Mara Keisling, Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality - April 4, 2019

APRIL 4, 2019

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CONTENTS

TEXAS ROSE

Gina Chavez revels in sharing her outside-the-box life and music everywhere, but especially off the beaten path.

By Doug Rule

THE ADVOCATE

Mara Keisling has worked too hard and for too long to let Donald Trump undo the progress of transgender rights.

She’s fighting him every step of the way.

Interview by John Riley • Photography by Todd G. Franson

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Volume 25 Issue 46

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BOY TROUBLE

Tense new productions of Native Son and columbinus explore toxic male rage, with varying degrees of success.

By André Hereford

SPOTLIGHT: PHANTOM LIMB COMPANY p.7 OUT ON THE TOWN p.10 MAPPLETHORPE MOVEMENTS: TRIPTYCH p.12 TEXAS ROSE: GINA CHAVEZ p.17 CHI-TOWN CHANGEMAKER p.19 SWIPE RIGHT p.19 DAVID’S DOWNFALL p. 20 COMMUNITY CALENDAR p.21 ATHLETIC HONORS p.21 COVER STORY: MARA KEISLING p.26 FILM: SHAZAM! P.33 STAGE: NATIVE SON AND COLUMBINUS p.35 NIGHTLIFE: AVALON SATURDAYS p.37 BAR AND CLUB SPECIALS p.38 NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS p.39 SCENE: GREEN LANTERN FLIP CUP TOURNAMENT p.44 LAST WORD p.46 Real LGBTQ News and Entertainment since 1994

Editorial Editor-in-Chief Randy Shulman Art Director Todd Franson Online Editor at metroweekly.com Rhuaridh Marr Senior Editor John Riley Contributing Editors André Hereford, Doug Rule Senior Photographers Ward Morrison, Julian Vankim Contributing Illustrator Scott G. Brooks Contributing Writers Sean Maunier, Troy Petenbrink, Bailey Vogt, Kate Wingfield Webmaster David Uy Production Assistant Julian Vankim Sales & Marketing Publisher Randy Shulman National Advertising Representative Rivendell Media Co. 212-242-6863 Distribution Manager Dennis Havrilla Patron Saints Holly Boswell and Julie Johnson Cover Photography Todd G. Franson Metro Weekly 1775 I St. NW, Suite 1150 Washington, DC 20006 202-638-6830 All material appearing in Metro Weekly is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publishers. Metro Weekly assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials submitted for publication. All such submissions are subject to editing and will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Metro Weekly is supported by many fine advertisers, but we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers, nor can we accept responsibility for materials provided by advertisers or their agents. Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles or advertising in Metro Weekly is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such person or organization.

© 2019 Jansi LLC.

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APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

RICHARD TERMINE

Spotlight

Phantom Limb Company: Falling Out T HE NEW YORK COMPANY Phantom Limb is known for its work with marionette puppetry and for its focus on collaborative, multimedia theatrical production and design. The company makes its Kennedy Center debut as part of the Direct Current series with a work, developed in collaboration with butoh dancer Dai Matsuoka, a member of Japan’s famed

Sankai Juku troupe, that serves as a response to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Falling Out represents the final installment in an environmental trilogy exploring our changing relationship to nature over time, and urging greater awareness and advocacy on the issue. Post-show discussions with a wide range of experts have also been planned.

Thursday, April 4, and Friday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater.

Tickets are $19. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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Spotlight DEAD DOG’S BONE: A BIRTHDAY PLAY

MARA SHERMAN

Nu Sass Productions, the female-focused local theater company, presents Veronica Tjioe’s family drama that’s equal parts irreverent and heartbreaking in its exploration of familial relationships, the melancholia of birthdays, and the goodness of dogs. Mara Sherman directs a cast including Dannielle Hutchinson, Schuyler Atkins, Karen Lange, Aubri O’Connor, Erik Harrison, and Andy De. To April 14. Caos on F, 923 F St. NW. Tickets are $20. Call 202-215-6993 or visit www.nusass.com.

MARIINSKY BALLET: LE CORSAIRE

NATASHA RAZINA

The famed Russian company returns to the Kennedy Center with Marius Petipa’s swashbuckling adventure featuring bold pirates, passionate maidens, shocking betrayal, and a dramatic shipwreck rescue. Touted as “a crown jewel of the art form,” the Mariinsky Ballet dazzles with trademark attributes, including breathtaking choreography, virtuosic dancing, and spectacular scenery and costumes. Artistic director Valery Gergiev leads the ballet company with conductor Vladislav Karklin leading the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. Performances begin Tuesday, April 9. To Sunday, April 14. Opera House.

Tickets are $49 to $209. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

ELI CONLEY

BROOKE PORTER

Folk and roots music has been a lifelong passion and pursuit for this native of central Virginia, who identifies as an openly gay, transgender man. An earnest yet amiable artist, Conley’s music stands out by virtue of his forthright way of tackling queer themes and issues — with his self-released sophomore set Strong and Tender touching on everything from gender confusion and dysphoria to struggles with aging and financial matters.

And yet the music itself is pure homespun folk in the traditional singer-songwriter mold. The San Franciscobased artist straddles binaries beyond gender, such as notions associated with city vs. country and contemporary vs. traditional. He’s joined by Joel Price on mandolin, violin, and harmonies. Wednesday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m. Gypsy Sally’s Vinyl Lounge, 3401 K St. NW. Free. Call 202-333-7700 or visit www.gypsysallys.com.

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APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

Spotlight RAMEN SHOP

Called “a mouthwatering family drama,” Eric Khoo’s Ramen Shop relates a young man’s efforts to trace his family’s roots over bowls of soup and a shared love of good food. Takumi Saito plays an aspiring young ramen chef in Japan who embarks on a culinary journey to Singapore to meet his deceased Chinese mother’s family. Similar to Ang Lee’s 1994 Eat Drink Man Woman, Ramen Shop is filled with scenes of gorgeous food and dining as it becomes a sweet tale of reconciliation. Opens Friday, April 5. Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672 or visit www.landmarktheatres.com.

Hotbox: Inside Catering, the Food World’s Riskiest Business presents a vivid insider’s account of the vaguely understood world of high-end catering that covers a range of events and venues — from white-tented Hampton cookouts to industrial park galas — accompanied by lively profiles of the creative and resilient people who organize and staff them. Hotbox is the latest from the James Beard Award-winning authors of The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook. The Lees will be in conversation with Edward Lee (no relation), author of Buttermilk Graffiti and chef behind the Succotash restaurants in Penn Quarter and National Harbor. Wednesday, April 10, at 7 p.m. Politics & Prose at Union Market, 1270 5th St. NE. Call 202-544-4452 or visit www.politics-prose.com.

EV DAY

MATT AND TED LEE: HOTBOX

JESSE KITT

LIZZ WRIGHT

A blues-fired R&B singer with a countrified bent and gospel and jazz background, this New Yorker by way of Georgia sometimes powers her smoky contralto to its full-throttle extremes, but the point is never to showboat. Wright will knock you out with lyrical power, stun you with beautiful, elegantly crafted melodies, and shock you with vocal subtlety. Thursday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $39.50. Call 703-549-7500 or visit www.birchmere.com.

APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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Out On The Town

EYES WIDE SHUT

“Heeere’s Kubrick” is an annual celebration of the late, legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, with select films screening on Wednesdays at both area locations of the Angelika movie theater chain. The series continues with the director’s last directorial effort, having died six days after completing his final cut. Eyes Wide Shut was three decades in the making from the time Kubrick first obtained the rights to adapt Arthur Schnitzler’s Austrian novella, Dream Story. Written with Frederic Raphael, the 1999 screen adaptation stars Tom Cruise as a man who pursues a night of sexual adventure, culminating in a massive, masked orgy, in reaction to his wife (Nicole Kidman) revealing her past interest in a premarital affair. The provocative, sumptuous drama and its explorations of extramarital sexual desire, jealousy, and the fragility of the masculine ego is generally considered among Kubrick’s greatest cinematic achievements. Barry Lyndon and Lolita will follow in subsequent weeks. Wednesday, April 10, at 7 p.m. Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market, 550 Penn St. NE. Also Angelika at Mosaic, 2911 District Ave., Fairfax, Va. Tickets are $10.50 to $14.50. Call 571-512-3311 or visit www.angelikafilmcenter.com.

Compiled by Doug Rule

FILM PET SEMATARY

Stephen King’s 1983 novel about a cemetery with the power to reanimate the dead (with predictably horrific consequences) gets a second film treatment after 1989’s quirky but mediocre adaptation.

John Lithgow, Jason Clarke, and Amy Semeitz star as adults who really should know better when they start burying dead pets and people to bring them back to life.

Opens Friday, April 5. Area theaters. Visit www.fandango.com.

(Rhuaridh Marr)

THE BEST OF ENEMIES

The pretty incredible true-life tale of Ann Atwater, a civil rights activist, and C.P. Ellis, a Ku Klux Klan leader, who battled one another for ten years over various issues until, in 1971, they agreed to co-chair a

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series of meetings to tackle desegregation in the schools of Durham, North Carolina. What followed was a surprising friendship, which ultimately led to Ellis quitting the Klan.

Based on Osha Gray Davidson’s novel, writer-director Robin Bissell’s film stars Taraji P. Henson as Atwater and Sam Rockwell as Ellis. And if everything clicks, don’t be surprised to see this pop up again come awards season. Opens Friday, April 5. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com. (RM)

THE MALTESE FALCON

Capital Classics, the popular humpday film series at Landmark’s West End Cinema, present John Huston’s 1941 film noir classic, based on Dashiell Hammett’s novel.

Humphrey Bogart plays a detective investigating why a jewel-encrusted avian statute is so desirable and who will take the fall for his partner’s murder. With Peter Lorre, Syndey Greenstreet and

APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

Mary Astor. Wednesday, April 10, at 1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 p.m. 2301 M St. NW. Happy hour from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $12.50. Call 202534-1907 or visit www.landmarktheatres.com.

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW

Landmark's E Street Cinema presents its monthly run of Richard O’Brien’s camp classic, billed as the longest-running midnight movie in history. Landmark's showings come with a live shadow cast from the Sonic Transducers, meaning it's even more interactive than usual.

Friday, April 12, and Saturday, April 13, at midnight. Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call 202452-7672 or visit www.landmarktheatres.com.

STAGE DINNER WITH FRIENDS

A Pulitzer Prize-winning modern dramedy from Donald Margulies challenging everyday presumptions about the people we think we know is brought to life at Baltimore’s Everyman Theatre in a 20th-anniversary production helmed by founding artistic director Vincent M. Lancisi. In the deliciously funny, sharply observed Dinner with Friends, two couples find themselves grappling with questions of loyalty, individuality, and commitment over dinner as one wife drops the bomb that her husband wants out of their 12-year marriage. The four-person cast features Megan Anderson, Danny Gavigan, Beth Hylton and M. Scott McLean. To April 7. Everyman Theatre, 315 West Fayette St. Baltimore. Tickets are $43 to $65. Call 410-752-2208 or visit www.everymantheatre.org.

GRAND HOTEL THE MUSICAL

Dessner and Tuttle

MAPPLETHORPE MOVEMENTS

Bryce Dessner and Korde Tuttle conjure an evening of sights and sounds dedicated to the artistry of Robert Mapplethorpe.

