Boston Phoenix January 24-30, 2003: Vol 32 Iss 4

119 Pages·72.5 MB·English

JANUARY 24-30, 2003 » BOSTON’S LARGEST WEEKLY ° FOUR SECTIONS ¢ FREE
THE BOSTON i
ANTIWAR
UA eMU M Cea Cae LB
S E T I M E N S T R O M
Guitar god
Johnny
Mair:
Solo at last Boye
by Matt Ashare FER
Despite complacent national press coverage
and self-indulgent rally organizers
O say it was “cold” C-SPAN’s cam-
oven’ do Satur- eras to see. Back-
day’s weather in packs clashed with
the nation’s capital the bodies
complete justice. It behind them, but
was a deceptive chill, good cheer
masked in brilliant abounded. Bill T.J on"AAOe attse
sunshine and lacking “You are the
the wind to drive it truest patriots of
by Marcia B. Siegel
through your bones. this country,” Rep-
The cold crept in on resentative John
you, layer by layer, Conyers told the
slowly pinching the me crowd. The Michi-
toes and reddening gan congressman
the nose until its full — who has been
impact — 24 de- among the most
grees that felt more a vigorous critics of
like 13 — made wa the Bush adminis-
itself known. im tration’s conduct
Despite the frigid in the war on ter-
conditions, thou- - rorism at home
sands of Americans opposed to the and abroad — added that he thought it
Bush administration’s drive to war would be a “cold day in Washington
with Iraq showed up at the US Capi- before the country turned against this
LTET a
tol. They came from all over the East war.” It was, Conyers noted, a cold day
Te ict
Coast and the Midwest. Huddled in Washington.
BTR ila
together, they patiently endured an Thanks for reminding us.
unending parade of speakers on the The deep freeze was unusual for DC, MMO hM iri)
makeshift stage. Their frozen but the speeches at Saturday’s mass rally
arms lifted up homemade signs for See PROTEST, page 18 stich RTI) 1
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JANUARY 24 2003 NEWS AND FEATURES THE 8
“The Euripides conception of this puzzle of values and history that the world is living through today is
== contents spellbinding. We should all be reading the ancients.”
— Christopher Lydon, This Just in, page 11
THe eda ioe sit
next week In Arts, a talk with mysterioso indie-rock man Will Oldham. news and features
Antiwar sentiment strong 5; 4
8 days a week At last weekend's march in Washington
and beyond press reported the peopie ins
movement could appeal to a
Our “Picks of the Week” are World Music’s Flamenco
Festival, Songstreet Production’s 10th-anniversary
concert, and the indie-hip-hop trio OVM; in “State of AFTER DEADLINE: The Exonerated
the Art,” Carly Carioli reports by Carolyn Clay 8
on MIT's musical comedy of
CLUB LISTINGS 10 Star Wars; in “Next Weekend,”
CONCERTS 14 Mike Miliard asks Jon
EVENTS 15 Langford about the Waco Ax shelter by Kris: d 16
ART LISTINGS 16 Brothers and the Mekons; Governor Mitt Romney
DINING LISTINGS 21 @irector/playwright —_ Neil commitment to the homeless, but at what
LaBute explains The Shape
of Things to Sally Cragin;
David Weininger gets into Aaron Copiand’s The Tender
Land; Randi Hopkins previews Joseph Kosuth’s Flirting with disaster 5, 25
installation at the Gardner Museum; Floriana Frasseto Wouid controversial former US re
explains to Liza Weisstuch why Mummenschanz is not be a good presidential! can
Blue Man Group; Sugan Theatre Company premieres
Mark O’Rowe’s Howie the Rookie; Favorite Atomic
Hero come to T.T. the Bear's Place; Placer play the
Middle East; Sara Seinberg brings Sister Spit to the
Oni Gallery; and Robert Dubac revives The Male
Intellect: An Oxymoron? eee ae EUEL e e ell eae Bl eR) eee When it comes to Boston, the Ar
Gala Festival of Food /
Dining: In “Dining Out,” Robert Nadeau counts to Ten; culinary scene. And comes
in “On the Cheap,’ Tricia Long sups with students; and Michelline Dufort is arguably the organization's quarterback
inNoshing,” Tamara Wieder gets cheesy.
