art, and the Whitney Museum is considered a prime showcase for 20thcentury American art. Frank Lloyd Wright's design for the uptown Guggenheim Museum-newly face-lifted-is a work of art in its own right.

New York is also without doubt the theater capital of America, although these days many of the Broadway houses along the Great White Way are dark. Tony Kushner's award-winning epic, Angels in America, hailed as both the American play and the gay play of the decade, is a must. Stephen Sondheim's new musical, Passion, recently opened on Broadway, and Carousel and She Loves Me are currently enjoying successful revivals. Or try Anna Deavere Smith's one-woman showstopper, Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, now moved uptown from the Joseph Papp Public Theater. (Order aheadmost of these sell out well in advance.)

BIG CITY

BOYS

FOR WEEKLY UPDATES on

the ever-changing gay male scene, pick up free copies of HomoXtra, Next, or Stone-

wall News, distributed at The Center and at most gay bars and stores. Most bars fill up around happy hour (between

5 and 8 p.m.) and then again around 11:30 p.m.; in general, they close at 4 a.m. Most dance clubs get going after midnight and wind down by 4 a.m. After-hours clubs get active around 5 a.m.

Many of the country's prominent gay and lesbian playwrights are now regularly produced in the mainstream theater. But you can also find gayand lesbian-themed work at some of the smaller downtown theaters. Lesbian and feminist issues get a theatrical workout at WOW Cafe, a women's collective, and cutting-edge gay or lesbian performance artists frequently perform at Dixon Place and P.S. 122. The Ridiculous Theatrical Company is famous for its unique brand of camp theater, and drag divas like Charles Busch and the fabulous Lypsinka command loyal followings when in town. You can catch a well-known cabaret personality or discover a rising star at The Ballroom, Eighty Eight's, and several other night spots in the city.

A visit to either the Metropolitan Opera or the New York City Opera, both housed at Lincoln Center, is a must on

BARS

The Bar. East Village artists, activists, and NYU students. 68 Second Ave. Boy Bar. See the Boy Bar Beauties perform. Thursday nights only. 15 St. Mark's Place.

The Break. Lines form on Thursdays, dollar-margarita night. 232 Eighth Ave. Club 58. The city's preeminent Asian bar and dance club. 40 East 58th St.

Crowbar. The quintessential no-frills East Village bar. Dancing Wednesdays and Fridays, cruisy always. 339 East 10th St. Hangar Bar. Relatively new water-hole on "gay main street." 115 Christopher St. The Spike. Leathermen on one side, clean-cut hunks on the other. 120 Eleventh Ave. Splash. Rather homogeneous, but currently the most popular bar in town.

KRAK

the opera lover's itinerary. You'll see dykes turn up in large numbers at the Met whenever Frederica von Stade plays a "trouser role." The companies of the New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theater (who also perform at Lincoln Center) are rated among the best in the country. And sooner or later every major modern dance company visits City Center or the Joyce Theater. You could also attend a classical music concert at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. Check to see if the New York City Gay Men's Chorus is giving a concert at the world-famous Carnegie Hall.

UPTOWN, DOWNTOWN

ON'T LET EXAGGERATED RUMORS of crime deter you from visiting

Convention Association will advise you on where to go. You can sample soul food, listen to a gospel choir, and tour

Ogle the go-go boys as they take real showers in glass enclosures. 50 West 17th St.

The Townhouse. Elegant faux English decor and a piano player. Older gentlemen and young professionals. 236 East 58th St.

Two Potato. One of the main hangouts for the city's gay black and Latino population. 143 Christopher St. The Works. From gay yuppies to Columbia University students. 428 Columbus Ave.

Uncle Charlie's. Not as trendy as it used to be, but still a diverse crowd. 56 Greenwich Ave.

DANCE CLUBS

SATURDAY IS THE BIGGEST homo night out in the city, but you can go dancing on any night of the week somewhere in Manhattan, which no doubt gives rise to the myth that gay men don't have regular jobs. Jackie 60. A delightfully quirky underground happening. Tuesdays. 432 West 14th St.

HOT: Crowds at USA.

Limelight. The once-notorious churchturned-disco is still a popular gay haunt on Wednesdays and Fridays. West 20th St., between Fifth and Sixth Aves. (use the 20th Street entrance). Meat. Aptly titled for its location in New York's meat-packing district and for its raunchy atmosphere. 432 West 14th St. Nocturnal. In the former Tunnel, a prime Saturday night attraction. 220 Twelfth Ave. Percussion. With live drumming. 239 Eleventh Ave.

Roxy. New York's hottest men, from gym queens to drag queens, gather here on Saturdays. Roller-skating on Tuesdays. 515 West 18th St.

Sound Factory Bar. A predominantly black and Latino house party, on Thursdays and Fridays. 12 West 21st St. Sound Factory. The quintessential gay Manhattan party experience in the wee hours of Sunday morning. 530 West 27th St.

USA. Flexing gym boys and club kids dressed in glitter flock on Sunday to Bump! night. 218 West 47th St. Zone DK. More a sex club than a dance club, a fantasy-land for the leather crowd. Fridays. 540 West 21st St.-G.R.

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