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HE PIECE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ENCOUNTER MAPPLETHORPE'S WORK IN A theatrical setting,” says Bryce Dessner. “For me, there’s a beauty and a power of seeing those images in community and spending time with them. If it's in a gallery and you're kind of skirting around the room, you seek out the image that you want to spend time with and maybe skip others. This is just something more deliberate, where you really spend time with the images we've chosen.”

Dessner, frontman for the popular rock band The National (playing The Anthem on June 19), was the instigator and composer for Triptych (Eyes of One Another), a theatrical concert paying tribute to the works of the late Robert Mapplethorpe. The site-specific work, created for the Kennedy Center’s Direct Current series, will have its World Premiere this Saturday night, April 6. Dessner, 43, worked with 28-year-old writer Korde Arrington Tuttle, who shaped the libretto for the piece, incorporating verbiage from the works of Essex Hemphill and Patti Smith. The Grammy-winning ensemble Roomful of Teeth will perform the piece amid massive projections of Mapplethorpe’s works.

“It's an abstract piece,” admits Dessner on the phone from Paris. “It's not a narrative opera [with] a very clear storyline. The piece makes its way through different kinds of musical spaces,” including, at one point, Italian Madrigals.

The evening includes a segment dedicated to the 1990 obscenity trial, in which Cincinnati prosecutors aggressively went after the city’s Contemporary Art Center and its director for displaying certain Mapplethorpe works they deemed as pornographic. (The artist’s most provocative pieces have historically served as a lightning rod for conservative, anti-LGBTQ forces.) Dessner points out that while Triptych showcases a few explicit works (“We don't wanna do a Mapplethorpe concert and only show flowers”), the Mapplethorpe Foundation did not permit usage of seven key images from the Cincinnati trial. “They're very careful about when and how those images are shown,” Dessner says.

Tuttle, currently working on THEM: Covenant, a Lena Waithe-produced horror anthology for Amazon, notes that “the piece is an attempt at resurrecting Mapplethorpe's life and work through the lens of today, and through my unique and specific perspective. I experienced the archive as a kind of time capsule.... [Bryce has] asked me to perhaps look not where everyone else is looking in order to find the treasure.”

“It's not easy to make work inspired by another artist,” adds Dessner, “or to layer music within these images, but I hope that we've been able to do justice on some level. I can say with confidence that the production itself is a really beautiful way of seeing these images. People will [encounter] a lot of Mapplethorpe’s images that they won't know.” —Randy Shulman Triptych (Eyes of One Another) is Saturday, April 6, at 8 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $19 to $39. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

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APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

Eric Schaeffer directs one of his favorite musicals, a multiple Tonywinning work from 1989 with a book by Luther Davis and music and lyrics by Robert Wright, George Forrest, and Maury Yeston. Based on the 1929 novel by Vicki Baum that also spawned two World War II-era movies, Grand Hotel The Musical is set in a lavish hotel in Weimar Republic Berlin — and staged in such a way at Signature Theatre that audiences will feel like they are sitting in the hotel’s lobby.

A fading ballerina, a destitute baron, a wannabe starlet, and an ailing bookkeeper are just a handful of the many characters who come and go in the show, with Signature stars Bobby Smith and Natascia Diaz leading a large cast also featuring other Signature veterans including Nicki Elledge, Kevin McAllister, Crystal Mosser, and Lawrence Redmond. Jon Kalbfleisch leads the orchestra while Kelly Crandall D’Amboise helms the choreography. In previews. Opens Tuesday, April 9. Runs to May 19. MAX Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Call 703-820-9771 or visit www.sigtheatre.org.

HANDS ON A HARDBODY

Keegan Theatre presents the regional premiere of a recent Broadway show featuring music written by Phish’s Trey Anastasio and lyricist Amanda Green (Bring It On: The Musical), with a book by Doug Wright. Based on a real-life competition, captured in a 1997 documentary of the same name, Hands on a Hardbody focuses on ten Texans struggling to keep at least one hand on a brand-new truck in order to win it. Elena Velasco and Mark A. Rhea direct the Keegan production featuring a large, 19-member ensemble, with Jake Null directing an eight-piece pit orchestra.

To April 6. Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW. Tickets are $52 to $62. Call 202-265-3767 or visit www.keegantheatre.com.

INTO THE WOODS

HHHHH Somebody’s hauled a fabulous eightpiece orchestra into the enchanted forest of Ford’s Theatre’s production of Into the Woods, and the brilliant, Tony-winning score, conducted by music director William Yanesh, sounds great. The mostly sharp delivery of director Peter Flynn’s talented cast can keep the listener hanging on every word of Stephen Sondheim’s winding lines.

These are treacherous woods, less an idyll for peaceful strolls to grandma’s house than a fateful crossroads of change. Milagro Ponce de León’s forest set, rippling layers of flattish trees and vines, definitely carries through Sondheim and frequent book writer James Lapine’s image of the woods as a forebod-

Theatre Project, 45 West Preston St. Baltimore. Tickets are $15 to $25, except for a Pay-What-YouCan performance on Monday, April 8. Call 410-752-8558 or visit www. theatreproject.org.

TOPDOG/UNDERDOG

WSC Avant Bard presents the tragicomedy about two AfricanAmerican brothers-in-struggle that earned playwright Suzan-Lori Parks a Pulitzer Prize 17 years ago.

Jeremy Keith Hunter, a regular at Mosaic Theater, takes on the role of older brother Lincoln, a grifter-gone-straight, while Louis E. Davis, previously seen in Avant Bard’s King Lear, plays the younger brother Booth, seeking to become the greatest con man of all time.

DeMone Seraphin directs. To April 14. Gunston Arts Center, 2700 South Lang St. Arlington. Tickets are $40. Call 703-418-4804 or visit www.wscavantbard.org.

MUSIC CARLOS SIMON & SARA SOMMERER SYDNEY FRANKLIN & ADAM O’FARRILL

INTO THE LIGHT

The Choral Art Society of Washington and its Choral Arts Youth Choir have teamed up with the New Orchestra of Washington and its ensemble in residence the Aeolus Quartet to expand the limits of classical music by offering a new, interactive, and immersive experience. Directed by Jay D. Brock, Into The Light will make use of the shimmering acoustics and the entire subterranean space of the Dupont Underground, the former belowground streetcar station that is particularly apt for the performance of Steve Reich’s Different Trains, a three-movement piece inspired by Reich’s train travel while living as a young American Jew during the time of the Holocaust. The performers will begin on one end of the space and gradually move toward the other, emphasizing the transition from darkness into light — simultaneously enhanced with lighting effects and projections by designer JD Madsen. There will also be movable barriers used to guide the audience through the space. Works by Hildegard von Bingen, Gregorio Allegri, Samuel Barber, Ben Parry, Sarah Hopkins, and Knut Nystedt will also be performed, along with The Moon and Her Maidens, a new piece by Choral Arts’ Scott Tucker inspired by the acoustics of the venue and paired with R. Murray Schafer’s Epitaph for Moonlight. Friday, April 5, and Saturday, April 6, at 8 p.m. 1500 19th St. NW. Tickets are $20. Call 202-244-3669 or visit www.dupontunderground.org.

ing place and time, a field of dark unknowing. Flynn and company do a marvelous job delineating every major and minor character in this vast storybook population of kings, commoners, cows and chickens — as derived from fairy tales — even with some actors performing several roles. Flynn’s absorbing staging marches with gusto into the second act, which examines, or pokes holes in, the contentment that comes after Happily Ever After. But the show hits a few roadblocks. The pace slackens, and the fire wanes, until a hardy finish. As a whole, Ford’s production beautifully con-

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veys the weight and lightness of Sondheim and Lapine’s journey into the woods, where characters forced to coerce, deceive, or steal from strangers can find whatever they believe might bring them happiness. To May 22. 511 10th St. NW. Tickets are $20 to $83. Call 888616-0270 or visit www.fords.org.

(André Hereford)

PANTHEON

Happenstance Theater, the Helen Hayes Award-winning devised theater troupe, is now delving into ancient Greek mythology for its latest work. Set in the 1940s,

APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

Pantheon revolves around a chorus of factory workers brought to life by Happenstance’s married co-founders Mark Jaster and Sabrina Mandell along with Gwen Grastorf, Sarah Olmsted Thomas, and Alex Vernon, and Craig Jaster providing a live musical score. “With an ample smattering of amusement,” reads the company’s synopsis of what transpires, “the performers invoke the Muses, offer Sacrifice, suffer Hubris, consult Oracles, and meet Fate as they portray an array of mortals and Gods whose flaws reflect their own.” Opens Thursday, April 4. Runs to April 14. Baltimore

The music industry’s ASCAP Foundation teams up with the Kennedy Center to present four new and “rising star” composer/ songwriters via two free showcases.

First up, Wednesday, April 10, at 6 p.m., are performances by Carlos Simon, who has served as music director for Jennifer Holliday and is a former Sundance Institute Composer Fellow whose recent works have honored victims of police violence as well as examined figures and moments from the past. Jared Bailey, Joshua Cameron, and Danny Henderson will perform with Simon, who will share his showcase with Sara Sommerer, a budding songwriter from Kansas City who won the 2018 ASCAP Expo Factor judged by Jason Mraz and will perform alongside Josh Bailey, Drew X Coles, and Peter Wise. The next evening, Friday, April 11, brings new R&B/ soul artist and five-octave chanteuse Sydney Franklin, accompanied by Markelle Abraham, Frankey Grayton, Branden Jacobs, and Brendan Mills, and Adam O’Farrill, a trumpeter/composer carrying on his substantial Latin jazz lineage and will perform with his brother Zach along with Xavier Del Castillo and Walter Stinson, members of his band Stranger Days. Millennium Stage. Free. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

CHUCHO VALDÉS

The Afro-Cuban jazz icon and towering virtuosic pianist Jesús “Chucho” Valdés comes to Sixth and I for an intimate performance presented by Washington Performing Arts. When this multi-Grammy and

multi-Latin Grammy winner tickles the ivories, the result, per the New York Times, is “great hydraulic fountains of notes, each drop sparkling as it falls.” Saturday, April 6, at 8 p.m. 600 I St. NW. Tickets are $45. Call 202-408-3100 or visit www.sixthandi.org.

DREAMERS’ CIRCUS

Scandinavian folk music blended with elements from classical music and other world music traditions is the stock in trade of this Danish acoustic trio. Violinist Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen — also a member of the acclaimed Danish String Quartet — string instrumentalist Ale Carr, and pianist/accordion player Nikolaj Busk got their start together jamming after-hours in a pub and have gone on to perform with Sarah Jarosz and the Copenhagen Philharmonic and at the celebrated Roskilde Festival. Wednesday, April 10, at 8 p.m. Sixth & I Historic Synagogue. 600 I St. NW. Tickets are $25. Call 202-408-3100 or visit www.sixthandi.org.

WASHINGTON CONCERT OPERA: ZELMIRA

Gioachino Rossini’s stunning Zelmira, the last of his “Neapolitan Operas” never before presented on the East Coast, comes to vivid life in a production with Rossini specialist Lawrence Brownlee, one of the world’s leading bel canto tenors. Brownlee plays the husband of the title character, portrayed by celebrated Spanish mezzo-soprano Silvia Tro Santafe, in this season-closing production. Friday, April 5, at 7 p.m. GW Lisner, The George Washington University, 730 21st St. NW. Tickets are $40 to $110.

Call 202-994-6851 or visit www. concertopera.org.