arts
ieee a FILM 3 * THEATER 7 * DANCE 10
sensibility: Joe TELEVISION 12 * BOOKS 13 » MUSIC 14 departments
Millionaire gives 2 HOT DOTS 21 « FILM LISTINGS 22
new twist to the *FILM STRIPS 23 * PERSONALS 29
classic question of EDITORIAL 4 URBAN BUY by Tam
love or money, page 12. It's time to reff orm thhe e ffaammii ly 13
courts, and Senator Kennedy
It's easy to laugh at Joe Millionaire, but that’s the point, shakes up the Dems MOON SIGNS astrology by
says Joyce Millman. Millionaire is the first intentionally LETTERS 4 Creel ke 13
funny reality series, a succinct and ruthlessly clear- Custody battles involving child
eyed satire on post-feminist ideas about dating, sexual abuse: readers OUT THERE by Fe
marriage roles, and class-consciousness, earning respond Wieder 14
Se eee eee § its place beside such seminal works of Jane Ts 10 Time may change me
bs= I ; See worship as Sex and the City and Bridget Shoring up Roe v. Wade, and THE STRAIGHT DOPE 5, i|
P1e es talking to one of the Cecil Adams 15 i|
|
. exonerated. Plus, Ralph |
Also: Marcia Siegel reports on the latest doings of 2 - HELP WANTED/
choreographer Bill T. Jones; Matt Ashare chats Nader: Democrat? CLASSIFIEDS 36
with former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr; Peter Keough checks out that “Human PHOENIX FLASHBACKS . 12
Rights Watch International Film Festival’; Sean Richardson talks with singer/ indigestible Spice, basketball-
songwriter David Gray; Jonathan Dixon relishes the excess of novelist Will Self's latest, a itis, and other odds and ends
homage to Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Lloyd Schwartz reports on “early from the Phoenix's past
music” concerts from the BSO and viola da gamba virtuoso Paolo Pandolfo, plus the Pro Plus, David Sipress’s “Reality
Arte Chamber Orchestra and great music from the New England String Ensemble. Check.”
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3 NEWS AND FEATURES THE 8
Reforming family court. Plus, Senator Kennedy steps up.
N_ *PRO
VOL. XXXIi, NO. 4
PuBLISHER & CHAIRMAN: Taking action
SPECIAL REPORT by Phoenix staff the hearing is taking place, nor is he or she was direct: “The sudden emergence and es
r Kristen Lombardi on the state of told of it afterward are used to such an calation of the crisis with North Korea is the
the nation’s f amily-court system (see extent that credible arguments can be made result of a US foreign policy that was AWOL
“Childre it Risk,” News that constitutional rights of on that issue for the first 21 months of the
nd Featu January 10) due process are routinely vio Bush administration. Then the administra
»d an outpouring lated. These hearings should tion lurched into an unsustainable overreac
om readers (see “Let- be utilized only rarely. tion when it initially refused even to talk un
5 Clear The use of the bogus psy- less the North Koreans backed n
> rreeapdoerrts, as calhioelnoagtiicoanl sdyisnodrrdoemre ,”“ partehen tal Wtrhaatito n, a cwohnetnra stp eawcie i th was the a coenvsiiousst enat dmiprniiosr ity
esponses, that brainchild of Richard Gard in our foreign policy and there was a cleat
ner, a psychiatrist affiliated understanding of the complex challens
with Columbia University the Korean peninsula. | have great respect
who has not opened his re for Governor Bill Richardson, but it is
search to peer review and ridiculous that North Korean envoys had t«
who publishes his books, au travel to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to find
and videotapes on som eone in America t
rdr¢ ” through his He ripped into Busl
own vanity press, should be enough to protect American securi
banned in family court re and for hav y “squandered
These measures are small goodwill towar 1e US in the wa
steps. But they would be a Septeml attacks in favor
much-needed start. As Lom an “immediate, unilateral war with Iraq
ests, the number of way of a “chip-on-the-shoulder” style c of
laced in the care of the foreign policymaking slammed the
ly-court judges is Bush stimulus package as “tax breaks pri
one such child is too many marily for those with highest incon
And he skewered tl sident for having
7 attacked affirmative action plans on, “of all
INALLY SOME life from the Democrats! days,” Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday
On Tuesday, Senator Ted Kennedy gave a Kennedy even managed to work in a slam
tthh er can ez wide-ranging and feisty address to the of the GOP’s politicizé tion of stem-cell re-
designed to manipu National Press Club criticizing President search and a call to en workplace discrimi-
minimum, such claims George W. Bush on everything from a possi nation against gay men and lesbians
ted by people skilled in ex ble war with Iraq and relations with North The Democratic Party has shown few
§ complaints They should be and South Korea to Bush’s judicial nominees signs of life since the humiliation of the
professionals who have no relationship with Since the terrorist attacks of September midterm elections. Kennedy’s speech was a
