The Future is GoGuide Magazine

Welcome to GoGuide Magazine! 

It's almost fall. This September, GoGuide will keep sizzling even if the temperatures turn cool.

I hope you enjoy your time on our site. It constantly evolves and will grow in content, coverage, and new site innovations. 

Our July issue focuses on our new section, GoGuide Talk. This month's headline is an interview with Julio Torres by Gregg Shapiro.

Please welcome our newest GoGuide contributor. Khaleel Hayes previews UI's upcoming 2024-25 Hancher at Broadway series.

At GoGuide, we're committed to a greener future. We've made a conscious choice to avoid contributing to local landfills with thousands of unread paper magazines. While paper magazines were a staple of the last century, we're excited to introduce you to our new and interactive digital format, which offers a more immersive experience. 

Your input is invaluable to us. We want to hear from you, whether it's constructive criticism or a shoutout for something we've done right. We're particularly interested in your story ideas and submissions on travel, books, food, and local events. And yes, we're  (hint). Your ideas and contributions are what make GoGuide Magazine unique and engaging. We are thrilled to introduce you to our new and interactive digital format. This format offers a more immersive and convenient reading experience, bringing our content to life in a way that's never been possible before.

GoGuide Magazine is also looking for freelance writers in the Iowa City area. Topics include theatre previews, nightlife, cinema, and more. If interested, please email tim@romllc. us

We're very close to launching our redesigned website, and our good friends at GoDaddy have been enormously helpful. 

Field pic by me.

Tim Nedoba (he/him)

Tim@romllc.us

Interview lead-in photo by Margret Long

The “RE:VIEW” from here: an interview with Melissa Manchester

By Gregg Shapiro

It can be challenging to keep track of all the things for which we owe a debt of gratitude to Bette Midler. Close to the top of the list is when, in the early 1970s, Midler made Melissa Manchester one of her backup singers, known affectionately as the Harlettes. For many LGBTQ+ folks, it was an introduction to a performer and lifetime friend of the community, who would go on to have a chart-topping career as a singer and songwriter in her own right. For “Re:View” (Green Hill), Manchester’s new album, she revisits some of her best-known songs, including “Come In From The Rain,” “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” “Just You and I,” and “You Should Hear How She Talks About You.” What sets the album apart are her renditions of “Whenever I Call You Friend” (a duet with Kenny Loggins, with whom she co-wrote the song) and “Midnight Blue” (a duet with Dolly Parton on the hit single Manchester co-wrote with longtime collaborator Carole Bayer Sager). Manchester, currently performing in the national tour of “Funny Girl,” as Fanny’s mother, Mrs. Brice, no less, graciously made time for an interview to talk about “Re:View.”

Gregg Shapiro: With so many songs from which to choose, what was involved in your selection process for your new album “RE:VIEW”

Melissa Manchester: It was sort of a thank you to my fans for sharing this musical journey for 50 years. You're right, there were several to choose from and they couldn't all fit on the album. These were some of the charted hits and songs that I have performed, mostly, for such a long time. I found some harmonic tweaks and I found more insight into the performance of the lyrics, and I wanted to revisit them because they have grown in depth and wisdom as I've grown in depth and wisdom.

GS: “Re:View” opens with you performing a duet with Kenny Loggins on “Whenever I Call You Friend.” Loggins had a hit with his 1978 version, a duet with Stevie Nicks. How did the songwriting collaboration with Kenny come about?

MM: Kenny and I kept running into each other at televised award shows where we were often paired up to present an award to somebody. It got to be so often that we’d see each other that it got to be kind of funny. He said why don't we meet in a room without a powder puff in between us because we always met in the green room. I invited him over to my home one night to write a song. He showed up with his guitar and I had my piano, and we both had our boom boxes, because you would work on cassettes in those days. We wrote the song and then I didn’t really see him again for a very long time. More recently, I had found out that after he left my place, he played the song for his friend Mike McDonald of The Doobie Brothers, who was not terribly impressed with “Whenever I Call You Friend.” I played my cassette (of the song) for Clive Davis who was not terribly impressed with “Whenever I Call You Friend.”

GS: Oh, no!

MM: [Laughs] Kenny was opening for Fleetwood Mac at the time so he enlisted Stevie to sing with him. That's how that happened. I had been trying to get him to record with me for such a long time because it's such a natural fit. Our schedules didn't allow and whatever. I finally said it's time to do this and if he wants to participate that's fine, and if he doesn't, I'll just move on. I produced and co-arranged the track with Stephan Oberhoff. His manager was very excited about it. I sent her the track and she forwarded it to him. I hadn't heard from him for a couple of weeks. Then one evening I texted him and asked him if he wanted to do it or not. He said, “Why don't you send me the track?” I said, “You've had it for two weeks!” He said, “I'll get right back to you,” and ten minutes later he said, “It's fantastic! I'm in.” It was a wonderful recording session. He couldn't have been more amiable or affable. We had a great time, and the video is the proof in the pudding. It's a beautiful and delightful achievement after all these decades.

GS: What did it mean to you that that song became such a massive hit for Kenny and Stevie when it did?

MM: It's always delightful on a very major scale when a song of yours is a hit. It would have been nice to be notified that he was recording it. He apologized for that later which was very sweet of him. Of course, when I started performing the song myself with my keyboard player or whoever was singing, it was instantly recognizable and that's always exciting.

GS: The duet with Dolly Parton on “Midnight Blue” is simply gorgeous. What was the experience of collaborating with Dolly like for you?

MM: She is a true queen. That’s the thing. She is music royalty, and so beloved, and has done such magnificent work not only through her songwriting but through her philanthropy. It was a real joy and honor to work with her. She was completely professional and delightful. My video crew flew down to Nashville to film the video. We only had a very short amount of time to shoot. The last shot that we did was the two of us driving in the back of an open-air Mustang, making a right and a right and a right, right back into the parking lot beside the recording studio. We were on Music Row, where all the publishing houses are, and it's the tourist area of Nashville. Coincidentally, as we were driving, and our director was in the front seat facing backward with his camera, there was a tourist bus that came right next to us. Once they saw Dolly in the car, people were basically dripping out of the bus, screaming her name. It was so dear and thrilling. People in cars pull over when they see her and stop and call out to her. She is just magnificently, and well-deservedly beloved. It was lovely to rethink “Midnight Blue” as a duet. It had never been recorded as a duet. But she wanted to be part of the album and that was very sweet. I needed to think of which song would suit her. That worked out really well, and she sang so beautifully.

