THUR. APRIL 1
Insatiable Star
Yeardley Smith has always wanted to be famous and chances are, you have heard her, but you may not recognize her. Smith has been the voice of Lisa Simpson for 15 seasons and has appeared in a slew of film, television and stage performances from the early 90’s “Herman’s Head” to “City Slickers,” but she wants more – more attention, more fame, more spotlight, more stardom. “Yeardley Smith: More,” is the title of her new solo play about her roller coaster ride through show business. 8 p.m. At Union Square Theatre, 100 E. 17 St. $20 – $60 call 212 307 7171 for reservations and additional show times.
Texas Mystery
“Cooking with Lard” takes place in Addie’s Diner, in the center of a small Texas town. A local man has died and was possibly murdered by his wife. A four-person cast portrays 15 characters who roll in and out of the diner to play bingo, rehearse a drill-team show, sell girl scout cookies and protest meat eaters as they grapple with death and speculate about murder. 8:30 p.m. at Mainstage at Here, 145 Sixth Ave., between Spring and Broome Sts. $15 212 868 4444
Classical Action Benefit
Soprano Deborah Voigt and pianist Brian Zeger will perform a concert at a private home in New York City to benefit “Classical Action: Performing Arts Against AIDS.” The Michael Palm Foundation sponsors this event. Since it’s founding, Classical Action has distributed more than $4 million to AIDS service organizations nationwide. Deborah Voigt has become the preeminent dramatic soprano of her generation, winning enthusiastic acclaim from critics and the world’s opera audiences as one of today’s leading exponents of operas by Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss, Giuseppe Verdi and others. The pre-concert reception will begin at 6:30 p.m. with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. The concert will begin at 7:15 p.m., followed by a champagne and dessert reception. Call 212 997 7717 for tickets and directions to the private home.
FRI. APR. 2
Fact or Fiction?
“Bee-Luther-Hatchee” by Thomas Gibbons is a play about an up and coming African-American book editor in New York City who finds a treasure in a memoir of an elderly, southern Black woman. The book touches the editor and readers and then wins a prestigious award. The editor heads to the South to present the woman with her award only to find out that the women is not exactly who she seems. The title is slang for a “a damnable place, the next stop after Hell.” 8 p.m. at the Blue Heron Arts Center, 123 E. 24 St. $15 212 868 4444
Israeli Resistors Create Drama
“The Fist” a new play by Misha Shulman sheds light on the dilemma of Israeli Army resisters known as refuseniks with a story of a three-generation Israeli family that embodies three different attitudes towards Israel and highlights generation gaps. Some of the dialogue is based on personal statements of Israeli army reservists who have signed a public letter stating their refusal to serve in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Through April 11 at 8 p.m., Thur.- Sat. and 3 p.m. on Sun. at Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. at 10th St. $10 212 254 1109
SAT. APR. 3
Batters Up!
Big Apple Softball League, a gay and lesbian league in the city, is looking for players of all skill levels. Games will be played this season on Saturdays and Sundays. To join the team, show up with sneakers, a glove, and comfortable clothes and be ready to play ball and make new friends at 11 a.m. at Chelsea Park, 28 St. at Tenth Ave. Call 212 696 7482 or visit bigapplesoftball.com for more information.
Mountain Biking
Fast and Fab, New York’s Gay and Lesbian cycling group is headed to Hartshorne Woods. Meet Chris Marko at 11 a.m. in the Navesink Ave. parking lot at Hartshorne Woods in Atlantic Highlands, N.J., for a ride on intermediate and advanced trails with the intrepid mountain bikers of OutRiders Philadelphia and Outbike New Jersey. Directions to the park can be found at monmouthcountyparks.com/parks/hartshorne.asp. For more information visit fastnfab.org.
On Stage Thriller
“Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love,” written by Brad Fraser and directed by Robert Bella, tells the story of young New Yorkers looking for love in a dangerous world. A cross between “Friends” and “Scream,” this comedy, drama, and serial killer thriller also includes love triangles that criss cross sexualities and the relationships of the characters. 3 and 8 p.m. at The Lion, 410 W. 42 St. $15 Call 212 239 5258 or visit unidentifiedhumanremains.com for additional show times.
