Will LGBT Youth Be Erased From Crime Victims’ Survey?

The Justice Department wants to cease asking some teens about sexual orientation and gender identity in a major survey of crime victims.

www.advocate.com/crime/2018/4/12/will-lgbt-youth-be-erased-crime-victims-survey

Time’s Up? Not So Fast: ‘Carousel’ Is Back on Broadway: REVIEW

The key to enjoying a carnival is knowing when to call it quits. For Rodgers and Hammerstein’s beloved tale about a ne’er-do-well carney who hits his wife out of love (!), that day may have finally come. Rather than reckon with why even a canonical favorite might feel so uncomfortable right now, a new production of Carousel seems to simply hope we haven’t yet realized that the stories we choose to tell actually matter.

The latest revival, which opens tonight at the Imperial Theatre (the musical’s fifth in New York since 1945), is very handsomely staged by director Jack O’Brien and exquisitely sung by its stars Joshua Henry, Jessie Mueller, and opera diva Renée Fleming. But the feeling it inspires can perhaps best be expressed by the grit-teeth emoji.

First comes the wide smile, for Santo Loquasto’s Hopper-inspired vision of coastal Maine, and Ann Roth’s chic turn-of-the-century finery. For a knockout Lindsay Mendez, whose name isn’t above the title this time but will be the next. For Justin Peck’s rigorous, balletic choreography. For songs many fans will know and love, including “If I Loved You,” “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over,” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

That second act ballad draws Fleming’s most resounding ovation as Nettie Fowler, comforting her younger cousin Julie Jordan (played by Mueller). Julie’s just lamented over her husband Billy’s deathbed, “I know why you hit me. You were quick-tempered and unhappy.”

Before we grimace too hard, let’s back up.

Julie meets Billy Bigelow (played by Henry), a barker at the town carousel, during the overture when he puts his arm around her on the ride. In the next scene later that night, she’s demure and he’s gruff. She winds up missing curfew and getting fired from the mill where she works. He’s likewise canned for consorting with a patron, and his boss Mrs. Mullin (a droll Margaret Colin) derides him as an “upstart” (to be fair, she also calls Julie’s sunny friend Carrie, played by Mendez, a “hussy,” which she certainly is not).

Language like that carries a different cadence directed at a Black man like Henry’s Bigelow, as do Mrs. Mullin’s insinuations of his sexual prowess.

At least for the first act, it seems O’Brien intends for audiences see a layer of racial politics overtop the musical’s existing class divisions, particularly as the story is set just a few decades after emancipation. Billy’s struggle to provide for Julie, and his reputation as a brute, seem colored here by cultural conceptions of Black masculinity. His friend Jigger (Amar Ramasar, a principal dancer with New York City Ballet) is likewise a person of color; when the two hatch a plan to rob Julie’s former boss, their shared difference from the community is difficult to overlook.  

But O’Brien’s untimely revival ultimately lacks the conviction to follow through with what at first seems like a bold, even insightful, interpretation of a problematic fave. When Billy looks in on his family from the afterlife (he kills himself when the robbery goes wrong), his now-teenage daughter is white. Brittany Pollack, a virtuosic soloist also with New York City Ballet, brings a lithe, expressive innocence to the role. But Louise’s ostracization from the town because of her late father’s reputation doesn’t track as it would were she played by a mixed-race actress.

In hedging back on colorblindness, the production drops what might have been its most compelling artistic choice, just as it cuts a line here or there to make Carousel’s gender politics less cringe-worthy to modern ears. (Julie no longer confirms to Louise, “It’s possible, dear — fer someone to hit you — hit hard — and not hurt at all,” when Louise’s father whacks his daughter from beyond the grave. Thank producers for small blessings?)

O’Brien’s romantic visual staging delights in the elements — water splashing when sailors jump in the harbor, blossoms dancing down from treetops, salt-of-the-earth characters striving to live well. But this Carousel doesn’t share the same air that we do — the only way to enjoy the ride may be to hold your breath.