GS: I totally agree. I know, and love, the song “Confide In Me” from Diana Ross’ underrated 1977 album “Baby, It’s Me.” I’m so happy you finally got to record the song for “RE:VIEW.”

MM: [Laughs] I found the right moment. My collaborator Stan Schwartz kept saying over the decades, “Are you gonna do this at some point?” When I revisited the song, it was written as a torch song. Raquel Welch had performed it on “The Muppet Show.” When I took a deep dive into the song, I realized that it could sustain a Latin beat. Because it could do that, it could hold up to an opening verse, which is a very old-fashioned element that's not written anymore. But it worked beautifully, and I think we created a beautiful video for it. I think the recording is very luscious.

GS: I also love the addition of the Citrus Singers choir on “Just You and I,” which lifts the song to new heights.

MM: Yes, oh absolutely! Thank you for mentioning that. One of the interesting things about recording “Re:View” is, because we had recorded so much of it prior to the pandemic, a lot of it was in the can. Many of these songs, without my knowing it, grew into that moment. When I rerecorded “Just You and I,” which Carole Sager and I had written a long time ago, at the beginning of the women's movement actually, when we were young singer/ songwriters, it grew into this song that would pay homage to essential workers, who were marginalized workers prior to the pandemic. Nurses and pizza delivery people and postal workers and people that were keeping the country functioning as best they could. The video for that song pays homage to that. I wanted to write choral parts for the Citrus Singers so they could underscore and amplify the gospel and anthemic components of the song.

GS: I'm so glad you mentioned Carole. In the liner notes, you extend your gratitude multiple times to “my esteemed colleague Carole Bayer Sager,” with whom you co-wrote half the songs on “Re:View,” as well as many others.  What was it about Carole that made her a good songwriting collaborator?

MM: That’s such a good question! One of the things that I learned not too long ago was that I was the first artist that Carole ever wrote with and wrote for. She was a songwriter for hire. She would write a song and it would be sent to other artists. I'd never written with anyone before. She sat with me. She had a very interesting and intriguing way of expressing herself which is what stirs my imagination to hear music. We would chat, and out of those discussions came our songs. That's why the tones of our songs are always very conversational. They literally came out of conversations. She was a magnificent collaborator, and we had a very fruitful, productive, and beautiful collaboration for several years. Our songs reflect that. It was a joy to work with her.

GS: “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” which Carole co-wrote with the late Peter Allen, was one of the biggest hits of your recording career. Do you remember what the response to that song meant to you?

MM: It was thrilling because it was touching so many people. For me initially, it was curious. The song was so beautiful, but I heard it as a very quiet lullaby sung by Peter Allen. I thought that rendition was just perfection. When it was arranged to be this gigantic anthem it sort of overwhelmed me because Carole and I wrote songs about finding your voice and affirming your value and all of that. Suddenly I was singing this big version of a song where the first word of the title is, “Don't.” I thought, “How am I going to pull this off?” It took me a little bit to understand what people were resonating with from the song. The song is about how one must learn how to cope. That’s just the way life goes. It is the lamenting of it, and it is the celebrating of it.

GS: Carole’s memoir, “They’re Playing Our Song,” was published in 2016. Do you think you might have a memoir in you?

MM: I do have a memoir in me! I just have to figure out how to do it [laughs]. I've started many times. I may end up with a collaborator, just to help me focus and sit quietly and get it out. Yes, I do have a memoir in me.

GS: I had the pleasure of attending your concert at JAZZIZ in Boca Raton a few years ago. Are there plans for you to perform concerts in support of “RE:VIEW”?

MM: Well, you would think, wouldn't you [laughs]? It's just that, at this moment, I am on the national tour of “Funny Girl,” which is a wonderful way to celebrate the 50th year of my career. Yes, I will be returning to the concert platform once this is over, but it has been extended through April, so I'll be away from concerts for a little bit more.

GS: What is your favorite part about playing Mrs. Brice in “Funny Girl?”

MM: My favorite part about playing Mrs. Brice is that, at this moment in my life, I can bring so much of my life experience and hard-won wisdom to the role. That's what I feel I do.

GS: Finally, you have a long history as an ally to the LGBTQ+ community. We’re speaking during Pride Month 2024, and I was wondering if you had anything you wanted to say to your queer fans?

MM: I say to all of my LGBTQ+ fans, thank you for sharing this journey. I was raised to be an ally from my parents. They were allies. I was raised with lots of uncles and aunties from the community when everybody was hiding in closets, except in our home. I am grateful to love everybody. I am touched by the love that I have received. And we shall all carry on.

The First Annual African Festival of Arts and Culture

Sep 28, 2024, 12:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Iowa City Ped-Mall

For decades, African immigrants have made Iowa their home.  Over 30,000 of Iowa’s 3.2 million residents were born in Africa. The African Festival of Arts and Cultures celebrates the vibrant presence of Africans in Iowa and highlights the rich cultural traditions they have brought with them. Africa is a hugely diverse continent with 54 countries, hundreds of languages, and thousands of ethnic groups. The Festival's performances and booths will showcase some cuisines, musical traditions, fashions, and art of the African groups who call Iowa home. The African Festival strives to connect African immigrant groups and Iowa neighbors, fostering a more inclusive and culturally enriched state.

For complete event information, please visit https://www.africafestiowa.com/

RIVERSIDE TO PRESENT POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE. TONY-NOMINATED PLAY BY SELINA FILLINGER FEATURES SEVEN WOMEN IN A DYSFUNCTIONAL WHITE HOUSE

Iowa City - Riverside Theatre, Iowa City’s resident professional theatre, will present POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, a play that premiered on Broadway in 2022: a farce about seven brilliant and beleaguered women in the West Wing trying to keep a PR nightmare from becoming a global catastrophe. 

This new production performs for three weekends, October 4th - October 20th, 2024. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at https://riversidetheatre.org/potus/. POTUS is by Tony-nominated playwright Selina Fillinger. It tells the story of an ill-timed four-letter word uttered by the President that quickly snowballs into a threat to the free world. 

