AND QI BAISHI: Benijig 1930 - Seattle Gay News musical Little Shop of Horrors is a success story in itself. Celebrating another union between The 5th Avenue Theatre and ACT Theatre,

Seattle Gay News Issue 12, Volume 42, March 21, 2014

Museum, New York, and consultant Al-exandra May. The seeds of the exhibition were found in a group of ten works by Qi Baishi and Isamu Noguchi donated by Sotokichi Katsuizumi, a UM alumnus, to the University of Michigan Museum of Art in 1949. These are complemented by loans from the Noguchi Museum and im-portant public and private collections in the United States. The exhibition features thirty-one works by Noguchi and twenty-five works by Qi Bashi, and also includes Noguchi’s ink brushes, the seal carved and presented to him by Qi, and materials from Katsuizumi’s archive.

Isamu Noguchi and Qi Baishi: Beijing 1930 is organized by the University of Michigan Museum of Art in collaboration with The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York.

Lead support for this exhibition is pro-vided by the Terra Foundation for Ameri-can Art and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional generous support is provided by the University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies, Confucius In-stitute, and the Blakemore Foundation.

The exhibition at the Frye Art Museum is made possible through the Frye Foundation with generous support of Frye Art Museum members and donors. It is sponsored by 4Culture, Washington State Arts Commis-sion and the ArtsFund. Media sponsorship is provided by KUOW 94.9 FM.

The Frye Art Museum is located at 704 Terry Ave. The museum is open Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., with extended hours on Thursday until 7 p.m. The museum is closed Monday. Admission is always FREE.

Courtesy of the Frye Art Museum

Frye Art Museum is proud to present Isamu Noguchi and Qi Baishi: Beijing 1930, an exploration of artistic and intel-lectual exchanges between American sculptor, landscape architect, and furni-ture designer Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) and Qi Baishi (1864-1957), now consid-ered one of the most important Chinese artists of the twentieth century.

The work of Noguchi has long been as-sociated with Japan. Indeed his introduc-tion to ancient sculpture and garden design traditions during a stay in Japan in 1931 is thought of as a turning point in his early career. Less well known is the story of Noguchi’s six transformative months in Beijing from July 1930 to January 1931. There, Sotokichi Katsuizumi (1889-1985), a Japanese businessman and collector of Chinese painting, introduced him to Qi Baishi. Noguchi spoke no Chinese and Qi no English, but they quickly formed a friendship and Noguchi began to study with the master ink painter.

Under Qi’s influence, Noguchi took up brush, ink, and paper – the key tools of East Asian traditional painting and calligraphy – to create the series of more than one hun-dred works later called the Peking Draw-ings. Seen together as a group and alongside examples of Qi’s paintings – as they are for the first time in this exhibition – these im-pressive works suggest the importance of China in Noguchi’s artistic formation, usu-ally eclipsed by his relationship to Japan.

In fact, the often-overlooked Peking Drawings acted as a laboratory in which Noguchi discovered a language of abstrac-tion that informed his entire career. Isamu Noguchi and Qi Baishi: Beijing 1930 was organized by the University of Michigan Museum of Art in collaboration with The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden

Beijing 1930February 22 - May 25, 2014

ISAMU NOGUCHIAND

QI BAISHI:

“The Wrestler” by Isamu Noguchi“Lotus and Dragonfly” by Qi Baishi

Celebrating 41 Years!March 21, 2014 2 Seattle Gay News

March 21, 2014Visit us online www.sgn.org Seattle Gay News 3

by Eric Andrews-KatzSGN A&E Writer

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORSACT THEATREThrough June 15th

The musical Little Shop of Horrors is a success story in itself. Celebrating another union between The 5th Avenue Theatre and ACT Theatre, Little Shop is being presented at ACT Theatre. Risk the venture to “Skid Row” and go see this wonderful production!

The story is simple: Boy meets girl. Boy grows plant to impress girl. Plant grows a cannibalistic appetite and tries to dominate the world. It is set on Skid Row in a decade of a century “not too long before our own.” Seymour Krelborn is a schlep that works for Mr. Mushnik in his almost bankrupt florist shop. He is secretly in love with the flower assistant, Audrey, a vapid blond with low self-esteem and an involvement with a sado-masochist dentist. To impress Audrey, Seymour has been nurturing a sickly, new breed of “fly-trap” type of plant he’s named Audrey II in her honor. When he accidentally cuts a finger and finds out that Audrey II thrives on droplets of human blood, Seymour finds it cute. When the plant talks and demands human sacrifice in exchange for magical success, Seymour

begins to ponder the difference between what he has had and what he has now.

