PrideFest Comes Of Age
Chart-Topping Acts, More Diverse Programming, Electronic Ticketing At 21st Annual Festival
By Mike Fitzpatrick
Milwaukee - Turning 21 is a pretty big deal for most. If you're Wisconsin’s largest annual gay pride festival and coming off a record-breaking anniversary event, the traditional “coming of age” year means having to hurdle even higher bars to give the LGBT community a party it won't soon forget.
  Judging by the announcements it made in the last ten days, the 2008 PrideFest Committee may have already won the gold medal. With current chart-topping headline acts, advanced seating and ticketing options plus an expanded line-up targeting everyone from Milwaukee's exploding Latino LGBT community to the bear family, it looks like it's going to be one heckuva time down on the Lakefront June 6-8.
   The fun will kick-off Friday, June 6 when the festival will present Emmy Award-winning actress and comic Wanda Sykes on the Miller Lite Main Stage. Organizers believe Sykes will be a perfect fit to open PrideFest's celebration of LGBT culture and community. The announcement came just days after Sykes - a long-time supporter of the LGBT rights movement - chimed in denouncing Oklahoma lawmaker Sally Kern's recent anti-gay diatribe on the Ellen DeGeneres Show (also see story in National News section).
  The synchronicity of the Sykes media story coming as the festival announced her appearance was not lost on Communications Director Paul Williams, who recalled “My Life On The D-List” star Kathy Griffin’s all-time attendance record-setting show at last year’s PrideFest. “If you remember, Kathy’s PrideFest show came at the end of what turned out to the best week in her entire career,” Williams said. “She said so, right on the Miller Stage!”
  Wanda Sykes has been called “one of the funniest stand up comics” by her peers, she ranks among Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Funniest People in America, and she was featured in the April issue of Vanity Fair as one of the “Queens of Comedy.”
  “What’s even more exciting is that this will be Wanda’s only Midwest appearance this summer,” Williams added.
  It’s hard to watch any form of media today and not run into Wanda and her sassy wit. TV sitcoms, stand-up comedy specials, movies, Jay Leno’s favorite guest, the voice of Crank Yankers and Applebee’s commercial. Wanda Sykes is doing it all and she’s doing it with her unique, no-holds-barred comic style.
A multiple Emmy winner, Wanda can currently be seen on the CBS comedy “The New Adventures of Old Christine.” Her latest HBO comedy special, “Wanda Sykes: Sick & Tired,” was nominated for a 2007 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special, featuring a wide range of topics: politics, gay marriage, karma, health care, racial profiling, the pressure of being a woman and the perks of getting older.
  Sykes has recently been seen in the feature films “Evan Almighty,” co-starring with Steve Carell; the New Line feature “Monster-In-Law,” starring opposite Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda; and the romantic comedy “My Super Ex-Girlfriend,” with Luke Wilson and Uma Thurman. She’s also been heard in the animated features “Over The Hedge” and “The Barnyard.”
  Sykes also recently starred in and produced the Comedy Central show, Wanda Does It, where she tried various non-showbiz jobs. In the fall of 2003 she was seen on Fox’s Wanda at Large, which she wrote, produced and starred in. She also has a one hour Comedy Central special called Wanda Sykes: Tongue Untied. In addition, she can be seen on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” heard on Comedy Central’s “Crank Yankers” as the voice of Gladys Murphy, and heard as the voice of Applebee’s commercials.
  The Sykes announcement, made initially on festival media partners Milwaukee’s “Jammin’ 98.3” WJMR-FM and Madison’s “The Mic 92.1” WXXM-FM March 20, came a day after the festival’s town hall meeting held at the Hillside Family Resource Center. About 35 people attended and heard about the new ticketing and seating options as well as a few details about he expanded program line-up.
New Advanced And Reserved Ticket Options
  PrideFest will offer reserved seating for all of the headline shows, with the $75 ticket available in advance. All advance ticketing - from reserved seating to day and weekend passes - will be available through the PrideFest website. The festival utilize Ticketmaster and Ticketron to process the tickets. Electronic ticketing will allow people to print out their PrideFest tickets on their home computers, according to Williams. “The electronic tickets will each have unique coding to permit those who have them to pass directly through the main gate without having to stop at the box office,” he said.
  “The reserved seating will be in the first three rows in front of the stage,” Williams said. “Everything from the fourth row back will be general seating and open to anyone with a day admission or a weekend pass.”
  A portion of the first three rows of seating will also be made available without extra charge to the hearing-impaired to permit them to have a clear view of the on-stage ASL interpretation.
  The reserved seating option came following consumer feedback, Williams said. “We’ve had a good number of festival attendees ask for the option of paying a premium for guaranteed seating,” he said. “And while we’re trying to offer multiple levels of the festival experience this year, we also want to accommodate those who are on a budget and might access the grounds by donating canned goods to the ARCW food pantry.”
  PrideFest’s reserved seating arrangement has been used at other festivals in the last year, according to Williams. “It’s fairly simple to set up so people will have unlimited access to front row seating throughout each day until about an hour before the headline show,” he said.