This raucous new play is called “Gleefully Filthy” by The New York Times, and it is just in time for election season! “This play instantly got on our radar as soon as it premiered on Broadway,” says Producing Artistic Director Adam Knight. “It’s as if the hit shows “Veep” and “The West Wing” were thrown into a blender and concocted into a play that resonates even more now than it did two years ago.” 

The production will be directed by Angie Toomsen (who is Artistic Director at Theatre Cedar Rapids and most recently helped The Flick at Riverside). It features Jordan Arnold, Jay’na Johnson, HwaYoun Kang, Jessica Link, Kristy Hartsgrove Mooers, Christina Sullivan, and Enjoli Valentine.

In addition to Toomsen as director, the creative team includes Lucie Greene (scenic designer), Joni Sackett (costume designer), S. Benjamin Farrar (lighting designer), Tyler Salow (sound designer), Stephen Polchert (props), and Sophie Young (stage manager). POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive will be performed on the Wilson Family Stage at 119 E College Street, opening Friday, October 4th, continuing its run through October 20th. 

Performances on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights will begin at 7:30pm. Sunday matinee performances begin at 2 p.m. The lobby will open one hour before curtain time. The performance on Sunday, October 6th will include a post-show talkback with the performers and director, along with Miriam Gilbert, Professor Emerita of English at the University of Iowa. The talkback will start at approximately 4:00pm and is open to the public. The production is sponsored by part by the Robert E. Yager Charitable Trust. More information and tickets at https://riversidetheatre.org/potus/. 

Content warning courtesy of Riverside Theatre: POTUS is a comedy that contains very strong language and mature themes, including sexual references, drug use, and references to hot-button issues. This production is not appropriate for those under the age of 18.

by Gregg Shapiro

A local GoGuide Exclusive

 It should come as no surprise that gay writer and actor Julio Torres’ film directorial debut “Problemista” (A24) would not only be quirky and original but also deeply moving, while subtly making a political statement. After all, Torres is the same person behind some of the most unforgettable SNL sketches of the last 10 years, including “Wells for Boys” (which is a favorite of Stephen Colbert’s). Additionally, his HBO projects, the special “My Favorite Shapes” and the series “Los Espookys” have garnered Torres raves and a sizeable audience. And who can forget his brief but memorable performance as Jules in “Together Together.” With “Problemista,” in which he plays struggling toy designer Alejandro, alongside Tilda Swinton, RZA, James Scully, and Isabella Rossellini, among others, he has given viewers the most delightful movie of the season. I had the pleasure of speaking with Julio while he was in Miami Beach.

Gregg Shapiro: The release of “Problemista” was delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. What does it mean to you that your movie can finally reach its audience?

Julio Torres: It's huge! I didn't really mourn the push at all. Anyone who's made a movie knows how long it takes. To me, personally, it was neither here nor there when it was going to come out, so long as it came out one day. I'm happy that the time is now and that it gets to be not compromised or not subverting any greater effort. Yeah, I'm happy.

GS: “Problemista” features narration and humorous commentary by Isabella Rosellini. What made her the right voice for that role?

JT: I think that it's because she is one of those voices that just echoes in my head and has been in my head for so long. I think the same is true of so many queer people. “And now a warning,” from “Death Becomes Her,” or “Blue Velvet.”

GS: “Marcel the Shell.”

JT: Yes, “Marcel the Shell,” very recently.

GS: And the one where she voices the hamster.

JT: Oh, yes! Stephen Dunn’s “Closet Monster.” Yes, she voices a hamster in that, you're right.

GS: She has a great voice.

JT: Yes, she has a fantastic voice. It just felt like a voice that was commanding, yet fairytale-like, that provokes respect and awe at the same time.

GS: Tilda Swinton is alternately hilarious and terrifying as Elizabeth. Was that part written with her in mind, if not, what was involved in casting her for that part?

JT: I did not have anyone in mind when I was writing it. I love writing for people that I know, but I didn't know anyone personally that could play her. I didn't know Tilda. Sometimes I would think of an actress, and then I would be like, “Well, I don't know these people. Why would they ever be in this?” I didn't want to paint myself into a corner. No, I didn't write with her in mind even though I was such a colossal fan of hers for so long. Then the script got to her and she was familiar with “Los Espookys” and the “My Favorite Shapes” special on HBO and she was excited to work with me on something. It was just such a dream come true.

GS: Alejandro has this beautiful and supportive relationship with his mother Dolores (Catalina Saavedra). Do or did you have something similar with your mother?

JT: I do, yeah! It's very based on my relationship with my mother. It's a bit of a thank you card to her.

GS: Has she seen the movie, and if so, what does she think of it?

JT: Yes! She doesn't speak English, but she's a very visually driven person. She really loved it!

GS: A couple of things that stood out to me are Alejandro’s cowlick and his distinctive gait. Please say something about those characteristics.

JT: The hair is something that my hair does every now and then. 

GS: Lucky you!

JT: [Laughs] That I have that luxury [laughs]? It's also something that my father's hair does a lot. I felt like I was paying tribute to that. It also communicates that he's not on top of it. Then his walk just came about as soon as I put on the backpack. I like to think of him as a little explorer, like a little alien explorer collecting data.

GS: Please tell the readers about your decision to have Craigslist personified as a character, played by Larry Owens in “Problemista.” 

JT: The incredible Larry Owens. That was a crucial decision that really opened the door to the rest of the movie. At first, I was writing or attempting to write a sort of a bare-bones, slice-of-life version of this movie. I was just so bored by it. I was so disinterested in it, and then suddenly I was like, “What if Craigslist was a person?” That unlocked the tone and style of the movie. It was one of the first pieces that came to me.

GS: “Problemista” is timely in the way that it is also an immigration story. 

JT: People keep referring to it as timely, but I feel like this is a subject that's always happening because it's never fixed. The problem gets a different face. People say it's timely, but I say when hasn't it been timely in recent history? I feel like the anguish of feeling trapped in a system that has your fate in its hands, a system that has no face and makes no sense, it's something that feels very relatable to people. It's something that I think that people now experience regardless of whether they're immigrants or not. I've had people connect with it because they dealing with an insurance nightmare or bureaucracy or they’re in a crazy amount of debt and they're trying to find their way out of that. Immigration happens to be the card that I was dealt, but I think we all share this common frustration for these systems that we are constantly told to just keep our heads down, work really hard, and to overcome them. Even though this story is partially about someone who does that, it's also, I think, a story about someone who questions that well.

