SouthernDecadence.COM • GayMardiGras.COM • GayEasterParade.COM • May 14-27, 2013 • SouthernDecadence.COM • GayMardiGras.COM • GayEasterParade.COM • May 14-27, 2013 • SouthernDecadence.COM • GayMardiGras.COM • GayEasterParade.COM • May 14-27, 2013 • SouthernDecadence.COM • GayMardiGras.COM • GayEasterParade.COM • May 14-27, 2013 • SouthernDecadence.COM • GayMardiGras.COM • GayEasterParade.COM • May 14-27, 2013 • The Official Mag: AmbushMag.COM • 1111111111

12 • 12 • 12 • 12 • 12 • The Official Mag: AmbushMag.COM • • • • • Facebook.COM/AmbushMag • May 14-27, 2013 • Of• May 14-27, 2013 • Of• May 14-27, 2013 • Of• May 14-27, 2013 • Of• May 14-27, 2013 • Official Pride Guide • NOLAPride.ORGficial Pride Guide • NOLAPride.ORGficial Pride Guide • NOLAPride.ORGficial Pride Guide • NOLAPride.ORGficial Pride Guide • NOLAPride.ORG

the "official" dish from 10

return of Magic Journeys at ArabianNights will set the stage for an unfor-gettable experience and hearken backto the spectacular Gay Day weekendsof years past.

Held at the ever-popular host ho-tel, The Buena Vista Palace, the Re-union Pool Parties will feature lots ofhot bodies, fun in the sun and an incred-ible line-up of the fantastic DJs you’vecome to expect from One Mighty Week-end. There are limited rooms still avail-able so book your room now and don’tmiss the chance to “Stay where youPlay!”

Friday, May 31, 2013:The weekend kicks-off on Friday

with the opening of the One MightyWeekend Welcome Center at the BuenaVista Palace at 10am (daily) where youcan take care of all of your ticket andinformation needs.

At noon, the first Reunion PoolParty gets under way with the multi-talented DJ Power Infiniti followed bythe energizing sounds of DJ Mike Cruz.The afternoon festivities continue untilthe sun sets.

Midnight marks the triumphant re-turn of Magic Journeys to ArabianNights. Miami-based DJ Miik Martorellgets the party jumping, paving the wayfor the return of Grammy Award nomi-nated DJ/Producer Danny Tenaglia ofNew York until 8am.

(Shuttle service will be availablefrom the Buena Vista Palace to ArabianNights each night of Magic Journeys.)

Saturday, June 1, 2013:DJ Eddie Martinez gets the pool

balls bouncing at noon for the secondReunion Pool Party. Later in the after-noon, groove to the high energy of DJRoland Belmares as he keeps the

crowd hopping until the sun goes down.Your Magic Journey continues at

midnight with the Brazilian flare of DJ/Producer Gustavo Scorpio of Rio DeJaneiro. As the night heats up, world-renowned DJ/Producer JoeGauthreaux of New York takes controlof the dance floor until the wee hours ofthe morning.

Sunday, June 2, 2013:Reunion Pool Party’s last install-

ment of the weekend begins with DJDani Toro of Barcelona at noon. DJ PhilB wraps up the Reunion Pool Partieswith his unique stylings until day’s end.Miami-based Grammy Award Nomi-nated, DJ/Producers Rosabel rule thedance floor at your last Magic Journey.This promises to be an unforgettablenight and a fitting end to an incredibleOne Mighty Weekend.

Visit OneMightyWeekend.COM formore information and to purchase tick-ets or visit us on FaceBook @ OneMighty Weekend.

WICKED Announces $25Seat Lottery @ MahaliaJackson Theatre

A day-of-performance lottery fora limited number of orchestra seats willbe held for WICKED at the MahaliaJackson Theater with performancesthrough June 2. Two and one-half hoursprior to each performance, people whopresent themselves at the MahaliaJackson Theater box office will havetheir names placed in a lottery drum;thirty minutes later, names will be drawnfor a limited number of orchestra seatsat $25 each, cash only. This lottery isavailable only in-person at the box of-fice, with a limit of two tickets perperson. Lottery participants must havea valid photo ID when submitting their

entry form and, if chosen, when pur-chasing tickets.