> proceedings neither the 11, Democrats have been fearful of engag- gratifying call to arms for those who still be-
r the children. Currently, guardians ing in any meaningful debate on foreign pol- lieve, as Kennedy said Tuesday, that if Amer-
who are charged with protecting the icy. In the latest show of fecklessness, we ica is to be a great country, we must “truly
iterests of the children involved in such heard nary a peep from Democrats when advance the cause of opportunity for all” and
s, are called upon to explore such Bush-administration officials blamed the that if America is to be a leader in the world,
even though they are rarely current crisis in North Korea on “appease- we must maintain a “decent respect for the
ment” policies put in place by the Clinton opinions of others.” a
administration, as Vice-President Dick
party present — often Cheney recently did on CNBC’s Kudlow & What do you think ’ Send an e-mail to
isn’t even aware that Kramer. Kennedy's answer to this criticism [email protected]
s from our readers. Let- typing contaminated child-custody cases, with fully understand how they can contribute to
1 (double-spaced), if possi the result that when fathers challenged moth- much needed-improvements
writer's name, ad ers, the fathers often prevailed. Jeff Wolf
mber where he or she We are faced with this stark implication: de- Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
siness hours for verifi- spite many improvements since 1989, mothers Boston
ne and position or town who become involved in the legal system while
these may be withheld for trying to protect their children from abuse can Thank you for writing and printing one of
lose custody and the right to maintain contact the most comprehensive articles on the lawless
be mailed to the Boston with their children. In particular, Lombardi has ness of family courts and the practice of giving
Phoenix. 126 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA uncovered and explored an increasingly com- children to sexually abusive fathers. Part of the
02215; faxed to [phone]; or e-mailed mon scenario: a mother accuses her children’s problem is that, prior to your extraordinary ar-
om or to staff writers’ e-mail father of abusing their children, and, when the ticle, this practice was never fully explored and
l letters must include court is unconvinced, an unproved allegation is exposed by the media. Those who speak about
erification and transformed into a false allegation. The child’s it (usually mothers) are marginalized and dis-
editi using parent is explained away credited as crazy. But as your article points out
g shaky and scientifically unreliable theories, many organizations and people of substance
INFORMATION such as “parental-alienation syndrome,” which are deeply concerned, and finding ways to ad
COUOFR STHA M | a justification for removing the dress or prevent these tragic cases. One of Jus
amily-law attorney who has pro child from the protecting parent altogether and tice for Children’s cases, in Virginia, involved a
w-income people, pa placing him or her in the custody of the accusec father (an attorney) who had been c ed with
iolence, for many parent. The accused parent is somehow exoner exually abusing three of his four children
nd Kristen Lom- ated and sanctified by the protecting parent's in- There was medical evidence to support the alle-
nd balanced report ability to prove in court what the service gation (as you know, this is rare). Nevertheless,
ws and Features, Janu providers have come to believe. This pattern is the defense attorney was able to argue “sug
rt clarifies just how some painfully familiar in our experience, and it is lit gestibility” (the other side of the “mother is
tody of their children when tle wonder that a mother who is confronted by coaching/brainwashing” defense), and the jury
gal system to protect their the awful suspicion that her child’s father has bought it. Now the children face unsupervised
Tue Puoenix Mepia/ om abuse by the other parent. Lom abused their child cannot be sure where to turn visitation with their father. If they resist, they
Communications Group its the issue in historical context and for help, lest the cure be worse than the disease know their mother will get in trouble. Case
| ECoxrarionrm aPnet er SteKpahdezni s M.D iMriencdtiocrh oPF reCsoiorepnotr atHe. BFairnrayn ceMo rrC is cuments the many advances made by the I believe that lawyers, judges, court-appoint- after case . there are so many of them
|W alter Director or Newspaper Group Saces A. Williar since it first looked at itself, in ed custody evaluators, and others involved in
| TPHrEi ntPinHco,e nSxt uNreFw@sNpiacpuerr,s , PeFoNPXt e2RPaepioor .eNe twGorroku,p , MIansssT ATWReACs und that gender bias and stereo- the legal system who read this report will more See LETTERS, page 6
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6 JANUARY 24, 2003 NEWS AND FEATURES THE BOST ON PHOENIX
LETTERS, from page 4 Thank you for revealing a problem that the in court, the number of false claims made mali- the family-court system.