  For those at the town hall meeting who might not have heard, festival organizers also repeated the March 17 announcement that the Indigo Girls would close the festival on Sunday, June 8. It is the second year in a row, PrideFest will close its three-day festival with an act that has strong appeal with the women’s community. Veteran rocker Joan Jett’s appearance capped an all-time weekend attendance record at last year’s PrideFest. The announcement was made initially on festival media partner “88Nine” WYMS-FM.
  Williams noted that consumer feedback drove the decision to bring in the gay-identified duo. “For the last two years, people have re
ed the Indigo Girls more than any other act - even the ‘dream acts’ like Cher, Bette Midler and Elton John,” he said. “We literally began the process of booking them the day after last year’s festival ended and we are so proud that we’re able to bring them to Wisconsin this June.”
  With hits like “Closer To Fine,” “Hammer and a Nail,” “Galileo” and “Shame On You,” the Indigo Girls are known for legendary live shows that inevitably turn into massive group sing-alongs. They also carry the respect of their peers in the music industry, having won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Recording and receiving a nomination for Best New Artist.
  Twenty years after they began releasing records as Indigo Girls, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have politely declined the opportunity to mellow with age. You could say it’s just not in their constitution: devoted environmental and social justice activists, the Girls have spent their entire career pushing boundaries on a variety of fronts. Why stop now?
  Both Saliers and Ray agree that Despite Our Differences, the tenth Indigo Girls studio album, is a record defined by change and newness. On the business side of things, it’s the first CD they’ve released since signing a new record deal with Hollywood Records earlier this year. And on the creative side, it’s one they made far outside the confines of their established Georgia comfort zone; Differences was recorded over a speedy month-and-a-half this spring at veteran producer Mitchell Froom’s home studio in Santa Monica, California.
  The result is perhaps the freshest-sounding album in the Indigos’ ample discography. Differences pulses with warm acoustic guitars; crisp, tasty keyboards (played by Froom and longtime band member Carol Isaacs); and, of course, the singers’ trademark intertwined vocals.
  Guest appearances from two Indigo Girls fans, Brandi Carlile and Pink (returning the favor the Girls did her when they performed and sang on “Dear Mr. President” from Pink’s album I’m Not Dead), “inject the record with this inspiring energy,” Saliers says. There’s an understated immediacy to the music that evokes the deep-rooted chemistry of the artists’ live show, which Saliers admits was part of what she and Ray were after. “Amy and I had learned the songs,” she explained, “and we just wanted to go in there and cut them with the rhythm section. Mitchell’s not an overproducer - he wants the song to come alive.”
  In addition to the Indigo Girls show, other programming announced at the town hall meeting included an expanded regional Pride Idol competition, the return of a Mr. & Miss PrideFest pageant, plus a major expansion of acts and attractions for the Latino and bear communities.
Tri-State Pride Idol Competition In 2008
  As the Midwest’s fastest growing talent competition, Pride Idol is back for the fifth year in a row. The talent search has expanded to more audition locations in three state and including several new cities. The opening event will be held April 13 at Rascal’s in Appleton, the venue that produced the 2007 Pride Idol winner Laura Kessler. The entire schedule of preliminaries is available online on the Pride Idol page of the PrideFest website (www.pridefest.com).
  Hundreds of contestants will compete at fourteen auditions across the region at various bars & clubs, followed by a final chance to be the fifteenth Semi-Finalist at the “Wild Card” audition held during the opening night of PrideFest. The winner from each audition will move on to the Semi-Finals, held Saturday, June 7 at PrideFest at 4 PM on the Rainbow Stage. The semi-finalists will compete in front of a panel of celebrity judges to try and make it into the Top 5.
  The Top 5 contestants will compete in the Finals on the Miller Lite Main Stage at PrideFest on Sunday, June 8, at 4 PM, along with other special guest performances. A panel of celebrity judges will make the final cut and determine who becomes the 2008 Pride Idol!
  The Pride Idol 2008 grand prize winner will receive a $500 cash prize, open for the Indigo on the Miller Lite Main Stage on June 8, and also win other great prizes. Prizes will also be awarded to the 2nd and 3rd place winners.
  Although full details were still in the planning stages at Quest’s deadline, the Mr. and Miss PrideFest pageant will return to the festival grounds on June 6 as well. Specifics on the Latino-oriented acts are also still unavailable until all contracts have been signed, according to Williams.
  One additional attraction that will also make a welcome return. PrideFest has announced that there will be a fireworks show during the weekend. “We know people don’t come out specifically for fireworks but its part of the PrideFest experience and will be back again this year once the final details are worked out,” Williams said.
  Another special event that has been finalized will delight Wisconsin’s bear community. Bearapalooza is coming to PrideFest’s Rainbow Stage on Saturday, June 7. The 90-minute showcase will feature six bear-identified singers and entertainers, including Tommy Johns, Michael West, Rob Morris, Andy Northrup, Freddy Freeman and Charlie K. Brown.