The cast is small and everyone does a fantastic job. David Anthony Lewis plays several roles including Orin Scrivello, DDS, the sadistic dentist. The different charac-ters he presents are all done very well and are funny. Audrey’s sadistic boyfriend is a parody of a ‘50s hood and an obsolete Elvis impersonator, delivering the song “Dentist!” about the joys of inflicting pain on others, and is a pure joy. Jeff Steitzer is Mr. Mushnik, the owner of the florist shop. He’s a man beaten down by the consistent failure of his business and thrilled about the sudden success that hits … until he finds out the reason. He easily becomes his charac-ter, giving a well-rounded performance. Nicole Rashida Prothro, Alexandra Hender-son, and Naomi Morgan play the “urchins.” They are a combination of a Greek Chorus, adding musical commentary throughout the musical, and a soulful, girl-group from the 1960s. Often sitting on the sidelines, ob-serving or making musical aside commen-taries, their presence is perfect. The unison of their singing blends harmoniously, their attitudes are sharp, and just watching them interact is great fun. Each of the trio is given a chance to take lead and belt out, showing all of their individual talents.

The three main characters all seem hand crafted for this local production. The cen-

terpiece of this musical is the huge puppet of Audrey II, manipulated by Eric Esteb and voiced by Ekello J. Harrid, Jr. As it comes to life, the plant develops a distinctive per-sonality, a street-smart toned style sounding like a PG Richard Pryor. Demanding human blood, Audrey II grows quickly, taking over the stage with its great voice and creative animation. Joshua Carter is the nebbish Sey-mour, the gifted, nerdy botanist responsible for finding and nurturing the carnivorous Audrey II. He is the embodiment of nerd and hopeful loser, fitting this role as if a tailored glove. His facial expressions easily show the torment of being so low on the social totem pole, and yet emotes the hopefulness of want-ing to get the girl of his dreams. Jessica Sker-ritt is excellent as Audrey, the ditzy blond love interest. Ms. Skerritt is fantastic as the vapid shop assistant, avoiding clichés while showing a true caricature of the character. This gifted actress brings out Audrey’s inno-cence easily, and the chemistry between her and Joshua Carter is perfect synergy.

This co-production of Little Shop of Hor-rors by the 5th Avenue and ACT Theatre is a great joining of talents. Once again, the meshing of these two local theaters has proven to be a successful venture. As with the past co-productions (Vanities, the musi-cal, Grey Gardens), the collaborative effort is well received. The musical is fun, enter-taining and highly enjoyable. Even if you’ve seen (either of) the movies or have seen the stage production before, this show is pre-sented very well. You will leave tapping your toes, with a smile on your face, and have a legitimate excuse to avoid gardening.

If there were ever an example of a rags-to-riches musical history it is Little Shop of Horrors. The musical started out as a low budget movie, written (and filmed) in 24 hours by Roger Cormen. It was also the fourth film by future Academy Award win-ner, Jack Nicholson as the dentist. The non-musical, black and white film was soon, and deservedly, forgotten. In 1982 Howard Ashman and Alan Menken (future Acad-emy Award winners of Disney fame) took the thrown away film and made it into an Off-Broadway musical that ran for over 2,000 performances. In 1986 Frank Oz re-made the movie using the musical as a ba-sis and starring Steve Martin. Little Shop of Horrors would wait until 2003 before it made its Broadway debut.

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Joshua Carter in Little Shop of Horrors




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Mt. Hood National Forest

by Albert RodriguezSGN A&E Writer

Rather than looking at the mountains and forests from a distance, go see them up close. The Northwest is abundant with national parks, freshwater lakes, camp-grounds, white-capped mountains, hiking trails and woody areas to escape to for a weekend. Just a few hours away from Se-attle is Mt. Hood, Oregon and a scattering of towns and ski resort communities on the foothills. Interestingly enough, Mt. Hood is second to Mt. Everest as the most summited mountain on the entire planet. In this neck of the woods (yes, pun intended) you are lit-erally surrounded by Doug fir trees, snowy peaks, chirping birds and the purest clean air. Here’s more information about this very scenic, unspoiled part of Oregon state.