| have the impression that, in Maryland, public has been only dimly aware of up until ciously is quite low compared to the false claims Much of your article concerns the allega-
most judges believe that all child-sexual-abuse now. Our organization receives numerous made by parents who honestly believed they tions of California mother Idelle Clarke
claims arising during divorce involve false ac- e-mails, calls, and letters from parents around were protecting their child and, most important, against her ex-husband. After nine years of lit-
cusations. If the perpetrators were stranger the country faced with these issues, and we fear in comparison to the claims made by parents igation, and a thorough review of all the evi-
say, priests — we would never say that we have the problems Lombardi documents are even that were found likely to be true dence, several California courts, including the
‘preserve the relationship ” We have suicidal, more widespread than her article suggests. California Supreme Court, found that Ovando
homicidal deeply disturbed children as a result Joyanna Silberg, PhD I am an attorney who practices in family Cowles, Clarke’s ex-husband, had not sexually
of their being forced to visit or even live with Executive vice-president court. One thing that troubles me is your mis- abused their daughter. Meanwhile, your arti
their abusers. We do have several cases where Leadership Council for Mental Health, understanding — a very serious one — of the cle refers to him as “the man who sexually
Justice, and the Media 1989 study commissioned by the state’s abused her on at least two occasions.” The as-
Supreme Judicial Court. While the study re- sertions of a child-welfare agency are not facts
»roughly analyzes a se fused to acknowledge the existence of court and should not be represented as such, espe
stodial parents seeking bias (the court ¢ |l id a self-study), it did show cially in the absence of the findings of the
yrotecti yn for thei children from that women win nearly all the time Supreme Court of Cz ifornia
oy their children’s other parent may not Sexual-abuse cases are different. That’s be Fathers, like mothe s, want children to be
.oroughly investigated and
losing custody of t Much child abuse is not provable, but that does
it they are un not render the claim false, malicious, or grounds
ticle both recognizes the
vances the courts have made since a 1989 for punishing the reporter.
preme Judicial Court report documented
Id deci — Susan R. Elsen, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
further changes
authoritative sources e believes a mother has falsely al protected and safe. Fathers and Families, an
lenge faced by pro : that is just about the biggest organization of nearly 2000 members in
nuch child rm of abuse there is and custody will go to Massachusetts, works every day toward that
t that an inability tc ther. This should happen. What more goal. Family-court judges want the same
1 abuse does not render the claim rted thing can a mother do than to make thing. An article such as this, full of distortions
r grounds for punishing the a false accusation of abuse and end the father and misinformation, does not help solve these
er we must find a way to en- child relationship based upon lies? The difficult difficult problems.
its who have reason to fear that part is attacking the refrain SO pet fected in Robert M. Ballard
are being abuse oy the chil Salem in the 1600s — “How could you call Quincy
parent are not deterred from into question the veracity of those ‘courageous’
r conce rns to the court by the enough to come forward and tell the truth?’ Editor’s note: The only California court to
prove their claims Make no mistake about it: when a mother evaluate the evidence from Los An, eles child
istody (and this is a very rare event in liti protection workers on whether Ovando
Susan R. Elsen it’s usually because she’s been shown to Cowles molested his daughter was the Los An-
R m Institute grossly unfit. Men face practically a parental geles County Family Court. TheL A child-care
termination standard against the mother to ob- workers conducted two extensive investigations
tain sole custody, or even shared parenting and concluded there was * sufficient evidence”
FATHERS’ SAY Sometimes parents agree that the father should that Cowles had molested his daughter. The
Mm al the court will not intervene judge who heard the evidence didn't believe it
agree. But in a litigated con which goes to the h f the problem u
and mother, fathers get family courts, as outlined i1 article
percent of the time (this was shown Cowles's ex-wife Idelle ¢
1989 study and in a re ont study by California Ap als ¢ ‘ourt
sland and rtheasteri sor Joseph McNabb) Supreme Court to review
e claims (i.¢ What do some (but not most) women’s family court. Both courts decl
unsubstantiated’ by Social in the face of this gender bias? did so should not be taken as evidence
outnumber the valid claims. For ers’-rights movements by sug evaluated the child-abuse claims and found
dle story you provide about 1g not only that the courts are not biased them to be either true or false. The case has
vomen in the courts, | can rs, but that they are biased against since been appealed to the US Supreme Court
ened to a man. N¢ The facts d ) not bear this out. Unfor- which has yet to rule on whether it will hear it
iew will mention false claims vhen the Phoenix publishes these stud-
is the responsibility of tort ns promoted by this sort of junk You obviously expended a great deal of
srovide the facts surveys given by groups to their time and energy on your lengthy story
However, you have no idea what you are
If a judge believes a mother has falsely alleged abuse, talking about.