  Six years ago, singer-songwriter Freddy Freeman put together a concert of musicians and performers of the Bear community and called it Bearapalooza. Since that first show in 2002 in New York City, 2002, Bearapalooza has traveled around the USA, touching the lives of countless musicians and music fans, bringing a special sense of diversity and pride wherever it goes, and has grown into a national musical celebration of ursine brotherhood. Bearapalooza has had successful music festivals in New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, Nashville, and Florida, and now adds Milwaukee PrideFest to its list of outstanding venues.  More information about Bearapalooza is available online at: www.bearapalooza.com.
  “We’re really excited about this addition to the PrideFest line-up,” Williams told Quest, noting that organizers were working to schedule the leather community show events adjacent to the Bearapalooza concert. “It should be a perfect fit for the men’s community.”
  Bearapalooza will close just in time for the signature headliner at this year’s PrideFest: chart-topping and 2007 Grammy-nominated singer Natasha Bedingfield. “Booking Natasha as our top act on Saturday takes PrideFest to another level,” Williams said. “Until this year our top acts have been the legends of pop music - we’re bringing in Natasha just as she’s about to embark on a  major U.S. tour.”
  Natasha herself is excited about her appearance as well. “I can’t wait to come and do my thing at PrideFest,” she told Quest. “I’m a big supporter of the gay community, so I’m honored to be headlining! It’s going to be a great event!”
  Natasha Bedingfield is one of the biggest and most talented acts on today’s pop charts. With a number one single in America, three additional top ten hits, and over six million albums sold worldwide, Natasha Bedingfield is the UK’s biggest female pop star bar none, and she’s poised to repeat that success in the US.
  Often compared to uber-diva Pink, Bedingfield took the US by storm last year with “Unwritten,” which became the most played song on mainstream American radio and the first British chart topping hit by a female in almost twenty years. Vanity Fair singled her out as the spearhead of a new Britpop invasion; she became one of the faces of Gap (alongside Mia Farrow and Common); she jammed with her hero Prince at a private party; and Bono enlisted her in his (RED) campaign.
  Natasha is also in an exclusive group of performers beloved by gay audiences for their strength, style and ability to tell it like it is. Chicago’s Boi Magazine recently named her one of the “New School Divas”, along with Rihanna and Kelly Clarkson, and remixes of Natasha’s songs have been hugely popular in every gay dance club in the nation.
  With over 1.4 million downloads of her single, “Unwritten,” Natasha became the first British female to score a number one song in the US Billboard pop chart since Kim Wilde and “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” 19 years earlier. “I got to experience the American dream, the concept that you start out a nobody and make yourself into someone. It was humbling, but freeing as well and I found that’s quite a good place from which to write,” Bedingfield said.
  Bedingfield’s first album also produced the hits “These Words,” “Single,” and “I Bruise Easily.”  In 2007 she received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
  Critical acclaim and chart success are continuing with Bedingfield’s new CD, “Pocketful of Sunshine,” which debuted this past January at #3 on the US Billboard charts, the highest ever debut for a UK-signed female artist. The new collection is full of hook-heavy tunes like the album’s first hit which recently tickled the Top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100, “Love Like This,” featuring another current chart superstar, Sean Kingston.
  The full power of Natasha’s voice is heard on the just-released second single, “Pocketful of Sunshine,” which is blazing up the charts with its full-on, hard-to-forget chorus. USA Today rated the entire album 3 1/2 stars out of four and recognized the album as “musically mature” with “artfully R&B-spiced pop-candy arrangements.” With many other radio-friendly songs on the album, Natasha is poised to become a fixture on the charts with one of the best albums of the year.
  “Though we’ve announced the big guns, we’ve got a lot more to share with the community about what’s happening at PrideFest over the next nine or ten weeks,” Williams said.
  Advance tickets, and the full updated festival schedule will be available through the PrideFest website at: www.pridefest.com.
  PrideFest and Bearapalooza provided some of the artist material included in this article.

Flaherty Needs Help To Make History April 1
By Mike Fitzpatrick
Milwaukee - 3rd District Aldermanic candidate Patrick Flaherty would like to make a little LGBT history April 1. To become the first-ever openly-gay elected member of the Milwaukee Common Council he will need plenty of two V’s: votes and volunteers.
  Though his race lacks the tabloid factor and resultant media coverage of 6th District’s Michael McGee’s jailhouse campaign, Flaherty has drawn statewide and even a bit of national interest. A number of highly visible LGBT political figures - from Madison’s Assembly Representative Mark Pocan to Fair Wisconsin’s Interim Executive Director Glenn Carlson - have hosted “out of district” fundraisers for Flaherty. The opposition has taken notice as well. Supporters of Wisconsin’s own “Fred Phelps” - Ralph Ovadal - recently leafleted parts of the 3rd District with their anti-gay screed.
  This past week nationally syndicated advice columnist and author Dan Savage used his most recent column to promote Flaherty’s campaign. Savage recommended that his readers support the campaign in response to discriminatory comments made by Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern.
