Short, Gonzalez. They
were on fire, but only metaphorically. The
fire extinguisher stayed in its rack. They balanced and blended beautifully in the ensemble numbers, the women in the barcarolle
from Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann and
the men in “Au fond du temple saint” from
Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers. The big finish comprised two quartets, the familiar “Bella figlia
dell’amore” from Rigoletto and the unfamiliar but worthy “Take Care of this House”
from Leonard Bernstein’s 1600 Pennsylvania
Avenue, arranged by Arnold Freed.
After the concert, people hung around for
a while to congratulate the singers and bask
in their glow.
Next up for the Florentine Studio Artists:
Festa Fiorentina, Feb. 14–16 at Marcus Center
Vogel Hall.
Go; I think you’ll be happy you did.
For more of Tom Strini’s reviews and
insights into Milwaukee’s cultural scene,
go to striniwritesblogspot.com.
| Februar y 6, 2014
23
24
Februar y 6, 2014
ENTERTAINMENT BRIEFS
National
‘BACK TO THE FUTURE’ MUSICAL
PLANNED FOR WEST END
Director Robert Zemeckis will return to
the Back to the Future franchise — this time
on stage, not screen. A musical adaptation
of the original 1985 film was announced last
month. It will bring Marty McFly, Doc Brown
and their time-traveling DeLorean together
again on London’s West End. Zemeckis is
slated to write the book with Bob Gale and
Jamie Lloyd, and Alan Silvestri, who have
scored many of Zemeckis’ films, and Glen
Ballard will create new music and lyrics.
Lloyd will also direct.
RUTGERS OFFERS BEYONCÉ COURSE
The Department of Women’s and Gender
Studies at Rutgers University is now offering
a course called “Politicizing Beyoncé.” Kevin
Allred, the doctoral student who is teaching
the class, tells the
university’s online
news site that he
is using Beyoncé’s
career as a way
to explore American race, gender
and sexual politics. The class will
include an analysis
of Beyoncé videos
and lyrics with readings from black feminists. Rutgers also has a class examining the
theology of Bruce Springsteen lyrics.
GLAAD ANNOUNCES NOMINEES
On Jan. 30, gay advocacy group GLAAD
announced 130 nominees, 37 of them
Spanish-language nominees, for its 25th
annual GLAAD Media Awards. Nominees
include performers Elton John and Lady
Gaga, the films Dallas Buyers Club and Blue
is the Warmest Color, and the online Netflix
series Orange is the New Black. The GLAAD
Media Awards honor outstanding images of
the LGBT community in categories including
music, movies, TV and journalism. They’re
presented every spring in Los Angeles and
New York.
Other nominations include Kill Your Darlings, starring Daniel Radcliffe as gay writer
Allen Ginsberg, freshman TV series Orphan
Black and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, lesbian sisterduo Tegan and Sara, and the Liberace biopic
Behind the Candelabra.
Local
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN DIES
OF OVERDOSE
Academy Award-winning actor Philip
Seymour Hoffman has died of an apparent
drug overdose.
The actor, 46, who has spoken publicly
about his problems with drug abuse, was
found unresponsive on the bathroom floor
of his Greenwich Village apartment by
police responding to a 911 call on Feb. 2.
A police spokesman told Reuters that
Hoffman was found with a syringe in his arm
and two small plastic bags nearby containing a substance suspected of being heroin.
Hoffman, who was considered one of his
generation’s best actors, won a best actor
Oscar for playing gay writer Truman Capote
in the film Capote. He also was nominated
for three best supporting actor awards.
After making more than a dozen films,
Hoffman became famous for playing a lovelorn gay man in 1997’s Boogie Nights, a
movie about the porn industry that also
made Mark Wahlberg a star.
PETE SEEGER DEAD AT 94
MÖTLEY CRÜE TO
APPEAR AT SUMMERFEST
Hair-metal legend Mötley Crüe has been
performing for more than 30 years, but
the group’s infamously hedonistic lifestyle is finally coming to an end. The band
announced on Jan. 28 that it’s embarking
on a final tour this summer. Over the next
two years, the group will perform in 72
U.S. markets before traveling abroad for an
international leg.
Among the dates already announced
is a performance at Summerfest on July
4, making Mötley Crüe the fifth Marcus
Amphitheatre headliner announced. Formerly announced headliners include Bruno
Mars, Lady Gaga, Dave Matthews Band and
Zac Brown Band. Mötley Crüe will perform
there and elsewhere on the tour with special
guest Alice Cooper.
MILWAUKEE ARTS BOARD NAMES
ARTISTS OF THE YEAR
Pete Seeger, the banjo-picking troubadour who introduced generations of Americans to their folk music heritage, died Jan.
27 at age 94.
As a harbinger of the period’s national
folk revival, Seeger became known in the
1940s for writing or co-writing such songs
as “If I Had A Hammer,” “Turn, Turn, Turn”
and “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine,” as well as
for popularizing “We Shall Overcome,” the
anthem of the civil rights movement. He
got caught in the Communist witchhunt of
the 1950s, when he was called before the
House Un-American Activities Committee
and ultimately blacklisted from the radio.
But he would later call those years, during
which he performed at colleges across the
country, the high point of his career.
