{{Short description|Gay bar in Boston, Massachusetts, United States}} {{Coord |42.34999|-71.06745|display=title}} alt=Jacques|thumb|A neon sign at Jacques Cabaret. Source: apium on Flickr '''Jacques Cabaret''' (also stylized as '''Jacque's Cabaret''') is the oldest continuously operating gay bar in Boston, Massachusetts. Located in the Bay Village neighborhood, it is known for its nightly drag shows and as the venue where drag performer Katya Zamolodchikova got her start hosting a monthly burlesque show, Perestroika.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Oliver |first=Maria |date=2011-04-29 |title=Night Watch |url=https://archive.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2011/04/29/night_watch_perestroika/ |access-date=2024-03-09 |work=Boston.com}}</ref>
== History == Nightclub operator Henry Vara opened the bar in 1938 under the name Jacques Restaurant.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blanding |first=Michael |date=2006-05-15 |title=The Bay Village Drag Bar War |url=https://www.bostonmagazine.com/2006/05/15/the-bay-village-drag-bar-war/ |access-date=2024-05-11 |website=Boston Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> By the mid-1940s it had become a gay bar. In 1967 Vara opened The Other Side across the street, taking over the liquor license of the Punch Bowl, another gay bar that had closed down.<ref name=:0>{{Cite web |title=GCN: January 18, 1975. volume 2, number 30 - DRS |url=https://repository.library.northeastern.edu/files/neu:m046gk62s |access-date=2024-05-11 |website=repository.library.northeastern.edu}}</ref> Vara was a prolific nightclub owner, at one time holding the most liquor licenses in Boston; he was also the owner of the Kenmore Club in Boston, Studio 54 in New York City, and several more bars in other states.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Henry Vara Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information |url=https://burkefamilyfuneralhomes.com/book-of-memories/5179207/Vara-Henry/index.php |access-date=2024-05-11 |website=burkefamilyfuneralhomes.com}}</ref> Jacques Cabaret has remained a family business throughout its history.
Through the years, Jacques has faced several threats to its existence. In 1965, city council member Frederick Langone proposed that the area be "revitalized" and the bars bulldozed, stating, “We will be better off without these incubators of homosexuality and indecency. ... We must uproot these joints so innocent kids won't be contaminated.”<ref name=:1>{{Cite web |last=Blanding |first=Michael |date=2006-05-15 |title=The Bay Village Drag Bar War |url=https://www.bostonmagazine.com/2006/05/15/the-bay-village-drag-bar-war/ |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=Boston Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Leventhal Map & Education Center |first= |date=2023-09-13 |title=Pride and Progress: A Journey Through Boston's LGBTQ+ Safe Spaces |url=https://www.leventhalmap.org/articles/queer-boston/ |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=www.leventhalmap.org |language=en-US}}</ref>
During a stop on Boston's first gay pride march in 1971, LGBT activists such as Magora Kennedy demanded that the bar, as one of the only havens for gay women in Boston, provide better conditions for its patrons:<blockquote>“Because we can't go anywhere else, because as gay women we have been especially ghettoized here in Boston, and because the conditions at gay bars are by and large determined by the straight world, those in control know they can be as oppressive as they want. Jacques is terribly crowded and a fire hazard on weekends. Women entering the bar were subject to taunts by [straight] men, who not only [took] up badly needed room but also got their kicks leering and propositioning the women here. Sanitary conditions hardly exist at all. We are effectively ghettoized, since dancing between members of the same sex and other behavior, which the law deems to call lewd and lascivious, are illegal.”<ref>{{Cite web |title=#BlackHistoryMonth: Reverend Goddess Magora Kennedy {{!}} The History Project |url=https://historyproject.org/news/2021-02/blackhistorymonth-reverend-goddess-magora-kennedy |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=historyproject.org}}</ref></blockquote>As the Bay Village neighborhood grew into an affluent residential area, residents complained of the noise and rowdy bar patrons. In the early 1970s, Jacques and The Other Side were the subjects of many police reports of prostitution, drugs, and violent crime in the area. The bars became a point of contention within the gay community. While some sympathized with the Bay Village residents and alleged that the bars attracted gay-bashers, others argued that opponents of the bars merely objected to the poor, gender-nonconforming, and "trashy" gay clientele, and that the police were in fact the source of violence in the area.<ref name=":0" />
Following a number of police reports, in 1975, Henry Vara and Frank Cashman, the operators of Jacques and The Other Side, appeared in hearings of the licensing board.<ref>{{Cite web |title=May 09, 1975, page 1 - The Boston Globe at Boston Globe |url=https://bostonglobe.newspapers.com/image/436566523 |access-date=2024-05-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref> Facing threats to the bars' licenses, Cashman alleged under oath that Deputy Mayor Robert Kiley had attempted to solicit a $50,000 donation to Mayor Kevin White's campaign in exchange for using his political sway to ensure the licenses would remain intact, a claim which Kiley denied. The attorney general's office investigated the claim and declared it to be false.<ref>{{Cite web |title=May 16, 1975, page 1 - The Boston Globe at Boston Globe |url=https://bostonglobe.newspapers.com/image/436563133 |access-date=2024-05-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref>
In the protracted legal battle, the Boston licensing board ruled in 1975 that the bars would need to relocate or lose their liquor licenses, a decision that was overturned by the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oct 17, 1975, page 1 - The Boston Globe at Boston Globe |url=https://bostonglobe.newspapers.com/image/436558717/ |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref> The licensing board later ruled in 1976 that Jacques and The Other Side must move their closing hours from 2 a.m. to midnight.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Feb 01, 1976, page 64 - The Boston Globe at Boston Globe |url=https://bostonglobe.newspapers.com/image/436551489/ |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref> Jacques remained controversial among Bay Village residents well into the 2000s and 2010s.<ref name=":1" />
== Culture and legacy == Jacques hosts multiple drag shows per week. Drag performer Katya Zamolodchikova began hosting the drag burlesque show Perestroika in 2006, which featured various drag queens each month.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fox |first=Jeremy C. |title=Perestroika drag show celebrates six years and the holidays |url=https://www.boston.com/uncategorized/noprimarytagmatch/2012/12/18/perestroika-drag-show-celebrates-six-years-and-the-holidays/ |access-date=2024-06-28 |website=www.boston.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Other RuPaul's Drag Race alumnae who regularly performed at the bar include Jujubee, Sapphira Cristál, Plane Jane, Kori King and Briar Blush.
The bar's alternative drag show #NoFilter was listed as a 2018 Boston's Best winner by ''The Improper Bostonian''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=#NoFilter at Jacques Cabaret {{!}} Improper Bostonian |url=https://www.improper.com/bostons-best/2018/arts-entertainment/drag-night/nofilter-at-jacques-cabaret/ |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=www.improper.com |language=en}}</ref> In addition to drag performances, Jacques Cabaret hosts parties, karaoke nights, comedy shows and open mic nights, talent shows, and musical acts.
Jacques Cabaret's motto is "All roads lead to Jacques."
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == Penn, Evan & Pilataxi, Martin Barrera. "A Queer History of Boston". [https://landscapes.northeastern.edu/a-queer-history-of-boston-evan-penn-martin-pilataxi-barrera/ Cities, Landscape, and Modern Culture]. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
"The Punch Bowl". [https://markthomaskrone.wordpress.com/tag/the-punch-bowl/ Boston Queer History]. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
Category:LGBTQ drinking establishments in the United States Category:Entertainment in Boston Category:1938 establishments in Massachusetts Category:LGBTQ culture in Boston