Download - trodding the boards - s sure less than a round trip airfare to Manhattan. ... NOLA used to Varla and Bianca, ... capsule can help shorten the duration

46 • 46 • 46 • 46 • 46 • The Official Mag: AmbushMag.COM • Feb. 14-27, 2012 • Of• Feb. 14-27, 2012 • Of• Feb. 14-27, 2012 • Of• Feb. 14-27, 2012 • Of• Feb. 14-27, 2012 • Official Gay Marficial Gay Marficial Gay Marficial Gay Marficial Gay Mardi Gras Guide • GayMardi Gras Guide • GayMardi Gras Guide • GayMardi Gras Guide • GayMardi Gras Guide • GayMardiGras.COMdiGras.COMdiGras.COMdiGras.COMdiGras.COM

ing amino acids plays a role in repairingthe ravages of a hangover. Amino ac-ids are also available in capsule form atmost health food stores.

Have two cups of coffee. Coffeeacts as a vasoconstrictor - somethingthat reduces the swelling of blood ves-sels that causes headaches. Coffeecan do a great deal to relieve the head-aches associated with hangovers andis often recommended as a hangovercure but coffee being diuretic maycause you to lose even more fluids.

Eat a good meal. If you can toler-ate it, that is. A balanced meal willreplace the loss of essential nutrients.But keep the meal light; no fats or friedfoods. Toast, cereal, fruit and yogurtare easier to digest than eggs anddairy.

And last but not least, the best wayto cure a hangover is to not drink at all.But then where is the fun in that. Havea safe Mardi Gras.

If you have an event, story or idea,you want covered, contact me [email protected].

under the gaydar ...from 39

Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD and HD Encores atAMC Elmwood Palace 20 through April 25

Want to have a front row seat to some of the most magnificentproductions in the Metropolitan Opera’s repertoire without havingto fly up to New York and pay hundreds of dollars for the tix? Then

head to the AMC Elmwood Palace 20 in Harahan or any of the other multiplexeswhere screenings are held of the Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD broadcastsand subsequent HD Encores.

Tall of stature and with a rumblybass voice, Ildar Abdrazakov was animposing Henry VIII. Even better wasthe mezzo-soprano EkaterinaGubanova as Boleyn’s lady-in-waitingJane Seymour, who would becomeHenry’s third wife. When she andNetrebko faced off, the lush soundcomplemented the intensity of emo-tion on display.

During intermission the renownedsoprano Renée Fleming, no strangerto these broadcasts, spoke with cos-tume designer Jenny Tiramani whoexplained the research that went intothe outfits. At one point during the inter-view, Abdrazakov and Gubanova couldbe seen cutting up in the background,providing a wonderful dichotomy to thedrama on stage.

Though there were only ten peoplein the audience for the HD Encore ofSatyagraha in December, our hardygroup was treated to an amazing con-temporary opera. Performed in San-skrit with no subtitles (perhaps partlythe reason for the low attendance), thisopera explores Gandhi’s formativeyears in South Africa and the develop-ment of his philosophy of non-violence.

Before the start of the performance,the Met’s Managing Director Peter Gelbinterviewed Glass who spoke ofGandhi’s links to Tolstoy, Tagore andMartin Luther King, Jr. each of whomappear briefly in the opera. Though thecomposer’s claim that the lack of sub-titles forces the audience to concen-trate on the visual aspects of the pro-duction, there was still powerful musicsung beautifully by the Met’s chorusand Richard Croft as Gandhi.

Even with a synopsis at the start ofeach act, the symbolic, non-linear nar-rative proved a bit difficult to follow.Host Eric Owens’ intermission inter-view with Croft thus enlightened us that

what were watching was, in part, thatwhich is going on in Gandhi’s head.

Phelim McDermott and JulianCrouch’s imaginative production uti-lized larger than life puppets, that thecamera gave us an up-close perspec-tive on. Though the third act was ex-quisitely slow at a point when someaction would have been appreciated,the evening culminated in a powerfulfinale.

