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![]() Zao noodle joint, 3583 16th Street, former Josie's location. (2002) Detail |
Tom Ammiano's grass
roots campaign for mayor was the last hurrah for Josie's Cabaret and
Juice Joint at 16th and Market in the Castro. Josie's was named for
the grandmother of founder Ron Lanza, who opened the venue as a platform
for comic voices in the gay community. Like its predecessor, Lanza enterprise
the Valencia
Rose, Josie's
was an activist cabaret. Performers whose careers rose from Lanza's joints
include Marga Gomez, Whoopi Goldberg, Lea DeLaria, Scott Capurro, Margaret
Cho, Mark Davis, and the best of the City's 1990s counter culture including
Keith Hennessy, Kate Bornstein, and Justin Bond. After closing with much
fanfare early in 1999, Josie's reopened a few weeks later and operated for
another year. During its last season, Josie's was converted into the campaign
headquarters of Ammiano, the comic and political leader who broke down barriers
for gay comedians after honing his talents at the Valencia Rose. QComedy
is a collective that promotes new venues for comics and supports the work
of emerging talent. The QComedy
web site also keeps audiences up to date with with veteran Josie's performers,
including one who later became Mister SF.
Detail
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Copyright 2002 Hank Donat |