DANCE KISTA TUCKER INSIGHTS: THE FACTORY PROJECT, PITTED POST, WY

The Chantilly, Va.-based Kista Tucker Insights comes to Dance Place to perform two new works, foremost among these a yearsin-the-making epic The Factory Project. This story-based piece explores the kind of community that exists within the confines — among the employees — of a factory, and features a score by composing multi-instrumentalist Christian Cherry, also a noted dance professor. The second work, Pitted Post, WY, features KTI dancers striving to elicit the essence of rural Wyoming, from the gently sloping and wide-open landscape, to “the critters (in the air and on the ground).” The aim, here as with other KTI productions, is to provide a naturalistic, “transformative experience,” akin to “watching a piece of art or painting come to life.”

Saturday, April 13, at 8 p.m, and

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Sunday, April 14, at 2 p.m. Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Theater, 3225 8th St. NE. Tickets are $20 to $25.

Call 202-269-1600 or visit www. danceplace.org.

DIMENSIONS CONTEMPORARY DANCE FESTIVAL SHOWCASE

Presented as part of the NextLOOK Series by the University of Maryland’s The Clarice in partnership with Joe’s Movement Emporium, the choreographer Tariq Darrell O’Meally is joined

by Ronya-Lee Anderson, Candace Scarborough, Krystal Collins, and Jamal Abrams, plus the UNUM Dance Collective. All will take part in this week-long festival for area artists of color culminating in two showcase performances. Thursday, April 4, and Friday, April 5, at 7 p.m. 3309 Bunker Hill Road, Mount Rainier, Md. Tickets are $5 to $25 plus fees. Call 301-699-1819 or visit www.joesmovement.org.

NEW YORK CITY BALLET: 2 PROGRAMS

This year’s annual engagement at the Kennedy Center offers two different programs, both performed with live accompaniment by the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. “New Works & New Productions,” performed Thursday, April 4, through Saturday, April 6, is a program as varied as it is new, juxtaposing the kind of classically minded works you would expect — Easy, a Leonard Bernstein-based dance from the company’s resident choreographer Justin Peck — with others straying far beyond traditional ballet — such as the aptly titled The Runaway, an imaginative work by Kyle Abraham incorporating modern movement as well as modern sounds — most notably with tracks by hip-hop artists Jay-Z and Kanye West. The program also continues the centennial celebration of the late, legendary Jerome Robbins, recognized as the company’s co-founding choreographer alongside George Balanchine, by presenting two pieces that are nearly as varied as those previously mentioned: In The Night, a romantic ballet set to Frédéric Chopin’s elegant nocturnes, and the high-energy revue Something to Dance About featuring excerpts of dance sequences from nine musicals choreographed by Robbins, including West Side Story, Peter Pan, Fiddler On The Roof, and Gypsy.

On Sunday, April 7, the company presents “Balanchine, Robbins & Reisen,” a program celebrating a promising artist of today — namely 18-year-old choreographer Gianna Reisen, via a performance of her debut ballet Composer’s Holiday, set to Lukas Foss’s Three American Pieces — with two modern dance masters, including another Robbins’ piece, Opus 19/The Dreamer, a tale about the search for an elusive soul-

APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

mate propelled by Sergei Prokofiev’s feverish Violin Concerto No. 1. The program is rounded out with two very different works by Balanchine: Kammermusik No. 2, a stylized piece set to Paul Hindemith’s modernist score, and Symphony in C, his inspiring, grand classical masterpiece in which over 50 dancers perform to Georges Bizet’s dazzling score. Opera House. Tickets are $29 to $99. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

THE WASHINGTON BALLET: THREE WORLD PREMIERES

Reaffirming the organization’s commitment to the creative process and original masterworks that define the future of the genre, the Washington Ballet presents its annual program of exclusively commissioned works by emerging and globally acclaimed choreographers.

This year’s program features three never-before-seen works, including Wood Work, a story ballet exploring the relationships of a small Nordic village community by American Ballet Theatre star Ethan Stiefel that is set to music by the Danish String Quartet, which will be performed live, and Shadow Lands by former San Francisco Ballet soloist Dana Genshaft, set to Omnivorous Furniture by Mason Bates, a work that showcases ballet technique and plays with angles, momentum, and abstract movement to show that when broken pieces come together, the whole is better and stronger than when apart. The most anticipated piece is Teeming Waltzes by renowned choreographer Trey McIntyre, touted as taking Strauss’ waltz music to another level, a piece that uses ball pits, bubbles, and other geometric shapes that come from a circle “to show that a shape can break a line in another way.” Remaining performances are Thursday, April 4, through Saturday, April 6, at 7:30 p.m. Also Saturday, April 6, and Sunday, April 7, at 1:30 p.m. Sidney Harman Hall, Harman Center for the Arts, 610 F St. NW. Tickets are $25 to $100.

Call 202-362-3606 or visit www. washingtonballet.org.

COMEDY DC COMEDY FESTIVAL

Intended in part to shine a light on D.C.’s burgeoning comedy scene, including work in improv and sketch comedy, this five-day festival expands in its second year to present more events — nearly 20 — at more venues, most of which now offer comedy shows on a regular basis year-round, including the just-opened, gay-owned Red Bear Brewing Company, Wonderland Ballroom, Ivy City Smokehouse, and the Dew Drop Inn, among others. The festival kicks off on Tuesday, April 9, at 7:30 p.m. at the Dupont Underground, with a

DC Opening Ceremony Showcase hosted by Franqi French and featuring 11 comedians, including Tony Woods, Fernando Madrigal, Elizabeth Norman, and Anthony Oakes.

Other highlights include: A special round of the “Hot Beef” happy hour humor show held every Tuesday at Desperados Burgers & Bar on U Street, on April 9, at 6:30 p.m., featuring seven comedians including Tristin Sims, Ryan Nesser, and Bunny Themelis; an Estrogenius Showcase featuring seven female comedians led by French, Kandace Saunders, and Woo Woo, on Wednesday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m., at Red Bear; a stand-up show with actor Alice Wetterlund from HBO’s Silicon Valley on Thursday April 11, at 7:30 p.m., at Drafthouse Comedy; a show headlined by Alex Scott and Omar Terrill along with eight local comedians, on Friday, April 12, at 11 p.m., at Drafthouse; a show by D.C. native Tony Woods, an original member of Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam as well as a Comedy Central staple, on Saturday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m., at the 14th Street Busboys & Poets; and “Jordan Carlos and Friends,” featuring a headliner known from MTV’s Girl Code and Guy Code as well as Samantha Bee’s Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, joined by Carmen Lynch, Ray Devito, and Reese Walters, on Saturday, April 13, at 8 p.m., at the Miracle Theatre. Ticket prices vary, with many events free. Visit www. dccomedyfestival.com for more details and the full lineup.

READINGS & DISCUSSIONS KRISTEN HUNTER, HALEY RIVERO

“Mid-Century Fashion and First Ladies: From Ready-to-Wear to Haute Couture” is the full title to the latest issue, No. 52, of the White House History Quarterly, published by the privately funded nonprofit the White House Historical Association. Highlighting the fashions of First Ladies from Eleanor Roosevelt to Betty Ford, the publication includes the chapters “The Mamie Look: The Americanness of First Lady Mamie Eisenhower’s Off-the-Rack Fashions” written

by Hunter, and “The Jackie Look: Oleg Cassini and the Creation of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s Signature Style” by Rivero. The two writers will discuss and sign copies of the journal, which will be available for purchase along with the Official 2019 White House Easter Eggs and other new gift items.

Friday, April 12, at noon. White House History Shop, 1610 H St. NW. Free and open to the public.

Call 800-555-2451 or visit www.

shop.whitehousehistory.org.

STORY DISTRICT: FAKE IT ’TIL YOU MAKE IT

LISA DONATO

A pre-selected and rehearsed group of nine locals will share original true tales, all under seven-minutes and centered on the theme of “Stories about Trying to be Something You’re Not.” Expect a mix of hilarious and heartwarming, light and heavy, at this monthly second-Tuesdays showcase from D.C.’s leading storytelling outfit. The show is hosted by Vijai Nathan and will feature Miriam Berg, Zuzana Cepla, Colleen Delany, Laura Feiveson, Mike Kane, John La Rue, Daniel Pedowitz, Antwan Perry, and Adam Stanzione. Tuesday, April 9. Doors at 6:30 p.m. Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20. Call 202-6674490 or visit www.blackcatdc.com.

ART & EXHIBITS HILLWOOD’S FABERGÉ EGG FESTIVAL

The former estate of Marjorie Merriweather Post hosts an annual two-day festival in which guests can take part in a traditional Russian egg-rolling game, decorate their own Fabergé-inspired egg, take in performances from the Samovar Russian Folk Music Ensemble and Kalinka Dance Ensemble, and listen to stories of Russian Easter traditions in a fun family play produced

by Happenstance Theater. All that in addition to admiring all of the finer things Post collected, including many exquisite Russian imperial eggs and other fanciful Fabergé creations. You can also take a tour of Hillwood’s working greenhouse most days. Saturday, April 6, and Sunday, April 7, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hillwood Estate, 4155 Linnean Ave. NW. Suggested donation is $18. Call 202-686-5807 or visit HillwoodMuseum.org.

MICHELLE PETERSONALBANDOZ: NEW WORK

One of the most popular artists regularly presented by LGBTQrun Long View Gallery, this Chicago-based lesbian artist creates large, hanging-wood sculptures made from reclaimed wood, often found in dumpsters and back alleys in revitalizing urban neighborhoods. Opening Reception is Thursday, April 11, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Runs to May 26. 1234 9th St. NW. Call 202-232-4788 or visit longviewgallery.com.

ORCHIDS: AMAZING ADAPTATIONS

Right now, the Smithsonian Gardens offers an attractive alternative to Washington’s cherry blossom madness with the 24th annual orchid show. And unlike those fickle, fleeting cherry trees, you don’t have to wait for, or make last-minute arrangements to see,

TEXAS ROSE

Gina Chavez revels in sharing her outside-the-box life and music everywhere, but especially off the beaten path.

Y

OU MIGHT CALL SINGER-SONGWRITER GINA CHAVEZ A MISSIONARY for intersectionality. “I like to talk to audiences and tell them where this music is coming from, and tell them about my story,” she says. “I want people in the audience to know you don't always have to fit into a box. People hear I’m a practicing Catholic and married lesbian: ‘Well how does that work?’”

Chavez met her wife 12 years ago at the University Catholic Center at the University of Texas at Austin. The two tied the knot in 2017. “I feel really fortunate that we are able to make that work,” she says. “I think a lot of people in the LGBTQIA community feel like they can't explore their faith or be Christian or whatever. So part of me getting on stage is just sharing my story in hopes that others feel comfortable to share their own, too. And really live out who they are instead of trying to fit some mold.”

The Catholic Church hasn’t made things easy with its anti-LGBTQ stances, but that doesn’t dissuade Chavez. “I think if you want to be a change in your community, you have to still be in the community,” she says. “We're both baptized Christians and have as much claim to the church as Pope Francis does. People might think, ‘Oh, you can't be a member of this community if you do X, Y and Z,’ and it's just not true.”

Chavez, who describes herself as “half-Mexican, half-Swiss German, and fully Texan,” touches on issues related to her faith, religion, and love in her folk-pop songs, which she performs live accompanied by a five-piece band of fellow Austin-based musicians. “We definitely like to take audiences on a journey. I sing in English and Spanish, and we do everything from introspective indie band, to a Latin dance band.”

