June 10-16, 2004

mixpicks

Pioneers on Parade

by A.D. Amorosi

Stuck in the middle of June's celebration of National Gay Pride Month, there's always this lil' ol' thing called the Philadelphia Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Parade and Festival. 2004's PrideFest, taking place this Sunday, focuses on Pioneers on Parade; covered-wagon motif and all. While this is likely a tribute to the event's grand marshals, gay-rights pioneers Kay Tobin Lahusen and John Cunningham, host Henri David will root-and-toot it up in grand costumed fashion. A spangled Annie Oakley motif perhaps? Maybe he will leave that fashion statement to old pal Sally Starr who'll be there, to boot. He won't tell me. That's good. That level of outrageous surprise is what guides the fest's fabulous weekend of events.

Highlights will include: Manhattan performer Murray Hill's Blowout Burlesque at the Troc on June 12, with Dirty Martini and Dito van Reigersberg; June 13's Arden Theatre reading of playwright Mart Crowley's Men From the Boys with Mark "Chumley" Singer and Michael Byrne. There'll be the Pride March, following a new, shorter route; the Philadelphia Dyke March; and the Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus program, presenting the Welsh-language presentation of Psalm 23 and composer Jake Heggie's "Anna Madrigal Remembers" with text by author Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City). The Parade Pioneers' "transvestite chorus" will march down the 13th Street corridor. Pride Day brunches at Valanni and Sisters will offer activism and omelets. One of LGBT Pride Parade and Festival's biggest surprises is its new location, at Broad St. and Washington Ave., and its diverse list of musical participants (Lisa Jackson & Girl Friday, Helen Back, Sandy Beach, DJ Maria V), but its headliner should be no surprise: actress-comedian-vocalist Sandra Bernhard, an out performer whose strident support of gay causes is very public.

Philadelphia LGBT Pride Parade and Festival, Sun., June 13, noon-6 p.m., $7 ($10 per couple), Broad and Washington sts., 215-875-9288,

www.phillypride.org

. Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus, Sat., June 12, 8 p.m., $15, Trinity Center for Urban Life, 2212 Spruce St., 215-731-9230. Blowout Burlesque, Sat, June 12, 8 p.m., $13-$18, The Trocadero, 1003 Arch St., 215-922-LIVE.