Two Boots Pioneer Theater
The Super Super 8 Film Festival joins forces with the Polyester Prince Road Show to present the 2004 World Tour of Super 8 Films, an international group of filmmakers and film enthusiasts who are committed to keeping the beauty of Super 8 filmmaking alive and well. All screenings incorporate live musical accompaniment by the New York—based band Melomane and the LA—based duo Here & Now. Bingo and prizes. 155 E. 3rd St. (at Ave. A) 9 p.m. Call 212 254 3300 or visit twoboots.com/pioneer $9/6.50 for members
SUN. APR. 4
Gay Life in Africa
African Film Festival 2004 Presents, “Let’s Talk About Sex: Experiences of Sexual Minorities in the African Context.” Check out “Four Rent Boys and a Sangoma,” a documentary by Catherine Muller that charts the inner lives of five South African men who have sex with men. Set in the ghettos, townships and streets of Johannesburg, it is a story of transactional sex, intimate exchanges, lost dreams, and doing what it takes to get by. The film is preceeded by “A Normal Daughter: The Life and Times Of Kewpie of District 6,” a documentary that recovers much ignored memories of gay life in Cape Town’s District Six, an open and out gay section of the city. 8 p.m. at Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center. For full schedule and ticketing information, visit africanfilmny.org
Grandmother Gangster Drama
“Elaina Vance’s Last Dance,” a comedic, but ultimately tragic play by Stacy Presha, explores the connections between mobsters and uptown working class African-Americans in the 1970s. More flamboyant than the Sopranos, Elaina Vance is a grandmother who dresses like one of Charlie’s Angels and a successful small time racketeer married to a gangster. Starring Dorothi Fox of “The Wiz” and “Bananas” and directed by Carmen Mathis. Through April 25 Thur.- Sat. at 8 p.m. and Sun. at 3 p.m. at the Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. $10 212 254 1109
Free Sassy Performance Art
Justin Tranter’s Flaming Sundays Presents “Nothing Too Queer, an evening of performances featuring Dan Fishback, Laura Stinger, Rachel Shukert and Lacey Langston. Underground queer performance art has never been this fiesty! Covering a range of topics from bar mitzvahs to anal bleeding, this intensely political show always leaves crowds shrieking with laughter, revulsion, and a sense that something profound has occurred. 8 p.m. at The Sidewalk Café, 94 Ave. A at 6th St. Free
MON. APR. 5
Horror Classic
As part of BAMCinematek’s series “Bloody Hell: British Horror” you can see the 1972 horror movie classic, “Tales from the Crypt,” starring Joan Collins and Peter Cushing. This is a slice of 1970’s kitsch, but also a top notch Amicus studio anthology. The five tales, based on Bill Gaines’ E.C. comics, include one with Joan Collins as a murderous strumpet who wallops her husband to death on Christmas Eve and then is besieged by a homicidal maniac dressed as Santa. 4:30, 6:50 and 9:10 p.m. at BAM Rose Cinema, 30 Lafayette Avenue. Tickets are $10, $7 for students 25 and under and $6 for seniors, club members and children. Call 718 636 4100 or visit bam.org for additional showtimes and information.
Opening Night
“Roar” is the story of a Palestinian-American family living in Detroit in the wake of the first Gulf War, starring Annabella Sciorra, Sarita Choudhury, Sherri Eldin, Joseph Kamal, Daniel Oreskes. The lives of Ahmed, Karema and their willful teenage daughter, Irene, are disrupted when Karema’s sister Hala, a woman with a checkered past, is thrown out of Kuwait and arrives at their doorstep. This is a play about love, sex, ambition and the Arab-American experience. Opens tonight and through May 8, Monday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 2 p.m. at Theatre Row, 410 W. 42nd St. Tickets are $50 and available by calling 212 239 620. For more information visit thenewgroup.org.
TUE. APR. 6
Dawn of the AIDS Plague
Performances begin tonight of a new production of Larry Kramer’s landmark AIDS drama, “The Normal Heart,” 20 years after the original. Starring Raul Esparza and Joanna Gleason and directed by Jeff Cohen, the play takes place in the opening chapter of the AIDS plague. In 1981 young men are dying in increasing numbers and no one wants to hear about it or help. A few gay men, with the urging of their doctor, try to start an organization to tell the world. Runs Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Anspacher Theater at the Public, 425 Lafayette St. Tickets are $55 and available at the box office or by calling 212 239 6200 or visiting telecharge.com.