The musician has been particularly pleased with the reception she’s gotten while “in places that are a little off-the-beaten path,” or “that don't necessarily get a wide variety of music styles or different types of people on stage.” Recently in “super tiny” Scottsbluff, Nebraska, for example, she heard: “‘Thank you for having the courage to get up there and speak about something that we don't ever talk about.’ Her key takeaway: “There's a hunger for more of that.”

She adds, “Our whole world is a beautiful, gray mess. It's not black and white.

Nothing is. There's always another way to look at things.” —Doug Rule Gina Chavez performs Sunday, April 7, at 8 p.m., at Amp by Strathmore, 11810 Grand Park Ave., in North Bethesda. Tickets are $25 to $30. Call 301-581-5100 or visit www.ampbystrathmore.com.

APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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the hundreds of orchids in brilliant bloom as part this joint collaboration with the U.S. Botanic Garden.

From now through the end of April you can see the stunning variety of orchids filling eight large marble planters in the Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard, nestled between the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery in the former Old Patent Office Building complex. For optimal viewing, officials recommend you visit either as soon as the courtyard opens at 11:30 a.m., in hopes of catching the whiff that orchids give off to attract pollinators in the morning, or in the hour or two before it closes at 7 p.m., when there should be fewer people and more chances of catching an orchid bloom popping open. To April 28.

8th and G Streets NW. Free. Call 202-633-2220 or visit www.gardens.si.edu.

SAKURA ORIHON: DIARY OF A CHERRY BLOSSOM JOURNEY

Landscape architect Ron Henderson kept detailed notes of his pilgrimages to visit famous old cherry trees in Japan, including horticultural practices — pruning techniques and root grafting, for example — that are extending the lives of the trees. And he captured it all in folding sketchbooks, or orihon, that celebrate cherry blossom culture in Japan and are now on display at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, part of the U.S. National Arboretum. To April 7.

The Special Exhibits Wing 3501 New York Ave. NE. Call 202- 2454523 or visit www.usna.usda.gov.

TODD G. FRANSON

A few memorable photos that you may remember from covers of this very magazine — Jim Graham as Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra, say, or the infamous Leather Kewpie for MAL — will be on display as part of the latest exhibition at the DC Center for the LGBT Community, all from Franson, Metro Weekly’s central portrait photographer for most of the past 23 years as well as the magazine’s longest-serving Art Director. Yet the focus is on artworks the professional photographer and graphic designer has created for other projects and pursuits, all of which are available for sale. The exhibition goes as far back as Franson’s days as a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design, with four stylized gloves from the series Wear & Tear: Inspired by Irving Penn, newly reborn and printed on aluminum.

A more recent passion of Franson’s has been capturing artistic shots of foliage, blooms, and landscapes at the National Arboretum. And then there are the dazzling and quirky photographs that come closest to conveying Franson’s personal sensibility — perhaps none more so

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than Dancing Bear, a vividly colored image of a bustling amusement park at dusk foregrounded by a giantsized teddy bear wearing a propeller beanie. Ongoing. The Center Arts Gallery, 2000 14th St. NW. Call 202-682-2245 or visit www. thedccenter.org.

ABOVE & BEYOND DIRECT CURRENT: A CELEBRATION OF CONTEMPORARY ART

The Kennedy Center presents its second annual, two-week, citywide celebration of contemporary art and culture — with a focus on new works, interdisciplinary creations in which artistic worlds collide, and on innovative responses to topical concerns. The result is a lineup with some of the most provocative, original, and pioneering voices in the arts today.

Remaining highlights include:

PHANTOM LIMB COMPANY’S FALLING OUT (see separate entry under Dance); TANYA TAGAQ, an

Inuit throat singing electronica/ metal/punk artist, on Friday, April 5; HENRY THREADGILL, a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and saxophonist/flautist, who will showcase his avant-garde musical innovations with his ensemble, on Friday, April 5; the VIJAY IYER SEXTET, led by the MacArthur Award-winning keyboardist/composer, performing selections from Far From Over, named among 2017’s best jazz recordings by several leading publications, on Saturday, April 6;

BRUCE DESSNER’S TRIPTYCH (EYES OF ONE ON ANOTHER) (see Sidebar on page XX); DU YUN W/ OK MISS, an “indie pop diva” per the New York Times who takes the stage with her experimental band for excerpts from her musical Dim Sum Warriors, on Saturday, April 6; BROWNOUT, “The Keepers of Latin Funk,” a nine-piece ensemble from Austin, on Sunday, April 7; and

BROOKLYN RIDER AND MAGOS HERRERA, the famed string quartet and acclaimed jazz singer paired up for the genre-blurring, series-closing concert “Dreamers,” featuring reinterpretations of classic songs from throughout Latin America and Spain. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

NATIONAL CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL

Blink and you’ll miss the Tidal Basin at its pink-hued blossom peak, which is occurring right now! Yet the official four-week festival goes on before and carries on well after all the blooms are gone. There are two signature events remaining: PETALPALOOOZA, an afternoon

APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

of live music on multiple outdoor stages plus a beer garden and a fireworks display, in Southwest’s Wharf complex, Saturday, April 6, from noon to 9:30 p.m.; and the

NATIONAL CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL PARADE, a star-stud-

ded processional of giant balloons, elaborate floats, marching bands, and celebrity entertainers this year led by Grand Marshal Anthony Anderson of ABC’s black-ish, and featuring Miss America Nia Franklin, ‘90s dance/club singer CeCe Peniston, plus several finalists from TV singing competitions, on Saturday, April 13, from 10 a.m. to noon, Constitution Avenue between 7th and 17th Streets NW. Additional highlights among the many featured and affiliated events taking place this weekend and next week, all free unless noted otherwise, include: the BLOSSOM BASH, iHeartRadio’s concert headlined this year by Capital Pride veteran Meghan Trainor with Max and Jake Miller, on Friday, April 5, at the Anthem, 901 Wharf St. NW (tickets are $37.50 to $95); the JAPANESE JAZZ SERIES with one-night-only performances by the Rina Yamazaki Trio on Monday, April 8, and Yuko Mabuchi Trio on Monday, April 15, at Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW (tickets are $22 plus fees per performance); the CHERRY BLOSSOM

10 MILE RUN AND 5K RUNWALK, on Sunday, April 7, from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. on the grounds of the Washington Monument; a

JAPANESE KIMONO FASHION SHOW, featuring traditional and

modern kimonos as well as kimono-inspired dresses, Thursday, April 11, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at the Freer Sackler Gallery of Art’s Meyer Auditorium, 12th Street and Independence Avenue NW;

CHERRY BLOSSOM YOGA AND SUNSET CELEBRATION, a yoga

and dance party experience presented by the DowntownDC BID, Thursday, April 11, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., on Freedom Plaza, 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW; the 27th Annual NATIONAL JAPAN BOWL, an academic competition for U.S. high school students studying Japanese language as well as history, culture, and society, on Friday, April 12, from 2 to 4 p.m., at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center, 7100 Connecticut Ave., in Chevy Chase, Md.; NEWSEUM NIGHTS: IN BLOOM, an evening of Japanese sights, sounds, and tastes from Wolfgang Puck’s The Source, plus all-night open beer and wine bar, and access to current exhibitions, Friday, April 12, from 8 to 10:30 p.m., 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. (tickets are $50 to $65); and THE SAKURA MATSURI JAPANESE STREET FESTIVAL, the largest one-day celebration of Japanese culture in the U.S., with

performances on four stages, plus arts vendors and food booths, all presented by the Japan-America Society of Washington DC, on Saturday, April 13, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Pennsylvania Avenue between 3rd and 7th Streets NW (tickets are $10 to $50). Visit www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org for more information and additional events.

SHAKESPEARE'S BIRTHDAY OPEN HOUSE

The Folger Shakespeare Library goes all out with its annual birthday celebration of the bard in a way that might be best described as Shakespearean. “You could learn to fight like Hamlet, dance like Romeo, eat some empanadas or some BBQ, [then] take a garden or a paintings tour,” the Folger’s Garland Scott told Metro Weekly last year. You could even hit the stage for “spontaneous Shakespeare” recitations.

“I’ve seen people come in with dogeared copies of their favorite play,” she says. “I think the opportunity to speak Shakespeare from the Folger stage is a powerful one that means a lot to people.” The Open House features free performances and activities for all ages. Jugglers and jesters join other theatrical performers and musicians in celebrating the bard's big day, which culminates in a cake-cutting ceremony at 4 p.m. by an actor dressed as Queen Elizabeth I. Celebrants can also stroll around the building — including perusing the new temporary exhibition A Monument to Shakespeare, which will open the day before — as well as the Elizabethan garden. There will also be a smattering of food trucks on site. Sunday, April 14, from noon to 5 p.m. Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol St. SE. Free. Call 202-544-7077 or visit folger.edu.

URBANARIAS: OPERA IMPROV TURKEY

WITH

JIVE

Acclaimed local contemporary opera company UrbanArias presents another installment in its novel gimmicky series adapted from the world of comedy in which professional opera singers perform mini-operas they create on the spot per audience suggestions, assisted by a professional pianist. And local comedy improv group Jive Turkey joins the company for both the April and May iterations in the series, for a cast including Melissa Wimbish, Britt Olsen-Ecker, Ian McEuen, Jeffrey Gates, Joe Randazzo, and Chris Ulrich. Sunday, April 7, at 5:30 p.m. Busboys & Poets, 4251 South Campbell Ave. in Arlington.

Tickets are $15. Call 703-379-9757 or visit www.urbanarias.org. l

theFeed

CHI-TOWN CHANGEMAKER

Lori Lightfoot wins Chicago mayoral election, becoming the highest-ranking LGBTQ mayor in history. By John Riley

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LORI LIGHTFOOT - FACEBOOK

ORI LIGHTFOOT, AN OUT LESBIAN LAWyer, defeated Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle in a massive wipeout on Tuesday, winning 74 percent of the vote at the time the election was called.

With her victory, Lightfoot becomes the highest-ranking LGBTQ mayor in American history and the only black lesbian mayor serving anywhere in the nation. She also becomes Chicago’s first black female mayor in history.

Lightfoot celebrated the history-making nature of her win in her victory speech, and noted the impact it will have on LGBTQ children and children of color.

“Out there tonight a lot of little girls and boys are watching us. And they’re seeing the beginning of something, well, a little bit different,” she said. “They’re seeing a city reborn. In the Chicago we will build together, we will celebrate our differences. We will embrace our uniqueness. And we will make certain that we all have every opportunity to succeed.”

She continued: “Every child out there should know this: Each of you, one day, can be the Mayor of Chicago.”

Just two lesbian women have ever served as mayors of a top 100 city — former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, who now runs the LGBTQ Victory Fund, and current Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan.

The LGBTQ Victory Fund previously endorsed Lightfoot in December 2018, at a time when many questioned her via-

bility in a crowded field with 13 other opponents. She went on to claim the top spot in the Feb. 26 primary election.

“A black lesbian taking power in the nation’s third-largest city is a historic moment for so many communities that are too often ignored in American politics,” Parker said in a statement. “Chicago’s enormous influence on the national dialogue provides a platform for Lori to promote more inclusive solutions to the challenges facing our cities and nation — and to be a credible messenger as well.

“Lori will certainly remain focused on the issues facing Chicago,” added Parker. “But as the highest-ranking LGBTQ person ever elected mayor of an American city — a title she takes from me — she is also now a key leader in the movement to build LGBTQ political power nationwide.”