The latest study out of Wellesley screened
custody will go to the father. This should happen. for 40 mothers who were unhappy with the
outcome of their cases in family court For
— Rinaldo Del Gallo Ill, Berkshire Fatherhood Coalition every woman they found, we can give you
400 fathers who are similarly outraged
If we wish better handling of child-abuse members) make the effort effective. The silliness Would our overwhelming numbers of dissat
Cases, We must bite the bullet and apply nega- of the NOW study, for example, is easily shown isfied male litigants mean that we are right
United for Justice. but tive pressure to those women who file false I would not send out a “survey” to the members and the women are wrong?
involved in the organiz claims just to strike out at their ex-husbands of my group and then do a “study” when Ig et One of the “experts” you quote extensively
Yours is one o 10st excellent and com- who have recently won visitation rights. Cur- all the results showing that fathers feel discrimi- in your story obviously has deep-rooted issues
plete articles | e seen on the subject tc rently, false claims are a win-win endeavor for nated against. Yet this very asinine approach has relating to his gender identity. The specifics of
date. Thank you s« I king the time women, one which is encouraged by peers who been perpetrated by NOW, and the media have the case would demonstrate to anyone with a
to investigate this so thc believe it somehow helps those really in need. swallowed it hook, line, and sinker shred of intelligence how flawed and danger-
ly work 1g with my state’s dc To deny the existence of such women, or to It is no act of rocket science to determine ous this individual is to the families of the
network, fam y-law attorneys, and victims to claim they must be a minority, simply exacer- why a custodial mother who made an accusa- Commonwealth
educate the judiciary and evaluators and to bates the problem tion of sexual abuse lost her child — the judge In the many column inches of your report,
change custody legislation. Your article will Warren Thompson determined she was lying. Is this “bias you could not find a place for even one con-
help me greatly in getting the word out. Bedford Should all (or even most) accusers be believed? trary opinion. What you do may be “writing”
Paige Hodson Rinaldo Del Gallo II] and it may even be good writing — but it
Anchorage, Alaska Editor’s note: The issue of false claims by Spokesman is not journalism.
parents was addressed. Research by University Berkshire Fatherhood Coalition I pray for the children of the Common-
I] want to commend the Phoenix and Kristen of Michigan professor of social work Kathleen wealth if any person in a position of authority
Lombardi for her outstanding, thorough, and Coulborn Faller was cited to show that few Although your article appears to focus on in the courts or the State House reads and
well-researched article. This article will no child-abuse allegations turn out to be false; of child-abuse (apparently an exclusively male gives some measure of credence to your hor-
Joubt do for family court what Lombardi’s those that do, very few are made deliberately in activity in your view), it really is an attack on rible, hate-filled story.