GS: I think the queer community can connect to it, too because our lives feel increasingly tenous, especially with Alito and Thomas on the Supreme Court, who want to take away our rights.

JT: Yes, that feeling like you're building a house of cards.

GS: Your boyfriend James Scully plays Bingham, a character who is sort of Alejandro’s nemesis.

JT: It's interesting because, yes, I agree with you, but I feel like some people misread it and see it as like a crush or something.

GS: I didn’t see it that way at all. What was it like to work with James onscreen?

JT: It wasn't written for him. It was already written by the time I met him. I love working in community. All the people in the movie are either really old friends or new friends. I think that that is just the type of director that I am. So it really felt very organic and very joyful. My parents have been working together their whole professional lives. They are very much the kind of couple who have blueprints in bed.

GS: So, work never stops?

JT: Work never stops, and I think that creating is a love language for me. Extending that to people that I love is is sort of a no-brainer 

GS: The final act of the movie takes place 322 years in the future. How did you decide on that specific number?

JT: I think that's one of those numbers where it's like, “Julio, just give us a number!” And I just texted the number. I think because it feels arbitrary.

GS: But also specific -- 3-2-2.

JT: Yes, and it's enough time for it to be extremely disorienting, but not enough time to assume that humanity is completely gone [laughs]. We're still out there somewhere or another. But (for the scene) I purposely found a space that had no windows.

GS: Thank you for not killing us off.

JT: [Laughs]

GS: Have you started thinking about or working on your next creative project?

JT: Oh, my God, I have started daydreaming of getting the time to work on the next project. I do have a couple of seeds of ideas that I hope to get to.

 June 23, 2024

By Khaleel Hayes

Special to GoGuide Magazine

The University of Iowa’s Hancher Auditorium’s first Broadway season—which included heavy hitters such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Hairspray, Chicago, and Come From Away—was such a hit that Hancher decided to host a second season of Broadway shows in late 2024 to 2025. 

The lineup includes Dear Evan Hansen, Hadestown, Mean Girls, Riverdance, and Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.

Aaron Greenwald, Hancher’s Director of Programming and Engagement, was ecstatic about audiences receiving the first season with open arms. 

“Our first season of Broadway last year, people were just wildly enthusiastic about it,” Greenwald said. “There’s still a community of folks that want to get together in a theater and watch someone tell them a story, laugh together, [and] cry together. That’s pretty compelling.

“Ironically, every show we did last year had someone from Iowa in it,” he added. “And many of them had a connection to the University of Iowa, which was nice.”

Let’s dive into each show and what to expect during the 2024-2025 Broadway season:

Dear Evan Hansen | Dec. 6-8, 2024

Dear Evan Hansen is the story of Evan Hansen, a boy with social anxiety disorder, who seeks social acceptance from his peers by lying about a friendship he had with a student who died by suicide. Hansen’s tall tale lands him complete popularity and a girlfriend, but he must choose between living the lie or coming clean.

Greenwald said this show struck a chord with audiences upon its initial release.

“When that work emerged, it talked about something that had not been spoken about before,” he explained. “I think it has a great set of songs.”

Dear Evan Hansen swept plenty of Tony Awards in 2017, including Best Musical, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Original Musical Score, and more. 

Hadestown | January 24-26, 2025

Written by singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell and directed by Rachel Chavkin, Hadestown focuses on the two mythic love stories of Orpheus and Eurydice and the King of Hades and Persephone on a “hell-raising journey to the underworld and back.”

Greenwald, who said he was most excited about this show, discussed Iowa’s connection.

“When Anaïs Mitchell first made the concept record for Hadestownlike a decade and a half ago,” Greenwald said. “She tapped all these different folk musicians to sing the parts, and Greg Brown, who is from Iowa City, was the voice of Hades. So, we’re kinda excited that that little aspect of the show comes full circle.”

Hadestown won several 2019 Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Actor, Best Sound Design, and more. It also scored a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album in 2020.

Mean Girls | March 7-9, 2025

Based on the 2004 Lindsey Lohan and 2024 Angourie Rice movies by Tina Fey, the story of a new girl who enters the popular, mean girls clique and becomes a mean girl, too, finds new life on the stage.

Mean Girls received 12 Tony Award nominations in 2018 but walked away empty-handed. Greenwald said, “Mean Girls and Tina Fey have a huge spot in our culture, especially if you grew up in the 2000s. So, I think there’s a lot of enthusiasm with college-age students [and] their parents.” 

Riverdance 30thAnniversary | May 9-11, 2025

Riverdance, a Mother’s Day treat, will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2025. This classic show fuses Irish and international dance live onstage, keeping audiences wanting more. Riverdance scored a Grammy for Best Musical Show Album in 1997. 

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical | May 30-June 1, 2025

This inspirational musical explores the life of Tina Turner, the trailblazing, Grammy-winning artist who overcame hardships to become the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll and sold numerous records worldwide. 

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical scored 12 Tony Award nominations and one win for Best Actress in 2020. 

Greenwald stated, “Clearly, Tina Turner led an unbelievable life, and they’ve effectively captured her life in that musical. She was undeniable.”

The Theater Lives On:

Hancher received a huge turnout of attendees during its first Broadway season, from parents and their children to theater students and retirees. 

Greenwald described the audience’s reaction to their showing of Come From Away and how live shows still have a place in 2024.

“[Audiences] were laughing at every joke, in tears when the musical got heavy, and applauding loudly after every tune,” Greenwald recalled. “Then it ended, and they shot up out of their seats in a spontaneous standing ovation. To me, that was really moving that in the world, there is so much streaming content and virtual reality, and we’re always on our phones, listening to podcasts or whatever, “That people still value, and there’s still a community of folks that want to get together in a theater and watch someone tell them a story,” he continued. “I don’t think I’m that sentimental, but I find that to be a moving experience.” 