Lightfoot is one of four out lesbians seeking major political office this month. Also on Tuesday, Satya Rhodes-Conway defeated incumbent Paul Soglin by a 62%-38% margin to become the next mayor of Madison, Wis. In Kansas City, mayoral candidate Jolie Justus qualified as the top vote-getter for a June 18 runoff election. She will face Quinton Lucas in the general election. On April 23, lesbian mayoral candidate Jane Castor will compete in a runoff election that will determine the next mayor of Tampa, Fla. If Justus and Castor get elected, the number of out lesbians to have served as mayors of top 100 cities will triple, from two to six. l

SWIPE RIGHT

Presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg met his husband Chasten on a dating app. By Rhuaridh Marr

E

VER THE MILLENNIAL CANDIDATE, MAYOR Pete Buttigieg has revealed that he met his husband Chasten on a dating app.

Buttigieg, currently a rising star among the Democratic hopefuls for the 2020 nomination, discussed how he met Chasten during an interview with CNN’s Van Jones. But it wasn’t Grindr or Scruff that brought the men together, it was Hinge, a dating app that describes itself as being for those who “want to get off dating apps.”

“I met him through this app called Hinge,” Buttigieg told

Jones. “As soon as I saw his picture, I saw something in his eyes. I said ‘I gotta meet this guy.’ And then I did.”

Buttigieg said it was Chasten’s “really quick wit” that attracted him, and called their relationship akin to a marathon.

“I was trying to keep up with him, and what I found was that I’m still trying to keep up with him in a lot of ways,” Buttigieg said.

Of being a political spouse, Buttigieg said that his husband, a teacher and theater education advocate, is “pretty good at rolling with it.” He continued: “I’m lucky for that.

APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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theFeed Frankly, he’s one of the best things I’ve got going for me. I love him. He’s grounded. He keeps me grounded.”

Buttigieg likened Chasten’s attitude to the 2020 campaign to his verve during Buttigieg’s run for Mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

“He was really alive to the ways that we could use our abilities to help people, to make people feel better just by showing up at their event,” Pete says. “He’s taken that same attitude on the trail. He definitely got more than he bargained for.”

Buttigieg revealed this week that his campaign has raised more than $7 million in the first quarter of 2019, calling it a “big number for us.”

“We are not part of the national political machine,” he wrote in an email to supporters. “We started with just about

20,000 people on our email list, and not many people even knew who I was.”

Buttigieg has also surged to third place behind former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in a recent poll of Iowa primary voters.

And last month, the candidate waded into the Chickfil-A anti-LGBTQ controversy by saying that he does “not approve of their politics, but I kind of approve of their chicken.” After news broke that Chick-fil-A is still donating millions of dollars to anti-LGBTQ organizations, Buttigieg said that he wants to act as a peacemaker between the fast food chain and the LGBTQ community.

“Maybe, if nothing else, I can build that bridge,” Buttigieg told New York radio show The Breakfast Club. “Maybe I’ll become in a position to broker that peace deal.” l

DAVID’S DOWNFALL

Arizona Republican resigns after reports he was arrested for soliciting sex from underage boys. By Rhuaridh Marr

A

REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER IN ARIZONA abruptly resigned last week after he was confronted with a report that he was once arrested for allegedly having sex with underage boys.

Former State Rep. David Stringer (R-Prescott) was embroiled in an ethics investigation after The Phoenix New Times reported in January that he had been charged with sex crimes in Maryland in 1983. Stringer was accused of multiple sex offences, including child pornography, according to the report.

The House of Representatives released a Baltimore police report on Friday which showed that Stringer had also been accused of having sex with two teenage boys.

Stringer was reportedly arrested in September 1983 after two boys, both under the age of 15 and one with a developmental disability, said they were approached by him in a park and asked to have sex with him in his apartment.

The report claims that Stringer paid the boys $10 each after having oral sex.

One of the boys told police that he subsequently visited Stringer at least ten more times to have oral and penetrative sex with him.

“He said that each time he has been asked to perform acts of fellatio and sodomy with David Stringer,” according to the report. Stringer was in his mid-30s at the time of the accusation.

Writing on Facebook, Stringer claimed the police report had “no basis in fact.” He added: “What I will say is that the charges I faced in 1983 are as false today as they were 35 years ago.”

However, The Arizona Republic reported that Stringer accepted a plea of “probation before judgment,” a sentence that clears a person’s charges after they have completed probation.

According to court records, Stringer was sentenced to five years probation on three charges, and also told to attend

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APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

a treatment clinic that was reportedly for sex offenders.

Stringer said he was forced to resign from his seat after House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R-Mesa) confronted him with the police report, which was obtained by a private investigator on behalf of the House Ethics Committee.

Bowers released a statement calling Stringer’s behavior “absolutely appalling and sickening,” and on Friday said that he had “confronted Mr. Stringer with the information on Wednesday afternoon and again asked him to resign, which he finally did.”

While Stringer accused his Republican colleagues of “forcing me from office” and called their actions “deeply and shamefully offensive to free elections and democratic governance,” State Rep. Kelly Townsend (R-Mesa) — who filed one of two bipartisan complaints against Stringer with the Ethics Committee — told the New York Times that she wanted to give Stringer a chance to defend himself against the report.

“I was hoping he’d be able to establish his innocence,” she said. “I was hoping he’d be able to open the records and show us. And that didn’t happen.”

Townsend added: “This is a situation that just cannot be overlooked.”

Stringer’s resignation comes after he faced calls in December to step down over comments he made about black people and immigrants. During a conversation with students at Arizona State University, Stringer said that black people “don’t blend in” like European immigrants to America and “always look different.”

Stringer said that “diversity is relatively new” in America, and that while European immigrants assimilate, “that’s not the case with African-Americans or other racial groups because they don’t melt in.”

Stringer refused to resign, despite multiple calls from members of his own party to do so, and a vote by the Prescott City Council urging him to step down.l

Community THURSDAY, April 4

Weekly Events ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH

offers free HIV testing and HIV services (by appointment). 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Decatur Center, 1400 Decatur St. NW. To arrange an appointment, call 202-291-4707, or visit www.andromedatransculturalhealth.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB practice

session at Takoma Aquatic Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 300 Van Buren St. NW. For more information, visit www.swimdcac.org.

DC FRONT RUNNERS run-

ning/walking/social club welcomes runners of all ability levels for exercise in a fun and supportive environment, with socializing afterwards. Route distances vary. For meeting places and more information, visit www.dcfrontrunners.org.

DC LAMBDA SQUARES, D.C.’s

LGBTQ square-dancing group, features an opportunity to learn about and practice various forms of modern square dancing. No partner required. Please dress casually. 7:30-9:30 p.m.

National City Christian Church, 5 Thomas Circle NW. For more info, call 202-930-1058 or visit www.dclambdasquares.org.

DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds

practice. The team is always looking for new members.

All welcome. 7-9 p.m. Harry Thomas Recreation Center, 1743 Lincoln Rd. NE. For more information, visit www. scandalsrfc.org or dcscandals@ gmail.com.

THE DULLES TRIANGLES

Northern Virginia social group meets for happy hour at Sheraton in Reston. All welcome. 7-9 p.m. 11810 Sunrise Valley Drive, second-floor bar.

For more information, visit www.dullestriangles.com.

HIV TESTING at Whitman-

Walker Health. 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 2:30-5 p.m. at 1525 14th St. NW, and 9 a.m-12 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. at the Max Robinson Center, 2301 MLK Jr. Ave. SE. For an appointment, call 202-745-7000 or visit www.whitman-walker.org.

Suite 210, Alexandria, Va., offers $30 “rapid” HIV testing and counseling by appointment only. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Must schedule special appointment if seeking testing after 2 p.m. Call 703-823-4401.

WARD MORRISON / FILE PHOTO

The DC Center holds a meeting of its ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER QUEER SUPPORT GROUP. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www.thedccenter.org.

KARING WITH INDIVIDUALITY (K.I.) SERVICES, 20 S. Quaker Lane,

METROHEALTH CENTER

offers free, rapid HIV testing.

Appointment needed. 1012 14th St. NW, Suite 700. To arrange an appointment, call 202-849-8029.

Minor (center)

ATHLETIC HONORS Team DC’s annual awards dinner honors student-athletes and other leaders within D.C.’s LGBTQ sports community.

STI TESTING at Whitman-

Walker Health. 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 2-3 p.m. at both 1525 14th St. NW and the Max Robinson Center, 2301 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. SE. Testing is intended for those without symptoms. For an appointment call 202-745-7000 or visit www. whitman-walker.org.

US HELPING US hosts a

I

T WILL BE FABULOUS,” BRENT MINOR, THE EXECUTIVE director of Team DC, exults of the group’s upcoming “Night of Champions” awards dinner at the Omni Shoreham Hotel on April 13. “We will have a great silent auction, with over a hundred items, including theater tickets, signs, sports memorabilia. It’s a seated dinner with a cocktail party. We’ll also have a live auction with five or six high-ticket items. We’ve got an Olivia Cruise for two, a week in Rehoboth, things like that.”

Of course, the central focus of the night will be an awards ceremony, in which Team DC — the D.C. area’s umbrella organization for LGBTQ sports leagues — honors six LGBTQ high school athletes with scholarships of $2,000 each. This year’s recipients are: Woodrow Wilson High School senior Ella Gantman, of Washington; Friendly High School senior Freedom Morant, of Fort Washington; Jackson Newman, of George C. Marshall High School in Falls Church; Montgomery Blair High School’s Camden Roberts, of Silver Spring; Kayla Savage, of Bell Multicultural High School in Washington; and a student-athlete from Washington who is out to friends but not to her parents, and whose name has been withheld to protect her privacy.

Team DC will also honor six local leaders, including five from its 40 member clubs, who have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to the LGBTQ sports community.

Earning this year’s MVP Awards is Nicole Bowns, of Cheer DC, who was instrumental in reviving the cheerleading team, which competes throughout the region and raises funds for local nonprofits; and Daniel Schroeder, of Stonewall Kickball, being honored for his work supporting and helping grow the league.

This year’s Trailblazer Awards go to Ned Kieloch, of the Washington Renegades Rugby Club, Blake Rushin, of the DC Front Runners, and Robert York, of Cheer DC. Special guests include Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Broadcaster Bill Roth, known best as the “Voice of the Hokies” who covered Virginia Tech’s Division I football, basketball, and baseball teams; and Liz Hall, who spent 25 years as athletic director at Maret School, who will also be honored with Team DC’s Community Support Award.

“This is a woman who is very well respected in the athletic community,” says Minor. “She’s one of those really strong kinds of women that you meet and go, ‘Gosh, you’re terrific. I need some more people like you in my life.’ I’m anxious to hear what she has to say.” —John Riley Team DC’s Night of Champions Awards Dinner is Saturday, April 13 from 6-10 p.m. at D.C’s Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert St. NW. Dress code is business casual. Individual tickets are $125 per person. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.teamdc.org.

Narcotics Anonymous Meeting.

The group is independent of UHU. 6:30-7:30 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. For more information, call 202-446-1100.

FRIDAY, April 5 GAY DISTRICT, a group for

GBTQQI men between the ages of 18-35, meets on the first and third Fridays of each month.

8:30-9:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www.gaydistrict.org.

Join LGBTQ people from all over the D.C. metro area for GoGayDC’s FIRST FRIDAYS HAPPY HOUR SOCIAL at Pinzimini Lounge in the Westin Arlington Gateway.

Everyone welcome. No cover.

6:30-8:30 p.m. 801 N. Glebe Rd., Arlington, Va. Ballston Metro is two blocks away. For more information, visit www.meetup. com/GoGayDC.