WICKED, with music and lyrics byStephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin,Disney’s Enchanted, Academy Award®winner for Pocahontas and The Princeof Egypt) and book by Winnie Holzman(“My So Called Life,” “Once And Again”and “thirtysomething”), is based on the1995 best-selling novel by GregoryMaguire. The musical is directed bytwo-time Tony® Award winner JoeMantello (Take Me Out, Love! Valour!Compassion!, The Vagina Mono-logues) and features musical stagingby Tony® Award winner Wayne Cilento(Aida, The Who’s Tommy, How ToSucceed…). WICKED, the untold storyof the witches of Oz, is produced byMarc Platt, Universal Pictures, TheAraca Group, Jon B. Platt and DavidStone.

Long before Dorothy drops in, twoother girls meet in the land of Oz. One– born with emerald green skin – issmart, fiery and misunderstood. Theother is beautiful, ambitious and verypopular. WICKED tells the story oftheir remarkable odyssey, how thesetwo unlikely friends grow to becomethe Wicked Witch of the West andGlinda the Good.

WICKED features set design byTony® Award winner Eugene Lee (Rag-time, Show Boat, Candide, SweeneyTodd), costume design by Tony® win-ner Susan Hilferty (Spring Awakening,Into the Woods, Assassins), lightingdesign by Tony® winner KennethPosner (Tony® Award winner for TheCoast of Utopia, Hairspray) and sounddesign by Tony Meola (The Lion King).Stephen Oremus is the show’s musicdirector. Orchestrations are by WilliamDavid Brohn, with dance arrangementsby James Lynn Abbott.

The performance schedule is as fol-lows: Tuesday through Friday evenings at8pm; Saturday at 2pm & 8pm; Sunday at2pm & 7pm. Tickets are available at theMahalia Jackson Theater Box Office,B r o a d w a y I n N e w O r l e a n s . c o m ,Ticketmaster.com/Wicked all Ticketmasteroutlets or by calling 1.800.982.2787(ARTS). Best seats are available on Tues-day, Wednesday, Thursday and Sundayevening performances.

Friends of CabildoSpring Fundraiser

Friends of the Cabildo, the supportorganization for the Louisiana State Mu-seum, announced its 2013 SpringFundraiser, a French Quarter Courtyardand Home Tour, set for Sunday, May 19from 4-7pm. Guest will be able to visit sevenhomes and courtyards within the lowersection of the French Quarter as well astaste wines at Madame John’s Legacy (632Dumaine Street). Also included with theticket price are Madame John’s LegacyArchitectural tours and The Palm, the Pineand the Cypress: Newcomb Pottery of NewOrleans exhibit tours hourly.

Homes featured include: 516 St. PhilipStreet, 623 Royal Street, 630 DumaineStreet (Madame John’s Legacy), 806Chartres Street, 828 Chartres Street, 830Bourbon Street, 1131 Dauphine Street, and1227 Royal Street.

Self-Guided Tours begin at the 1850House at 523 St. Ann Street on JacksonSquare and are available to purchase inadvance. Ticket sales to end at 6pm.

Maps will be provided to ticket pur-chasers at the 1850 House Museum Store.Tickets are $40 per person, $30 FOC mem-bers; and Couple Price $60, $45 FOCmembers.

Tickets can be purchased online atwww.friendsofthecabildo.org or the day ofthe event at 1850 House Museum Store.Parking will be available at a reduced rateat the Premium Parking Garage at 535Chartres Street.

SouthernDecadence.COM • GayMardiGras.COM • GayEasterParade.COM • May 14-27, 2013 • SouthernDecadence.COM • GayMardiGras.COM • GayEasterParade.COM • May 14-27, 2013 • SouthernDecadence.COM • GayMardiGras.COM • GayEasterParade.COM • May 14-27, 2013 • SouthernDecadence.COM • GayMardiGras.COM • GayEasterParade.COM • May 14-27, 2013 • SouthernDecadence.COM • GayMardiGras.COM • GayEasterParade.COM • May 14-27, 2013 • The Official Mag: AmbushMag.COM • 1313131313

14 • 14 • 14 • 14 • 14 • The Official Mag: AmbushMag.COM • • • • • Facebook.COM/AmbushMag • May 14-27, 2013 • Of• May 14-27, 2013 • Of• May 14-27, 2013 • Of• May 14-27, 2013 • Of• May 14-27, 2013 • Official Pride Guide • NOLAPride.ORGficial Pride Guide • NOLAPride.ORGficial Pride Guide • NOLAPride.ORGficial Pride Guide • NOLAPride.ORGficial Pride Guide • NOLAPride.ORG