Seeger eventually returned to the airwaves on the Smothers Brothers variety
show in 1967 and continued performing
throughout his life. In 1997, he earned a
Grammy for best traditional folk album for
his recording Pete. In 2011, supported by two
canes, he led an Occupy Wall Street protest
through Manhattan. Seeger’s tradition lives
on through his artistic descendants, including Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Dave
Matthews and Emmylou Harris.
The Milwaukee Arts Board on Jan. 27
named Evelyn Patricia Terry, an artist, educator and curator who has worked to establish historically disenfranchised artists, and
Barbara Leigh, co-founder of the Milwaukee
Public Theater, as 2014 Artists of the Year.
The board has been naming Artists of the
Year, who receive awards of $1,500, for 19
years.
Terry’s works are represented in more
than 400 collections internationally. She’s
an influential figure in Milwaukee’s AfricanAmerican artistic community, although her
work has inspired artists from all racial
backgrounds over the past 40 years.
Both artists will be honored at a March
reception.
DAVID HYDE PIERCE TO HOLD
MASTER CLASS AT TEN CHIMNEYS
Out actor David Hyde Pierce will serve as
the 2014 master teacher at Ten Chimneys’
annual Lunt-Fontanne acting fellowship in
Genessee Depot, according to the foundation. The Tony- and Emmy-winning actor,
known best for his unique deadpan humor
utilized to mirthful effect as Dr. Niles Crane
on TV’s Frasier, will help Ten Chimneys
develop and focus the curriculum for the
weeklong immersion experience, which is
offered to 10 of the nation’s top regional
actors each year. Previous instructors and
BRIEFS next page
‘Shooting Star’ dredges up
former lovers’ memories
By Matthew Reddin
Contributing writer
We’ve all done it: You’re minding your
own business, walking down the street,
and then you see that person from your
past — ex-lover, former best friend, old
neighbor who hated you — whom you’d do
anything to avoid. And because you’re free,
just walking down the street, you can brush
right past, pretending not to see, avoiding
the terrifying prospect of having to dredge
up all those old memories.
The characters of Shooting Star, onstage
at the Boulevard Theatre, don’t have that
luxury. They’re two former college sweethearts, decades past their messy breakup,
and they’re trapped together in a small
airport bar by a cruel, inconvenient snowstorm that’s grounded their respective
flights home. And so they’re forced to
dredge up those old memories — possibly,
as it turns out, for the better.
David Oswald is directing actors Anita
Domnitz and Jaime Jastrab in this show, a
memory play both in subject and structure.
Both characters, when not speaking to each
other about their lives then and now, interact freely with the audience, providing context and details about their former selves.
Those selves, once idealistic students at
the University of Wisconsin-Madison, are
much different than present-day Elena and
Reed, an unmarried, still-counter-cultural
phone bank employee and a now-conservative businessman with a family, respectively. It’s a distinction not lost on the two. “The
realities of life hit them hard,” Oswald says.
Elena and Reed haven’t seen each other
since breaking up 20-odd years prior, and
their re-encounter runs the gamut of emotions, from laughter to pathos. It’s a combination that could be tough to balance,
but Oswald says writer Steven Dietz does
so easily. “I’ve had that experience, and
it’s right,” he says. “There’s a question of
whether you can go back.” Oswald says
Dietz also handles the plot well, keeping it
honest while throwing in a few twists and
turns to keep things interesting.
With only two characters to carry the
BRIEFS from prior page
curriculums have included the late Lynn
Redgrave on Shakespeare, Olympia Dukakis on Chekhov and Joel Grey on American
musical theatre.
MILWAUKEEHOME, HOTEL FOSTER
RAISE FUNDS FOR SXSW STAGE
A group of Milwaukee advocates, including MilwaukeeHome, The Hotel Foster and
Festival City, have teamed up to put Milwaukee musicians on the South by Southwest map by financing a stage at the annual
Austin music festival in March. Artists will
perform on a Milwaukee-only stage during one day of the festival to showcase the
Cream City’s musicians. To fund the project,
the collaborators have set up an Indiegogo
campaign through Feb. 17. More information
P H O T O : T R OY F R E U N D
Anita Domnitz and Jaime Jastrab in Boulevard Theatre’s Shooting Star.
story, it’s more important than usual for
Domnitz and Jastrab to both have a strong
bond onstage and to make the audience
feel invested in their story, Oswald says.
“The audience needs to be engaged in
this relationship,” he says, adding that he’s
asked the actors to make eye contact with
people directly during monologues instead
of just staring into space. It’s that fourthwall-breaking connection, he says, that’ll
make or break the show.
Many shows produced at the Boulevard feature minimalist sets more out of
necessity than purpose, but Oswald says
this isn’t one of them. Keeping the staging
reduced to a neutral set — a few benches to
stand in for airport seats — is just one more
way of keeping the focus on the relationship. (The play) is about these two people,”
he says, “and we don’t need anything to
distract from that.”
Oswald admits the play is designed to
appeal slightly more to audience members
in the same mid-life stage as Elena and
Reed, but certainly doesn’t think only they
will find it interesting. Shooting Star might
not be the most traditional love story, he
says, but it’s the sort of play any romantic
should be able to fall in love with.
ON STAGE
Shooting Star runs at the Boulevard
Theatre Feb. 5-16, with performances
at 7:30 p.m. weeknights, 8 p.m. Fridays
and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays.