SATURDAY, April 6 ADVENTURING outdoors

group hikes 4.5 east miles with 230 feet of elevation gain through Calvert Cliffs State Park on Western Shore of Chesapeake Bay, internationally famous for its abundant deposits of sharks’ teeth and other marine fossils embedded in 120-foot high clay bluffs around the water’s edge. Bring beverages, lunch or snacks, shoes that can handle swampy or sandy ground, bug spray, sunscreen, and about $10 for fees. Optional refreshments

APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

21

follow in the nearby town of Solomons on the Patuxent River.

Carpool at 9 a.m. from the New Carrollton Metro Station. Return by early evening. For more info, contact Joe, 202-276-5521, or visit www.adventuring.org.

CENTER GLOBAL, a group that

advocates for LGBTIQ rights and fights against anti-LGBTIQ laws in more than 80 countries, holds its monthly meeting on the first Saturday of every month. 12-1:30 p.m. The DC Center, 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www.thedccenter.org.

CHRYSALIS arts & culture group

visits Annapolis, Md., to tour the Naval Academy, the State Capitol, and historic homes and gardens.

Bring about $25 for transportation and admission fees, plus money for lunch in an Irish pub and dockside refreshments at the end of our day.

Carpool at 9 a.m. from the New Carrollton Metro Station. Return by late afternoon. RSVPs required

by Thursday evening, April 4. For more info, contact Rick, rsmumford101@yahoo.com.

DC RAWHIDES LGBTQ COUNTRY WESTERN DANCING troupe holds

lessons followed by open dance at Ziegfeld’s/Secrets. Dance lessons: Upstairs: Play that Sax, Downstairs: Caliente. Doors open at 7 p.m., lesson from 7-8 p.m. Open dancing until 10:50 p.m. $5 Cover until 9 p.m., $10 after 9 p.m. 1824 Half St. SW. For more information, visit www.dcrawhides.com.

SUNDAY, April 7 CHRYSALIS arts & culture group

sponsors guided walking tour through the historic Brookland neighborhood in Northeast Washington, including stops at the gardens of the Franciscan Monastery and at a Civil War fort. Free. Walk will not exceed 3 miles over hilly ground. Lunch in a restaurant near Catholic University follows around 1 p.m. Meet at 10 a.m. near kiosk of the Brookland-Catholic University Metro Station. For more info, contact Craig, 202-462-0535 or craighowell1@verizon.net.

Join the DC SISTERS OF

PERPETUAL INDULGENCE for their first-ever BINGO NIGHT at

Buffalo Billiards. There is a $20 admission fee, which will get you six rounds of bingo, each with a $100 cash prize. There will also be door prizes. Proceeds will benefit The DC Center. 4-7 p.m. 1330 19th St. NW. For more info, visit www. dcsisters.org.

THE TRIANGLE CLUB, a nonprofit organization proudly serving D.C.’s LGBTQ addiction recovery and 12-step communities, hosts its

22

APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

annual gala, featuring a silent auction and entertainment by comedian Miss Richfield 1981. Dinner will be held at Foundry United Methodist Church. 6 p.m. 1500 16th St. NW. For tickets and more info, visit www.triangleclub.org/ annual-dinner.

MONDAY, April 8 The DC Center holds a roundtable discussion as part of its COMING OUT DISCUSSION GROUP for those navigating issues associated with coming out and personal identity. 7-8:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www.thedccenter.org.

Weekly Events AIDS HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION offers free walk-in

HIV testing by appointment from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1-5 p.m. at its Blair Underwood Wellness Center, 2141 K St. NW, and its AHF Healthcare Center, 4302 St. Barnabas Rd., Suite B, Temple Hills, Md., and from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at its Benning Road location, 1647 Benning Rd. NE, Suite 300. For more information, visit www.hivcare.org.

ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH offers free HIV testing

and HIV services (by appointment).

9 a.m.-5 p.m. Decatur Center, 1400 Decatur St. NW. To arrange an appointment, call 202-291-4707, or visit www.andromedatransculturalhealth.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a

practice session at Dunbar Aquatic Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 101 N St. NW. For more information, visit www. swimdcac.org.

DC’S DIFFERENT DRUMMERS

welcomes musicians of all abilities to join its Monday night rehearsals. The group hosts marching/color guard, concert, and jazz ensembles, with performances year round. Please contact Membership@DCDD.org to inquire about joining one of the ensembles or visit www.DCDD.org.

HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker

Health. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. at 1525 14th St. NW, and 9 a.m-12:30 p.m. and 1:30-5 p.m. at the Max Robinson Center, 2301 MLK Jr. Ave. SE. For an appointment, call 202-745-7000 or visit www.whitman-walker.org.

KARING WITH INDIVIDUALITY (K.I.) SERVICES, 20 S. Quaker

Lane, Suite 210, Alexandria, Va., offers $30 “rapid” HIV testing and counseling by appointment only. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Must schedule special appointment if seeking testing after 2 p.m. Call 703-823-4401.

METROHEALTH CENTER offers

free, rapid HIV testing. No appoint-

ment needed. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. 1012 14th St. NW, Suite 700. For more information, call 202-849-8029.

youth. 6-7:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www.thedccenter.org.

NOVASALUD offers free HIV test-

WEDNESDAY, April 10

ing. 5-7 p.m. 2049 N. 15th St., Suite 200, Arlington. Appointments: 703789-4467.

STD TESTING is available at AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s Benning Road location, 1647 Benning Rd. NE, from 2-6 p.m. on Mondays.

For more information, visit www. aidshealth.org.

STI TESTING at Whitman-Walker

Health. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at both 1525 14th St. NW and the Max Robinson Center, 2301 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. SE. Testing is intended for those without symptoms. For an appointment, call 202-745-7000 or visit www.whitman-walker.org.

The DC Center hosts COFFEE

DROP-IN FOR THE SENIOR LGBT COMMUNITY. 10 a.m.-noon. 2000

14th St. NW. For more information, call 202-682-2245 or visit www. thedccenter.org.

US HELPING US hosts a black gay

men’s evening affinity group for GBT black men. Light refreshments provided. 7-9 p.m. 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. 202-446-1100.

WASHINGTON WETSKINS WATER POLO TEAM practices 7-9

p.m. Newcomers with at least basic swimming ability always welcome.

Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van Buren St. NW. For more information, contact Tom, 703-299-0504 or secretary@wetskins.org, or visit www.wetskins.org.

WHITMAN-WALKER HEALTH HIV/AIDS SUPPORT GROUP

for newly diagnosed individuals, meets 7 p.m. Registration required.

202-939-7671, hivsupport@whitman-walker.org.

TUESDAY, April 9 The DC Center is seeking volunteers to cook and serve a monthly meal for LGBTQ homeless youth at the WANDA ALSTON HOUSE on the second Tuesday of each month.

7-8 p.m. For address and more information, contact the support desk at The DC Center at supportdesk@thedccenter.org.

The DC Center’s TRANS SUPPORT GROUP provides a space to talk for transgender people and those who identify outside of the gender binary. 7-9 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www.thedccenter.org.

The DC Center’s YOUTH WORKING GROUP meets on the second Monday of each month to discuss issues important to LGBTQ

Center Latinx hosts a meeting of the LATINX LGBTQI COALITION to discuss upcoming plans and issues important to the community.

7-8:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, contact Danny at 202-682-2245 or danny. mendoza@thedccenter.org.

Center Women kicks off its

QUARTERLY HAPPY HOUR AND NETWORKING EVENT. Learn

about Center Women and meet some of its staff, board members, and network with other D.C.-area professional women. Food will be served along with drinks, and there will also be a raffle. XX+ Crostino, 1926 9th St. NW. For more info, visit www.thedccenter.org/women.

LAMBDA BRIDGE CLUB meets at

the Dignity Center, across from the Marine Barracks, for Duplicate Bridge. No reservations needed.

Newcomers welcome. 7:30 p.m. 721 8th St. SE. Call 202-841-0279 if you need a partner.

Weekly Events AD LIB, a group for freestyle con-

versation, meets about 6-6:30 p.m., Steam, 17th and R NW. All welcome. For more information, call Fausto Fernandez, 703-732-5174.

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC)

holds a practice session at Dunbar Aquatic Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 101 N St. NW. For more information, visit www.swimdcac.org.

FREEDOM FROM SMOKING, a

group for LGBT people looking to quit cigarettes and tobacco use, holds a weekly support meeting at The DC Center. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www.thedccenter.org.

HISTORIC CHRIST CHURCH

offers Wednesday worship 7:15 a.m. and 12:05 p.m. All welcome. 118 N. Washington St., Alexandria. 703-5491450, www.historicchristchurch.org.

JOB CLUB, a weekly support pro-

gram for job entrants and seekers, meets at The DC Center. 6-7:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105.

For more info, visit www.centercareers.org.

WASHINGTON WETSKINS WATER POLO TEAM practices 7-9

p.m. Newcomers with at least basic swimming ability always welcome.

Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van Buren St. NW. For more information, contact Tom, 703-299-0504 or secretary@wetskins.org, or visit www.wetskins.org. l

APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

23

Mara Keisling has worked too hard and for too long to let Donald Trump undo the progress of transgender rights.

She’s fighting him every step of the way.

Interview

by

John Riley

M

Photogr aphy

ARA KEISLING REMEMBERS HER FIRST THOUGHT upon hearing President Trump, on one summer morning in 2017, had taken to Twitter and proposed banning all transgender people from serving in the U.S. military.

“My gut reaction was: ‘Get to work,’” says Keisling, the executive director and founder of the National Center for Transgender Equality. “I think that’s always the first reaction here.”

For Keisling, every day under the Trump administration is a day to get up and tackle problems with a “can-do” attitude and her natural sense of optimism. On the day of this interview, Keisling had spent her morning on Capitol Hill, meeting with transgender service members, making the rounds to lawmakers’ offices, and appearing with U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.) at a press conference highlighting a House of Representatives resolution condemning the trans military ban. The resolution passed, with all Democrats and five Republicans voting in favor.

“We’re in a hostile environment right now,” Keisling says.

“But to have a day where we can do something about that, where we can fight back, where we can stand up, where we can come together and make a difference? That’s pretty fucking spectacular.”

Keisling credits the hard-working, dedicated staff at NCTE for helping her go into each day prepared to do battle against any and all who seek to belittle, subjugate, or deny equal rights to transgender Americans.

“We have such a good staff right now — so smart, so caring, so assertive,” she says. “When President Trump leaked his memo to The New York Times in October, I still remember, it was about 8 in the morning on a Sunday, and by 10 a.m. we were all on the phone, plotting out the ‘We Won't Be Erased’ campaign.

“And that’s really hard, because most of the people who work here are trans,” she adds. “We know it’s us that he's attacking, but we also know that we have such a privilege and such an opportunity to fight back, and to lead a fight back, and so that's always what we focus on.”

Things haven’t always been easy for Keisling. For much of her early life, she was forced to deny her transgender identity, 26

APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

by

To d d G . F r a n s o n

even though she’s apparently known that she was a girl since she was a toddler in 1962.

“I am told by a relative that I came out to my parents when I was about three,” she says. “I do not remember this at all, so I have no idea if it's true, but I have no reason to think it's not. This relative said I put on my sister’s Brownie uniform, and came out and said, ‘See, I’m a girl, and I’m gonna be a girl from now on.’”

Keisling’s parents talked her out of claiming to be a girl, not because they were hostile to the idea, but because everybody in society at the time, as she puts it, was “gender innocent.”