GETTING THEREMt. Hood is approximately an hour to

75 minutes from Portland, and drivers can consult their vehicle GPS systems for direc-tions. For non-drivers, there are seasonal shuttles that will get you as far as Sandy from downtown Portland and then you can transfer to the Mt. Hood Express (www.mthoodexpress.com) that will transport you from Sandy City Hall to Timberline. Resorts and lodges, such as the two recom-mended below, can assist with individual shuttle pickups from PDX Airport, Union Station or downtown Portland for a fee.

ACCOMMODATIONSThe Resort at the Mountain (www.

TheResort.com) is nearly hidden amongst tall trees in the highlands of Mt. Hood. Fea-turing 157 spacious rooms, suites and villas separated into multiple buildings, the resort is a year-round destination for travelers want-ing convenient access to recreational ac-tivities on and off the mountain, aside from having a place to simply unwind. All rooms are equipped with 42-inch TVs, lengthy work desks with ergonomic chairs, alarm clocks with electronic device plug-ins, mini refrigerators, personal coffeemakers with Starbucks medium blend packets, rainwater showerheads, robes and Simmons Beau-

tyrest Black Beverly Hills plush memory foam beds, which will have you snoozing in no time. My room also had a fireplace with complimentary Duraflame logs. On-site, The Resort at the Mountain includes a heated outdoor pool, 27-hole and three 9-hole golf courses, tennis courts, Altitude restaurant and bar, seasonal Mallards Cafe & Pub and a 5000-square foot spa (The Spa) with won-derful treatments for individuals and couples, not to mention a reasonably-sized relaxation room with floor-to-ceiling windows. Bike rentals and day excursions, from mountain biking to tubing to hiking can be coordinated as well through the hotel’s front desk. But the resort also has a Nature Concierge (Nate), who is extremely knowledgeable about ev-erything – trees, foraging, mountains, rivers, Mt. Hood history; you name it, he knows it, and he’s available for guided tours and daily explorations. I absolutely loved the location

of The Resort at the Mountain, plus the in-credibly friendly staff and extra touches, like complimentary Starbucks brewed coffee and fruit-infused ice water in the lobby. It’s really like a home away from home.

Another option, and it’s a great one, too, is Timberline Lodge (www.timberlinelodge.com). Opened initially in 1937, this National Historic Landmark played an important role in the 1980 suspense film The Shining, serv-ing as the movie’s exterior setting (no interior scenes were shot at the lodge). Timberline Lodge is settled on the south slope of Mt. Hood at 6,000 feet above sea level, making

the views from the 70-guest room hotel be-yond breathtaking. With rooms to fit every budget, including “chalets” that can accom-modate groups in bunk beds with access to shared rest rooms, Timberline Lodge is a fa-vorite even amongst non-skiers. Celebrities from Olivia Newton-John to Reese Wither-spoon, who recently stayed and shot on loca-tion here, are also big fans of this cozy moun-tain getaway. The centerpiece of the lodge is its main lobby, a circular space with 98-foot high chimney, sofas, armchairs, antique light fixtures and upstairs bar with divine lookouts to the snowy slopes. The Cascade Dining Room is known for its lunchtime buffet with a terrific spread that includes house-made pastas, salads and soups, carving station, fresh fruit, make-your-own-waffles and an assortment of yummy desserts. Besides ski-ing or snowboarding, guests can also absorb the spectacular sites in an outdoor heated pool with 4-foot and 10-foot deep ends. There is event space and a coordinator on the property to assist with any wedding plan-ning, for couples wanting to tie the knot with a true Northwest backdrop.

ACTIVITIESMt. Hood is open year-round, attracting

visitors during the cold and warm months. A day lodge at Timberline Lodge provides ski passes, chair lifts and equipment rent-als for those wishing to play on the moun-tain, along with a few concession stands that are available for quick meals. Mt. Hood Skibowl (www.skibowl.com) offers lots of snowy terrain for skiers and snowboarders, but it also hosts Cosmic Tubing on weekends and holidays, where guests can slide down the slopes while listening to cool tunes and facilities lit up with neon lights. Mt. Hood Adventure Park at Skibowl (www.skibowl.com) has a list of fun activities for all ages, including snowmobiling, rock climbing, bungee jumping, mountain biking, Malibu Raceway, ziplining, pony rides, scenic sky chairs and plenty of things to keep the little ones occupied, if traveling with a family. The Hood River County Fruit Loop (www.hoodriverfruitloop.com) is a 35-mile self-guided tour of fruit orchards, forests, farm-lands and peaceful communities. These ac-tivities, and those offered by The Resort at the Mountain, should be enough to keep you busy for a Northwest trek to Mt. Hood.