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased
at boulevardtheatre.com.
about the initiative can be found at facebook.com/milwaukeehomesxsw.
PABST ADDS SECOND SHOW FOR
‘THE SING-OFF’ TOUR
The Pabst Theater Group announced on
Jan. 29 that a second performance by the
artists of the The Sing-Off live tour has been
scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on March 20, due
to overwhelming demand. The tour includes
artists from the successful NBC reality TV
show, where a cappella groups from across
the U.S. compete to be named the best
group in the country. Season 4 winners
Home Free, a country music-focused quintet, will be featured in the show along with
a selection of other contestants. Tickets are
$35.50 and are on sale now at 414-2863663 or pabsttheater.org.
— Matthew Reddin
| Februar y 6, 2014
25
26
Februar y 6, 2014
‘G.B.F.’ director Darren Stein says gay best
friends are a must-have for today’s woman
variety
By Gregg Shapiro
Gay filmmaker Darren Stein takes us back
to school with his campy and colorful new
comedy G.B.F. This is familiar territory for
Stein, who also directed Jawbreaker, the classic 1990s Mean Girls precursor.
G.B.F. (“gay best friend, for the uninitiated) cranks up the homo high school hi-jinx
with a story about an unintentional outing
and the resulting chaos that ensues. Narrator Tanner (Michael J. Willett) transforms
from invisible man on campus to the dude in
demand as he navigates the choppy waters
of the high school shark tank.
I spoke with director Darren Stein
about G.B.F. shortly before its theatrical
release this year.
OFF
your entire yarn
purchase with this flyer
(414) 263-1991
Are you still in touch with any of them?
I am! I think the relationship between
gay men and women is a very special one,
and not one that comes easily. It’s not like
you can just order up a gay friend — or any
PHOTOS BY RICHARD TERMINE
2445 n. holton
Gregg Shapiro: Were you someone’s GBF
in high school?
Darren Stein: I went to an all-boys school,
so I didn’t have that experience. I had female
friends in college. When I graduated from
college, I became very close with a close
friend of my mom’s (laughs). So, I always
had close female friends. Obviously, this is
before the GBF moniker was invented.
ENDS SUNDAY!
FEBRUARY 4 - 9 • MARCUS CENTER
MarcusCenter.org • Ticketmaster.com • 414-273-7206
Groups 10+ Save! Call 414-273-7121 ext 210
friend for that matter. Obviously, there’s a
certain absurdity to the trend of the GBF
and the idea that these girls today think
it’s something on a must-have list. The film
makes fun of that notion, but also celebrates
the friendships.
How would you sum up your high school
experience?
It wasn’t the most exciting experience of
my life (laughs). It was a very sports- and
academically-oriented school — and pretty
cliquey as well. Most of the guys came
from private and prep schools, and I came
from a public school. I didn’t really know
anyone when I came there. I was there from
(grades) 7 to 12, a full six years. Growing up,
high school movies such as Valley Girl, Pretty
In Pink, Ferris Bueller and Fast Times — all
those John Hughes movies especially —
presented a world that I personally didn’t
get to experience. But for gay (boys) in high
school, the girls give you validation, give you
self-esteem. They make you relevant to the
heterosexual male population, because the
straight guys want to know what makes you
so special or they want to use you to get to
girls. I think it’s a much more normalized
world when it’s a coed setting. I think I have
a small, special high school wound that I
didn’t get to experience this (laughs).
G.B.F. has a wonderful cast of new young
actors and seasoned pros, including Megan
Mullally, Natasha Lyonne and Rebecca
Gayheart (who also was in Jawbreaker).
For me, casting is the most important part
of the filmmaking process. I’m very specific
about each and every character. Especially
in a film such as G.B.F., where it’s such a
huge world of characters. It was a process
to find exactly the right person for each role
and make the film accessible, not just to
kids today, but people in their 20s, 30s, 40s
— every generation. I think every great teen
P H OTOS : CO U RT E SY
Above, a scene from G.B.F. Director
Darren Stein’s picture is inset.
‘It’s not like you can just
order up a gay friend —
or any friend for that
matter. ‘
movie should do that. We all went to high
school, we all have the wounds (and) the
happy memories. I think, for the audience,
using Sasha (Pieterse as Fawcett) from Pretty Little Liars is referencing something new in
pop culture. Whereas using someone such
as Rebecca Gayheart is a wink, because
she was in Jawbreaker (as) a teenager, and
now she’s a mother. Natasha Lyonne, who
was in But I’m a Cheerleader is a reference
to one of the pioneering LGBT teen films. I
think there was a wink and a nod to every
character. It’s an honor to be able to make a
film and you want to populate it with all the
right choices.
ON VIEW
G.B.F. is opening in select theaters this
month and is available through video ondemand systems.
27
| Februar y 6, 2014
Wine and chocolate pairings for your sweetie
By Michael Muckian
Contributing writer
St. Valentine’s Day may
not have been created by
the chocolate industry,
but it certainly helps support it.
The day honoring one
or more Christian saints
named Valentinus ranks
fourth in candy-giving holidays, making it a key contributor to the nation’s more
than $19.5 billion in chocolate sales each year, according to the National Confectioners Association. That’s a ton of
truffles and a king’s ransom in
Hershey Kisses.