  Here’s the excerpt from Savage’s column:
  Question: “I love your column, and am sure you’ve already gotten a million e-mails about Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern and her hateful gay-bashing video on YouTube. She’s deplorable, and other people deserve to know about her hating ways. - Justine”
  Savage’s answer: “ ‘I’m not anti-, I’m not gay-bashing,’ Sally Kern says on her now-infamous audio recording, before she goes on to say that homosexuality is ‘the biggest threat that our nation has - even more so than terrorism or Islam, which I think is a big threat.’ Nice. Then after exposing early childhood education for what it is - a gay plot, dontcha know- Sally bemoans the fact that ‘gays are infiltrating city councils. . .  they are winning elections!’ We certainly are, Sally, because infiltrating city councils - and school boards, and state legislatures - isn’t just for right-wing Christian bigots anymore.
  “Decent folks are understandably angry with Ms. Kern. But instead of sending Sally an angry e-mail- excuse me, I mean in addition to sending her an angry e-mail (sallykern@okhouse.gov) - make Sally’s worst nightmares come true. Patrick Flaherty is running for alderman in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The general election is coming right up on April 1. Help make her worst nightmares come true by sending a campaign contribution to Flaherty via his website: www.patricknewleadership.com.”
  There has been plenty of support from local political figures as well. Flaherty picked up the endorsements from two former primary opponents: third place finisher Sam McGovern-Rowen and John Connelly. The Shepherd Express endorsed Flaherty as has Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and 4th District U. S. Congressional Representative Gwen Moore.
  Flaherty feels optimistic about his chances. “It’s been going great,” he said. “We had a big St. Patrick’s Day event and it was fun for me to look out in the room and see all the different constituencies I’ve worked with over the years: the LGBT community, people from labor, from neighborhood (organizations). It was really satisfying to see that.”
  But Flaherty realizes that he faces an uphill battle. “The Common Council has been around for 160 years. 98% of the people who have been on the council have fit the demographics of my opponent,” he noted. “There’s still some barriers even on the east side of Milwaukee in some people’s minds (as to) whether a gay person can represent everybody.”
  Flaherty is aware of the anti-gay pamphleteering in his district. “We’re watching carefully Ralph Ovadal’s church from Monroe,” he said. “Last Saturday (March 15) they dropped an anti-gay flier in a good part of the district. We’ll be watching... to see if they’re back out.” The distributed fliers did not mention the campaign directly, according to Flaherty.
  Flaherty his long-term residency in the district will help him overall. “I’ve lived in the 3rd District now for many years, unlike my opponent who only moved back last year and is now running for office,” he said.
  However, Flaherty also noted that he feels as if he now may be running against “a kind of machine” campaign which recently put out a large, full color brochure about his opponent, Nik Kovac. “We are much more of a grassroots campaign,” he said. “We don’t have the money to put something like that out.”
  Getting out the votes will be critical to winning the race, although with no Presidential primary on the ballot, turnout April 1 is expected by many to be lower than the February primary. “There are a couple of really big races on the ballot - the Milwaukee County Executive race between Scott Walker and Lena Taylor and the statewide Supreme Court race,” he said. “Hopefully that will boost turnout. I know there have been a lot of television commercials for the court race, some of them pretty awful.”
  Besides getting out to vote, Flaherty said he needs “a lot of people to volunteer” in the next few days to help make his campaign successful. “We are having lit drops now through April 1,” he said. “These don’t involve direct contact with possible voters, for those who might feel a bit shy about campaigning.”
  Flaherty will need help with making reminder calls to likely supporters as well. “We’ll need people to make reminder calls right through election day,” he said. “No matter what you feel comfortable doing, even volunteering for a couple of hours in the next week will help.”
  To become part of what could be a history-making event for Milwaukee’s LGBT community, volunteers can call Kurt Dyer at 414-405-5878 or visit the campaign website at: www.patricknewleadership.com

World & National News:

Shame On Sally: Kern’s Anti-Gay Remarks Draw Protests, Laughs And More
Okie Rep’s Son Allegedly Outed In The Process
By Mike Fitzpatrick
Oklahoma City - About 300 people gathered March 18 at the Oklahoma state Capitol to ask state Rep. Sally Kern to apologize for calling homosexuality the biggest threat to America. Rev. Jim Shields, a retired United Methodist minister who lives in Kern’s district called on the Republican legislator to hold meetings in the district to talk with gays and Muslims.
  If Kern doesn’t do those things, then she should resign, said the Rev. Loyce Newton-Edwards, assistant pastor of the Open Arms United Church of Christ and president of the Oklahoma City chapter of PFLAG, Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
  Kern, a Republican, was not in the Capitol during the protest in the first-floor rotunda. No state representatives were seen at the rally.
  Last January Kern was taped making a speech to a Republican club in Oklahoma City and the tape was sent it to the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. A three-minute segment of what Kern claimed was a half hour speech was posted on YouTube in early March.
  In the portion of the  speech posted online Kern called homosexuality “the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam.”  “The homosexual agenda is destroying this nation; it’s just a fact,” Kern said on the YouTube clip. Since then, about a million people have played the comments.
  Kern’s legislative assistant said today the legislator has received about 26,000 emails since her comments were posted on the Internet.