Still to come this season is theEncore of Wagner ’sGötterdämmerung, the acclaimedfourth installment of Robert Lepage’sRing cycle; Verdi’s Ernani with AngelaMeade, Dmitri Hvorostovsky andMarcello Giordani (Feb. 25/Mar. 14);Netrebko and Paulo Szot in Manon byMassenet (Apr. 7 and 25); and thewondrous Natalie Dessay andHvorostovsky in La Traviata (Apr. 14/May 2).

And while the price of food at theElmwood Palace may be outrageous,it’s sure less than a round trip airfare toManhattan.

That Ain’t No Lady! atLa Escuelita CabaretTheater, NYC, Tuesdays

The New York Times saidshe “made me weep withlaughter, often while groan-

ing in disgust.” What was supposed tobe a one month cabaret engagementhas now been extended indefinitely.And A-gays who might’ve once notgiven a second look at “the old pig in awig,” as she calls herself, are nowlining up outside the Latino club LaEscuelita on West 39th Street andEighth Avenue hoping to get in. LadyBunny has clearly arrived.

Looking like a mini-Mardi Gras floatas her bouffant wig bounces along,Bunny traffics in tasteless celebrityendorsements and Amy Winehousejokes that still have a frisson of naugh-tiness about them. One-liners, done inthe frugging style of the old Laugh-Ingo-go party, come fast, filthy and funny.Tossing out necrophilia, pedophilia andincest gags, Bunny can proudly andrightfully claim “I’m sick.”

Admittedly, for those of us here inNOLA used to Varla and Bianca, LadyBunny can seem fairly tame. And someof her targets are pretty easy ones:Cher, Katy Perry (“I licked a girl...”),Britney (“What do you call BritneySpears with a brain? Pregnant.”).

With an up-front warning that theshow is “Rated X for X-tra Retarded”,though, it’s refreshingly clear that Bunnydoesn’t take herself too seriously, in-forming us “Please don’t think I’d doanything so unprofessional as lookingat the set list” as she looks right downat it.

But professional she is. Clearlyfighting a nasty winter cold the night Isaw her, she advised us “I sound and

trodding the boards

by Brian Sands Email: [email protected]

Now in their fifth season, thesetransmissions continue to offer theunique opportunity to enjoy not only theopera, but, before the show and duringintermission, backstage interviews withthe singers and members of the cre-ative team who make the magic hap-pen.

The live broadcasts occur on Sat-urday afternoons; the encore rebroad-casts are on Wednesday nights a fewweeks later. I’ve seen two so far thisseason, Anna Bolena with AnnaNetrebko and Philip Glass’ Satyagrahaabout Mahatma Gandhi. Both werequite wonderful.

Anna Bolena opened the Met’sseason in September; it was thecompany’s first production of Donizetti’s

breakthrough work from 1830 aboutHenry VIII’s second wife. The broad-cast started late due to transmissionproblems but at least an apologeticannouncement was made.

Though the libretto plays fast andloose with history, those Tudors havealways provided juicy drama fromShakespeare to HBO. And in its dra-matic and musical highlights, of whichthere were many, the camera’s imme-diacy caused the opera to be abso-lutely thrilling.

Not only was Netrebko, one of theworld’s reigning divas, in glorious voicefor this most challenging of bel cantoscores, but with her high cheekbonesand pouty lips she knows how to makelove to the camera as well.

ever done with temperance. In factduring Mardi Gras, we abandon allrestraint and just get crazy. So I thoughtit might be a little helpful if I just gaveyou a few hangover cures that mayhelp you get through this long seasonof late nights or walks of shame in thewee hours of the morning. And trustme if anyone is an expert at hangovers,it’s me. Well, maybe Elizabeth Bouviermay have me beat.

Let’s begin with the old faithful;drink a large glass of water plus twoTylenols before bed and you will wakeup feeling bright and cheerful. Unfortu-nately for me, they did not say that youshould not have vodka in the water soI kind of screwed that one up.

So after doing some research onthe web, here are a few of the otherhangover cures that many people havecome up with.

Drink fruit juice. A large glass oforange juice or tomato juice, in otherwords, will help accelerate removal ofthe alcohol still in your system themorning after. Again like before, noalcohol in it. Even though they say alittle hair of the dog will keep yourhangover at bay, that is a slippery slopeto dependency. But hey everyone hasto have a vice.