coverage of the priest scandal has done for the an attempt to manipulate a family-court deci- fathers and promotes the neglected and often Mark Charalambous
Catholic Church: expose the systemic failures sion. In a close examination of 215 allegations vilified role that fathers play in the lives of chil- Spokesman
that lead well-meaning people to make deci- of child sexual abuse made during custody dren. As a father who has been excluded by CPF/The Fatherhood Coalition
sions that severely harm children. As a child cases, 156 (72.6 percent) of the allegations were the family courts from any meaningful role in Leominster
psychologist who treats sexually abused chil classified as “likely” to be true, and 43 (20p er- the lives of my children and as one who is fa-
dren, | am deeply aware of the pain and be- cent) were “unlikely” to be true. (The study miliar with the routine abuse that most other CORRECTION
trayal these children feel. I have treated several comes with the caveat that it is “very difficult to fathers suffer at the hands of the courts, | find In lagt-week’s “Talking Politics” column
children, after judges finally rescued them from know with 100 percent certainty that sexual your article obscenely misleading at best. (“Boss Menino,” News and Features, January
living with sexually abusive parents in such abuse did or did not occur.”) There wasn't I am sure that in a tiny fraction of custody 17), it was reported that city insiders refer to
court-ordered arrangements as Lombardi enough information to make a determination in cases, somewhere an abusive father has been Boston cable television’s Neighborhood Net-
describes. These children’s acute rage at the 16 (7.4 percent) of the cases. Of the 43 claims awarded physical custody of a child. However, work News as “MTV,” standing for “Menino
system that failed them is painful to watch, and found likely to be untrue, just 10 turned out to to represent that extremely rare situation as a TV.” That nickname actually belongs to Boston
part of their healing involves dealing with their be examples of parents maliciously making false probable outcome is outrageous. It is extreme- cable’s Channel 22, which is the municipal
betrayal by the many professionals who stood charges. Given that four of those claims were ly harmful to children, those whom you pur- channel and airs extensive coverage of city cer-
by and watched their suffering, or activeiy col- made by a father who admitted that he'd fabri- port to be concerned about, as dads continue emonies, ribbon cuttings, and neighborhood
luded in their victimization cated allegations in order to gain an advantage to be systemically alienated and excluded by events, largely without commentary.
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AFTER DEADLINE
Blind justice?
The Exonerated tells a shocking story
BY CAROLYN CLAY
ith its actors mounted on stools By Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen. Directed by
and their scripts propped on music Bob Balaban. Production design by Tom On-
stands, The Exonerated is simple tiveros. Costume coordination by Sara J.
enough to be presented in a prison — ex- Tosetti. Sound-effects design by David Rob-
cept that it might start a riot. The eyesight bins. With Brian Dennehy, Marlo Thomas,
of Justice is very much in question in this Larry Block, Ed Biunt, Jim Bracchitta, Chad L.
powerful piece of agitprop stitched togeth- Coleman, Johanna Day, Bruce MacVittie,
er by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen and William Jay Marshall, and Tracie Thoms. At the
staged by Bob Balaban. It’s been presented Wilbur Theatre through February 2.
Off Broadway since October with a rotat-
ing cast of name actors and unknowns; poignant figure, a railroaded Texan named
now it’s on limited tour. Brian Dennehy Kerry Max Cook, who spent 22 years
a and Marlo Thomas supply the star wattage being brutalized on death row before DNA
PN 8) for the Boston engagement of the piece, evidence proved him innocent, are white
CHARLIE wi culled from interviews of 40 ex- Spirituality, along with human re
BALTIMORE death-row residents who were wrongly silience, looms large in The Exonerated. A
convicted of capital crimes and later former aspiring preacher named David
proved innocent, tells the Kafka-esque sto- Keaton (Chad L. Coleman) who was
ries of six persons. wrongly convicte
Not everyone can exit murder at 18 can’t de-
° ‘ = ps cide whether he’s lost his
mes Aem a baad Tat=el y wa the sentences of 167 faith or become a weath-
condemned inmates, as er-controlling Jesus. And
the docudrama’s folk-
wise center is self-de-
TSONGAS ARENA ; ON SALE NOW Fe aaltteedr (soetehienrg Th s6c0rsi” bed Delbe“rchtil d aT’ ibtbhse
LOWELL+MASSACHUSETTS J influe (William Jay Marshal
three-year 1 C lapsed seminarian who
DUNC e OMe CC mums Crm) Oem LMC Cm tC CCE mee
or by calling [phone]. For more information call the Tsongas Arena box office at [phone] ital punishment in his was doing
state). But the stori ouac thin
Presented by MassConcerts. www.massconcerts.com deftly pulled word-for- pinned with rape and
word from interviews murder in Florida
and trial transcripts and Tibbs supplies the play
with both his own wintry
id Jensen are poetry and such blunt
gh to observations as “if you’re
Dubya” accused of a sex crime in
ice about pulling the South an
tch. The trou- black, you p
bout the shoulda done it, you
Ity, after all, is know, ‘cause your ass is
1 can’t call back gonna be guilty.” He also
ke unless, as in points out, toward the
the case of these “exon- end, that patriotism i
the victims have necessarily a kneeje
whiled away from two to flag-waving thi I
22 years on death row know America
of all these people talking
(Jesse Tafero, the about what they don’t
partner of the only have and what's wrong
woman represented in with the country. Folks
The Exonerated, Sunny say, ‘Well, what's ri
Jacobs, was not so lucky; with the country?’ Well,
the victim, with Sunny, what the fuck? To make
of a botched verdict, he DENNEHY AND THOMAS things better, we ain’t in-
was also the victim of a may be the stars, but it’s the terested in what's right
botched execution that lesser-knowns who steal the shou with it, we're interested
set his head on fire.) in what’s wrong with it.