by Frank PerezE-mail: f.perez@sbcglobal.net

spotlight feature

Wayne Self / UPSTAIRSthe Musical

The 40th anniversary of the UpStairsLounge is fast approaching and com-memoration ceremonies are plannedfor Monday, June 24. The ceremonybegins at 3pm at the Williams Re-search Center of the Historic New Or-leans Collection (410 Chartres Street).Artist Skylar Fein will give a brief lec-ture accompanied by a slide show onthe fire and author Clayton Delery willdiscuss the public reaction in the daysfollowing the tragedy. Both presenta-tions will be followed by a viewing theWilliams Research Center’s archivalmaterial concerning the fire, includingthe original police report as well as anoriginal manuscript of JohnnyTownsend’s 2011 book about the fireentitled Let the Faggots Burn: TheUpStairs Lounge Fire. In 2008, theUpStairs Lounge tragedy was memori-alized with an art exhibit by Skylar Feinat the Contemporary Arts Center aspart of the first annual Prospect 1, acity-wide collection of art exhibits. Itwas restaged in 2010 in New York by“No Longer Empty.” Fein’s lecture andthe exhibit will be free and open to thepublic. Delery is currently writing abook about the fire entitled SeventeenMinutes of Hell.

The Historic New Orleans Collec-tion event will be followed by a Jazzfuneral procession at 4:15pm from theWilliams Research Center to the site ofthe fire at the corner of Iberville andChartres Streets. There at 4:30pm aspecial blessing by Fr. Bill Terry of St.Anna's Episcopal Church, and a sol-emn reading of the victim’s names byLesbian of the Year Misti Ates will takeplace. After the ceremony, there will bea second line parade (4:45pm) to acocktail party in The Balcony upstairsat the oldest gay bar in North America,Café Lafitte in Exile.

The commemoration ceremonieswill be capped off at 8pm at CaféIstanbul with the New Orleans pre-miere of UPSTAIRS, a new musical byWayne Self. Self is an activist play-wright and composer whose theatre,music, advocacy, and writings haveinspired, educated, and entertainedthousands. He is a GLAAD mediaspokesman and a Huffington Postblogger, whose own website providesa needed platform for thoughtful, com-passionate LGBT voices. Upstairs,Self’s third musical, was inspired by histime as a Music Director for a Metro-politan Community Church—a gay-af-firming denomination whose New Or-leans congregation lost many mem-

bers to the Upstairs Lounge Fire. Selfhas an MFA in Musical Theatre Perfor-mance with an emphasis in Composi-tion from Notre Dame de Namur Uni-versity and is a candidate for a MTSfrom Pacific School of Religion in Ber-keley. Tickets to the performance are$35. Proceeds will be donated tobenefit the local GLBTQ community.

Wayne Self is a playwright andcomposer from Natchitoches, LA andnow residing in Orange County, CAwith his partner Cody and his dogHambone. He is a progressive Chris-tian who has served as Director ofMusic at Peninsula Metropolitan Com-munity Church and College HeightsUnited Church of Christ, both in SanMateo, CA.

This year, he will receive twoMaster’s degrees; one in Musical The-atre and one in Theological Studies.He’s written full-length musicals, choralworks, hymns, and “straight” plays ex-ploring the religions and spiritual livesof individuals who live outside society’sprescribed gender roles and behav-iors.

“As a gay Louisiana native, I wasshocked I had never heard about thiscrime,” said Self. “This was a greattragedy and it was swept under therug. Once I became aware of it, I hadto do my part along with others givevoice to the victims, many of whomidentified as gay, and as Christian. It’sa lesson in the perils of silence.”

Self draws much of his inspirationfor the musical from the work-in-progress book about the incident, calledSeventeen Minutes of Hell by Pro-fessor Clayton Delery, PhD, who con-tinues to provide support and guidancefor the project. Unlike the StonewallRiots in New York City, which sparkedthe modern day LGBT Civil Rights Move-ment, the UpStairs Lounge Fire is un-

known by most people, including LGBTactivists and allies, even though it isarguably the largest crime againstLGBT people in U.S. history.

“There were few proclamations ofoutrage or sadness from politicians atany level. There were no charges filed,”said Delery. “There would have beenno memorial service if the MetropolitanCommunity Church (MCC), a primarilyLGBT Christian denomination whoseNew Orleans church counted many ofits members among the dead, hadn’tsent its founder, Troy Perry, into townto organize one. Reverend Perry andother clergy and activists had a difficulttime even finding a location for a ser-vice.” They were turned down byclergy and leadership from severaldenominations. An Episcopal Churchhosted a small prayer service and onlyone Unitarian congregation and oneunusually liberal Methodist congrega-tion were willing to cooperate by con-ducting formal memorial services.

