April 22-28, 2004

artpicks

Kinsey Sicks

Andrew Parks

performance

Barbershop quartets are cool. Just look at the way Rockapella raps about where in the world Carmen Sandiego resides, or how hipster-favorite TV on the Radio layers doo-wop harmonies over lo-fi electronics. The Kinsey Sicks is America's favorite and quite possibly only "dragapella beauty shop quartet." Its absolute fabulousness began at a Bette Midler concert in 1993. Ben Schatz ("Rachel") and Irwin Keller ("Winnie") arrived as the Andrews Sisters and left as the Kinsey Sicks when onlookers asked them to perform at a local function. Within a year, shows grew from San Francisco street corners to an off-Broadway hit in the infamous Studio 54. Chris Dilley ("Trampolina") and Jeff Manabat ("Trixie") were added to the duo in 1998 and 2004 respectively. Outside of the group, Schatz and Keller are both renowned activists. Keller is a lawyer and linguist who wrote Chicago's gay-rights ordinance. Schatz is a Harvard-trained civil-rights lawyer, creator of the first national AIDS legal project and author of former President Clinton's HIV policy during the '92 campaign. He offered us an interview with Rachel via e-mail, which was punctuated with questions of whether we are cute or single. When we asked whether President Bush attended the group's last performance in D.C., Rachel responded, "No, he prefers that I visit him in the White House. He's not as dumb as people think. He makes me wear Saran Wrap around my dresses so that there are no stains." Errr, too much information.

Kinsey Sicks, Sat., April 24, 8 p.m., $15, Thomas Great Hall, Bryn Mawr College, 101 N. Merion Ave., www.brynmawr.edu/activities.