Hancher’s Broadway 2024-2025 Season Info/Tickets: https://hancher.uiowa.edu/2024-25

by Gregg Shapiro

A local GoGuide Exclusive

The Indigo Girls – Emily Saliers and Amy Ray – are having a moment. Since the release of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” movie in the summer of 2023, in which the queer duo’s “Closer To Fine” was heard repeatedly, to today, when they are prominently featured in Tom Gustafson’s “Glitter & Doom” and Alexandria Bombach’s doc “Indigo Girls: It’s Only Life After All,” Indigo Girls are hotter than ever. That’s just the half of it! In addition to a well-received performance on the “Today” show, Indigo Girls are embarking on a multi-city concert tour, including several dates with Melissa Etheridge. In the midst of their super busy schedule, Emily was generous enough to make time for an interview.

Gregg Shapiro: In the introduction to my favorable review of Alexandria Bombach’s documentary “Indigo Girls: It’s Only Life After All,” I talk about how since the summer of 2023, when “Closer To Fine” was featured prominently in Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” to today when we are speaking, Indigo Girls are having an amazing year. So, I’d like to begin by asking you to say what it meant to you to have “Closer To Fine” heard in “Barbie.”

Emily Saliers: First of all, it was a huge surprise to be asked. And it was an honor because both Amy and I adore Greta Gerwig’s work. It just kind of fell out of the sky, this massive gift. We knew it was going to be in the trailer, but we didn't know it was gonna be in the film. We certainly didn't know that was going to be featured in its own way in terms of its content in the movie. It was so exciting and so gratifying because we love Greta’s work. I loved the movie, too. I thought it was amazing on so many levels. The issues it delved into, the way it looked, how stylized it was, how funny it was, how clever, and the dancing. The whole thing was like this big experience. So, to have “Closer To Fine” included in something that I really loved so much as a piece of art was fantastic. Then, of course, there was a spike in interest, I think, in the Indigo Girls’ music. What a gift that was to come out of nowhere and take hold. I think we’re still feeling the repercussions of that in a positive way.

GS: As I mentioned, I enjoyed the doc “It’s Only Life After All.” How did it feel to be the subject of a documentary and have your life and career highlighted that way?

ES: We met Alexandria, the director, through Kathlyn Horan who was one of the producers on the documentary. We had lunch together and she said, “I’d like to make a documentary about y’all. I can see that that’s never been done before.” In our conversations, we were clear with Alexandria that we wanted it to be not so much just about us, but about our community. About a community that has gone through these things together. I think she handled that very deftly and respectfully. Instead of feeling like, “Here’s a movie about y’all,” it feels more like here’s a movie about the power of music and community. Especially for queer folks or people who don't fit inside a box, for them to have an openness and expression. And for us to go through our hard times in life together. The fact that it landed within the scope of the time of “Barbie” and “Glitter & Doom,” was just kind of like, “Wow! What is happening?” This is like the giving season for the Indigo Girls.

GS: I’m glad you mentioned “Glitter & Doom.” When I interviewed Amy in 2023 about her solo album (“If It All Goes South”), I asked her about the possibility of a stage musical consisting of Indigo Girls songs, and that’s when I learned about “Glitter & Doom.” The movie not only incorporates many Indigo Girls songs, but you also appear in the movie as the character of The Dream. What was that experience like for you?

ES: We read the script -- we get script submissions sometimes -- but this one really stood out. We loved the story. Then we heard the music, Michelle Chamuel’s arrangements and production, and how our music was arranged, produced, and performed in a way that we’d never heard before. That was really exciting for us and we loved it. We love Tom (Gustafson) and Cory (Krueckeberg) who co-directed the film (written by Krueckeberg). To be a cameo – Amy, I think, was terrified. Amy will tell you she does not like to act. I think she did an amazing job. For me, it was exciting. I was in high school theater, and I don't mind that. We had a different experience of actually being in the film. We both love the movie and it just premiered in a theater in New York. It’s so well done. It's a colorful and well- directed film with the songs. The actors are captivating. I love the story. Again, it was this wonderful piece of art that someone was creating that they invited us to be part of with our music. That feels good. Also, the other thing Gregg, that's important to me and Amy, is that when we were coming up, I remember this growing up as a young queer in Atlanta; there was a divide between the gay male world and the lesbian world. There was the complexity of the horror of the AIDS crisis, but beyond that, there was a separation, sort of never the twain shall meet. I feel like this experience with Tom and Cory and the gay male presence, the queer presence in the film, and then bringing in the lesbian artists to contribute was such a great energy and a great confluence of things that historically has not always happened. It's sort of like bringing all the queers together. That was profoundly moving to me and Amy, as well. I think it was important. I don't know if you remember that divide.

GS: I do! We’re close in age, and I remember that divide within the community. When I would tell people about “Glitter & Doom,” about how it features the Indigo Girls’ music, they would ask if it was a movie about a lesbian couple. I’d tell them, no, it's about a male couple and they’d say, “Wow!  Indigo Girls songs in a movie about a gay male couple!” So, yes, you’re right. “Glitter & Doom” attempts to bridge that gap.

ES: It does. I knew it, intellectually, but sitting in the theater and experiencing it was a whole other thing. It brought to life the way that queer people come together and the power of that, artistically, politically, socially, in every realm. Amy was sitting there in the theater experiencing the same thing and we didn't realize it until we started answering questions during the Q&A after the film was shown.

GS: “Glitter & Doom” also includes a song from your 2017 solo album “Murmuration Nation.” What does that inclusion mean to you?

ES: When I heard the way it’s treated in the movie, it was so thrilling. I wrote that song, “Match,” with Kristen Hall, one of the original members of Sugarland. It takes a seed of a song that was written so long ago for fun with a friend, and it makes it become this whole world of its own in the context of the movie. I love the way it was treated musically. In a way, it's like sitting outside of something and hearing something beautiful, but then it's connected to you because you created it. It's hard to articulate, but I thought it was really cool that they included a solo song from each of us in the whole body of work for the movie. For me, sitting there as an audience member, I was like, “Oh, who wrote this song? It’s pretty. This is really working [laughs].” It was the experience of being outside and inside at the same time and I don't get to experience that a lot. It was really cool.

GS: We’re speaking on March 28, and later today Indigo Girls perform at David Geffen Hall in New York, and the concert includes a conversation with the brilliant music journalist Ann Powers. What are you most looking forward to about that?

