Dinner & a Show
An Evening of Good Food, Good Friends, and Good Entertainment
Over the past few years, a tradition or sorts has gently established itself. Each Monday of the Fair, fairgoers and townfolk get together
for a meal and to enjoy a show. Some years brings sandwiches and a movie, other years a sit-down meal and a concert. Every year the details
vary, but every year it is fun and with top-shelf entertainment.
In 2006, we had a special treat - after a casual Chinese buffet dinner at the Vixen Lounge, we enjoyed a concert by Namoli Brennet, followed by
hours of dancing inspired by own very own "Diva Disc Jockey" Barb Curry.
Namoli is a Tucson-based songwriter who has honed her craft through
hundreds of performances and thousands of miles on the road. This hardworking and prolific performer has independently produced and released 5
CDs since 2002 on her own label, Girl's Gotta Eat records. She is 3-time Outmusic award nominee who's been featured in Performing Songwriter
Magazine, The Advocate and the Chicago Free Press. If you have heard Namoli Brennet's work, you know just how intense, passionate, and gifted of
a performer she is. If you haven't heard her, you can experience a bit of her effect by visiting her
website.
The highlight of our 2005 Dinner & a Show was having writer, director, and producer Susan Stryker give a special showing of her
film "Screaming Queens." This film tells an important story in our transgender history.
Three years before the famous rioting at New York's Stonewall Inn, there was a riot in San Francisco at Gene Compton's Cafeteria. On a hot
Summer's night in 1966, in the city's Tenderloin district, a group of transgender women and gay street-hustlers fought back for the first time
in history against everyday police harassment. This act of resistance was a dramatic turning point for the transgender community, and the
beginning of a new human rights struggle that continues to this very day.
The movie "Southern Comfort", directed by Kate Davis, was the focus in 2004. This breakout hit and winner at nearly 20 major
film festivals had us mesmerized with its rare blend of humor, tragedy, and romance. The story chronicles the final year in the life of
Robert Eads, a female-to-male transsexual. Eads, diagnosed with ovarian cancer, was turned down for treatment by two dozen doctors out of
fear that such a patient as Eads would hurt their practice. By the time Eads received treatment, the cancer was too advanced to save his life.
The film begins Robert falling in love with Lola, a male-to-female transsexual and progresses through Eads and Lola make their way to the
Southern Comfort Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, before finally sucumming to his illness.
One of the most remarkable documentaries of our time about gender, family, and love relationships, SOUTHERN COMFORT is an illuminating and
deeply moving film--a world of contradictions where good old boys who drive pick-up trucks and shoot the breeze around the barbecue double as
21st century pioneers, courageously forging a new world for themselves, and for us.
The 2003 Dinner & a Show included the first time ever North American showing of Georgy Girl, the story of Australia’s first
TS member of parliament.
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