A heart-shaped box of chocolates
has become de rigueur for those
who want to woo their ladies and
gentlemen fair. But what beverage is suitably romantic to wash
down the fermented seeds of the
Theobroma cacao tree?
On Feb. 14, many romancers
will chose Champagne and
other sparklers. But if bubbly is not your beverage of
love, other
wines are
e v e n
more
complementary to the various types
of chocolate. Following are some suggested pairings.
egory. The beautiful pink shade and
bright fruit flavors refresh and romance
the palate.
WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE
WITH MILK CHOCOLATE
For purists, white chocolate is not
chocolate at all, because it lacks the
cocoa solids that define the confection.
Nevertheless, some people prefer the
ivory-colored blend of cocoa butter,
sugar, milk solids and salt. Wines of a
slightly sweeter nature are called for
here.
The Mia Dolcea 2011 Moscato d’Asti
($13) fits the bill. Produced from Moscato grapes grown in Italy’s Piedmont
region, the wine named “My Sweet”
in Italian is characterized by a creamy
sweetness and a flavor palate redolent
of apricot, honey and pineapple. Subtle
acidity and a delicate mouthfeel add to
its appeal as a food wine.
For something similar, yet completely different, try the Heinz Eifel Eiswein
NV ($26 for a 375 ml bottle). It’s 70
percent Sylvaner grapes and 30 percent Riesling grapes frozen on the vine
before picking. This dessert wine from
Germany’s Rheinhessen region has an
intensely sweet flavor palate. Sip and
savor the flavors together after each
bite of white chocolate.
For something a little closer to home,
try Cedar Creek Rosé ($21), produced
by Cedarburg’s Cedar Creek Winery
from 90 percent Marechal Foch and
10 percent Edelweiss grapes. At 18.5
percent alcohol by volume, this rosé
fits squarely in the dessert wine cat-
Chocolate in one form or another has
been around since 1100 B.C., but milk
chocolate first emerged in Germany in
1839. Blending cocoa solids with milk
powder, liquid milk or condensed milk
gives the chocolate a lighter, slightly
sweeter flavor. Hershey is the leading
U.S. purveyor of milk chocolate.
Milk chocolate calls for different
wine pairings.
Since the movie Sideways, pinot noir
has emerged as one of the most provocative, sensual and romantic wines.
J Vineyards Estate Grown Pinot Noir
($34) is one of the category’s most
rewarding products. Created from pinot
clones grown in California’s Russian
River Valley, the wine offers spicy dark
fruit aromas and flavors of currant,
plum and cherry in the glass. The wine’s
acidity makes it food-friendly, and its
allure contributes to romance.
If you’re on a tighter budget — or
maybe a little less romance in your
heart — try the Cavicchioli 1928 Lambrusco Emila IGT Dolce NV (a mere
$7). This ruby red, semi-sweet wine has
flavors of black cherry and currants, as
well as a slight effervescence. It’s highly
approachable for the novice red wine
drinker.
If you favor Italian sparklers, you
might opt for Banfi’s Rosa Regale ($20).
Produced
WINE next page
28
r!
e
v
i
l
e
D
We
Februar y 6, 2014
Serve St. Supéry 2011 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon with dark chocolate
WINE from prior page
using the Charmat process rather than
Champagne’s traditional, double-fermentation approach, the wine is a collision
of cranberry and raspberry aromas and
flavors laced with a round finish and
crisp acidity that make it a good
palate cleanser. It’s deep-pink hue
looks good in the glass.
WITH DARK CHOCOLATE
Entrees, Pizza,
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Wednesdays
Half price beer
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Friday through Sunday
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Purists believe that dark
chocolate, with its high concentration of fermented cocoa
solids and its documented ability to
lower blood pressure, is the only chocolate worth eating. Its dark, rich flavors come
closest to providing the chocolate “experience” so many crave. With the right red
wine, which also provides health benefits,
dark chocolate can be part of a meal made
in heaven.
Start off strong by serving St. Supéry
2011 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon ($27).
The Napa Valley wine — a blend of 77 percent Cabernet, 11 percent merlot, 5 percent
Cabernet Franc, 5 percent Malbec and 2
percent Petite Verdot — represents the
consummate Bordeaux-style blend. With
its purplish-red color, blackberry and plum
aromas, and the Valley’s unique terroir,
this wine is finely framed and elegant in its
delivery.
For something more “rustic,” as the category is called, few can beat
the Frog’s Leap 2011 Zinfandel ($29).
Produced from 85 percent of the signature grape, 14.5 percent Petite Syrah and
0.5 percent Carignan, the Napa Valley wine
stresses big flavors over high alcohol levels.
The wine delivers like a harvest of summer
fruits — raspberry, fig and huckleberry for
starters — blended not as a jam but with taut
refinem e n t .
There is more
here
than
often meets
the palate.
But if your
sweetheart
already knows California reds from grape to glass,
something special may be in
order. Try combining your dark
chocolate selection with a 2008 Santi
Amarone della Valpolicella DOC ($45), one
of Italy’s most profound wines.
Grown in the country’s Veneto region,
Amarone producers take an extra step during the harvest process that makes the wine
so extraordinary. Grapes in the blend — 65
percent Corvina, 30 percent Rondinella and
5 percent Molinara — are harvested in
October then dried in an open shed for four
months. The drying time concentrates the
grapes’ natural sugars, resulting in a richly
condensed and deliciously powerful profile.