WED. APR. 7
Cruise Manhunt.net?
If you do, you might want put down the mouse and go meet those guys in person at the Manhunt.net member’s party. See if you can find your match offline, rather than online. There will be fun giveaways and lots of cute guys wandering about. 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., 43 W. 26th St. $5 cover with open bar until 10 p.m.
Young, Gay, and Into Leather?
The Gay Male S/M Activists have a group for men 19 to 35 called TNG: The Next Generation. There is a monthly discussion group for gay men to talk with peers about S/M, leather and fetish. The meetings are friendly, relaxed and confidential. Tonight’s event is for men who are new to the S/M-Leather community and a chance to meet guys just like you. The discussion will cover the hanky code, leather bar behavior, leather runs, meeting guys into kink, Internet ads, etc. Regular meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month at 8 p.m. at the LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13 St. E-mail gmsmatng@aol.org for more information.
Anti-Bush Comedy
Reno, the Off Broadway comedienne who adapted her show “Reno in Rage and Rehab” for an HBO comedy hour will perform tonight, taking on religion, God and democracy during the Bush Administration: “As though we don’t have enough reasons to expel him, what about Bush believing he was chosen to prepare the way for the Big Christian Showdown? Evidence connects this admin with some major (i.e. billionaire business people) doomsday believin’ characters and they ain’t kiddin’. Naturally, garden variety greed and power-mongering still lives, but how much of this extremely active administration’s decisions are influenced by Christian fundamentalist end-of-the-world beliefs?” 7:30 p.m. at Dixon Place at The Marquee, 356 Bowery. $15, $12 in advance and $10 for students/seniors. Call 212 219 0736 x106 for reservations.
THUR. APR. 8
Famous Gay Play
Check out a new production of “Six Degrees of Separation,” as part of the Wings Theatre’s 2004 Gay Play Series. The play addresses issues of racism, homophobia and social status while telling the story of Paul, a young Black man who conned his way into the lives of New York are dealers. The character is based on a real-life con man, David Hampton who managed to convince a number of people, including Melanie Griffith, Gary Sinise and Calvin Klein, in the 1980s that he was the son of Sidney Poitier. The title refers to the theory that a chain of roughly six people connects everyone on the planet. Thur.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. $19 212 627 2961
FRI. APR. 9
Trans on Film
“Trans Cinema Arts” film series presents a screening of “Madame Satã” a story inspired by the Brazilian icon/drag artist, João Francisco dos Santos. A tall black man, proud rogue, female impersonator, gangster, convicted prisoner and adoptive father of seven, João Francisco spent most of his life in the bohemian streets of Rio de Janeiro among pimps, prostitutes, deviants, samba composers and bohemians. 7 p.m. socializing and 8 p.m. screening at the Center, 208 W. 13th St. $6 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Call 212 620 7310 for more information.
Sit Down! Stand Up!
Ladyfest East hosts a benefit with two nights of entertainment. (Tonight from 8-10 p.m., tomorrow from 9-11 p.m.) There will be film screenings of shorts by local emerging and established filmmakers, as well as local stand-up comic ladies. $10/12 or $20 for both nights. The Clemente Soto Velez Community Center, 107 Suffolk St. (between Rivington and Delancey Sts.)
SUN. APR. 11
Frank Discussion
“Nothing Too Queer” is a Sunday night performance art series. Tonight will feature Dan Fishback in an encore performance of his one-man show, “Assholes Speak Louder Than Words.” Audiences have likened him to a ‘Jewish Margaret Cho,” and an “artsy queer Lenny Bruce,” but Dan likes to think of himself as just another gay boy in make-up and pantyhose, talking about his asshole in front of large groups of alcoholics. Covering a range of topics from Bar Mitzvahs to anal bleeding, this intensely political show always leaves crowds shrieking with laughter, revulsion, and a sense that something profound has occurred. 8 p.m. at the Sidewalk Café, 94 Ave. A at 6th St. Free. Call 212 473 7373 for more information.
PFLAG Meets
The New York City chapter of Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays will hold its monthly support group meeting at 3 p.m. at St. Bartholomew’s Church Community House, 109 E. 50th St. between Park and Lexington Aves. Volunteer opportunities are available. Please join us. For more information, call 212 463 0629.