View of Mt. Hood

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Timberline Lodge





by Albert RodriguezSGN A&E Writer

The Belgian Pride (Brussels)May 2-17www.thepride.be

Aside from chocolate and frites, Brussels boasts a major arts scene, dozens of independent fash-ion boutiques, UNESCO World Heritage sites, and a very active LGBT community that hosts a multi-national, giant Pride bash each year. The Belgian Pride attracted over 80,000 spectators in 2013, who gathered downtown to watch the colorful parade, and then partied until the wee hours of morning along the Rue du Marche-au-Charbon, where several of the busiest Gay bars in town are located. For sightseeing, the Atomium (www.atomium.be) is a marvel piece of architechture, the Musee Magritte (www.musee-magritte-museum.be) and Belgian Comic Strip Center (www.comicscenter.net) are definite to-dos, and the historic Grand-Place makes for a good photo op. Le Meridian (www.lemeridienbrussels.com) puts you literally within footsteps of the Brussels-Central train station and walking distance to city center; rooms are elegantly furnished and the immaculate semi-rotunda lobby is perfect for people-watching with afternoon coffee.

Tokyo Rainbow PrideApril 27www.tokyorainbowpride.com

Tokyo is a must-see destination, one of the world’s most exciting cities to visit, that is gradually opening its doors to LGBT tourists. The Shinjuku Ni-chome district is full of locals-only and foreigners-welcome bars, although you’ll have to make your way to the bustling ‘hoods of Shibuya and Harajaku, where the parade is expected to slither through. “Many Lives, Many Loves” is this year’s event theme, which includes an outdoor stage at Yoyogi Park with live performances, community information booths and food/beverages. You’ll want to shop at any of dozens of Uniqlo stores (www.uniqlo.com) around the city for reasonably-priced, durable and fashionable clothes, and then check out Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa (www.sensoji.jp). If you can afford a room at the Park Hyatt Tokyo (www.tokyo.park.hyatt.com) in Shinjuku, you’re in for a dreamy experience, or something simpler and more affordable in the same vicinity is Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo (www.keioplaza.co.jp).

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Phoenix Pride Parade & FestivalApril 5-6www.phoenixpride.orgArizona shouldn’t be punished for attempting to pass anti-Gay legislation; after all, the conservative

measure was strongly opposed by residents of the state’s urban areas, including Phoenix. The sixth larg-est U.S. city hosts one of the biggest Pride celebrations in the Southwest with multi-cultural flair – the Latino and Native American communities are well-represented in Saturday’s parade, stretching from 3rd and Thomas to 3rd and Indian School with the festival happening at Steele Indian School Park through 9 p.m. Two new restaurants to make a beeline for are The Gladly (www.thegladly.com), featur-ing amazing home-style favorites in a sleek ambiance, and the Phoenix Public Market Café (www.phx-publicmarket.com), an upscale-deli meets bistro establishment with freshly made soups, sandwiches and its own meat carving station. If staying downtown, the Hotel Palomar Phoenix (www.hotelpalomar-phoenix.com) or The Westin Downtown Phoenix (www.westinphoenixdowntown.com) both provide stylish accommodations with a good selection of restaurants, bars and entertainment-sports venues, plus light rail access, within footsteps of their front entrances. Less chic, but also close by and possibly more affordable, is the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel (www.sheratonphoenixdowntown.com). Each of these properties have outdoor pools, contemporary amenities and on-site dining.