SPECIAL The Exonerated is less You don’t say, ‘What's
a play than interwoven testimony, rife with right with my car?
such small cruelties as an electric chair In the touring production at the Wilbur,
placed in full view of recreating prisoners. there is little to look at but the acting,
There are 10 stools on stage, in a crowded which is conversational yet arresting. Den-
row before a black background, the two nehy is low-key believable rather than
stools on either end perched on platforms flashy as farmer Gary Gauger, who was
On the floor the actors representing the convicted on the basis of a hypothetical
six “exonerated” and two women who “vision statement” presented in court as a
serve as three wives; elevated are two men confession; and Thomas’s Sunny is too
who enact assorted cops, lawyers, and silky. But Ed Blunt brings fire and humor }j
judges in the flashbacks to the proceedings to Robert Earl Hayes, an African-American
TSONGAS ARENA that landed the title characters where they horse trainer wrongly convicted of the
LOWELL*MASSACHUSETT didn’t belong. Although one does not wish murder of a whit track groupie; and
to indict the South, only the laid-back Illi Tracie Thoms nails his sassy wife. And
nois organic farmer played t were the excellent Bruce MacVittie, zippy
(looking so much like a shoo-in for Ted yet vulnerable as the scarred and sensitive
Kennedy: The Later Years that it’s uncan- Cook, to be accused of stealing the show,
ny) was convicted and jailed north of the he would have to plead guilty. ‘
Mason-Dixon Line. Blank and Jensen do
ee Meet 1a www.massconcerts.com ae niso t,a fhaocwtoerv erin, sostmaec k oft het hed eccokn.v iWcthieornesa,s asr acite plaTchee afpteerr fotrhem anPhcoee nirxe'vsi ewAerdt s hseercet itoono k had
DEBUG CD “LEG CO
www AT il-LAVing v Se ea eee Perea ary IN SYORES NOW! is in the play, Jacobs and the play’s most gone to press
— ws
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JANUARY 24, 2003 NEWS AND FEATURES THE BOSTON PHOENIX
HIGH AMBITION against Iraq. In his most
recent term, he voted 95 aod
Is Jarrett Barrios eyeing percent of the time in
agreement with the position
a run for Congress? of Americans for Democratic
Action; 93 percent of the
time in agreement with the Pan™i
Jarrett Barrios, the new state senator from Cambridge, is a man
position of the American
in a hurry. But how much of a hurry? in Cambridge-Somerville
Civil Liberties Union; and 89
political circles, many speculate that Barrios might decide to percent of the time in
challenge incumbent congressman Michael Capuano for the
agreement with the position
storied Eighth Congressional District seat, whose prior occupants
ECLIPSE Gat ip the Pilea anit ae of the American Federation
include John F. Kennedy, Thomas P. “Tip” O'Neill, and Joseph of State, County, and
DEBUT Kennedy. Capuano, a former Somerville mayor, was elected in Municipal Employees.
1998. “if [Barrios] waits for years, Mike only gets stronger,” says Reached for comment on
one close observer of the district. “There’s a time when you Say, a potential 2004 run, Barrios
More music from Cuba What am | waiting for?’ There’s no guarantee it’s going to get BARRIOS: next stop, Washington? was eager to shoot down
better.” the speculative chatter —
Barrios is fresh from his victory over Cambridge city councilor
c0i alt o CCluabr,n eganide 5Ha5l l,y eatrhse after Asenatth ovnayc atGeadl lubcyc iof orimn era hSoetlnya tceo ntpreesstiedde ntr acTeo mt o Bfiillr mthien gshtaamt,e -Saennda te u‘sNeo t vienrtbesr esitne dh.i s Nqouto teno w.in oNrod erw ayt.o cJousntn oetgleeo citnteghd e. sloWe aofsratrk aacsht airtodon. depMcoyls isnieb let o
s to be ani xhaustible font of some think he may strike while the iron is hot. Capuano won 18,874
district. My district,” said the normally loquacious pol. Barrios’s
who made their votes in the 1998 primary against a slew of rivals, including former supporters privately insist that their candidate is aware that taking
Boston mayor Ray Flynn, former Brighton state representative on an incumbent is a daunting challenge. In the meantime, Barrios
Susan Tracy, former state senator Marjorie Claprood, and a host of will chair the public-safety committee in the Senate and serve as
others. Barrios won 11,521 votes in his race against Galluccio and vice-chair on the health-care committee
Everett alderman Carlo DiMaria
The argument for a candidacy by Barrios, a favorite of As for Capuano, his spokesperson, Alison Mills, would say
only that “Congressman Capuano is focused on doing his job at
progressives, is that he could run at Capuano from the left by the moment.”
