July 21 2000 GAY PEC

ONICLE

JANET MACOSKA

Come up to the lab,

and see what's on the slab

One very popular guest at Dancin' in the Streets was actor Bob Simon, who is currently starring as Dr. Frank N. Furter in the Beck Center's production of The Rocky Horror Show. On custom-made platform boots purchased in London, Simon strolled through Dancin' pressing the flesh, and posing for photos with fans.

The AIDS Taskforèe of Cleveland asked Simon to be a visible presence at their street party fundraiser after his controversial appearance at Lakewood's Fourth of July parade.

Simon, formerly of Lakewood, participated in the parade in charac-

#

ter as the transvestite Frank N. Furter. He rode in a pickup truck to advertise the show, with a sign on the back reading, "Beck Celebrates Independence in All Colors."

Some Lakewood citizens along the parade route shouted at Simon, who stayed in character and responded as Furter. Many more called their complaints into the non-profit Beck Center, who reported 28 unfavorable calls the first two days. The Lakewood mayor's office tallied about 75 calls from citizens dismayed that this transvestite character should appear in a "family parade."

Beck Center publicist Michael Gill says that the controversy has not hurt the production. Instead, it has generated its own publicity, and created an additional level of public awareness for the production. Ticket sales are healthy.

Simon is a popular veteran actor who has performed the role of Frank N. Furter over the past ten years throughout the U.S. and Europe. His performance in the Los Angeles production won him the Ovation award, the city's version of the Tony.

The Rocky Horror Show continues at the Beck Center in Lakewood through August 13. For ticket information, call 216-521-2540.

Filmmakers

Continued from page 11

"I know what she means," Petersen says, who had G.I. Joe "with fuzzy hair and moveable joints" even though he really wanted Barbie. "I convinced my mother Joe needed to get married," Petersen says slyly. “So she bought me a Barbie. And I'd send my brother out on G.I. Joe missions and stay inside with Barbie. But my mother saw through that right away. And then all I got were Tonka trucks. But at least those were big and beefy."

Just like Rock, the buff, muscled son of the ex-gay camp's leader, is one of a gaggle of boys that balance the lesbian story, a pack that includes four young boys and Mike, the supposedly reformed gay man played by RuPaul. Even though Rock is built like a truck, he just can't resist swishing around under his headphones, his thighs splitting his denim cut-offs as he gyrates to the beat and the whir of his weed whacker.

"I had to throw in the epitome of what would be one's fantasy," Petersen said drolly, as though one could not see through his sudden use of third person pronouns. "So much of the movie is about repressing that behavior that I wanted to show you could be big and beefy and and solid and haul around as many power tools as possible, but it still doesn't change anything. I'm not sure whether or not that translates for gay men who are salivating over Eddie's shorts, but, well, que sera."

Behind the laughs, however, are darker themes about how the sublimation of queer identity that "ex-gay" theory requires of people.

"In Oregon, when I as in college, the religious right was circulating all these propaganda videos for their anti-gay initiatives. And to me, that was satire. But huge numbers of people believed that material hook line and sinker. "Ex-gay' organizations exist only to continue the kind of self-loathing, and hatred that take us so long to get over. And for teens, that's particularly horrifying, because they are being given the lie that there is another option-changing themselves."

Rather than create a narrative polemic,

-Janet Macoska

Babbit and Petersen decided to make a satire, especially since, over the last decade, humor has become an even more important element of the relationship between teens coming out and their families. Cheerleader is very much a film that, unlike so many others, speaks to its audience in the language of its own experience.

"Compared to twelve steps, five is very easy," Babbit laughs. "And that's one reason why it doesn't work. For people like [camp director] Mary and her ilk, five steps are easier to remember, they're such stupid people."

But stupid people abound in the world, and that includes queer critics who blasted the film for its neon pink and blue production design, refusing to do the work necessary to recognize the complexity woven throughout Petersen's script.

"Our harshest reviews have been from the gay press," says Petersen, his otherwise harmonic voice now on edge. "Some people see the pink and blue, think 'Oh, that's way too simple,' and just shut down. So they completely ignore the fact that these ex-gay outfits really put women in dresses and say 'Vacuum. Now that you have make-up on, don't you feel better?' This is an important subject. We should at least get credit for dealing with it." Well, the MPAA [film ratings board] did give the filmmakers credit, even if it was for corrupting the minds of America's youth.

"The MPAA supposedly liked the film but were really offended by the female sexuality," says Babbit. “And they were very honest about it, admitting that there is a double

standard for women and men. They were most offended by any mention of female oral sex or masturbation. They said they felt a responsibility to the women of America to protect their young girls from overt sexuality."

"There are very few swear words, there's no nudity at all and I made the film for gay teens," Babbit says, her normally sweet voice building with voluminous rage. "The fact that it received an ‘R' is really offensive to me. I'm tired of being told by these people that my sexuality is a bad thing. It's not. It's wonderful."

Mark J. Huisman is a Chronicle contrib uting writer living in New York City.

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