  Rob Howard, executive director of the Cimarron Alliance Foundation, an Oklahoma City group, asked GOP House Speaker Chris Benge to demand that Kern apologize and that the Legislature act on four comprehensive hate crimes bills that failed to advance out of committee. Benge said last week he has no plans to punish Kern, saying Kern has a right to express her opinion.
  Howard said freedom of speech does not belong to just Kern. “The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community has the right to disagree publicly with Sally Kern,” he said. “In fact, it is our moral imperative.”
  The day following the protest Kern refused to apologize. “I'm not going to apologize for what the Bible teaches, I'm not going to apologize for exercising my First Amendment right,” Kern said. “I'm not going to apologize for a hate speech when I did no hate speech.”
  The conservative Thomas More Law Center of Ann Arbor, Michigan also announced that it has agreed to represent her in any legal cases arising from the controversy. “Representative Kern expressed her concern that the homosexual agenda was destroying our nation, and that young school children were being indoctrinated into believing that the homosexual ‘life style’ is normal,” according to the legal group’s news release. “Her comments caused some of the nation’s largest homosexual groups to target her for political annihilation.”
  Also spotlighted in the controversy was Kern’s son, Jesse. The week after the YouTube clip was posted a former classmate of her son at Oklahoma Baptist University suggested to reporters that he was gay.
  A blogger on the Oklahoma City Topix forum wrote: “I find it hilarious that Salacious Sally is such a bigot. Her son Jesse was the biggest queen on the campus of OBU in the mid-90’s. Twice he almost was expelled for making inappropriate advances in the library toilets.”
  Another commenter and supposed classmate claimed that “[Jesse]’s attendance at Oklahoma Baptist University was marred by his repeated censure for cruising the school’s toilets. Had he been able to live his life openly he would not have had to engage in such actions.”
  Jesse Kern responded to the allegations in an article with Tulsa World, saying that the gay allegations were harming his and his family’s reputation. Kern claimed that he has chosen to be celibate, but is not gay. “First of all, no one’s sexuality is anyone’s business. It is not even my mother’s business.”
  However Kern made his sexual orientation her business when she reiterated her son’s comments, telling the paper that he is “artistic, very musical, and not one to play on the football team,” but that he was not gay.
  While the younger Kern said that while he was attempting to clear up rumors about his sexuality, it should be noted that his views on homosexuality differ from his mother’s. “[There] needs to be honor in any relationship whether it is a straight or gay relationship,” Jesse told the paper.
  The Kern controversy was also fodder for talk shows left, right and center. On the Ellen Degeneres Show, comic Wanda Sykes thought Kern should “move up in government” for her remarks “If she thinks homosexuality is a bigger threat than terrorism, maybe she’ll get our troops out of Iraq and they can go invade West Hollywood,” adding that Kern was “out of date, just like bell bottoms.”
 
Toe Tapper Craig Files New Toilet Case Appeal
St. Paul - Attorneys for U.S. Senator Larry Craig have asked the Minnesota Court of Appeals to correct a “manifest injustice” by allowing the Idaho Republican to withdraw his guilty plea stemming from an airport restroom sex sting. In court papers filed March 11, the lawyers asked the appellate judges to reverse the trial court’s decision to let stand Craig’s guilty plea to a disorderly conduct charge. They also asked the court to vacate his plea.
  The “wide stancing” Craig was arrested in June in a restroom stall at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport during a broad sweep targeting men soliciting sex. An undercover officer said Craig tapped his feet and swiped his hand under a stall divider in a way that signaled he wanted sex.
  After the arrest and original guilty plea became public last August, Craig denied wrongdoing. He insisted his actions were misconstrued and said he wasn’t gay. He said he pleaded guilty and paid a fine hoping to resolve the matter quietly. He later tried to withdraw his guilty plea, but a Hennepin County judge refused.
 The new filing repeats many arguments that Craig’s attorneys made before, including claims that the lower court abused its discretion and that the guilty plea is invalid because there is no factual basis for a disorderly conduct charge.
  The Court of Appeals had not yet set a time for oral arguments. Once heard, a ruling is required within 90 days. Craig has said he will not seek re-election but will finish his term, which ends in January 2009.

State News:

Drunk Driver Pleads Guilty In Pride President Death
Stevens Point - A 22-year-old Rudolph woman has told a Portage County Judge she killed gay activist Charles Olszewksi by driving into his car last September while drunk.  As part of a plea deal Kelly Melville pleaded guilty to a single count of homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle February 29. Charges of homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle while having a prohibited alcohol content were dismissed.
  Investigators say Melville had a blood alcohol content of around .28 when she crossed the center line of Highway 10 West, striking Olszewski’s oncoming car. Melville, who was leaving the parking lot of Bahamas Lounge in the seconds before the crash, had been drinking at several locations throughout the day before the 10:35 PM. accident, according to police testimony at a previous court hearing.
  Melville sustained minor injuries in the crash. Olszewski, who had been ejected from the vehicle and was not wearing the lap part of his seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene.