“I do not want to give one ounce of grief to my parents,” says Keisling. “They were amazing back then, they are caring and open-minded, but I don’t know what they could have done.

There was no information for them. It was: everybody’s either a boy or a girl, and there's no variation.... And that's the way society was, that was the default, that was the only option.”

Despite her internal feelings, Keisling remained largely closeted throughout the first 40 years of her life. When she was 30, she first expressed her feelings to a support group, and would occasionally chat online with other transgender people.

In 1996, she went to Fantasia Fair — a transgender festival in Provincetown, Mass. — where, for the first time, she felt she could express her identity without judgement.

“I met this person in Provincetown, and I'm ashamed to admit I don’t remember their name, and I didn’t remember it two weeks later. And this person had been such an important point in my life,” she says. “But this person was like me. They were a college professor, and they were six-foot-two, and at the time I was teaching college, and I was six-foot-two. And this person had transitioned, and it just opened me up.”

For the 59-year-old Keisling, the end of the weekend was an emotional rollercoaster, leaving what was a very cathartic experience at Fantasia Fair only to return to a life where she was still closeted.

“I have never been a crier in my life, and I had driven up from D.C., to Provincetown, and had to drive back, and that Sunday I started driving back, and I got about as far as Chatham. I pulled

APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

27

“Every time I hear a story about a kid who’s been harassed, or a kid who’s now suicidal, or a kid we lost, because we as a society, we as individuals, weren’t able to help them, it is heartbreaking, every single one of them,” she says.

Despite occasional setbacks, Keisling is always ready to take on the next fight.

“I genuinely am an optimistic person, so I've always loved every job I've had,” she says. “And this is not like any of those jobs. I never thought of this as a job. For the first couple of years, I didn’t get paid. This has been a calling.

“To sit where I am now, in 2019, seeing all the progress that's been made, that I got to be part of — from when I met with the Senate Minority Leader in Pennsylvania, a liberal Democrat who told me, ‘Mara, look on the bright side, a couple of years ago I wouldn't have let you in my office,’ to today, where we could see almost 100 members of Congress flying the trans flag outside their offices — is not just an honor, not just humbling, it is something I can be excited about for the rest of my life.

“That I still have anything to give is so exciting to me. That’s what gets me up.... I know that because we’ve created NCTE, we’ve created this trans movement, we’ve created this LGBT movement, that means I can make a difference.

If I just get out of bed, I can make a difference, so I can get out of bed. And I'm not even a morning person.”

METRO WEEKLY: It has been 15 years since you

over, and I just cried,” she says. “And then I got to Providence, pulled over and cried. I had to cry in New Haven, and I cried in Tarrytown, and I cried in Scranton, and it was such an incredible thing, and that's when I decided to transition. And it was not just meeting that one person, it was realizing that there was a community of people like me.”

Over the next three years, Keisling made friends within the local transgender community, and was essentially living dual lives — one at work, where she was not out, and one socially, where she was — as she began to slowly transition. She then started to come out to close friends and family in May 1999. After moving to and living in Harrisburg for two years, she began making connections with LGBTQ activists, eventually being recruited by the Pennsylvania Rights Coalition to lobby on behalf of an LGBTQ-inclusive hate crimes bill. After that, she helped create the Pennsylvania Gender Rights Coalition, marking her official entry into the world of transgender advocacy.

Throughout the years, Keisling has had her ups and downs as an advocate, but approaches her work with tenacity and determination, even in the rough times. She is particularly sensitive to the struggles that transgender children face in life, and dedicates her daily work to ensuring they will be better off.

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APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

were last on our cover. What has been the biggest change in that time for the transgender rights movement?

MARA KEISLING: Really, almost everything. We used entirely different language. I was just reading that article from 15 years ago, and I sound anachronistic to me. Even the words we use have changed, even what we think of as our communities have changed. The LGBT movement is actually an [inclusive] LGBT movement now. In 2004, we hadn't finished that debate. I happened to be in England a couple of weeks ago, and they’re still having that debate, on whether or not trans people and gay and lesbian people should be in the same community, or should they have separate movements. That’s largely been resolved here. In 2004, it really wasn’t.

Another huge thing that’s changed is, in 2001 — and this was true in 2004 — the most liberal members of Congress wouldn’t even meet with me. I mean, some of them did. I don't want to say all of them didn't. My first real meeting was with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, who’s still in Congress. But even the most liberal members of Congress were not okay with trans people being in what they saw as gay rights bills. They wouldn't meet with us.

MW: Nowadays, you’d think that a large number of the Progressive Caucus would want to meet with transgender people.

KEISLING: Today, we were on the hill because Congressman Joe Kennedy had a resolution rebuking the president for his mindless, harmful, and cruel trans military ban, and during

the debate, the Speaker of the House spoke on our behalf. The Majority Leader of the House spoke on our behalf. At least two committee chairs spoke on our behalf. I'll tell you, there were not a lot of committee chairs who would even meet with us 15 years ago, and, later, there was a press conference where there were eight members of Congress.

At the same time, across the street, in the House office buildings, in the Senate office buildings, there are now dozens of members of congress displaying trans flags outside of their office. And when you walk down the hall in the Longworth House Office Building, for instance, you see so many offices that have an American flag, a state flag, and a transgender flag.

For somebody like me, who grew up really believing I was the only transgender person in the whole world, that I was the only one who felt like things weren’t the way everybody was telling me they were, the only one who had this particular kind of shame — because it seemed like a shameful thing back then, because there was no information and no resources — walking down the halls and seeing all these transgender flags was powerful.

I was walking through the Longworth Building today, and met Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who is one of these very fierce freshmen, from Detroit. She's just absolutely wonderful, and she was like, “Mara, I want to do a video for Trans Day of Visibility with you.” And I’m like, “Oh my god, not only will they meet with us if we beg, they're actually asking if we will do videos so they can show how pro-trans they are.” She actually is extremely pro-trans — or pro-human is what most of these members are — and I think they have, over these 15 years, really come to understand that we're not some exotic or erotic oddity, we're real, actual people.

MW: Is the change in attitudes towards transgender people generational, driven by the younger members, or does it signal an evolution by the older guard?

KEISLING: It is a generational thing, for sure. We’ve seen amazing stuff out of the youngest of the new members. But remember, the Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader are both in their 70s, and they are one hundred percent there. And it's because they are human rights advocates, and caring people, and open-minded, and they learned. Though I can’t tell you that Nancy Pelosi was ever against us. I don’t remember ever asking for a meeting that I didn’t get with her, so I want to be clear.

I really suppose much of America, particularly much of older America — folks in my age cohort — are probably, every now and then, just saying, “Where in the world did all these transgender people suddenly come from?” And it wasn't sudden by any means. So part of it is generational. Part of it is a lot of hard work, on a lot of people’s parts. Part of it is the trans policy movement, that we're a part of, has really been super smart, and super assertive. And part of it is technological, by the way, because the Internet has made building communities, and expressing opinions, and responding to expressed opinions a lot easier, and a lot fuller.

Policy work, I think, is super important. I think it's been amazingly helpful for the trans communities to grow — communities plural — and to come together, and to get what they needed to have fuller lives.

But the most important thing I personally have ever done, as

a trans person, and the most important thing any LGBTQ person has ever done, is to educate the people around them, educate their families, educate their coworkers, their classmates, the people they worship with, their neighbors. That is unstoppable.

Once people learn that we are human, and we are decent, and we just want to live, people get that. And they can’t unlearn it. Once you have a child who comes out to you as trans, if you're a decent person, you become a trans supporter.

MW: Nancy Pelosi has made one of her priorities in this congress getting a vote on and passing the trans-inclusive Equality Act. But about 12 years ago, our community had a fight over including transgender people in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. What’s different about this fight than the one we had in 2007?

“Once people learn that we are human, and we are decent, and we just want to live, people get that. And they can’t unlearn it. ONCE YOU HAVE A CHILD WHO COMES OUT TO YOU AS TRANS, IF YOU'RE A DECENT PERSON, YOU BECOME A TRANS SUPPORTER.” KEISLING: First and most obviously, they're entirely different

bills. ENDA had been paired down to just be employment discrimination. It was a super simple bill. Not that the Equality Act is as complicated as the Affordable Care Act. But ENDA was just employment protections. It was super small, super compact, and it was made that way because when Bill Clinton was president, everybody thought, “Maybe we can get it passed through the house and the senate,” and it never passed.

The Equality Act is a much more comprehensive bill that covers seven categories: employment, housing, education, credit, jury service, access to federal funding, and public accommodations. It uses existing civil rights laws to get LGBT people up to the same kind of protections that all people should have in the United States. So that's the biggest difference.

The second biggest difference is — nobody’s even whispered about a possibility, and they're not talking about it behind the trans people's backs, either — there’s no chance any serious player in this fight is ever going to consider taking trans people out.

MW: Walk us through the history behind the ENDA fight.

KEISLING: The history of the LGBT anti-discrimination process in congress has been kind of ugly. The first bill was introduced in the early, mid 70s, like ’73 or ’74. Shortly after Stonewall, but also just three years after trans people like Sylvia Rivera had been very explicitly told, “Beat it. You're not welcome in the gay rights movement.” So they had that shame going for 20 years, but then in ’93 they cut the bill down to just ENDA, and there was still nobody talking about putting trans people in it except trans people. Finally, in 2005, we negotiated gender identity into the bill, so during that Congress, between 2005 and 2006, there was no ENDA introduced at all, because we were writing the trans-inclusive ENDA. It came out in 2007, but President Bush had already said he’d veto it, and that was a really important part of this fight.

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We knew ENDA wasn't going to become law, so there was all the more reason not to try to tear the community asunder after we had all just worked so hard to put it together. And Congressman [Barney] Frank made a political judgment that we strongly, strongly disagreed with. His judgment was about forward movement. That’s what he said it was. But he did not understand that the “forward movement” would look like backwards movement to everybody.

And it was backward movement, because since he couldn't take it all the way to the end, and we knew we couldn't get 60 votes in the senate, we knew this was not going to become law.

So it did not make any sense to take trans people out, and it

riage equality war. And they were looking for somebody to raise money off of and hate, and they decided to pick on trans people.

They thought there weren’t very many of us, they thought we didn’t have friends, they thought we’d be easy pickings, and we’d be a foothold to get back to somehow reversing the marriage equality thing.

And that’s something weird that I think most people just don’t understand. They still think there's a chance they're going to take back gay marriage. They truly believe that. And a big part of that is to just destroy trans people, because they think we’re weak, we don’t have friends, there’s not a lot of us.

So I think HB2 was in the third year of bathroom fights, after Arizona in 2014 and Texas in 2015, when we had the loss with the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance. And in 2016, there were a lot of states we were playing hot potato in, and then this thing passed in North Carolina, and all hell broke loose for the people who don’t like us.

Everybody, every legislator, and every governor around the country, watched what happened. They watched so many big companies step up and say, “This is not okay. How can we possibly do business in your state if we can't promise our employees they're safe? Why would we expand in your state?”

One of the things that just makes me so angry, is the way those legislative leaders, and that governor said, “We don't care if children are terrified. We don't care if parents are terrified for their kids.”

That's one of the things I don't understand about President Trump: how can he sleep with immigrant children terrified, with Muslim children terrified, with kids whose parents are in the criminal justice system always terrified, with trans kids terrified, of what he’s doing. I just don't understand that.