ES: Amy and I have the utmost respect for Ann Powers. When we first met her, we were so intimidated, I don't think we could barely speak [laughs]. Now, our paths have crossed through the years. To sit in an intimate gathering and talk with Ann, it's always an honor to have anything mediated by Ann. She’s such a stellar journalist, a journalist of incredible pedigree. It’s going to be intimate because Amy and I won’t be standing up at our mic stands and doing a whole show. We're seated and we're playing songs and Ann is asking questions about the process. It’s going to be a much more intimate experience. Of course, to be in New York, it's one of my very favorite places to play. We're looking forward to it. Lincoln Center is beautiful. It’s sold out. They're going to be showing it on big screens outside the theatre, and that will be cool, too. I'm looking forward to the whole experience of it.

GS: Speaking of concerts, Indigo Girls are touring with Melissa Etheridge. How did this amazing combination come to be?

ES: It is so cool! We've never done anything like this with Melissa. Of course, we have such respect for her career and her music. She was doing one of those rock cruises and we got invited to be on that, and we couldn't do it. But the speed was planted. After all these years, there was interest from both parties to play some shows together. Then it turned out to be playing summer sheds together. She’ll have her thing and we'll have our band, and we'll do some stuff together. Then it turned into this run of shows. When we first announced to a crowd that we were doing shows with Melissa Etheridge, it was in the Northeast somewhere, people screamed [laughs]! It was like, “Okay, this is a good decision.” We've been in touch with each other about doing a song together or whatever the case may be. It’s the first time we've done something like this with a storied artist like Melissa and we're both so excited.

GS: Additionally, on Sept. 1 Indigo Girls are playing Town Hall in Provincetown.

ES: Woo hoo!

GS: This made me wonder if Lea DeLaria, who not only appears in “Glitter & Doom,” but is also a presence in PTOWN might be joining the Indigo Girls for a number.

ES: We haven't heard from Lea, but we would always welcome Lea with open arms, of course. We love Lea, and if Lea is there, of course we'll do something together. But we haven’t gone through official lines. Maybe you’re putting the bug in Lea’s ear right now.

GS: I’m sure you don’t need to be reminded, but it’s been four years since the release of the Indigo Girls’ “Look Long” album. Is there a new Indigo Girls album in the works?

ES: It’s kind of floating in the ether. Everything is meeting at this juncture where we have the documentary and “Glitter & Doom,” and then “Barbie” happened, and we're doing a lot of symphony shows and touring. At the same time, Amy has a 10- year-old-daughter and I have an 11-year-old-daughter. We’re feeling the pain of missing life. So, we're trying to orchestrate how to keep our lives in balance with home life and touring. Then Amy had a super long tour with her solo band. And I'm writing for musical theater. To answer your question, as we're getting older we just seem to be getting busier [laughs] with these projects that are all wonderful. We have talked about the next album, and we started tossing around ideas, but we're going to take a little bit of a mental break this summer and spend time with our family. Then I’m sure we’ll be refreshed after that and from the tour with Melissa and Amos Lee and start to really focus in on when we can do the next album. There will be a next album, it’s just been such a busy time.

GS: Finally, because Indigo Girls are renowned for their activism, do you have any words of wisdom regarding the upcoming 2024 election?

ES: [Long pause] I'm just going to come out and say I'm voting for Biden. I'm going to say that it is absolutely critical that if you’re of voting age and ability, you have to vote. You cannot be distracted by the media that may pull you one way or another. I encourage you not to be distracted by a feeling of, “Well, my vote doesn't count,” because this election is as critical as any election has ever been. We're seeing a shift after Roe V. Wade was overturned in local and state politics. The onslaught of legislation against queer people, particularly trans people; conservatives are coming for all our rights, all of them, I would say, please vote, vote progressive. Don't be distracted by anything, even if you feel you have to vote for the lesser of two evils in your mind, vote for the lesser of two evils. This is an absolutely critical juncture for obvious reasons. I truly believe that the fabric of democracy is coming apart in this country, but we have to protect our queer family. We are under attack, and you have to vote for the candidate who supports us. That candidate is obviously Biden. It's extremely important to vote in your local elections because conservatives who are anti-queer are taking over school boards. You know what they're doing; banning books. Gregg, I could spend the next 20 minutes imploring anybody who's reading this to vote through a progressive lens. They're coming after us and we need to stand up for equal rights and for the future of democracy in this country.

Attendee panel closed

Screen Savor: Midwestern melodrama

By Gregg Shapiro

Editors note: Gregg Shapiro is a nationally recognized journalist and author. Visit amazon.com 

to view a list of available books.

The title of the documentary “We Live Here: The Midwest” (Hulu) is a somewhat misleading misnomer. A far better name for the project, featuring interviews with five LGBTQ+ couples, would be “We Live Here: The RURAL Midwest.”

The Midwestern states represented in the doc include Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Ohio, and Minnesota. The first stop is Iowa, the home of Nia and Katie. The land of “Iowa nice,” a passive/aggressive behavior as described by trans lesbian Nia, that is defined by people not saying “I don’t support you” to your face, but instead starting a letter-writing campaign to disparage you (actually, when it comes to the Midwest, that’s not limited to the borders of Iowa). Des Moines natives who never left, Nia and Katie met in second grade, attended the same “progressive evangelical church,” dated, married, and started a family. And then Nia came out as trans. Turns out the church wasn’t as progressive as they thought.

In Nebraska, where Mario and Monte are “one out of three black families, let alone gay families,” we learn about their history (and struggles), which is also connected to a church community. The married fathers of a baby girl, Mario and Monte provided the “mystery sperm” (both mixed together) for surrogate Ariel. They arrived in Nebraska (after living in more liberal Colorado) where Mario, who is in the Air Force, is stationed.

Courtney and Denise, who live in Kansas with their son Marek always wanted land, to be closer to their food, and to ranch goats. It was definitely an adjustment for the couple, who had met in Lawrence, Kansas, especially for Denise who had lived in New York, Portland, and Austin. However, it was Marek’s experience of being bullied in school that opened their eyes to the ways in which (again, rural) Midwestern culture is resistant to change.

The next stop is Ohio, the furthest east Midwestern state, where married gay couple Russ and Mark live. Russ is a high school teacher who came out later in life. They talk about how representation matters (Russ’ students know that Mark is his husband) where they live, as well as how following the presidential election in 2016 a change occurred resulting in a backlash against all the progress made by the LGBTQ+ community prior to that.