  Olszewski was working as a photographer at the time of his death. Friends said that he was saving money to start his own photography business. He had been driving to a second job at a gas station just before the crash.
  Olszewski had served as President of Central Wisconsin Pride, a nonprofit organization celebrating the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community,
  No sentencing recommendation was made for Melville at after her plea, which she entered almost inaudibly at her hearing. Melville faces a maximum of 40 years imprisonment. She will be sentenced within 60 days and remains in police custody on a $200,000 cash bond.

No Service Changes As BESTD Clinic’s Lynch Relocates
By Mike Fitzpatrick
Milwaukee - BESTD Clinic President Kevin Lynch’s planned relocation to Seattle, Washington at the end of March will not have any significant impact on the clinic or its services, Lynch has told Quest. News of Lynch’s departure had prompted a number of recent rumors about the future of the clinic.
  “I will still be doing most of the day-to-day jobs I had been doing when I move to Washington to be with my partner of four years,” Lynch said. “I’ll just be doing them at a distance.”
   Lynch noted that he will continue on as the clinic’s board President until his term ends in December. A transitional process is in place to turn over Lynch’s duties during the next eight months to 10-year veteran clinic volunteer and board Vice-President John George. “Everything else will stay the same,” Lynch told Quest. “Clinic hours and services will continue as they have as will BESTD’s outreach testing events.”
  Lynch admitted that he had not planned to leave as quickly as he did, but had a “great opportunity” to do so. “The perfect tenant to take over my property fell into my lap,” he said. “I’ve been wanting to be full-time with (his partner) for a long time.”
  Created in 1974, The Brady East STD (BESTD) Clinic, located at 1240 East Brady St. here, has been a not-for-profit organization serving all people in Milwaukee and surrounding counties. The mission of BESTD Clinic is to provide quality, professional sexually transmitted disease diagnosis and treatment as well as HIV/AIDS prevention counseling and testing in a manner that is sensitive to the sexual orientation and gender identity of their clients. BESTD Clinic provides it’s services at no cost.
  For more information about the BESTD Clinic, testing hours and other services, call 414-272-2144 or visit the clinic website at: www.bestd.org.

HospiceCare To Offer LGBT Grief Support Group
Madison - HospiceCare Inc. will offer a seven-week grief support group for those who identify with the LGBTI community and have experienced the death of a loved one. This group will offer a safe and supportive environment to talk about grief-related issues while finding support from individuals who have similar self-identities and experiences.
  The group will be held on Tuesdays beginning April 8 through May 20 from 6- 8 PM at the Don & Marilyn Anderson HospiceCare Center, 5395 E. Cheryl Parkway in Madison. The group is free and open to the public. However pre-registration is required. For more information call: 608-276-4660 or visit the hospice website at: www.hospicecareinc.com.
  HospiceCare Inc. is a nonprofit, community-based hospice dedicated to providing physical, emotional and spiritual support to patients and families dealing with life-limiting illnesses. With offices in Madison and Janesville, HospiceCare serves residents in Dane, Rock, and parts of Walworth, Green and Jefferson counties.

Quest To Produce 2008 PrideFest Pride Guide
Milwaukee – For the second year, PrideFest has chosen Quest to produce the PrideFest Pride Guide. The Guide provides the most in-depth information about performances and activities at Wisconsin’s largest annual celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) culture and community.
  PrideFest will kick off Milwaukee's lakefront festival season when it takes over the Henry W. Maier Festival Grounds (Summerfest) June 6, 7 and 8, 2008.
“Advertisers and festival patrons alike were extremely happy with the Guide produced by Quest last year, so we are excited to partner with them again,” PrideFest Communications Director Paul Williams said.
  The Guide offers the highest print rate of any LGBT publication in Wisconsin and directly reaches the lucrative LGBT market. PrideFest has also developed into one of the nation’s premier LGBT pride events.  The festival’s attendance has grown 42% since 2004.
  The mission of PrideFest is to celebrate the diversity of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) culture and community. For more information about advertising in the Guide, visit www.pridefest.com or call Quest at 1-800-578-3785.

Guerra Exits LGBT Community Center
Milwaukee - After almost four years of service to the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center and the Milwaukee community, Angie Guerra, Interim Director of Communications is resigning to relocate to Sedona, Arizona.
  Guerra came to the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center in 2004 as the Center’s first Director of Development. In that role, she was able to help grow events like the Big Night Out and create social events like Mix N’ Mingles’ into roaring successes. Her winning personality and dedication to the community made her events both fun and well attended.
  During the past four years the Center has seen tremendous growth and Guerra has played an integral role in helping to build relationships with key constituents and help spread the message of the positive work being done. “Angie has been a key leader at the Center over the years brining stability and creativity to the staff. I will personally miss her as part of our management team, and as a co-worker. We all wish her the very best in her new endeavors” Center Executive Director Dr. Maggi Cage said.
