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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE February 1, 1992

100

The Cleveland Play House

E. 85 & Euclid Avenue

"Elegantly entertaining...exquisitely funny."

-New York Post

"Slyly humorous...Heidi is such good company, you don't want the play to end."

USA Today

The Heidi Chronicles

by

Wendy Wasserstein

directed by

Roger T. Danforth

Women's liberation, encounter

groups, therapy sessions, personal fulfillment Heidi Holland looks for it all! And whoever would have thought that a search could be this much fun! This charming comedy looks at a woman's 25-year quest for meaning

and purpose in her life.

Winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award as Best Play of 1989.

February 11-March 15

Sponsored by The Illuminating Company The Energy Makers.

A Centerior Energy Company

Call 795-7000 or 241-5555

Inaccurate gay characters

by Lisa M. Keen

Gays have at least one reason to question the believeability of Oliver Stone's controversial docudrama JFK: He and New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison would apparently have viewers believe that the U.S.government had a chance to blame a national tragedy on homosexuals, and didn't. But gay moviegoers in New Orleans--especially those old enough to have known some of the key characters-have even bigger problems with the popular film: They say gay viewers will have to completely suspend disbelief on Stone's rendition of those he portrayed as homosexual.

The movie has generated unprecedented media attention and debate, both on the news and commentary pages of newspapers around the country. The controversy is stirred not so much because Stone's film dispels the Warren Commission's original theory that lone gunman Lee Harvey Oswald shot President John F. Kennedy in 1963. A congressional inquiry suggested in the 1970s that the Warren Commission's original report may have been flawed and that there was "probably" a conspiracy behind the assassination. The upset is over the very complicated and difficult theory Stone and Garrison would substitute in its stead: That a conspiracy involving U.S. military leaders and perhaps Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, as well as defense contractors, the CIA, the FBI and the Mafia, orchestrated the assassination and--despite the enormous number of people that would have been involved--managed to keep it successfully hidden for almost 30 years.

The Garrison theory involved such interesting hypotheses as there may have been three men identifying themselves as Lee Harvey Oswald. District Attorney Garrison believed that possibility would have explained how Oswald was able to defect to the Soviet Union and then return to the United States without being arrested. It might also explain why Oswald on one occasion was described as very much enjoying relationships with women, while on another, being characterized as disinterested in women and hanging out with gay

men.

So where do the gay men come in? Stone's film shows Garrison trying to build a case around his suspicion that a prominent businessman, Clay Shaw, who

was known by many in New Orleans to be gay, knew and conspired with another well-known gay man in New Orleans, David Ferrie, to assassinate President Kennedy. They were angry at Kennedy, Garrison argued, because Kennedy had declined to attack Cuba's Fidel Castro-an effort they were allegedly in favor of Garrison tried to demonstrate that Oswald, who was accused of pulling the trigger, met with Shaw and Ferrie in New Orleans. Stone shows Ferrie and Shaw socializing together and depicts them and their sexual partners in one party scene as engaging in sadomasochistic activities, dressing in female clothing, and using what appears to be poppers.

Garrison also tried to illustrate that military leaders, intelligence officials, and defense contractors felt their power and fortunes were threatened by reports that Kennedy was ready to take U.S. troops out of Vietnam. Garrison also tried to show that Shaw, Ferrie and Oswald may have been covert agents for these elements. His key witness to this triangle was a man indentified in the movie as "Willie O'Keefe," a male prostitute.

But people familiar with Shaw and Ferrie, many of whom are gay, say Stone has taken great liberties with the facts in order to paint a picture with broad enough strokes to bring all of these various cohorts together in this conspiracy theory of epic proportions. They say the O'Keefe character was a man named Perry Russo, who still lives in New Orleans, acted as a technical consultant on the film and appeared in a cameo role. Stone reportedly said the O'Keefe character was a "composite" of several different persons. The O'Keefe character testifies in court that he saw Shaw, Ferrie and Oswald meeting together at a "homosexual hangout" in New Or leans.

99

New Orleans attorney Cecil Burglass, who says he know Clay Shaw "very well," said Shaw would never have gone to a gay bar, would never have associated with Ferrie or Oswald, and was very mischaracterized in the film.

"Shaw was no simpering queen," said Burglass, referring to actor Tommie Lee Jones' portrayal of Shaw in the movie. Burglass said he believes Garrison "picked on" Shaw because Shaw was homosexual and he believed Shaw's reputation would be a "vulnerable" hook on

including a Da

TICKETSTE

ER.

Continental is the official airline of The Cleveland Play House.

Pride '92 and The Living Room present, in cooperation with The Cleveland Play House, a special benefit performance of The Heidi Chronicles

Sunday, March 8th, 1992

Light Brunch 1 pm • Performance 2 pm

Tickets are $25 in advance and include brunch and the performance.

For reservations and information call: 522-1999 Name

Address

is enclosed for

tickets

Phone

My check for S

($13 per ticket is tax deductible).

Sorry, I can't attend but here is my donation of $

All tickets will be held at The Play House for pick up the day of the performance.

Make checks payable to: The Living Room

P.Q. Box 6177, Cleveland, OH 44101

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