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Phoenix Pride Parade

Phuket PrideApril 20-27www.phuket-pride.org

Thailand is now a must-go destination for Gay travelers, thanks in part to the tropical resort com-munity of Phuket. A short 90-minute flight from Bangkok, this beachfront city lures visitors with active nightlife, centuries-old Buddhist wats (temples), traditional Thai cuisine and, of course, sunny weather. LGBT tourists are welcomed year-round with open arms, though strongly encouraged to attend Phuket Pride in late April. The PLU (Phuket Loves You) Club is organizing 2014’s festivities, tying in a safe sex awareness campaign with the week-long event that hopes to raise 1 million TBT for the cause. For retail therapy, Jungceylon (www.jungceylon.com) is the largest and most contemporary shopping center in the southern portion of the kingdom with cinemas, pubs and designer stores, while the Phuket Weekend Market (Talad Tairod, no website) is where to barter for souvenirs, local goods and beachwear. The Outrigger Laguna Phuket Resort and Villas (www.outriggerthailand.com) not only has standard rooms and suites, but also villas for couples or groups. If you want to splurge, try the ultra luxurious Sawasdee Village (www.phuketsawasdee.com) – it’s paradise within paradise.

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Phuket Pride Parade

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Tokyo Pride Parade

Belgian Pride Parade

Overflowing with Pride? Good. Don’t just celebrate it here at home, go party with the world! From New York City to Berlin to Tel Aviv, Gay Pride is an opportunity to explore a new city, a new country, even a new conti-nent, and be part of a fun-filled, momentous occasion. Here are eight destinations to get your Pride on this year.





Frye Art Museum is proud to pres-ent Mark Tobey and Teng Baiye: Seattle/Shanghai, the first exhibition in the United States to explore artistic and intellectual ex-changes between American artist Mark To-bey (1890-1976) and his Chinese contempo-rary Teng Baiye (1900-1980). The two met in the 1920s, when Teng moved to Seattle to study sculpture and complete a master’s degree at the University of Washington.

During this period, Tobey studied callig-raphy with Teng, and the two artists formed a deep friendship. In 1934, Tobey visited Teng in Shanghai and soon thereafter em-barked on his seminal “white writing” paintings, works considered by Western critics to be indebted to his study of callig-raphy, ink painting, and the Bahá’í faith. It was a time of “revolutionary sensations,” Tobey would later say, when “the old and the new were in battle” and his “angle of vi-sion” was shifting.

The exhibition considers Teng’s influence as both a cultural interpreter and an artistic practitioner on the development of Tobey’s distinctive artistic practice and – through Tobey – on the discourse on abstraction in mid-Century American art. Whether To-bey’s work had remained “American” or become “oriental” was a subject of debate among contemporary observers in the Unit-ed States. Merrill Rueppel, the director of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, wrote in 1968 that Tobey was “never for one moment anything but an American,” explaining that he had “taken the calligraphy of the orient and made it the foundation of his own art without becoming oriental.” Similarly, Wil-liam Seitz, curator at the Museum of Mod-ern Art, New York, wrote that in Tobey’s work “the Eastern dragon had been har-nessed to Western dynamism.”

In China, similar questions regarding the extent of foreign influence on the work of Teng Baiye were raised. Scholar David Clarke notes that Teng’s “sojourn in the Pa-cific Northwest and his sophistication in handling both Western and Chinese cultural

knowledge gave him valuable resources with which to contribute to the tasks of assimilat-ing lessons from elsewhere while building a national culture [in China in the 1930s].” Nevertheless, after 1949, and especially dur-ing the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), Teng’s paintings were denounced as spiritual pollu-

tion. He was condemned to manual labor and few of his paintings survived.

At the time of these debates on national identity in the United States and China, Mark Tobey reflected on “the art of the fu-ture,” writing that it “cannot germinate in antagonism and national rivalry but will spring forth with a renewed growth if man in general will grow to the stature of universal citizenship.” The exhibition provides audi-ences in the twenty-first century with the opportunity to consider and compare the ma-ture work of both Teng and Tobey and to re-examine twentieth-century debates on their artistic endeavors beyond the ideological in-flections and Cold War rhetoric of their day.

The exhibition is accompanied by a cata-logue, published by the Frye Art Museum, that describes Tobey and Teng’s artistic and intellectual exchange and its potential for de-veloping a shared vocabulary in Western and Eastern art practice. The question of whether Tobey succeeded in combining or replacing the traditions of Chinese and Western art is examined in the context of emerging schol-arship. The catalogue contains essays by Jo-Anne Birnie Danzker and David Clarke.

Mark Tobey and Teng Baiye: Seattle/Shanghai is organized by the Frye Art Muse-um and curated by Jo-Anne Birnie Danzker and Scott Lawrimore. The exhibition is fund-ed by the Frye Foundation with the generous support of Frye Art Museum members and donors. It is sponsored by 4Culture. Seasonal support is provided by Seattle Office of Arts & Culture and ArtsFund.