  Prior to coming to the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center Angie worked with Visit Milwaukee, where she assisted meeting planners and convention goers learn about Milwaukee. She also played a hand in the creation of the Milwaukee LGBT lure brochure that the Visit Milwaukee sales team uses to entice LGBT visitors to come to our fair city. In addition Angie has served on numerous committees and boards including, the Women of Color Funding Network, the Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee, Aqui Milwaukee Magazine Readers Advisory Board, Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee events planning committee and Visit Milwaukee’s LGBT Advisory Team and Multicultural Committee.
  Guerra is excited about pursuing new opportunities in Arizona. “I am saddened to leave the Center at such a turning point,” she said. “We are on the brink of such an exciting time, but now is my time to spread my own wings and explore other opportunities.”

Mix ‘N Mingle Goes Tropical April 8
Milwaukee - Join the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center for a “Taste Of The Tropics: Easy Asian Cooking Tips” cooking demonstration with Erik & Dexter’s Catering and Event planning. This special Mix ‘N Mingle event will be held Tuesday, April 8 at the Milwaukee Public Market, 400 N. Milwaukee St.. The demonstration will be held in Madame Kuony’s Kitchen on the second floor. Check-in is at 5:30 PM. Tickets for this event are $10 for LGBT Center members and $15 for non-members. Because space is limited, RSVPs are needed by April 4. Reservations with payment should be sent to the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, Attention: Robin Elizabeth, 315 West Court Street, Milwaukee, WI 53212. For more information or to register by phone call: 414-271-2656, Ext. 110.

MCT To Offer Talley’s Folly
Milwaukee - The Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) closes its 33rd season with Lanford Wilson’s Pulitzer-prize winning romance Talley’s Folly, April 17 - May 4, 2008. Talley’s Folly is the humorous, gentle story of long-awaited love, a lyrical valentine for an apple and an orange.
  It is dusk on the Fourth of July, 1944. Sally Talley, a broken, Midwestern “girl” comes to her family’ dilapidated boathouse in Lebanon, Missouri and finds her old suitor, witty and erudite Jewish accountant Matt Friedman, waiting to understand the secrets behind her reluctant affection and woo her with secrets of his own. Set amidst wartime worries, the play keeps its focus on the humanity of Sally and Matt, two lonely hearts trying to find their way to one another.
  Playwright Lanford Wilson was born in 1937 in Lebanon, Missouri, where Talley’s Folly is set. One of today’s leading American playwrights, he played an active role in the avant-garde theatre movement, beginning his career in edgy off-off-Broadway theatres. He co-founded Circle Repertory Company in New York where he was the resident playwright until 1995. Wilson has written seventeen full-length plays, including The Fifth Of July, Burn This, Balm In Gilead, Lemon Sky, The Hot L Baltimore, Angels Fall, Book Of Days and The Mound Builders, as well as over 30 short plays and several teleplays, translations and librettos.
  Wilson’s many awards include the Vernon Rice Award, the New York Drama Critic’ Circle Award, the Outer Circle Award, and two Obies. 
  Talley’s Folly is one of Wilson’s extraordinarily touching “Trilogy” along with The Fifth Of July and Talley And Son.
  Talley’s Folly will be directed by MCT Producing Artistic Director C. Michael Wright, who recently directed MCT productions Talking Heads and Trying. Talented Milwaukee actors Laura Gray and Jonathan West will take on the roles of Sally and Matt.
  Talley’s Folly performances will take place April 17 – May 4, 2008 in the Cabot Theatre of the Broadway Theatre Center located at 158 N. Broadway in Milwaukee’ Historic Third Ward. 
  Tickets are $20-$37, and are available Monday through Saturday from Noon - 6 PM at the Broadway Theatre Center Box Office, 158 N. Broadway, or by phone at 414-291-7800. Tickets are also available online at www.chamber-theatre.com. Group, student and senior discounts are also available. For more information, visit: www.chamber-theatre.com.

StageQ Seeks Directors For Queer Shorts 3
Madison - StageQ is looking for directors for Queer Shorts 3, the company’s third annual shorts play festival, that will run June 12-21 at the Bartell Theatre here. The troupe is seeking those who are queer-identified, allies and love theater.
  Experienced directors who want to participate in a fun, queer community celebration or those who have dreamed of directing but been afraid to dive in the deep end with a full- length production are welcome to apply. Those who are inexperienced, have dreamed of directing, but just couldn’t get that first foot in the door are also being sought
  The 2008 edition of Queer Shorts will offer twelve short plays running from two to fifteen minutes in length. There also will be opportunities for directing multiple shorts.
  Auditions for Queer Shorts 3 will be on April 28 - 29, with rehearsals running from May 5 through June 11. Queer Shorts performances will be June 12-21 at the Bartell Theatre.
  Those interested in applying should provide in writing information about directing experience, if any; any other previous theater experience and availability//conflicts between May 21 and June 30. New directors should also indicate if they would be open to coaching or mentoring.
  To apply, contact StageQ by April 15 via email at: stageq@stageq.com.

Midwest Debut Of Die! Mommie! Die! Set For April 21
Chicago - Hell in a Handbag Productions (HIAH) is proud to present the Chicago premiere of Die! Mommie, Die!, Charles Busch’s homage to thriller films of the 60’s starring “women of a certain age.” This production not only marks the Chicago premiere of Die! Mommie, Die! but also the Midwest premiere of the piece since it was rewritten for it’s Off-Broadway run in 2007-2008.
