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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE SEPTEMBER 4, 1998
EVENINGS OUT
Highland Theater to host Merchant-Ivory film festival
by Doreen Cudnik
Akron-The films of Merchant and Ivory will be brought to northeast Ohio when radio station WKSU 89.7 FM begins their two-week long film festival on September 11.
Views of Merchant-Ivory: 14 Films, 3 Continents-A WKSU Film Festival opens September 11 at Akron's Highland Theater, located in the lesbian and gayfriendly Highland Square district, dubbed the "SoHo of Akron" by area residents.
The Art Deco-style Highland Theater was built in 1938, and seats over 900 people. The theater's giant screen is the largest in Northeast Ohio.
The festival will offer film lovers an opportunity to view and appreciate the scope of producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory's extensive and varied body of work. Patrons will be able to chart the progress of one of the most successful collaborations in movie history.
From their earliest collaborations, in-
cluding the rarely seen 1963 film The Householder, the festival continues through adaptations like Howard's End (1992), and original screenplays, many with writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. The festival presents Merchant and Ivory's full spectrum of films in one comprehensive series.
The 14 films that make up the festival are grouped geographically. The "Films of Europe" are Quartet, the gay love story Maurice (based on gay author E.M. Forster's novel, which wasn't published until many years after his death), Howard's End, Remains of the Day and Jefferson in Paris. The "Films of India" are The Householder, Shakespeare Wallah, Heat and Dust, and In Custody. The "Films of America" are Roseland, The Europeans, the lesbian-themed The Bostonians, Slaves of New York and Mr. and Mrs. Bridge.
The Bostonians is based on a Henry James novel and is set during the women's suffrage movement. While the film is not explicitly lesbian, there is a great deal of
sexual tension between the character played by Vanessa Redgrave and a much younger woman with clairvoyant powers whom she takes under her wing. The tension escalates when a love triangle develops involving the young woman's male suitor, played by Christopher Reeve.
WKSU broadcasts National Public Radio news and classical music at 89.7 FM from the campus of Kent State University. WKSU programming is also heard on WKRW 89.3 FM in Wooster, WKRJ 91.5 FM in Dover/ New Philadelphia, and WKSV 89.1 in Thompson.
Tickets to the festival can be purchased at the Highland Theater box office or by calling WKSU at 330672-3114.
Hugh Grant, in front, plays a college classmate wooed by Maurice (James Wilby) in Merchant and Ivory's 1987 film of E.M. Forster's novel.
Fall TV lineup will reflect more diverse images
by Bill Horn
Los Angeles-The 1998 fall television lineup will include a unique array of regular and recurring lesbian, gay and bisexual characters of color. Joining them will be national television's first gay male lead character on the new sitcom Will & Grace.
In years past, gay characters of color, and particularly lesbians of color, have
been virtually non-existent on television. However, this year, nearly one quarter of the 19 lesbian anu gay characters are people of color. Showtime Networks recently introduced Jackie (Rain Pryor), an African-American lesbian of color on its irreverent new comedy Rude Awakenings. Also, on the cable channel's new show Linc's, Rosalee (Tisha Campbell) is currently questioning her sexual orientation.
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In addition, prime time will welcome back two African-American gay male characters: Chicago Hope's Dr. Dennis Hancock (Vondie Curtis-Hall), and Carter Heywood (Michael Boatman) on Spin City, a Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Media Award-winner.
"No longer are lesbian and gay characters strictly peripheral on network television."
Joan M. Garry, director of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, which tracks how gays are portrayed in the media, said this figure represents a decrease from last year's record-setting number of lesbian and gay characters. Nonetheless, she is heartened by the quality of the upcoming season.
"The 1998 TV lineup is significant in that it demonstrates an increase in the number of characters which genuinely reflect the uniqueness and diversity of our community in a way we have not yet seen," Garry said, “No longer are lesbian and gay characters strictly peripheral on network television, and GLAAD hopes to see these portrayals continue to growreflecting the realities of diversity, family and faith."
Lesbian, gay and bisexual characters will be returning to such shows as Friends, Mad About You, Nash Bridges and NYPD Blue. In all, the season will include five new regular and recurring characters. After Ellen DeGeneres' groundbreaking year, NBC will make a little history of its own with Will & Grace. The new Monday night comedy will feature television's first gay male lead character, Will Truman (Eric McCormack). The sitcom also brings Will's sassy friend Jack (Sean P. Hayes) to the small screen. "We are delighted with such a smart sitcom which tells the story, in an extremely funny, witty, and at times poignant way, of two best friends-one of whom happens to be gay," said GLAAD in a press release. “Will & Grace possess the qualities of a hit TV show: a great cast, an accomplished director and incredible chemistry between a talented cast."
"Any gay man knows that coming out of the closet is a rough road," the show's openly gay executive producer Max Mutchnick told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "To be openly validated in this way is incredibly liberating for me."
For a detailed list of this season's characters, visit GLAAD's "TV Scoreboard" at http://www.glaad.org.
Bill Horn is communications director of GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
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