Petronius to Sponsor
Debut of New Cabaret
Le chat noir (The Black Cat), a new cabaret named for the first cabaret in Paris in 1881 and housed in a renovated turn-of-the-century 130 seat storefront in the historic Warehouse Arts District of downtown New Orleans, will open its doors to the public Thurs., June 17, with a Krewe of Petronius special preview performance of the cabaret's first show, a Carl Walker musical revue of the the 40's and 50's entitled A Cocktail Party...Where the Ladies Lounge that features M.I. Scoggin, Nancy Eaves and Charlotte Lang with newcomers Sydney Beaumont and Lisa Anzelmo. Described as a musical and visual extravaganza, the musical director and accompanist will be jazz world favorite Larry Sieberth in his first cross-over-to-cabaret experience.
Located at 715 St. Charles Ave., with free parking available, le chat noir is the brain child of owner Barbara Motley, and is designed to offer discriminating patrons the finest of traditional cabaret, music and cocktails in an entertaining setting. Ms. Motley's beautiful new venue will showcase local and visiting cabaret performers and musical groups. Performances will be scheduled for Thurs., Fri., and Sat.. Dancing will be available on some nights. Besides the state-of-the-art cabaret room, the site also houses a commodious piano bar which will be initially manned by local music maven Harry Mayronne, Jr. The piano bar will open at 5:30pm Thurs. and Fri. and 4:30pm on Sat.
For information and tickets to the Petronius benefit, call 504.525.4498.
Men of the Millennium
at Hotel Inter-Continental
Victor Magide, a photographer working in the South Beach area of Miami, whose speciality is male erotica, will bring his latest show, Men of the Millennium, to the Hotel Inter-Continental, 444 St. Charles Ave., June 17 - 19.
A champagne toast will open the show at 9am and will last until 5pm. The show will include from 25-30 photographs of erotica celebrating the male form.
The June 17 opening begins a tour of the exhibition which will then travel to Houston, Dallas, Atlanta and Orlando.
Volleyball New Orleans Summer League
Volleyball New Orleans (VNO) starts its summer league on Wed., June 2 at the UNO Human Performance Center (formerly the UNO H&PE Bldg.) on the UNO campus near Elysian Fields Ave. and Leon C. Simon Boulevard. The season begins with three weeks of clinics from June 2 through June 16. You can check out the league on the three nights of clinics for free.
Beginners start in the recreational division, where you'll get instructions on rules and plenty of practice in passing, serving and spiking. For those with playing experience, there will be some drills and time for free play on teams. If you enjoy the clinics and want to join the league, the cost is $55 for new members and $40 for returning members. The summer season will last through Aug. 25.
The annual Recruiting Party will be hosted Tues., June 1, 6:30 to 8:30pm at Oz, 800 Bourbon St.
Volleyball New Orleans was established in 1982 and is affiliated with the North American Gay Volleyball Association. VNO sponsors an annual tournament, the Mardi Gras Classic, each year in Jan. For information on the league, you can check out V NO's Web site at www.gnofn.org/~vno or call Art Quick at 504.945.4634 and give your name, address and phone number to receive more information.
Superstar Drag King
Mo B. Dick at Lucky Cheng's
Mo B. Dick (aka Maureen Fisher), "the man, the myth, the motion," who has led the NYC drag king scene for the past three years, will perform for one night only to benefit the New Orleans Lesbian Avengers and Dyke March 1999 at Lucky Cheng's, 720 St. Louis St., Sat., May 29. Doors open at 11pm.
Dick ran NYC's only weekly Drag King party, Club Casanova, which attracted a frenzy of international publicity. The party was praised by the Village Voice as "the freshest scene encountered all year."
In the past year, Mo. B. Dick and his troupe traveled America from coast to coast with 23 shows in 18 cities and performed at international festivals in Vienna, Austria and Lucerne, Switzerland.
As leader of the drag king pack, Dick was named Drag King of the Year by New York's HX Magazine. He can be seen in John Waters' film Pecker, the upcoming Troma Entertainment film Terror Firmer and the HBO special God Shave the Queen.
Music will be provided by special guest and frequent Club Casanova collaborator, D. J. Adam of NYC's Foxy.
LA Panel Kills Job Rights
Louisiana's House Labor Committee on May 13 killed a measure to prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation by a vote of 3 - 8. Those voting in support of state Representative Melinda Schwegmann's (D-New Orleans) HB 1917 were all Democrats; two Democrats and six Republicans opposed it. Despite the bill's exemption for religious organizations, religious speakers led the testimony in opposition to the House bill, moving Schwegmann to remark, "That is not one of the Ten Commandments: Thou shalt not be Gay."
Although a similar measure is pending in the Louisiana Senate-Senator Paulette Irons' (D-New Orleans) SB 999, approved by the state Senate Labor and Industrial Affairs Committee on Apr. 22 by a vote of 3 - 2-it would have to face this same House Labor Committee should it succeed on the Senate floor.
The ban on workplace discrimination has been the top legislative priority for the session for the state's Lesbian and Gay Political Action Caucus and for the Louisiana Electorate of Gays and Lesbians (LEGAL), whose lobbying activities included a billboards reading, "Louisiana Says It's OK to Fire People Because They Are Gay - Is That Fair?"
The legislation also has strong support from organized labor, including the AFL-CIO and LABI. The city of New Orleans has prohibited sexual orientation discrimination since 1991. [from News Planet]
Rivertown Rep Throws STAR Gala
The Rivertown Repertory Theatre will close its Lucky 11th season by throwing the STAR (Supporting Theatre At Rivertown) Gala Sun., June 6 in the Belle Grove Ballroom of the Pontchartrain Center from 6:30pm to 11pm. The inaugural STAR Gala, chaired by Charlotte and Paul Coe, David Austin and Stocker Fontelieu, will be held to "thank our lucky stars" with all actors and artists who participated in the season's productions, patrons, corporate sponsors, dignitaries and volunteers who have supported theatre at Rivertown Repertory this year and to raise funds for the theatre. The event will include unlimited bar, dinner, dancing with the STARS, Star Awards, Lucky 11 Grand Prize Awards and entertainment featuring Jimmy Maxwell and His Orchestra and performances from the seaons's musicals. Patrons will have the opportunity to dance the night away with their favorite actor and have their photograph taken compliments of Radiofone.
Recognition will be given to those artists who have earned their "Wall of Fame" star. The Star System was launched nine years ago by executive director/producer Charles Ward as a method of honoring the contribution these artists make to the theatre. There are presently over 124 stars. This year the theatre will implement a new program of S.T.A.R. Awards for individuals supporting the theatre with their volunteer hours, resources and donations. The Arts Council of New Orleans, Bank One, Treasure Chest and Chevron Corporations will receive awards as well as individuals. These S.T.A.R.s will find their place of honor in the lobby of the theatre.
This year will also mark the inaugural of a very special award that will be named in honor of the individual who will receive the award. It will represent the highest honor that the Theatre will present each year and will be awarded to an individual who contributes significant philanthropic support of the theatre. All honors are kept secret until awarded, except for corporate awards.
Coinciding with the theatre awards will be the Tony Awards on Broadway. Viewing of the Tony Awards on national television will be made available in a separate area.
For tickets to the STAR Gala, call 504.468.7221, Tues. through Fri. from 10am to 4pm. Individual tickets are $75; Gold Star tables for ten are $650.