Flavors of plum and cherry team up with
hints of cloves and cinnamon in this deep
garnet-colored wine, with a taste of toasted
almonds on the back palate.
Amarone is not an everyday wine, so St.
Valentine’s Day may just be the day to share
it with someone you love.
Join WiG
on
Facebook
and
follow us
on Twitter.
| Februar y 6, 2014
Dishcrawl returns to Milwaukee
By Michael Muckian
Contributing writer
Tired of the same old restaurants and
dining companions? How would you like to
visit four different restaurants in one night
with as many as 30 new friends?
Dishcrawl is returning to Milwaukee with
a Feb. 11 whirlwind tour of four restaurants
in the city’s Third Ward. For $45 (excluding beverages), as many as 30 people are
expected to sample four different menus
from eateries within a 10-minute walk
of each other, according local Dishcrawl
“ambassador” Justin Lockridge.
“The route is designed to be walkable, but
if it’s really cold people can take their cars,”
Lockridge says.
Planning for the event is done via social
media. Diners don’t know which restaurants
are included until 48 hours prior to the
event. The spontaneity and camaraderie are
as key to the event’s success as the food,
Lockridge says.
A former waiter and chef turned restaurant consultant, Lockridge secured
his ambassadorship by applying to an ad
posted on Craigslist late last year by Dishcrawl’s national office in San Jose, Calif. The
organization sponsors Dishcrawls and other
similar dining events in 200 cities across
North America, including one last year in
Madison.
The current Dishcrawl follows on the
heels of Neighborfood, an event last May
that took participants on a more wide-ranging afternoon “appetizer” tour of eight different restaurants in and around downtown
Milwaukee. The city’s first Dishcrawl last
March brought 42 people to four restaurants for a tour similar to the one Lockridge
has planned for Feb. 11.
Lockridge and deputy ambassador Melanie Stenshaug, pastry chef at the Milwaukee
Cupcake Co., have chosen the restaurants
based on popularity, quality, variety and,
most importantly, the capacity to handle
the group. Diners will convene at the first
restaurant then travel together to the others
throughout the night.
Lockridge revealed to Wisconsin Gazette
that the group will begin the evening at Riverfront Pizzeria Pub & Grill, 509 E. Erie St.
The popular eatery on the Milwaukee River,
which earned four out of five stars from diners posting evaluations online, offers a wide
array of Italian and American specialties in
a convivial atmosphere that’s particularly
suitable for getting to know fellow diners,
the ambassador says.
“I won’t disclose the next two locations,
but I have said at least one is upscale and
will satisfy my craving for Berkshire pork,”
Lockridge says. “Since all the restaurants
are very close, that clue already has a lot of
people guessing.”
Thanks to Stenshaug’s participation, it’s
a good bet that the evening will end at
Milwaukee Cupcake Co., 316 N. Milwaukee
St., for a round of sweet treats. There’s
undoubtedly a Cream City Vanilla Bean cupcake or a Dreamsicle cupcake, made with
Sprecher’s Orange Dream soda, in some
lucky diner’s future.
Dishcrawl, which defines itself as an
online culinary community, is just one of
the events that the national office has sponsored in cities from Memphis to Montreal,
from Pittsburgh to Portland, Ore. Based on
the success of this month’s event, Milwaukee may be in line to host Battledish, a competition among local chefs, and Cocktail
Wars, an event in which bartenders attempt
to outdo their competition to the benefit of
happy imbibers.
“I think Milwaukee is really ready for
Secret Supper, a six-course prix fixe dinner
that offers some of the best food city res-
taurants have to offer,” Lockridge says.
The ambassador is attempting to set up a
Secret Supper for sometime in May.
As for the location — well, that’s a secret.
ON THE TABLE
To sign up for the Feb. 11 Dishcrawl,
contact Justin Lockridge at 414-2084663 or email justinL@dishcrawl.com.
For more information about Milwaukee’s upcoming Dishcrawls, visit dishcrawl.com/milwaukee, check out Facebook or follow on Twitter @DishcrawlMKE. 29
30
VALENTINE’S DAY
ACROSS
1. *”Love Me Tender”
performer
6. “And She ___” by Talking
Heads
9. For Whom the ____ Tolls
13. Wall coat
14. B&B, e.g.
15. *He fell in love with a face
“that launched a thousand
ships”
16. February “People,” e.g.
17. Parental involvement org.
18. Trojan War story
19. *He fell in love with Little
Red-Haired Girl
21. ______’s fee
23. Old age, archaic
24. Display displeasure
25. *Bride and groom say their
“I ___”
28. Choir voice
30. Part of Yugoslavia
35. Iris holder
37. Paleozoic and Mesozoic
39. The fourth prime number
40. Rigid necklace
41. Of the kidneys
43. Baseball points
44. Was attached
46. Jittery
47. It should be opened when
starting a fire
48. Winslow _____ and _____
Simpson
50. Back talk
52. “C’___ la vie!”