“In a way, the whole city was stay-ing in the closet about the fire,” Delerycontinued. “This arrangement protectedtourism for the city, protected religiousleaders from having to choose be-tween compassion or condemnation,and protected New Orleans’ gay com-munity from ‘coming out’ of the quietarrangement they had with the NewOrleans Police Department and enter-ing a political and legal fight for equalitythat they didn’t think they could win.”

Rather than focus on the aftermathof the fire and the city’s silence, Selfhas chosen to tell the specific stories ofthe victims, including stories of heroismand inspiration in the midst of tragedy.Though based on historical details andthorough research, and named in hom-age to the victims, the characters andevents presented in UPSTAIRS arefictional and composite in nature. Themusical is infused with a complex, haunt-ing blend of New Orleans jazz-like ar-rangements.

“When I first heard the songs I wasmoved to tears,” said UPSTAIRS di-rector, Zach McCallum, a gay SanFrancisco resident originally from Nash-ville, Tennessee. “I grew up knowingabout Stonewall, about the AIDS Quilt,and about Harvey Milk. How did I nothear about the UpStairs Lounge Fire?This story cannot be forgotten. Itshould be in the cultural mindset ofeveryone who cares about LGBT equal-ity.”

“The musical is meant to put a faceto the tragedy, said Self. “These werereal people who lived, breathed, loved.Many of those who died had children,families.” The play follows six principalcharacters, including the arsonist him-self, and hones in on their lives as seenbefore and after the fatal fire.

For some, the paradox of a deathlytragedy rendered through song anddance raises the question, “Why amusical?”

“It’s a fair question” said Self, the

answer to which lies in the musicality ofNew Orleans itself: “New Orleans is afamously musical city. Music is funda-mental to the environment, and it was abig part of the experience at the UpStairsLounge. Histories of the bar revealsing-alongs, cabaret shows, and fer-vent closing-time odes alongside thejukebox. A jazz pianist was countedamong the victims. Any dramatic workabout the tragedy should do a lot toacknowledge the musicality of the en-vironment.”

Self, however, is quick to assertthat UPSTAIRS is a far cry from thejaunty optimism of The Sound of Mu-sic and other happy musicals. “Themusic is used to set a mood and toexplore the emotional state of the char-acters.” The sound of the piece, saidSelf, relies heavily on the influences ofmid-century jazz and blues and seeksto capture the particular musical timbreof 1970s New Orleans.

Music and history are not the onlyways in which UPSTAIRS is rooted inNew Orleans. UPSTAIRS is a strictlynot-for-profit show. “Any profits fromthe special premiere will go directlyback into the New Orleans LGBTQcommunity,” said Self.

The show is predominately self-funded, supplemented by roughly$10,000 raised from a FebruaryKickstarter campaign. In addition, Selfhas plans to eventually incorporate NewOrleans based actors into the show inan effort to lend performances height-ened authenticity.

Self, who, along with the majorityof the cast, currently lives in California,claims that premiering the show in NewOrleans is essential for commemorat-ing those who died in the fire. Depend-ing on the success of the New Orleanspremiere, Self has future plans of tak-ing the show nation-wide. “The goal isto start in New Orleans and, movingoutward, spread the story of theUpStairs Lounge across cities every-where,” said Self.

Self observes the title UPSTAIRSis a metaphor for the play itself, reflect-ing a theme of ascendancy—the waysin which the play seeks to ascend from,and otherwise transcend, the fear andtorment of the 1973 arson. “UP-STAIRS, for good or ill, is what I haveto offer to the victims and their fami-lies,” said Self. “This is what I can do.It’s not enough, but what could possiblybe?”

UPSTAIRS will run June 20 at 8pmJune 21-22 at 7pm, June 23 at 2pm andJune 24 at 8pm at the Café Istanbultheatre, 2372 St. Claude.

The play will consist of two actswith a fifteen minute intermission, for atotal run time of two hours. Tickets are$35 and available online atUpstairsMusical.BrownPaperTickets.COM.

Wayne Self

SouthernDecadence.COM • GayMardiGras.COM • GayEasterParade.COM • May 14-27, 2013 • SouthernDecadence.COM • GayMardiGras.COM • GayEasterParade.COM • May 14-27, 2013 • SouthernDecadence.COM • GayMardiGras.COM • GayEasterParade.COM • May 14-27, 2013 • SouthernDecadence.COM • GayMardiGras.COM • GayEasterParade.COM • May 14-27, 2013 • SouthernDecadence.COM • GayMardiGras.COM • GayEasterParade.COM • May 14-27, 2013 • The Official Mag: AmbushMag.COM • 1515151515