C'mon, Get Gay and Happening
Mom and Dad are cool with it
Riverfront Times

What do Vice President Dick Cheney and the recently unemployed Dick Gephardt have in common other than the first name and a sneaking suspicion that Dubya is screwing up royally? Both men are the fathers of lesbian daughters --- but that's where the similarities end. Only Dickie G. took the step of joining PFLAG (that's "Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays," in case you didn't know). To be fair, Cheney might have joined PFLAG on the sly; he's pretty tight-lipped about things, and he has been spending a lot of time in his underground bunker lately. Who has time for a politically expedient press conference these days?

However, less-politically connected members of the local chapter of PFLAG are not so quiet about their affiliation. In fact, they've joined forces with Joan Lipkin's That Uppity Theatre Company and GAY ("Growing American Youth") to create the take-a-deep-breath-entitled performance, As American as Apple Pie: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth and PFLAG Parents Act Out: A Happening Featuring Performance, Conversation and Apple Pie, wherein parents and youth reflect on themes of bravery, shame, gay icons, violence in the schools, self-mutilation and love.

As American as Apple Pie gives voice to the concerns and fears and pride that come with being a GLBT youth, or just loving one. Free pie don't hurt, either. This unique performance premieres at 7:30 p.m. at Contemporary Art Museum (3750 Washington Boulevard) on Saturday, May 22, and takes the stage again at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 23. Tickets are $5 to $15; call 314-534-1454 or visit www.uppityco.com for more information. -- Paul Friswold