53. EU currency
55. *”Just an ___-fashioned
love song”
57. *Cyrano de Bergerac’s love
interest
60. *Popular Valentine’s
delivery
64. Disturbances
65. Get it wrong
67. Spur on
68. Strong adhesive
69. By means of
70. Fragrant resin
71. I, Claudius role
72. Bird-to-be
73. *What Snow White did
before Prince Charming’s
kiss
DOWN
1. Larger-than-life
2. Alfred “____” LaRue
3. Americans need one to
enter Australia
4. Accustom
5. Sister to Blanche DuBois
6. Clean the blackboard, e.g.
7. Symbol of industriousness
8. Mix-up
9. Like white-headed eagle
10. Albany-Buffalo canal
11. His pants are on fire?
12. Hallucinogen
15. Slang for communist
sympathizers
knowledge
is power.
#gettested
Mondays & Tuesdays
6:00pm-8:00pm
1240 East Brady St., Milw.
414.272.2144
contactus@bestd.org
20. Lazybones
22. Breed
24. What’s-his-name
25. *Even-Steven kind of date
26. Convex molding
27. Red Cross supply
29. Arborist’s concern
31. Lord’s worker
32. Egg cell
33. *Aphrodite’s Roman
counterpart
34. Early stage of sickness, e.g.
36. High school breakout
38. *The Twilight ____,
romantic film series
42. Popular disinfectant
45. Like Danny Zuko’s hair
49. *”Your Love is Like the
Morning ___”
51. Skiers’ turfs
54. *His character fell in love
with Lois Lane
56. Be situated within
57. Tug-of-War equipment
58. Emanation
59. *Kisses and hugs
60. Hand grenade
61. “All for one, one for all”
sword
62. Beef cut
63. Rotisserie skewer
64. *Dudley Moore/Bo Derek
romantic comedy
66. 18-wheeler
Februar y 6, 2014
31
| Februar y 6, 2014
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We also offer the option to customize your
space with a palette of over 300 paint
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32
Februar y 6, 2014
Out on the town Feb.6–Feb. 19
A curated calendar of upcoming events
‘BODY WORLDS & THE
CYCLE OF LIFE’
Through June 15
This popular and provocative
exhibit depicting real, preserved
human bodies returns to the Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 W.
Wells St., for the first time since it
made quite an impression on the
city in 2008. This four-month installation is conceived as a sequel to
that show, however, with a focus on
the human life cycle — from birth
to death. On view will be more than
200 “plastinated” specimens of all
ages, in all states of health. Tickets,
which include MPM admission, are
$25 for adults, $22 for teens and
students, and $18 for children and
seniors. Museum members get discounted prices of $17, $15 and $13,
respectively. Call 414-223-4676 or
visit mpm.edu.
CONCERT FOR COMMUNITY
SHARES 7 p.m. Fri., Feb. 7
‘GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS’
With so many worthy charities in the
city, it’s hard to decide which to support.
Community Shares makes it easy, setting
up workplace giving campaigns that allow
donors to contribute to any of their 50
affiliated social justice, animal welfare and
environmental nonprofits through payroll
deductions. The Concert for Community
Shares raises money for the group with
a benefit show featuring the Milwaukee
bands MidCoast, the Rumskis, and Burgundy Ties. At Shank Hall, 1434 N. Farwell Ave.,
Milwaukee. Admission is $10 in advance or
$15 at the door. Order tickets at communitysharesmke.org.
Mamet’s most famous work gets the Off
the Wall treatment for two weeks, directed
by Jeremy C. Welter. The Pulitzer Prizewinning play puts four salesmen to the
test when they are challenged to a “sales
contest” that will end with the victor driving
away in a Cadillac and two losers walking
away without their jobs. Add in the rapidfire, profane dialogue that Mamet is famous
for, and you’ve got an unsparing critique of
capitalism and greed. At Off the Wall Theatre, 127 E. Wells St., Milwaukee. Tickets
are $25 and can be purchased at 414-4848874 or offthewalltheatre.com.
‘YESTERDAY AND TODAY’
8 p.m. on Fri., Feb. 7; 2 and 8 p.m. on Sat.,
Feb. 8; and 2 p.m. on Sun, Feb. 9
Beatles tribute acts are a dime a dozen
these days, but Yesterday and Today stands
out from the pack. This cast doesn’t just
play the tunes of the Fab Four — they offer
an interactive Beatles experience that personalizes performances with the stories of
audience members, submitted before the
beginning of the show, to create an event
that’s tailored to the Beatles as you remember them. At Vogel Hall, 929 N. Water St.,
Milwaukee. Tickets are $43 and can be
purchased at 414-273-7206 or marcuscenter.org.
WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | Febr uar y 6, 2014
Through Sun., Feb. 16
Out on the town Feb. 6–Feb. 19
FOURTH ANNUAL WINTER CARNIVAL
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sat., Feb. 8
LOCAL LOVE FEST
9 p.m. on Fri., Feb. 7, and Sat., Feb. 8
You’ve likely spent most of this winter trying to resist the cold
and snow, but as they say, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” The
place to join ’em is at the Lynden Sculpture Garden’s fourth annual
Winter Carnival, a day to embrace the snow in an exquisite setting. New York artist Caleb Engstrom will create an outdoor stopmotion cinema, with the help of visitors, while Ashley Janke will
conclude her year’s residency at the nAbr Gallery with one last
exhibition that also features the work of Ashley Morgan. In addition, the event includes an outdoor scavenger hunt, tree walks,
cookie decorating and outdoor games. The Simmer Truck will ladle
out soups to keep you toasty and sandwiches to keep you hardy.