Eat crackers and honey. Honey isa very concentrated source of fruc-tose. Believe it or not, sauerkraut juiceis said by some to neutralize conge-

ners.Get some pain relief. A headache

is invariably a part of the package thatgoes with a hangover. Take aspirin,acetaminophen or ibuprofen but noth-ing stronger than that. Willow bark is anatural, organic pain reliever as it con-tains a natural form of salicylate, theactive ingredient in aspirin.

Drink bouillon. Broth made frombouillon cubes or any homemade soupbroth will help replace the salt andpotassium your body loses when youdrink.

Replenish your water supply. “Al-cohol causes dehydration of your bodycells,” says John Brick, Ph.D., chief ofresearch at the Center of Alcohol Stud-ies of Rutgers State University of NewJersey. “Drinking plenty of water be-fore you go to bed and again when youget up the morning after may helprelieve discomfort caused by dehydra-tion.”

Take B-complex vitamins. Drink-ing drains the body of these valuablevitamins. Research shows your sys-tem turns to B vitamins when it is understress—and overtaxing the body withtoo much booze, beer, or wine defi-nitely qualifies as stress. Replenishingyour body with a B-complex vitamincapsule can help shorten the durationof your hangover.

Eat amino acids. Amino acids arethe building blocks of protein. Like vita-mins and minerals, they can also bedepleted by use of alcohol. Replenish- [continued on 50]

GayNewOrleans.COM • SouthernDecadence.COM • Feb. 14-27, 2012 • GayNewOrleans.COM • SouthernDecadence.COM • Feb. 14-27, 2012 • GayNewOrleans.COM • SouthernDecadence.COM • Feb. 14-27, 2012 • GayNewOrleans.COM • SouthernDecadence.COM • Feb. 14-27, 2012 • GayNewOrleans.COM • SouthernDecadence.COM • Feb. 14-27, 2012 • The Official Mag: AmbushMag.COM • 4747474747


by Rory WrightEmail: [email protected] by Kriss Hoffman

on the prowl

Bearlesque Show &Fundraiser A Success

On January 29th, some-where between 75 and100 people packed

Tubby’s Golden Lantern to see the firstBearlesque drag show to be held there.Five performers were on stage thatnight, four of them doing dirty drag, andone of them, the emcee of the evening,Miss Monique Michaels performed intraditional glamour drag. The showwas bawdy and fun and moved quicklyonce it began. The show began withMonique do-ing a mono-logue andstrip teasethat got thecrowd riled upand ready forthe show.

The firstentertainer of the evening, Nathan Mar-tin, who is a member of the New Or-leans Bear and Bear Trapper SocialClub and also the producer of the eventperforming as Lucinda Bedroom; cameout in a blue skirt with matching top,and classic hair do done up on his headand rocked out the first number lip-syncing for his life. When he started tostrip the crowd went wild.

Next up was Hal Kloran who per-formed as Strawberry Absinthia in a fulllength 1960’s colored Mumu and dirtydrag get up while lip-syncing a fiercenumber for the raucous crowd. By thistime in the show it was standing roomonly.

Jimmy M, President of the NewOrleans Bear and Bear Trapper SocialClub, came out on stage as ShalitaBuffet with bright red finger nails, anever present lit cigarette and performeda great number. There was a bucketon stage and the audience enjoyedinteracting with the performers by plac-ing dollars down their cleavage ortucked into a garter if they could.

Next up was Josh Goodman per-forming as Lady Biscuit, in a short littlenumber and with nobeard or sideburnslady Biscuit, was arunner up for realdrag performancethat evening.

Then back onstage was MoniqueMichaels, she wasa natural at han-dling the crowd andher comedy routines were bawdy,naughty and hilarious to witness, herperformance was literally somethingyou have to see live to really appreciateand she has so far agreed to do theevent again nextyear.

For Straw-berry Absynthia’ssecond number,she wore a hotpink wig, blackfishnet stockingand a black tututhat came off aspart of the strip.