The Frye Art Museum is located at 704 Terry Ave. The museum is open Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., with extended hours on Thursday until 7 p.m. The museum is closed Monday. Admission is always FREE.

Courtesy of the Frye Art Museum

“Forest Dance” by Mark Tobey

“Untitled” by Mark Tobey


Photograph of Teng Baiye, 1926

“Cranes and Pine Tree” by Teng Baiye“Above and Below” by Mark Tobey“City Reflections” by Mark Tobey

“Untitled” by Mark Tobey



by Ken CampbellSGN A&E Writer

French cuisine. The very phrase sounds hoity-toity. But if there’s one thing I love, it’s trying new things. So when a friend of mine told me that I could use a little dose of culture and invited me to dinner at a new French restaurant that had just opened its doors right here on Capitol Hill, how could I refuse? Hoity-toity is fine by me when someone else is footin’ the bill.

The place in question is called Le Zinc, named for the countertops made of the stuff commonly found in French bistros. But be-fore I get to dishin’ the dirt on French cui-sine, I must issue a disclaimer.

First of all, I am not, I repeat NOT a food critic. I have no culinary training of any kind. I’m not even remotely close to being a “foodie” and would never want to be called one. Secondly, I virtually never

touch a stove, if I can help it. Most of my meals take 60 seconds to prepare in a mi-crowave. The ones that aren’t are either brought to my table at whatever restaurant, diner or greasy spoon I’m sitting in at the time or handed to me in a paper sack by someone wearing a paper hat.

I’m not even well-traveled. I certainly haven’t ever been to France. The only thing that even remotely connects me to French cuisine is that my heritage is a quarter French and even that is up for debate. But instead of a lofty, overly sophisticated, highbrow opinion of food, I thought it would be refreshing to come at this from the opposite end of the spec-trum. The food idiot. Someone with a palate so mired in the unremarkable that experienc-ing French cuisine for the first time should al-most border on a religious experience.

So, let’s start with first impressions shall we?After stepping through Le Zinc’s front

door it seemed to me this would be an ideal

Le Zinc, a great Capitol Hill dining experienceplace to take a first date. The atmosphere is subdued; cozy even. It’s a perfect place for getting to know someone or dropping a bomb of bad news or coming out as what-ever to your closest friend. Intimate. Yes, that’s the word I’m looking for. It’s very in-timate. It somehow manages to feel modern and old world at the same time. Amongst the décor you’ll find several interesting an-tiques including some sort of absinthe brew-ing contraption that looks like a soap dis-penser from the Four Seasons. Most of the walls are adorned with original paintings collected by manager, Parris Broderick. If asked, he will be all too happy to give you the lowdown on each one of them.

Now, on to the food.Since this was all new to me I let my friend

do the ordering for me. First to arrive at the table was the appetizer, which surpris-ingly enough was French fries. I had always thought the “French” in French fries was a misnomer. But after a little research I dis-covered that it is still up for debate whether French fries originated in France or Belgium. They arrived at my table in a rather unique cone shaped apparatus of chrome that had a little sidecar attached with a very tasty dip-ping sauce. I’m not sure if this is how they usually do it in France, but if they do, I think we should adopt the practice here. Next to arrive was a small pot of steaming mussels, which I sort of inhaled, because they were prepared so deliciously well by our very charming chef du jour, Jaron Witsoe. (Tisch! That’s French! *smooch smooch smooch* See? I’m becoming more cultured already.) Next came the Croque Monsieur (which to me looked like a ham and cheese sandwich) but a more accurate description would be Pain de me, smoked ham and Gruye’re de Comt’e. Usually I’m not that partial to ham

and cheese, but I changed my tune after the first bite. It practically melted in my mouth. I also got to sample the Moules au Fenouil, which was comprised of fennel, pork belly, Pernod, sweet onions and tomato; and for dessert, the chocolate torte. All of which, I washed down with a glass of Cote de Gas-cogne, Dom Tariquet, 2012 Colombard-Ugni Blanc. All of their wines, I’m told, are im-ported from small French wineries in order to give patrons a sample of the local flavor.