Finally, we arrive in Minnesota. This segment includes an interview with indigenous queer Heather Keeler of the Minnesota House of Representatives. But the main focus is trans couple Jenn and Debb, and features interviews with Jenn’s daughters, as well as her ex-wife Tricia.

With a runtime of less than an hour, and only five couples (and assorted others, including family members and neighbors) as interview subjects, it’s reasonable that “We Live Here,” would come up short. Making matters worse is that it feels incredibly amateur and unclear in its messaging (i.e. Jenn’s daughters still refer to her as “dad”). It’s admirable that Melinda Maerker wanted to address a segment of the population that doesn’t get much attention, but unfortunately the execution is flawed. 

“Everything” everywhere all at once: an interview with Freda Love Smith

Editors note: Gregg Shapiro is a Hall of Fame and nationally recognized journalist and author. 

November 5

by Gregg Shapiro

For many people, the name Freda Love Smith conjures the sound of music. Drumming, in particular. Before she retired, Smith was a drummer in several bands, including Blake Babies, The Mysteries of Life, Antenna, Some Girls, and Sunshine Boys to mention a few. Smith wrote about that part of her life in her marvelous 2015 memoir “Red Velvet Underground.” The subject of music also features prominently in her equally awesome new book, “I Quit Everything” (Agate, 2023). Subtitled, “How One Woman’s Addiction to Quitting Helped Her Confront Bad Habits and Embrace Midlife,” the book includes sections on alcohol, sugar, cannabis, caffeine, and social media, and is equal parts confessional and self-help guide. Smith’s honest and open voice guides readers through her experiences while generously providing hard-won wisdom. Freda was kind enough to make time for an interview shortly before the book’s release.

Gregg Shapiro: Your new book “I Quit Everything” is your second after 2015’s “Red Velvet Underground.” Did you know after the first book that you had another in you?

Freda Love Smith: I knew I wanted to write more books, and even before “Red Velvet Underground” came out I was experimenting with another food-related project. That fizzled, and then a surprising thing happened, which was the resurrection of my drumming career with Chicago band Sunshine Boys—suddenly I had a whole other, all-consuming artistic outlet. I kept writing during that time, but I wrote slower and less. The narrative of “I Quit Everything” ends with my retirement from drumming, but the process of writing the book actually began with that retirement. At one of my final musical performances, I read an early draft of the social media chapter, marking my transition from one type of creative work to another.

GS: In the book you write about completing your MFA in Creative Nonfiction. Did any part of this book begin while you were working on your MFA?

FLS: Writing this book interrupted the project I’d been working on for my MFA! My thesis was a biography of Angela DeAngelis, a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army and an instrumental player in the kidnapping and indoctrination of Patty Hearst. Angela went to college in my hometown, Bloomington, Indiana. I have a contract for that book, and I still absolutely intend to write it, although it seems to be morphing into a novel. The idea to write “I Quit Everything” popped into my head, and it wouldn’t leave me alone until I wrote it. It’s a very short book, and it didn’t take long; it just came pouring out of me. I’d already lived through all the quitting that the book documents, and had kept a detailed journal throughout, so it was just a matter of finding points of connection, doing some research, and assembling a loose structure.

GS: “I Quit Everything” is separated into seven sections, five of which have addictive-substance-titles, with each one containing brief essays. Did the essays or the section themes come first in your creative process?

FLS: I mostly started with the themes. One advantage I had in figuring out the structure was that the book documents an experiment that spanned about eight months, so there was an intrinsic chronology I could rely on: first I quit this, then that, then that. Within this framework I certainly take liberties, but at least there is a basic timeline to contain the chaos!

GS: “I Quit Everything” is a book full of books with quotes from and references to “Sugar Blues,” “The Doors of Perception,” and “The Botany of Desire,” to name a few. Do you feel, as a writer, that you have a responsibility to recommend books to your readers?

FLS: I am grateful when writers recommend books to me and I love when one piece of writing points me to another, so it’s natural to want to pay it forward! “I Quit Everything” does end up being partly about books—I write about how books saved me during Covid, and about how a bookstore job helped me escape the academic job I was eager to quit. And although the book is a deeply personal memoir, documenting my struggles with addiction and withdrawal and midlife, I wanted it to be more than just my story; I wanted to fold in the stories and observations and research of others to give the book more texture and substance.

GS: In addition to quoting writers, you also quote musicians, including Jonathan Richman on pages 82 and 104. Would it be fair to say you consider Richman as an influence?

FLS: Yes, for sure! Jonathan Richman has been a force in my life since I first heard his solo albums in the eighties, which inspired me to seek out his earlier work with the Modern Lovers, one of my favorite bands of all time. Few songwriters are as singular--he steers clear of cliché, irony, and cultural pressure to conform to any current trends. He makes sincerity seem like the most punk thing ever.

GS: Would you agree that the looseness you write about in the “I’m Loose” essay seems to have been replaced by a kind of cultural tightness? If so, do you see that as a positive or negative?

FLS: This is amazing timing! I was just talking about “looseness” today with a former student of mine. She’s in her twenties, and at a recent family event her aunt (a Gen-X’er like me, in her fifties) went on a rant about how kids these days are too uptight, how we all used to drive drunk, and it was fine! I don’t advocate a return to rampant drunk driving, but believe me, I understand the sentiment, absolutely.

GS: I love the way you write about actors and films. For people familiar with you as a musician in bands including Blake Babies, Mysteries of Life, and Some Girls, to name a few, do you think they’ll be surprised to learn about movie star dreams?

FLS: I think they’ll be surprised, yes. I always felt most comfortable hiding back behind the drum set and became very shy when I had a microphone in front of my face.

GS: Did being a musician and playing for audiences fulfill that longing for you?

FLS: It absolutely did and gave me a more comfortable way to be an artist and performer; one better suited to my disposition!

GS: I loved the Sugar section, as that is also my addiction. I totally related to Cap’n Crunch’s violent mouth shredding, which is why I preferred the now defunct Quisp – same manufacturer, same taste, but gentler on the gums. Are you concerned about a backlash from Big Cereal?