Shalita Buffet performing a sec-ond number came off the stage andworked the floor. During the perfor-mance the tips kept flowing and a lot ofadmiration as well as dollars for thecharity came from the crowd.

For Nathan Martin’s final numberas Lucinda Bedroom, He wore his SireUrsus Sashalong with aw o m a n ’ sdenim jacketand leathertop with amessy wigand a dia-mond Tiarain a perfor-mance thatthe audiencew h o o p e d

and hollered at.Monique did a final number to end the 90 minute show and the crowd

cheered as all the performers came out for a final applause from the crowd anda group photo.

The fundraiser brought in $716 for the Food for Friends program, a divisionof the NO/AIDS Task Force, as well as donations of canned and non-perishablefood items for the program. According to Nathan Martin, due to the success ofthis first event, there will be a second annual Bearlesque show next year beforeMardi Gras. Also later this spring, a new Bearlesque Variety Show will bestaged at JohnPaul’s Bar on Elysian Fields. That show will not be focused on dragbut will be an all around entertainment with a talent show as part of the evening.Anyone wanting to take part in the upcoming event is encouraged to contact theNew Orleans Bear and Bear Trapper Social Club, which you can find online, andthey will get your information to Nathan for that production.

pride: beyond the rainbow

There are many excitingevents coming up for Pride2012 that we encourage you

attend! Come out and meet the newBoard Of Directors, ask questions, andhave some input for this year’s Pride!

April 7, 7pm-midnight, is the PrideGrand Marshal Announcement Partyand Gala. Come out to the HotelMonteleone 2nd floor, at 214 Royal. Allformer Pride Grand Marshals will bepresented, and the 2012 Grand Mar-shals will be announced! Advancetickets on sale now for $20 atwww.prideneworleans.org. This givesyou: entry to the gala, a concert byAmanda Shaw from 9pm-midnight,food, and raffle items with cash bar.

May 20, 6pm, is the Mr./Miss PridePageant 2012. Come on out toHarrah’s Hotel, 228 Poydras. There isa $25 contestant entry fee with $5donation at the door.

Visit www.prideneworleans.org to:nominate someone for Pride GrandMarshal, enter the Pride Pageant, pur-chase tickets for Amanda Shaw/GrandMarshal Party, enter the Pride Parade,and donate to Pride 2012.

Make sure to “like” us on Facebookand follow us on twitter@NewOrleansPride.

Anyone interested in becoming aPride sponsor, please email us [email protected]

For all other questions, pleaseemail [email protected].

GayNewOrleans.COM • SouthernDecadence.COM • Feb. 14-27, 2012 • GayNewOrleans.COM • SouthernDecadence.COM • Feb. 14-27, 2012 • GayNewOrleans.COM • SouthernDecadence.COM • Feb. 14-27, 2012 • GayNewOrleans.COM • SouthernDecadence.COM • Feb. 14-27, 2012 • GayNewOrleans.COM • SouthernDecadence.COM • Feb. 14-27, 2012 • The Official Mag: AmbushMag.COM • 4949494949


feel like shit but I’m gonna give you myall tonight.” And she did.

Amidst the hilarity, one brief linestood out, with Bunny’s innate flair dust-ing over the underlying pathos: “To beold and gay and a bottom in New YorkCity is a miracle.”

Having been around since the1980s, this ageless and intrepid per-former continues to make lots of fun ofherself (“Pity I have to shave my titties.”)and many others. Here’s to miracles.

Coming soon—Beginning March 21, A Street-

car Named Desire will be coming hometo its Elysian Fields Avenue neighbor-hood courtesy of Southern Rep. Hav-ing lost its Canal Place home earlierthis year, Southern Rep is relocatingthe production to Michalopoulos Stu-dios, 527 Elysian Fields Avenue, thevery same block where TennesseeWilliams first imagined it.