If cocktails are more your cup of tea, you might want to check out Happy Hour from 4-6 p.m. and 10 p.m. to close daily. They have a very colorful selection to choose from, all of which find their origins in Pro-hibition era America. Enjoy $6 featured cocktails plus Kronenbourg, select wines and well liquors for $4. Penn cove mussel bowls are half price and French fries $3! In addition, Le Zinc offers an assortment of exceptional absinthes, ritualistically prepared over an absinthe fountain and ac-coutrements. All in all, it was a great dining experience and I left feeling slightly more sophisticated than I had going in. Le Zinc is located at 1449 E. Pine St. Check it out mon petite. You won’t be disappointed.

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HIGH SOCIETYSHOWTUNESTHEATRE COMPANYILLSLEY BALLNORDSTROM RECITAL HALLBENAROYA HALLMarch 29 & 30

SEATTLE, WA – SHOWTUNES The-atre Company stages a sparkling Spring concert version of Cole Porter’s High So-ciety at the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall on Saturday, March 29 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 30 at 2 p.m. High Society is based on the 1939 play The Philadelphia Story by Philip Barry, which inspired a 1956 MGM movie musi-cal High Society starring Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. A stage musical version of High Society opened on Broad-way in 1998 with a book by Arthur Kopit. It features the beautiful Cole Porter tunes, “Ridin’ High,” “Just One of Those Things,” “Let’s Misbehave,” “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” and “It’s All Right With Me” with additional lyrics by Susan Birkenhead.

This bubbling musical takes us back to the 1930s as wealthy Long Island socialite Tra-cy Lord is planning her lavish summer wed-ding to George when her ex-husband Dex-ter turns up and disrupts the proceedings.

Complications for the festivities include a philandering father, an overwhelmed moth-er and a nosey magazine reporter and pho-tographer trying to get an exclusive scoop. This “swell” party of a show marks the 24th production for SHOWTUNES Theatre Company.

With fourteen years under their belts, SHOWTUNES produces concert versions of countless unsung American musical the-atre gems. This upcoming production will be the fourth concert in a row presented at Benaroya Hall’s acoustically rich yet inti-mate Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall. A cast of talented local musical theatre profes-sionals, with scripts in hand, will use mini-mal staging props and costumes to bring the original book and score of Cole Porter’s delicious High Society to life. David Hunter Koch directs and Mark Rabe serves as mu-sic director.

The cast includes: Danielle Barnum (Tracy Lord), Jared Michael Brown (Dexter Haven), Matt Giles (Mike Connor), John X. Deveney (Uncle Willy), Katherine Strohm-aier (Liz Imbrie), Matthew Posner (George Kittredge), Analiese Guettinger (Dinah Lord), Valerie Piacenti (Margaret Lord), and Paul Klein (Seth Lord) with Mallory King, Marissa Ryder and Mike Spee round-ing out the Ensemble.

Tickets are $31 - $46. Student and senior tickets are $21. Tickets are available on-line at SHOWTUNESTheatre.org, over the phone at (206) 215-4747 or in person at the Benaroya Hall ticket office (Third Ave. & Union St.). Ticket office hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.; and Satur-day, 1 p.m. - 6 p.m.

About SHOWTUNES Theatre Company:Based in Seattle and founded in 1999,

SHOWTUNES creates concert versions of many unsung American musical theater gems. Led by Broadway veteran Martin Charnin (Artistic Director) and company founder Maggie Stenson Pehrson (Execu-tive Producer), the company currently pres-ents a two-concert season at Seattle’s stun-ning Benaroya Hall. Drawing from the vast array of musical theatre talent in the area, SHOWTUNES has staged 23 productions and will announce their 2014-2015 Benar-oya Hall Season this April.

Courtesy of SHOWTUNES Theatre Company

(l-r) Mike Connor, Tracy Lord, and Dexter Haven

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Honolulu Pride Parade and CelebrationJune 7www.honoluluprideparade.blogspot.com

The best thing about attending Honolulu’s one-day Pride festiv-ities is that you can take a dip in the ocean or walk half a block to Hula’s Bar & Lei Stand (www.hulas.com) when the parade comes to a halt at Kapiolani Park. With a 10 a.m. start time (at Magic Island), you have plenty of time to grab breakfast at Hula Grill Waikiki (www.hulagrillwaikiki.com) or latte at Honolulu Cof-fee Company (www.honolulucoffee.com), both along the route on Kalakaua Avenue, before the parade gets underway. Hawaii’s recent passage of Gay marriage will undoubtedly be integrated into this year’s celebration, as their festival is called. The Aloha State’s capital city has many LGBT-supportive hotels, among them the Park Shore Waikiki (www.parkshorewaikiki.com), lo-cated across from Kapiolani Park, the Sheraton Waikiki (www.sheraton-waikiki.com) and Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach (www.outriggerwaikikihotel.com).