At the Lynden Sculpture Garden, 2145 W. Brown Deer Road, Milwaukee. Admission is free to members, or $9 for adults and $7 for
children, senior and students. For more information, call 414-4468794 or visit lyndensculpturegarden.org.
Love Madison bands? Guess what: so
do other Madison bands. That’s why every
year since 2011, groups of them have gotten together for Local Love Fest, an annual
celebration featuring local artists covering
songs by other local artists. On Friday,
Droids Attack, Warhawks, Real Knives and
Old Buffalo Money appear at the High
Noon Saloon, 701 E. Washington Ave. On
Saturday, Government Zero, Kill Junior and
Damidol are at the Crystal Corner Bar, 1302
Williamson St. Attendees can pick up a free
compilation mixtape, featuring recordings
from both nights’ artists. Admission is $7
to either show.
P H OTO : CO U RT E SY
Playing “parachute games” at last year’s carnival.
MILWAUKEE HOMELESS VETERANS
INITIATIVE BENEFIT 7 p.m. on Sun. Feb. 9
The Coffee House, 631 N. 19th St., Milwaukee, hosts three
award-winning singer-songwriters for a concert benefiting the
Milwaukee Homeless Veterans Initiative, a nonprofit that helps
veterans receive the assistance needed to maintain a high level
of independence. Richard Pinney, Barb Webber (accompanied
by her husband Tom) and Stephanie Erin Brill will perform songs
that took top honors at the 2013 Wisconsin Singer/Songwriter
Series, along with other original works. Admission is free, but
donations will be accepted at the door.
‘THE DAUGHTER
OF THE REGIMENT’
8 p.m. on Fri., Feb. 7; 2:30 p.m. on Sun., Feb. 9
Parents of young women frequently
experience trepidation over their daughter’s first serious boyfriend. The parents in
Donizetti’s French opera The Daughter of
the Regiment aren’t very different, except
that they’re an entire company of soldiers
who’ve raised their young charge Marie
since finding her on a battlefield. They grow
a bit protective when she falls for Tonio, a
new recruit. To make matters worse, there’s
a long-lost aunt in the bargain, who takes
Marie from her family. But never fear, this
love story at the Madison Opera comes
with a happy ending. At the Overture Center for the Arts, 201 State St., Madison.
The opera is sung in French with English
supertitles. Tickets range from $25 to $107.
To purchase, call 608-258-4141 or visit
madisonopera.org.
‘THE WHIPPING MAN’ Sat., Feb. 8
through Sun., March 16
Matthew Lopez’s The Whipping Man
opens with a wounded Confederate soldier
returning to his ancestral home after the
Civil War to find his family gone and two
former slaves remaining. The soldier and
the now-emancipated slaves are Jewish,
and they find themselves celebrating Passover in a world that has changed forever.
At the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, 108
E. Wells St. Tickets start at $25 and can be
ordered at 414-224-9490 or milwaukeerep.
com.
‘WINTER SERIES’
7:30 p.m. on Feb. 13 to 15; 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 16
The Milwaukee Ballet tells great stories through its narrative
ballets, but its contemporary series in the winter and spring
provide the opportunity to push the boundaries of dance. In
this program, Gabrielle Lamb, the winner of the company’s 2013
international choreographic competition Genesis, returns with a
brand-new work, as does choreographer-in-residence Timothy
O’Donnell. The talented Luca Veggetti rounds out the trio. This
promises to be a moving evening. At the Pabst Theatre, 144 E.
P H OTO : J E SS I C A K A M I N S K I
Wells St. Tickets range from $30 to $95; for more information or Mayara Pineiro and Mengjun Chen perform in Milwaukee Balto order, call 414-902-2103 or visit milwaukeeballet.org.
let’s “Winter Series.”
Februar y 6, 2014
‘SCREWBALL LOVE’
7:30 p.m. Feb. 13 to 15
Love is a lot of things, and Theatre Gigante is ready and willing to talk about all of
them — the sweet, gooey, quirky, zany and
ridiculous. Leslie Fitzwater and a group of
friends that includes Bo Johnson, Isabelle
Kralj, Mark Anderson, Alissa Rhode, Tim
Karth and Rip Tenor host this unusual yet
delightful evening of love at Kenilworth Studio 508, 1925 E. Kenilworth Place, Milwaukee. Tickets are $25, $20 for seniors and $15
for students. To order, visit theatregigante.
org or call 800-838-3006.
‘L’ENFANT ET LES
SORTILEGES’
7:30 p.m. Fri., Feb. 14 and Sat., Feb. 15
Milwaukee Opera Theatre teams up with
UWM’s opera program to present Ravel’s
L’enfant et les Sortileges (The Child and the
Spells), a one-act about a naughty child
tormented by objects and animals he’s
abused. An army of singers and an array
of puppets will be joined on stage by the
UWM Symphony Orchestra. Choreography
is by Edward Winslow. At Helen Bader Concert Hall, 2419 E. Kenwood Blvd., Milwaukee. Tickets range from $8 to $12, and can
be ordered at 414-229-4308 or uwm.edu.
