GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

APRIL 7, 1995

Evenings Out

Loretta (Nanc found Ms. Rig

she D'AG

Rachael bike). pn

se

J. Camila GIN BU

right

(Lisa Parker Senter) and Loretta.

she's

by Francesca Miller

The success of Go Fish, a successful low-budget sleeper by director Rose Troche, has signaled the beginning of a viable lesbian cinema. Lauran Hoffman has fashioned the play Bar Girls into a sleekly sophisticated look at contemporary lesbian life shot on the streets of West Hollywood. Lesbian landmarks like Axis, Little Frida's, and the infamous Girl Bar are prominently featured, and for once we don't have to endure some dreary, conflicted tale of coming out. Instead, we are presented with a stylish, funny and totally unapologetic look at sapphic love and sex in a modern, urban setting.

Loretta (Nancy Allison Wolfe), a sexy, successful animation artist with an acerbic wit, is desperately seeking love. Sparks fly when she meets Rachael (Liza D'Agostino, a dead ringer for Rae Dawn Chong) and falls instantly in lust. What does a lesbian bring on the second date? You've got it!

The happy couple cohabit for a delirious month of unwedded bliss until interrupted by J.R. (Camila Griggs), a sultry butch with a yen for Rachael. What ensues is a torrid triangle punctuated by clever banter, spiffy visuals and above all, juicy sex. Bar Girls' theatrical roots occasionally intrude on the cinematic action, but for the most part the acting is first rate (especially D'Agostino and Michael Harris as Nancy's straight male friend), the production values are good, and the cross-over possibilities, endless.

The film rings with truth because it is based on the real-life experience of writer and producer Hoffman, who includes in her resume "fifteen years of sporadic and lengthy relationships.” Hoffman conceived Bar Girls as a story about what it's really like to be a lesbian. "Not," she says, "like the lesbians on TV and film, who often appear unstable and ready to ice pick someone to death for no apparent reason. I could no longer stand by apathetically and watch as writers poked and jabbed at the surface of the lesbian experience."

When Hoffman finished the play, she connected with Marita Giovanni, an accomplished stage director whose work she admired. Together, they cast nine actresses to perform in three staged readings of Bar Girls. The play opened at the Gene Dynarski Theater in June of 1993. The popularity of the play convinced Hoffman and Giovanni that people of all sexual orientation would benefit from seeing realistic and positive portrayals of lesbians and heterosexual women alike on the big screen. The film opens April 7 nationwide, including the Cedar Lee Theatre in Cleveland, and the Drexel Theatres in Columbus.