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Get in, Losers: The ‘Mean Girls’ Musical Is Fun as Hell: REVIEW
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Follow Naveen Kumar on Twitter: @Mr_NaveenKumar
(photos: julieta cervantes)

The post Time’s Up? Not So Fast: ‘Carousel’ Is Back on Broadway: REVIEW appeared first on Towleroad.

Time’s Up? Not So Fast: ‘Carousel’ Is Back on Broadway: REVIEW

In Hearing, Mike Pompeo Won’t Back Off Anti-LGBT Views

Sen. Cory Booker presses the secretary of State nominee on his statements about “perversion” and opposition to marriage equality.

www.advocate.com/politicians/2018/4/12/hearing-mike-pompeo-wont-back-anti-lgbt-views

WATCH: First look at Ryan Murphy’s new ballroom-inspired “Pose”
“Pose” premiers Sunday, June 3 on FX

www.queerty.com/watch-first-look-ryan-murphys-new-ballroom-inspired-pose-20180412?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Timothee Chalamet’ Goes to Pot in the Follow-Up to ‘Call Me By Your Name’ – WATCH

The trailer for Hot Summer Nights from newcomer director Elijah Bynum released today. Timothee Chalamet plays a quiet teen who is sent to Cape Cod for the summer where he gets into some trouble with a local (Alex Roe) and a lot of marijuana.

The film is set in the summer of 1991 around the time Hurricane Bob roared across the Cape.

Bynum is a first time director. The film premiered at South by Southwest.

The post Timothee Chalamet’ Goes to Pot in the Follow-Up to ‘Call Me By Your Name’ – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Timothee Chalamet Goes to Pot in the Follow-Up to ‘Call Me By Your Name’ – WATCH

Maine House of Representatives Passes Legislation to Protect LGBTQ Youth From Conversion Therapy

Today, HRC praised a vote by the Maine House of Representatives passing legislation to protect LGBTQ youth from the dangerous and discredited practice of so-called “conversion therapy.” The critically important legislation now heads to the Maine Senate for consideration.

“No child should be subjected to this dangerous practice with life-threatening consequences for countless LGBTQ youth,” said HRC Legislative Counsel Xavier Persad. “For the sake of LGBTQ youth across the state, it’s essential that fair-minded voices speak out now and call on their state senators to pass this crucially important legislation. We urge the Maine Senate to pass this measure and join the growing number of states and municipalities that protect LGBTQ youth from the inhumane and abusive practice of conversion therapy.”

“The legislature has a responsibility to protect young people, who are especially vulnerable, from these medically condemned practices,” said Representative Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford) on the House floor. “The legislature must mitigate exposing children to this harm, to this hurt, and to this rejection of their innate, genuine selves.”

There is no credible evidence that conversion therapy can change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. To the contrary, research has clearly shown that these practices pose devastating health risks for LGBTQ young people such as depression, decreased self-esteem, substance abuse, homelessness, and even suicidal behavior. The harmful practice is condemned by every major medical and mental health organization, including the American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, and American Medical Association.

Connecticut, California, Nevada, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont, New York, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Washington all have laws or regulations protecting youth from this abusive practice. A growing number of municipalities have also enacted similar protections, including cities and counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, Florida, New York, Arizona, and Wisconsin. The Maryland state legislature recently passed these protections and the measure is awaiting consideration by the governor. Additionally, the Hawaii state legislature passed similar legislation this week, which heads to conference committee before moving to the governor’s office.

According to a recent report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, an estimated 20,000 LGBTQ minors in states without protections will be subjected to conversion therapy by a licensed healthcare professional if state lawmakers fail to act.

HRC has partnered with the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and state equality groups across the nation to pass state legislation ending conversion therapy. More information on the lies and dangers of efforts to change sexual orientation or gender identity can be found here.

www.hrc.org/blog/maine-house-passes-bill-to-protect-lgbtq-youth-from-conversion-therapy?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Alabama Sen. Doug Jones Says Gay Son Led Him to More Pro-LGBT

The Democrat who defeated Roy Moore reaffirmed his support for the LGBT community.

www.advocate.com/politics/2018/4/12/alabama-sen-doug-jones-says-gay-son-led-him-more-pro-lgbt