MADISON WINTER FESTIVAL
Sat., Feb. 15 and Sun., Feb. 16
Once again, the Madison Winter Festival will turn Capitol Square into a winter
wonderland, where residents can enjoy two
days of frosty fun. More than 90 truckloads
of snow will be used building the racing and
recreational area — not that they’ll need
it, you’d think. Visitors can enjoy sledding
hills, ice and snow sculpting, seasonally
themed museum tours, a variety of run/
walks for charity and venues for ice hockey,
curling and other winter sports. Admission
is free. For a full schedule of events, visit
winter-fest.com.
‘FESTA FLORENTINA’
7:30 p.m. on Fri., Feb. 14, and Sat., Feb. 15;
2:30 p.m. on Sun., Feb. 16
The Florentine Opera is celebrating its
80th anniversary, and what better way
to commemorate this originally Italianfocused company than with a Valentine’s
Day concert full of Italian love songs? For
this occasion, general director William Florescu is going beyond the classical repertoire of arias. He’s expanding the program
to include Italian opera composers as well
as popular music made famous by such
Italian-American singers as Frank Sinatra
and Tony Bennett. The company’s four talented studio artists will perform the collection of solos and ensemble pieces. At Vogel
Hall, 929 N. Water St., Milwaukee. Tickets
are $22 to $48, and can be ordered at 414291-5700 or florentineopera.org.
ORLANDO CONSORT 5 p.m. on Sat., Feb. 15
Early Music Now brings the Orlando Consort, one of Britain’s most talented vocal ensembles,
to Milwaukee for a medieval musical valentine. The group, celebrating its 25th anniversary, will
split the performance between the 14th-century narrative poem “Le Voir Dit” (“A True Story”),
and a series of 15th- and 16th-century songs. At St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 914 E. Knapp St., Milwaukee. Tickets range from $25 to $40 for adults and seniors and $10 to $20 for students. Order
at 414-225-3113 or earlymusicnow.org.
COMPLEXIONS
CONTEMPORARY BALLET
‘VALENTINE ROMANCE’
8 p.m. on Fri., Feb. 14, and Sat., Feb. 15;
2:30 p.m. on Sun., Feb. 16
7:30 p.m. on Wed., Feb. 1
Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson founded their Complexions Contemporary Ballet company 19 years ago as a
way to explore multiple genres, cultures
and styles simultaneously. As a result, they
created a synthesized body of work that
defies categorization or limitation. Almost
two decades later, they’re still pushing the
envelope and performing with a level of
athleticism that rivals any other touring
company. They’ll bring their latest works to
Madison’s Overture Center of the Arts, 201
State St., for one night only. Tickets range
from $25 to $45. Order at 608-258-4141 or
overturecenter.com.
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra heats things up with a pops concert dedicated to all things romantic.
Conductor John Morris Russell leads
the symphony in everything from sultry
tangos and fire dances to Broadway
songs and opera arias. On the program
are soloist Lisa Vroman — a veteran
Christine from the Broadway run of
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the
Opera — and dancers with Danceworks,
who’ll perform with guest artists Edwin
Olvera and Jorge Quintero. At Uihlein
Hall, 929 N. Water St., Milwaukee. Tickets range from $25 to $105; to order,
call 414-291-7605 or visit mso.org.
| Februar y 6, 2014
Out on the town Feb.6–Feb. 19
TAIKO PROJECT
6:30 p.m. on Tues., Feb. 18; 7:30 p.m. on Thurs., Feb. 20
The ancient drum art of taiko has been a part of Japanese culture for at least 1,500
years. Taikoproject, the United States’ premier taiko group, takes that heritage and revitalizes it, blending the classical drums with next-generation choreography and innovation. The result: a fusion of Japanese and American sounds that makes for an electric
evening. At the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, 608 New York Ave., Sheboygan. Tickets are $14 for Tuesday’s performance and $29 for Thursday’s. Order at 920-458-6144
or jmkac.org.
TODD REYNOLDS 7:30 p.m. on Wed., Feb. 19
Violinist Todd Reynolds calls himself a “hybrid-musician” because he’s a performer from
two worlds. While trained in the classical tradition, he’s also a technologist who’s incorporated electronics into his performances. Reynolds performs with contemporary music
groups, including the multifaceted Bang on a Can. On Feb. 19, he performs a free evening
concert solo at UW-Madison’s School of Music. For more information, visit music.wisc.edu.
Sampler
Saturday
F
EB.
8
FALL IN LOVE
WITH OUTPOST.
11am to 2pm
at all store locations
Stop by & try...
foods so luscious you’ll be writing sonnets! • Creamy cheese with local
preserves • Savory beet risotto • Beverages from red wine to hot chocolate • Plus, meet a
local chocolatier and sample some of our area’s best confections!
Not an owner of our co-op? Then stop in and
‘Shop Like an Owner’ from Feb. 1 - 15. See stores for details!
100 E. C apitol D rivE M ilwaukEE • 7000 w. S tatE S trEEt w auwatoSa
2826 S. k inniCkinniC a vEnuE B ay v iEw
w w w . o u t p o s t . c o o p
•
o p e n
d a i l y
•
4 1 4 . 4 3 1 . 3 3 7 7
| Februar y 6, 2014

Anti-gay persecution, corruption cloud Sochi Winter Olympics

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