It seems like forever since my last Under the Gaydar article but it has only been a few mere months. As you grow older, time becomes a much more precious commodity and life has a way demonstrating that in spades. I remember when I first approached Rip about writing a column for Ambush. I wanted to promote and covering the events both gay and straight in our city. Rip and … [Read more...] about Under the Gaydar
Arts & Culture
An Interview with Dr. Ryan Prechter
FP: Your recently wrote your doctoral dissertation on New Orleans gay history. How did you get interested in this topic? RP: It began in 2013, when a good friend of mine pointed out it was the fortieth anniversary of the Upstairs Lounge fire. After reading about the tragedy, I was shocked (and a little ashamed) that I had never heard of such an important chapter of gay New … [Read more...] about An Interview with Dr. Ryan Prechter
The Color Crawl
Get ready for one of the biggest and best Pub Crawls in the French Quarter! New Orleans Pride hosts its 8th Annual Pub Crawl: The Color Crawl on Saturday, November 18th at 7:00pm The crawl is open to the first 100 participants. $25 includes a limited edition 2018 New Orleans Pride T-Shirt, a Pride Bandanna, shots* and give-a-ways at up to 8 bars. (*number of free shots … [Read more...] about The Color Crawl
Trodding the Boards
Escape to Margaritaville at the Saenger Theatre It’s not often that we in New Orleans get to weigh in on a show before it heads to Broadway. Sure, The Bodyguard stopped by earlier this year, but that doesn’t look like it’ll ever make it to New York. Escape to Margaritaville, however, will with a planned March 15 opening at the Marquis Theatre. How long it will stay there … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards
Out For Queer Blood: The Murder of Fernando Rios and the Failure of New Orleans Justice by Clayton Delery
Out For Queer Blood: The Murder of Fernando Rios and the Failure of New Orleans Justice. Clayton Delery. Exposit, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-4766-6884-0. 220 pages. A year and a half ago I received in my inbox what at first glance appeared to be a spam email. Upon closer inspection the subject line said Rios murder / Ambush article. I opened the message and was astonished at what … [Read more...] about Out For Queer Blood: The Murder of Fernando Rios and the Failure of New Orleans Justice by Clayton Delery
Under the Gaydar
Community Spotlight As Ambush enters it’s new phase, I wanted to change some of the focus of this monthly column which used to focus the Bartender of the month. But I wanted to expand on my recognition of deserving individuals in this column. You will still see bartenders featured, but I will also feature other service industry professionals such as waiters, hotel employees … [Read more...] about Under the Gaydar
Traveling Back to 1988 and 1971
Ambush readers of a certain age may remember blueboy. From 1974 to 2007, this glossy magazine featured pictures and centerfolds of naked men. Some people even read the articles. A friend of mine recently dug out his April 1988 issue and showed me an article about New Orleans entitled “New Orleans: Last American Refuge.” I eagerly read the article and while it was mostly … [Read more...] about Traveling Back to 1988 and 1971
Executive PR & Talent (EPR&T)
A little over a decade ago, after getting his start in the entertainment business working at OZ Nightclub as Director of Public Relations and Promotion, Michael Benedetti (California native, New Orleans resident as of 2000 / for 17 years) set out to forge his own talent agency, public relations consulting, and touring management company, Executive PR & Talent (EPR&T). … [Read more...] about Executive PR & Talent (EPR&T)
Trodding the Boards
Orpheus in the Underworld at the Mahalia Jackson Theater In New Orleans Opera’s first-ever production of Jacques Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, Orpheus may have wound up in Hell but, for the audience, it was pure Heaven. Hector-Jonathan Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy’s libretto satirizes the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus. Their frothy plot features Gods revolting … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards
The Pox Lover – An Activist’s Decade in New York and Paris by Anne-Christine d’Adesky
The Pox Lover is a personal history of the turbulent 1990s in New York City and Paris by a pioneering American AIDS journalist, lesbian activist, and daughter of French-Haitian elites. In an account that is by turns searing, hectic, and funny, Anne-christine d’Adesky remembers “the poxed generation” of AIDS—their lives, their battles, and their determination to find love and … [Read more...] about The Pox Lover – An Activist’s Decade in New York and Paris by Anne-Christine d’Adesky