Directed by Jason Kirkpatrick andpresented in collaboration withInSideOut Productions, Streetcar willfeature Southern Rep’s Artistic Direc-tor Aimée Hayes as Blanche Dubois,with InSideOut Productions’ MichaelAaron Santos as Stanley, Ashley Ricordas Stella, and Mike Harkins as Mitch,joined by Austin Alleman, Caitlyn Allison,Charles Buggage, Tracey Collins, Mar-tin Covert, Monica Harris, Jelani Pitcher,Phil Karnell, Melaina Ricks, Dean Aus-tin Wray, and James Yeargain.

“One of Streetcar’s primarythemes is about re-invention: the OldSouth adapting to a post-World War IIeconomy and after the loss of BelleReve, Blanche DuBois leaving Laurelbehind and hoping for a new life,” saysHayes. “Southern Rep, too, is re-in-venting itself as we try to find a new

home for our next 25 years.”One hour prior to each perfor-

mance, there will be A StreetcarNamed Desire-themed walking tourso audience members can discoverwhere Stanley and Stella Kowalski lived,worked and played in 1947 New Or-leans. Walking and talking with cock-tails will be encouraged!

—From March 29 to April 21, Ris-ing Shiners Theatre Company will bepresenting David Caudle’s VisitingHours, a tale of a lesbian couple’slongtime relationship that is threatenedwhen their estranged adult son resur-faces, having been arrested for aggra-vated assault. Their struggle mirrorsthat of any couple, gay or straight,faced with the prospect that their childwill never be “ok.”

Caudle’s The Sunken LivingRoom won the 2007 Ambie Award forBest Original Work when it was pre-sented that year by Southern Rep.Visiting Hours will be directed by AnnMahoney and will feature Becky Allen,Becki Davis, Tari Hohn, JessieTerrebonne and Nick Thompson. It’llbe done at the Mid-City Theatre, 3540Toulouse Street.

—Dubbed by Time Out NY as oneof ten New York City women “every gayman should know and be obsessedwith,” vocalist and comedic perfor-mance artist, Amber Martin premieresher award-winning chops at New Or-leans’ own Allways Lounge, 2240Saint Claude Avenue, on Friday, March9.

In combination with new materialcreated just for the vibrant NOLA audi-ence, Martin will present pieces fromher recent sold out NYC performanceseries, Amber Alert! an arousing, ifnot mind-altering hour of meticulouslychosen musical and comedic vignettesfrom Amber’s strange and fascinatingtoy box of characters.

Chicken Salad Croissant @ TheDecadence Shoppe, 806 N.

Rampart St.

Garlic Shrimp Pasta (jumboshrimp with garlic butter sauce

over angel hair pasta) @ LouisianaPizza Kitchen, 95 French Mkt Pl

New Orleans Muffuletta (generoushelping of ham, salami, provoloneand olive salad) @ Restaurant/Deli

of the Year Quartermaster: TheNellie Deli, 1100 Bourbon St.

Blending music, raunch, stories,movement, and acid-capped comedywith a pristine, multi-octave solo sing-ing voice, Amber has seasoned herprevious performances with rotatingcelebrity collaborators Justin VivianBond, John Cameron (Hedwig andthe Angry Inch)Mitchell, Jake (“Scis-sor Sisters”) Shears and Karen Black,to name a few. In keeping with tradi-tion, Amber has invited some very spe-cial guests for this debut performance.

—Out in Slidell, an original musicalWidow Bride will be presented by theSlidell Little Theatre, 2024 Nellie Dr.Slidell, from March 2 through March18. The score is by John Giraud who

trodding the boards...from 48

was nominatedfor an AmbieAward last yearas Music Direc-tor for his workon SLT’s Evita.

W i d o wBride tells thestory of a Gulf War widow and her family in the year2000. It raises such questions as “How does she handlean angry teenage son, and a little girl who never knewher father?” and “How long should she mourn, andwhen is it okay to love again, if at all?”

For comfort and guidance, she reads her deadhusband’s letters from the war and we see how asoldier’s family forges ahead and honors the sacrificeby living a life full of hope and love. Widow Bride alsofeatures a lesbian character, the widow’s sister, whofinds a love match of her own.

Once we recover from Mardi Gras, there certainlywill be lots of theater to keep us busy!

Next Ad DeadlineAsh Wednesday, Feb. 22

504.522.8049

Amber Martin in Amber Alert!