FLS: First of all, I’d like a time machine so I can go back and pour myself a big bowl of Quisp—how did I never know about Quisp! I feel cheated. I have often felt the same way about quaaludes. Totally missed out, born just a little too late. Anyway, it’s unlikely Big Cereal will find me much of a threat; I think their power is even greater than it was when I was a kid. I recently read that they continue to reformulate those cereals to make them more appealing and—to borrow a cute adjective from the British—“moreish.”

GS: On a more serious note, the Social Media section of the book becomes a eulogy for your friend Faith Kleppinger. Did you know when writing that section that that’s what it would be or was it something that developed organically?

FLS: That came straight out of the journal that I was keeping at the time, writing about my quitting process and about the major events of my life. I loved her so much, and that loss permeated everything at the time.

GS: In the “Dignified and Old” essay, you wrote about the TV series “Absolutely Fabulous” in the most delightful way. I think you may be the first straight person I’ve encountered who enjoyed the show as much as me and my friends. Did it, perhaps, speak to your inner gay man?

FLS: Edina and Patsy forever [laughs]. And, yes, I totally have an inner gay man! When I was a teenager, I kept getting huge crushes on gay boys until I realized: it wasn’t that I wanted them, I wanted to BE them! I wanted their dance moves and their brilliant taste in music, I wanted their bravery and sense of identity, and I also wanted to resist gender stereotypes, convention, heteronormativity. I was—and am—attracted to she’s as well as he’s, and the LGBTQ+ people in my life emboldened me to identify as bisexual.

GS: Your mentions of Sir Elton John, Cher, and “Tootsie,” made me wonder if you were aware of an LGBTQ+ following for your various bands, and if so, what that means to you.

FLS: I’ve been told that Blake Babies had a significant LGBTQ+ following and that delights me. For much of the Blake Babies, I had short hair or a shaved head, and I was frequently mistaken for a guy behind the drums. Juliana and I refused to appear traditionally feminine in the band—

we wore no make-up, and our typical stage garb was men’s t-shirts and baggy jeans. I’ve told this story a lot—after one concert in North Carolina the promoter approached John Strohm, the guitarist in the band, and said “You’ve got to get those girls in some dresses.” We scoffed at that. We wanted to define womanhood on our own terms. This possibly contributed to our appeal to those who identified as genderqueer, gender-fluid, or gender nonconforming, all groups that I deeply respect.

GS: What would it mean to you if “I Quit Everything” became recommended reading for people in the recovery community?

FLS: I feel big love for the recovery community and have been thrilled to glimpse the ways in which that world is opening up, diversifying, allowing in myriad voices and approaches. I appreciate the nuance in language like “soberish,” “sober curious,” and “California sober.” It feels to me like there is more space for people to decide what they want their sobriety to look like; not everyone fits every program. It would mean the world to me if “I Quit Everything” were to help anyone to break a destructive habit, to take a good honest look within and decide what they can and can’t afford to mess with, and to trust themselves to make the right choices.

GoGuide Magzine caught up with our own Miss Christine (they/them) while on tour a couple of weeks ago. They were kind enough to do a Q&A with us for our new online magazine's inaugural issue.

According to Miss Christine's website, "The "Miss" has nothing to do with womanhood and everything to do with absence and longing. In this case, it's the longing for truth and freedom from misguided external perceptions. 

Miss Christine attended the Berklee College of Music before gaining experience as a session musician in Nashville. Christine defied expectations again by leaving Nashville behind for a farm near Iowa City, where they write and record their original songs. Miss Christine released their debut solo album, Conversion, in 2019. The follow-up, Bittersweet, is out June 2023 on Bandcamp, vinyl, and CD

GoGuide Magazine (GGM): How would you describe your tour, and how has it changed over the years?

Miss Christine: The tour has been so much fun! Before the pandemic, I played close to 100 shows a year, so since 2020, my tour schedule has slowed down tremendously. It felt so good to be back on stage this summer, playing Pride festivals and shows around the Midwest to support the release of my second album, Bittersweet. The pandemic allowed me the space to become more comfortable with my queerness and performing in public as my genderqueer self. My audience has changed so much since my first tour. It is much more queer.

I've been performing under the moniker Miss Christine since 2010. In 2017, I began to pursue my original music much more seriously, and in 2018, I hit the road touring around the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast. I've been touring the last five years with different lineups of musicians in Miss Christine. A Miss Christine show is energetic and empowering with some introspective moments. 

Fortunately, Miss Christine can be found in Iowa City performing at LA Wine Bar on November 16 and at Gabe's on November 24.

GGM: How many albums have you recorded? What songs are fan favorites?

Miss Christine: I've recorded two full-length albums and two EPs. My first album, Conversion, came out in 2019, and my second album, Bittersweet, in 2023. Fan favorite songs are Conversion, Google University, and Profound. My favorite song at the moment is My Brain, which is about the time I got a concussion. It is so much fun to play live. Someone deemed it Doom Pop, which makes me laugh.

GGM: How would you describe your musical and performance style? Who in the music influenced you the most?

Miss Christine: I call it punk rock doo-wop. There are lots of vocal harmonies, defiant punk attitude, soulful moments, and occasional guitar and keyboard solos. Since I am a singing bassist, my songs are often short and full of unexpected surprises. My biggest influences are Paul McCartney, James Jamerson, Carol Kaye, The Beatles, The Grates, and The Supremes. I often say that I'm stuck in the '60s. I love music from that decade, especially Motown.

GGM: What has been your biggest hurdle in getting to the point you're at now?

Miss Christine: I spent most of my life hiding behind my bass playing instead of listening to who I am outside of my musicianship. My biggest hurdle has been learning to respect myself enough to advocate for my self-worth. Even though people like me are often left out of the mainstream, we exist and are valid just as we are. Since being public with my genderqueerness and asexuality, my life and music career have blossomed in a new way I never thought possible.

GGM: You will be headlining the Third Coralville Pride Festival next June. What can the crowd expect, and do you have any surprises for the show?

Miss Christine: We are excited to play at the Coralville Pride Festival next year! The crowd can expect a fun and energetic show filled with self-compassion. You'll have to come to the show and find out about surprises. ;) 

Visit the Miss Christine website for complete tour date listings and more information: https://www.misschristinemusic.com/