cobbling together a base of progressive and Latino supporters We can be certain that if he’s still serving as a state senator
However, he would face an opponent who is both an incumbent when and if Capuano retires, Barrios will be a likely candidate to
and someone who has compiled a fairly progressive voting record
in his own right. Unlike Congressman Stephen Lynch of South take his place
Boston, Capuano voted against using military action pre-emptively — Seth Gitell
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS conservative base. “We are concerned
that the public doesn't know that these
Roe v. Wade — 30 years later threats are severe.”
Given the federal political climate
Kogut and her colleagues aim to shore
|t 's been three decades of reproductive services. But under the new up support for abortion rights here at
reproductive freedom for American leadership of Republican senator Bill home. But even in a supposedly liberal
oO n. Three decades during which Frist, of Tennessee, anti-choice senators state like Massachusetts, the status of
have enjoyed the right to make their have already identified abortion-related abortion rights seems mixed. While a
childbearing decisions. Three bills that they hope to deliver to Bush’s pro-choice majority dominates in the
And what decades during which they have had desk this session. Among them is a ban state Senate, the House remains closely
hefty if supple Cuban rhythm se ales, congas, anc access to safe, legal abortion services of the so-called partial-birth-abortion divided. Its powerful leader, House
trap drums, plus electric bass, Marquez’s impet, and his But you wouldn't guess this from the procedure; a measure that would give Speaker Tom Finneran, is an anti-
usin Moises on s plus Raphael Gavilan doubling anti-choice ideology that prevails on legal status to a fetus hurt or killed abortion stalwart. Just last Sunday, in a
arquez ssed in all-white flowin Capitol Hill these days during a federal crime; a bill that would speech at a Massachusetts Citizens for
n Nassachuset make it illegal for an adult to take a Life rally at Faneuil Hall, Finneran
boasted about
.” says Melissa Ko
ve director of the Massachusetts
r of the National Abortion and
Reproductive Rights Action League
NARAL). Aside from the le As Ke
ttacks, she points out, Bus ongre
ortunity to appointas 10S, W S
-Roe justice to the Souupprr eme Court n vigilant an ommitted to Roe.
a move that would c ater to his religious — Kristen Lombardi
The boiling point by mixnaeta reia
TALKING POLITICS
Would Nader run as a Democrat? sometimes L aRT reeaa Pt aeM awr] Mc. Bush,do
you really have
When Democratic presidential candidates get together to debate in New the right to
Hampshire next year, the participants may include, among others, Senators Send other
John Kerry, John Edwards, and Joseph Lieberman, Congressman Richard A pea pp edoipel e'ns TKaiqds. O ff
Gephardt, former Vermont governor Howard Dean, the Reverend Al i Tastea ]
Sharpton and ... Ralph Nader. Nader? That’s right. oven +hovgh ~
According to some in Nader’s circle, among the 2004 electoral possibilities had to give a avoided Sefyice
for the 2000 Green Party presidential candidate is the tactic of entering the areasna ae in Vieman 77]
Democratic primary as a Democrat, and then, when he loses, running in the without cue cards.
general election as either an independent or a Green. This would enable
Nader to receive the publicity of a primary season, gain inclusion — along
with Sharpton and other progressive Democratic candidates — in debates,
and possibly even earn federal matching funds to fuel a campaign. On the
Republican side, this strategy was considered, and rejected, by Arizona
senator John McCain in 2000
“It’s technically possible,” says one McCain-camp source. “The problem is
that the room for such a candidate is not on the fringes — the far right or the
far left — but in the vital center.”
Whether the Democrats would allow it is unclear. But it could be one facism...or
interesting scenario to look for as the 2004 race draws closer sreocltey ..t.haned L
election...
and.N-d- wm‘*wi0 kw3h .ameilkah aela.net