Flirtations sing at U. Museum

The Flirtations, the self-proclaimed "world's most famous openly gay, politically active, multi-cultural a capella vocal group," sang at the University Museum Saturday to about 600 people from around Philadelphia. The performance, which is a part of a 50-city concert tour, was the Flirts only appearance in Philadelphia. Music selections were from The Flirts album, "Out on the Road." The ongoing concert tour marks the highlight of the Flirts four-year old history. In 1988 the Flirts began performing on New York City street corners, but since then have appeared on popular television programs including Good Morning America. The performance, organized by Blue Moon Productions and the AIDS law project of Pennsylvania, began with a guest performance of Julie Stewart and Lena Einhorn. The lesbian duo performed five songs with synthesizer, guitar, drums and tamborine. One was a heartfelt tribute to the late Greta Garbo. They also performed a sing-along poking fun at Vice President Dan Quayle with the refrain, "I'll never grow up." The duo also sang a song dedicated to Denmark, where national law allows gay couples to marry. The Flirts performed renditions of 1950s era doo-wop songs such as "At the Hop," and "Mr. Sandman." "We want to empower gay and lesbian people around the world," singer Jimmy Rutland said. "We as a people need positive role models -- people who stand up and say I'm gay and proud of it." Singer Aurelio Font, a native Philadelphian said the group formed to combat fear of homosexuality. "[We] formed as a musical response to homophobia," Font said. "You can't name a single openly gay or lesbian group. We put a human face on an ignored group of people." The performance contained numerous comical interludes between songs. Jon Arterton opened the show proclaiming, "Wow, we're proud to be in the city of Brotherly Love." He later asked if there were any "token straights" in the crowd and told the few that raised their hands they are "homosexually challenged." In spite of the performance's humorous nature, there were serious overtones. Singer Michael Callen was diagnosed with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome in 1982. He is the author of the book Surviving AIDS. "I was glad to see this show of solidarty in the gay community," Engineering junior Duke Schnolis said. "It's about time that a musical group stands up to Hollywood's homophobia and openly and unabashedly proclaims their gayness."

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