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Portland Pride Festival & ParadeJune 14-15www.pridenw.org

And if you need a reason for a three-hour road trip to Portland, the Rose City kicks off the Northwest’s Pride festivities two weeks before Seattle and two months before Vancouver, BC. Available now are $60 VIP passes that include special VIP entrance (no wait-ing in line), two-day festival access, a pair of beverage tickets, offi-cial 2014 Pride tee-shirt, special access to Pride Northwest Lounge and bonus extras. Sunday’s parade begins at the corner of West Burnside Avenue and NW Broadway, then proceeds on NW Davis through Chinatown and along the riverside to Tom McCall Water-front Park, where the festival will be set up. “Happy Hour” on De-parture Restaurant + Lounge’s outdoor deck (www.departureport-land.com), especially on a bright afternoon, affords you an excellent view of the Willamette River. If you want accommodations very close to the action, Hotel Rose (www.hotelroseportland.com) is di-rectly across from the park and RiverPlace Hotel (www.riverplace-hotel.com) is situated right on the waterfront. It doesn’t get much closer than that! No car? No problem. Bolt Bus (www.boltbus.com) offers the cheapest fares between Seattle and Portland.

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Dublin PrideJune 14-29www.dublinpride.ie

The Irish do know how to party, and Dublin is a city that is quickly reinventing itself – thus, it’s attracting hip, young new residents and tourists. Back-to-back weeks of Pride events climax with a parade that starts at the “Garden of Remem-brance” and finishes at Merrian Square, marching past one of the most reputable teaching institutions, Trinity College, home of the Book of Kells (www.tcd.ie/Library/bookofkells). Tens of thousands are expected to participate in this year’s parade, commemorating its 30th anniversary with the theme “Live, Love & Be Proud.” I suggest a meal at the locally-be-loved 37 Dawson Street (www.37dawsonstreet.ie) with cool interior and wonderful simple food, or the cozy Coppinger Row (www.coppingerrow.com); and for accommodations The Marker (www.themarkerhoteldublin.com) is relatively new, slick and has a rooftop bar, or The Fitzwilliam Hotel Dub-lin (www.fitzwilliamhoteldublin.com) is absolutely lovely and rests across from St. Stephen’s Green.

Las Vegas PRIDE Night Parade & FestivalSeptember 5-6www.lasvegaspride.org

Whatever happens in Vegas probably won’t happen anywhere else; this place is crawling with possibilities that spell m-e-s-s-y. You’re always assured a real good time in Sin City, especially when the pop-ular desert destination goes all out for its Pride celebration in early September. The glittery parade is slated for Saturday evening, begin-ning at 8 p.m. at West Charleston Boulevard, and then traveling up 4th Street to Ogden Avenue. Sunday is reserved for the festival, over at the Clark County Amphitheater with more than 100 exhibitors on-hand, aside from live entertainment and snack stations. Las Vegas has become a mecca for world-class cuisine with a bevy of restau-rants to suit every budget. Two of my current favorites are Andrea’s at the Encore (www.wynnlasvegas.com) for sumptuous Asian dishes in a sleek, open dining room, and Simon Restaurant & Lounge at The Palms (www.palms.com) for brunch featuring a make-your-own-Bloody Mary Buffet, a “White Trash” menu and cute servers dressed in pajama bottoms. For weekend stays, MGM Resorts International is the leading Gay-friendly hotelier in Southern Nevada, presenter of the 2014 Las Vegas PRIDE Night Parade. One of its showcase properties, the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino (www.mgmgrand.com) provides guests with spacious rooms, premiere on-site dining and nightlife options, and, of course, a refreshing outdoor pool with deck.

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Dublin Pride

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AND QI BAISHI: Benijig 1930 - Seattle Gay News musical Little Shop of Horrors is a success story in itself. Celebrating another union between The 5th Avenue Theatre and ACT Theatre,