  Die! Mommie, Die! tells the tale of Angela Arden; a washed-up singer trapped in a loveless marriage, with a daughter that despises her and a mentally unstable son until she finds happiness in the arms of Tony Parker, a very “gifted” gigolo. Or does she?
  You won’t want to miss the long overdue pairing of Hell in a Handbag Productions, “The Gold Standard of camp in Chicago (Chicago Reader)” and Charles Busch, who is considered by many to be the Grand Dame of camp. HIAH generally features the works of Artistic Director David Cerda, but the chance to tackle a Charles Busch piece proved much too tempting for all involved.
  “Charles Busch has been a big inspiration for me, and to be able to present the Chicago premiere of Die! Mommie, Die! is very exciting and a bit daunting, “ Cerda said.
  Cerda will be taking on the role of Angela Arden, the glamorous, washed-up pop singer trapped in a loveless marriage, modeled after the grande guignol roles popularized in the 60’s by aging icons like Joan Crawford, Lana Turner and Bette Davis. Cerda is also collaborating with award winning playwright/composer Jon Steinhagen (The Teapot Scandals) on “This Time It’s For Me”, an original song for the Chicago premiere of Die! Mommie, Die!.
  Handbag favorite Ed Jones will take on the male role of film producer Sol Sussman, Angela’s uncaring husband. Jones was last seen in HIAH’s critically acclaimed, The Birds as Cathy Brenner. The leap from 11 year old girl to a gruff 50 year old, lout of a man is a challenge Jones is looking forward to. “It’s refreshing to play a character that allows the audience to recognize me afterwards” Jones said. Merrie Greenfield (The Birds, Scarrie-The Musical) plays Bootsie Carp, the bible-quoting, flask- carrying Sussman maid, who’s devotion to Mr. Sussman knows no boundaries.
  Rounding off the cast are Veronica Sheaffer, (Steppenwolf, Profiles) as the father-loving, mother-hating, beautiful and oh-so mod daughter. Sheaffer was last seen in HIAH’s The Twilight Gallery and Scarrie-The Musical.
  Handbag newcomers include Zack Geoffroy (Bailiwick, Bruised Orange) as the mentally unstable teenage son and Jeffrey Patrick Olson (Easy Street Players) as Tony Parker, Angela’s secret lover. He’s a failed TV actor/gigolo with a secret of his own.
  Taking on the task of director is Cheryl Snodgrass. Snodgrass is looking forward to the challenge. “I have long been a fan of Hell in a Handbag Productions. Their sense of humor and theatrical sensibilities are perfectly balanced with a true love of the craft and a deep respect for their subject matter. As an actress, I got to see their process first hand and was eager to work with them as a director,” Snodgrass said.
  Cheryl Snodgrass has been focusing on the production of new works for the last 15 years. She has worked extensively with playwright, Jeff Goode, as a director, actor, and producer. She directed the premier productions of Poona the Fuckdog and other plays for children and The Eight: Reindeer Monologues among others. She’s directed and/or produced works by Rebecca Gilman, Brett Nevue and Todd Ristau. Cheryl has been a guest artist at Lawrence University and hosted a new works reading series. She’s a founding member of No Shame Theater, The Unusual Cabaret, Les Enfants du Mais, and C’est Destine. Cheryl has worked with The SPOT, Bailiwick, Trap Door, ARFTCo, I.O., Zebra Crossing, Mill Mountain (Roanoke, VA) and most recently could be seen performing in HIAH’s The Birds and Caged Dames.
  Die! Mommie! Die! Will be performed at the Bailiwick Repertory - Studio Space, 1229 W. Belmont Ave..in Chicago. Preview performances are set for April, 17, 18, and 19. Opening night will be Monday, April 21 at 8 PM.  Die! Mommie! Die! Will run through June every Thursday at 8 PM, Friday at 10 PM, Saturday at 7 PM and Sunday at 3:30 PM.  There will also be a special Mothers Day Show on Sunday, May 11 at 6PM.
  Preview tickets are $10 and Opening Night seating is $25. Admission for Thursday performances is  $15, with Friday through Sunday shows costing $25 per person. For reservations call the Bailiwick Repertory at 773-883-1090.
  Hell In A Handbag Productions was formed in March 2002. HIAH’s debut production was Poseidon! An Upside-Down Musical, which had successful consecutive runs at Theatre Building Chicago and Bailiwick Repertory before being produced at the 2003 New York International Fringe Festival where it received a Outstanding Ensemble award. HIAH has also produced Rudolph, the Red-Hosed Reindeer, How ‘What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?’ Happened, Judy’s Scary Little Christmas, Scarrie-The Musical, The Twilight Gallery, Caged Dames, The Birds and Summer Camp, featuring Reefer Madness-The Musical, the first of an annual series of staged cabaret readings at Mary’s Attic in Andersonville. Hell in a Handbag is 501C3 not-for profit company.