ross-gender adaptations of

c famous works have
' become something of a
cliché in the art world in recent
years. While some continue to
consider such productions the
cutting edge in queer arts, others
see them as attempts to exploit
the community for either profit or
some coveted “altemative” sta-
tus. The productions are often

5.

predictably amusing, nudging the

audience gently in a “wink wink”
_'kind of way. Romeo’s Juliet sud-
denly becomes Julio, and the

mere substitution of woman for
man supposedly turns what was
once the classic heterosexual love
story into a gay parable.

The problem with such adap-
tations is fairly obvious. Rather
than break new ground, more

Swan in LOVE: In Appreciation of
Ma  hew Boume’s

#56!

often than not they merely lay
down Astroturf over grass.
Despite its intended subversion,
the implicit heterosexuality
remains and neither side —‘— homo
nor hetero — benefits greatly
from the exchange.

Then along comes something
truly stunning like Kenneth
Boume’s theatrical remake of they
Tchaikovsky ballet Swan Lake."

wan

A review

 

Lake  

u Hugh Coule



An import from London that just
finished a successful stateside run
in New York City, the production
casts men in the traditionally
female roles of the swans. Boume
made the cross-gender ‘decision
not out of some simple desire to
stir up controversy, but rather in

MATTHEW, p 27

 

Gone are the
hallerinas
prancing
across the
set en pointe.
In their place
Bourne gives

V’ 

 

— and a  
sexual force a
to he reck-   l
lined with.

3‘

£2‘ .

  
 
  

If

  

  

  

  Would your organizationfgroup
like to be part of the

week no Vert?

please c’ontact

  Virginia Renfrew
g renfrew@sover.net or 802-496-4333

 

  

 

  

Interested in organizing a

  town MEI:TIlllii
idufing 9 9  l  y

   

 

/\

your region

For more information about
Equality Beginsat Home‘
in Vermont, check out
COALITION NOTES

in this issue.

  

MARCH 21-27, 1999

equal

VERMONT

   
  

flax CjBfl3.‘J:  fl)
at tfie Statefiau/J2,

F b
e1Ei‘1‘i'ry

 
   
 

 

ilv

 

  

 
   
     
  

1’:

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