Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit. Chris Matthews. Simon & Schuster, 2017. ISBN: 978- 1-5011-1186-0. 396 pages. $28.99. On the night Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated, Bobby Kennedy was giving a campaign speech in Indianapolis to a largely African-American crowd. Upon being notified of King’s death, Kennedy interrupted his speech to break the news. In his … [Read more...] about Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit.
Arts & Culture
Bienville’s Wet Dream
Carnival 2018 takes on special significance as New Orleans celebrates its tricentennial. Many parades will draw inspiration from the city’s 300th birthday, but none as irreverently as Krewe de Vieux, whose theme this year is Bienville’s Wet Dream. Bienville, the founder of New Orleans, lived to be 87 and never married. Just saying. Although Krewe de Vieux is a relatively new … [Read more...] about Bienville’s Wet Dream
Under the Gaydar
Interview: Parker Simon One of my favorite aspects about writing for Ambush Magazine is getting to interview all kinds of interesting people locals, celebrities, philanthropists and even a scoundrel or two. Recently I was able to interview a wonderfully talented musician named Parker Simon who was in New Orleans performing two acoustic shows at Mags 940 and The Four Seasons … [Read more...] about Under the Gaydar
Unveiling the Muse: The Lost History of Gay Carnival in New Orleans
THE UNTOLD STORY OF A POWERFUL MARDI GRAS TRADITION “In Unveiling the Muse, Howard Philips Smith presents a lively and comprehensive history of New Orleans’s gay Carnival organizations formed in the post–World War II era. In addition, he takes a wider look at the places, people, and non-Carnival annual calendar of events that are allied with it. His use of archival sources, … [Read more...] about Unveiling the Muse: The Lost History of Gay Carnival in New Orleans
Trodding the Boards
Peter and the Starcatcher at Slidell Little Theater through Feb. 4 When I saw Peter and the Starcatcher on Broadway in 2012, I found the first act, set amid dreary workhouses and the dank holds of ships, overly dark and, worse, a gobful of exposition slowed it to a tedious crawl as we met a Lord, his daughter, her nanny, some nasty sea captains and their henchmen, a preening … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards
Unveiling the Muse: The Lost History of Gay Carnival in New Orleans.
Howard P. Smith. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN: 9781496814012. 2017. 346 pages. $50.00. At long last, a book on the history of Gay Carnival has been published. And what a book it is. Simply put, this book is a triumph! Traditional Carnival has been well documented with a vast array of books published on the subject. However, few of them, if any, mention gay … [Read more...] about Unveiling the Muse: The Lost History of Gay Carnival in New Orleans.
Under the Gaydar
Party Down It’s Carnival and the city is alive with festivity. The scent of fresh king cake fills the air as the parades start winding their way through the streets. It is a perfect time of the year to live and visit our beautiful city. I filled my time these last two weeks with all kinds of wonderful events starting with a reception announcing Crescent Care’s new building … [Read more...] about Under the Gaydar
Armeinius Turns 50
The Krewe of Armeinius turns 50 this year and in a happy coincidence, the krewe’s golden anniversary coincides with the city of New Orleans’ tricentennial celebration. Consequently, the theme of the 2018 ball is “La Nouvelle Orleans: 300 Years of Fabulous.” Co-Captain Barrett Delong-Church promises “this ball will be like no other.” That’s a high standard to surpass. In … [Read more...] about Armeinius Turns 50
Trodding the Boards
Always . . . Patsy Cline at The WWII Museum’s Stage Door Canteen, Feb. 23–Mar. 25 [This production returns for weekend performances with Margaret Belton and Caroline Fourmy reprising their roles. Here are excerpts from my review which originally ran in March 2015.] In the past five years, the WWII Museum’s Stage Door Canteen has put on an impressive number of entertaining … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards
Under The Gaydar (Feb 13 – 26, 2018)
Book Review Everyone loves a good scary movie and in most of those pictures they have one common trait. There is always a final girl who escapes all the carnage to anguish the killer and escape. Well my book review for February is all about this phenomenon in Final Girls, the first novel by Riley Sager. Sager is pseudonym, so like the novel, the real author is a … [Read more...] about Under The Gaydar (Feb 13 – 26, 2018)