That’s what they did in North Carolina, and every governor in the country — and every future governor in the country — knows that Pat McCrory was the only governor running for reelection that year who lost reelection, and everyone knows it was because of HB2.

And immediately, in other states, when some extremist backbencher would introduce an anti-trans bill, you would hear people who supported us, and even people who didn’t support us, say: “Why would we North Carolina our state?” It built a kind of reputational power for trans people. And it also pivoted us, particularly in relation to state bills. We’re not out of the woods on that yet, but the last two years have been simpler, because there have been so many governors, and so many legislative leaders, who don't like us, but are saying, “Why are we wasting time on these bills, when all that's gonna happen is it’s gonna hurt economic development, it’s gonna hurt tourism, it’s gonna hurt our reputation?”

No legislator in the country is hearing from lots of constituents who are saying, “We must do something about the transgender bathroom problem,” or, “We must do something about trans kids playing sports.” This is not what people are talking about at their dinner tables, and when you have a state like South Dakota, which has only a 40-day legislative session, and every year they have to go through three, four, six anti-trans bills, South Dakotans start saying, “Why is our legislature wasting time on this?”

“For somebody like me, who grew up really believing I was the only transgender person in the whole world, the only one who had this particular kind of shame, WALKING DOWN THE [CONGRESSIONAL] HALLS AND SEEING ALL THESE TRANSGENDER FLAGS WAS POWERFUL.” turned out that was a really pivotal movement for the community and the movement. It changed almost everything. It changed how trans people, or how trans advocates, were seen on the hill.

It changed how LGBT media wrote about it. It changed how things were funded. As a trans activist in the last 20 years, it is one of the four most important moments in my activist career.

Wanna know what the other three are?

MW: That was going to be my next question.

KEISLING: In 2002 and 2003, that's when the modern trans policy movement really came into being. In that two-year time period, we went from having three percent of the population covered by anti-discrimination laws to passing state laws, and city laws, to protect trans people.

At the time, there was not, as far as I know, a single attorney whose sole job was to do trans policy, and now there are dozens.

Lisa Mottet, who is now our deputy director, started the Trans Civil Rights Project at the [National LGBTQ] Task Force, and she was the first director. She was right out of law school. The Transgender Law Center was founded, the Trans Legal Defense and Education Fund was founded, the Sylvia Law Project was founded, NCTE was founded, and many more. That was when we were like, “Yep, we’re gonna coordinate, activate, and win.”

Number two, chronologically, is the 2007 fight over a united ENDA that we just talked about. Third is a big one: the Obama administration, and everything that meant for trans rights, and all of the litigation victories that our allied organizations were having. Then, finally, fourth is North Carolina and HB2.

MW: Why was HB2, North Carolina’s anti-transgender “bathroom bill,” such a big moment, given that people would consider that more of a negative experience than the other three you mentioned?

KEISLING: To put it in historical context, we were just post-Obergefell. The anti-LGBT extremists were disoriented and feeling down about having just been destroyed in the mar30

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MW: We’ve seen a number of stories dealing with transgender

chidlren, whether it’s a lawsuit over being able to use the bathroom, or Alliance Defending Freedom coming in to block a proLGBTQ school board policy, or even a case out of Oklahoma, where a transgender girl literally received death threats from adults.

When you hear those stories, how does that make you feel?

KEISLING: One of the truly great joys and honors of my activist career, has been all of the trans people I’ve gotten to meet, and particularly all of the amazing trans kids I’ve gotten to meet, some of whom are now adults.

This past Tuesday evening, I was in a small town in South Dakota, and I met a 12-year-old, who a year ago was suicidal, who was taken to a hospital, and very explicitly explained to the hospital that the suicidality was related to the bullying they were facing at school, about being trans, and the hospital just made it worse.

They insisted that this person, who identifies as a young man, or a boy, be roomed with a girl. They insisted that when they separate everybody for recreation, into boys and girls, he had to go with the girls. And then, in just a tremendous act of “what the fuck would anybody do this for,” they separated the kids into boys and girls for snack time, and they forced this little boy to be with the girls.

It made the situation so much worse that this kid had to be taken out of the hospital where they were for treatment, because they weren’t safe, because they were being told, implicitly, that they were wrong. They weren't a boy, they were a girl. They were being told it was shameful, they were being told it was wrong. And their suicidality was not because they were trans, it was because of how they were treated because they were trans, and here they were at a place that thought of itself as a helping institution, where it was being messed up.

The punchline to this story, is there was another kid that day who is 13 — and this was a year ago, so the children were 11 and 12 at the time — who was a friend of the 12-year-old, and said, “That is horrible what happened to you. We should do something about it.”

They told me this story the other day, and I was just so amazed. They made a PowerPoint presentation. They found out who was in charge of the hospital, demanded a meeting with the CEO and a bunch of vice presidents, they did a PowerPoint presentation, put on suits and ties, and went and did a [sensitivity] training [session]. That is a goddamn miracle, that a 12-year-old who had just been through that much pain, that much danger, that much disrespect, that he and his buddy would say, “We’ve got to do something so this doesn’t happen to anybody else.”

When I graduated from high school in 1977, I don't believe there was a single out trans kid in any school in the United States. And now I'm meeting 12-year-olds who have other trans kids in their school. I met a high school student recently who was one of 10 out trans men in an all-girls Catholic school. For somebody like me, who didn’t even have gay kids coming out in my high school in 1977, that is a remarkable shift. But we have an absolutely sacred responsibility to protect those kids. Now we have to make it possible for them to survive and thrive.

MW: Earlier, you proposed the question, “How can President Trump sleep at night when he is scaring children, doing all these harmful things?” Let me turn the question on its head: What keeps

you up at night, what are you most concerned about?

KEISLING: Are we on the right path? One of the curses of thinking you have a responsibility to do good work is that you have to have confidence that the work you're doing is good. And that's not as easy. If you're money motivated, if you have your job to make money, there's a scorecard. And right now, we're in the midst of so many societal and political changes. How is what we’re doing impacting what we will have to do next? As we work on policies, we have to be very careful that we're not setting up other kinds of tragedies down the road.

The thing that upsets me the most is that President Trump is actually doing damage to real people's lives. He is causing real people's lives to be over. There are body bags involved with just the horribleness that is President Trump's administration, and I know we're gonna get through it, as a whole, but I know there's a lot of people who aren't gonna get through it. And there are a lot of people whose lives will be significantly diminished.

And then I worry, how is he gonna change who we are as a community? Are we going to be less compassionate because he is so uncompassionate? Are we going to be less optimistic, because he's taken our optimism away? I am horrified that there are so many trans people out there who see the downward trend of the Trump administration on trans policy, and think that we’re going down, and we’re gonna hit the ground. Whereas somebody of my age — who has the luxury of having lived all alone with

“No legislator in the country is hearing from lots of constituents saying, ‘We must do something about the transgender bathroom problem or trans kids playing sports.’ THIS IS NOT WHAT PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT AT THEIR DINNER TABLES.” this fight throughout the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s — can see that the line graph of our progress was flat lining for most of my life, and in the last 20 years I’ve seen nothing but upward progress until Trump took it down a little bit, and now we are fighting him tooth and nail.

Everything he does, we try to stop it — and we’ve stopped things. We’ve tried to slow them down when we can’t stop them — and we've slowed them down. It’s two years later, and they’re just starting to get the trans military ban ready to be up and running. When we can't slow it down, we try to mitigate the damage, and we’ve been able to do that in some instances. We always try to make them pay politically.

We make sure that every time he attacks trans people, he comes out weaker, and we come out stronger as a community.

And last, but not least, we prepare to fix it later. We, as NCTE, and as a community, know how to do federal advocacy now.

And when there's once again a decent president, whether it’s a Republican or a Democrat, we will know how to fix all of these things he’s tried to break. l For more information on the National Center for Transgender Equality, visit www.transequality.org.

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WARNER BROS.

Movies

Big Fun

A colorful, kid-sized adventure, Shazam! adds a super-powered goofball to the DC Universe. By André Hereford

E

VERY SILVER SCREEN SUPERHERO SHOULD HAVE AS MUCH FUN FLYING, leaping, and shooting thunderbolts from his fingertips as Billy Batson has playing hero in DC’s Shazam! (HHHHH). Wait a second, Marvel does have a musclebound superhero who relishes nothing more than flying, leaping, and shooting thunderbolts from his fingertips. But, actually, nothing gets Marvel’s God of Thunder, Thor, more excited than vanquishing his enemies and savoring their defeat. Judging by this delightful, undemanding origin story, directed by David F. Sandberg (Annabelle: Creation), Billy hasn’t quite acquired that taste yet — but he’s just getting the hang of this superhero biz.

Billy (Asher Angel), a teenage orphan who has run away from six different foster homes, lucks out in being chosen by the ancient wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou) as the champion worthy of gaining the wizard’s awesome powers of strength, speed, and invulnerability, among others. Simply by speaking the wizard’s name, Billy transforms into the strapping superhero Shazam, played with visible glee by erstwhile Chuck star Zachary Levi.

The strongest message of the film, however, is that Billy, separated from his mother at a tender young age, truly lucks out in being chosen by foster parents Rosa (Marta Milans) and Victor Vasquez (Cooper Andrews) to join their loving, sitcom-happy family. Occupying a ramshackle, though luxuriously spacious, old Victorian in working-class Philadelphia, the Vasquez household, including disabled teen Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer) and adorable five-year-old Darla Dudley, warmly embraces Billy. He still rebels, but, ultimately, he learns that found family is worth fighting for, especially when they all come under attack by a super-powered villain, Dr. Thaddeus Sivana.

Sivana, essayed with sinister flair by Mark Strong, has been chosen to be the evil champion of the Seven Deadly Sins, and he makes for a strikingly ruthless villain in what is essentially a kids’ movie. Sandberg built his reputation creating a number of well-received sci-fi and horror shorts, and he clearly enjoys injecting jolts of terror

and suspense to spice up the tone of family-friendly fun.

The film earns its PG-13 with each gruesome appearance of the Deadly Sins, a frightening coterie of fanged, voracious demons. Sivana unleashes the hellions on his enemies in one surprisingly grisly scene that might give younger tykes nightmares, but should certainly go down well with the 13-year old demographic the movie seems to be targeting.

The film’s humor definitely is designed to tickle the funny bones of sex-obsessed 13-year old boys, or the 13-year old-atheart, who might chuckle at jokes about placing hands on the wizard’s staff, or at the painted sign over a carnival darts game that reads “Bust One Wins.” There are loads (ahem) of juvenile quips and innuendoes, and they won’t do much for the serious set that favors Christopher Nolan’s feverishly textured Batman epics, or Zack Snyder’s brooding super-bores, over somewhat silly fare like Shazam!.

Yet, despite their differences in tone and temperament, this Captain Marvel (the hero’s original comic-book moniker) does occupy the same cinematic universe as Snyder’s Caped Crusader, Man of Steel, Aquaman, and the Flash (and presumably Wonder Woman, though she’s not referenced here). Will audiences ever see Shazam fighting alongside the Justice League crew? DC isn’t saying, and this movie doesn’t reveal much about the char-

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WARNER BROS.

acter’s future beyond this Big-inspired debut.

If and when he does return, let’s hope the costume department has better ideas for Shazam’s famously square super-suit, red, tight, and emblazoned with his thunderbolt, accented by a jaunty toga-like cape, alluding to the gods that comprise his acronymic name and abilities. (That’s Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury, for anyone wondering.) Levi is as hunky as they come, and a kick as an adult-sized adolescent, but

he still appears to be wearing an inflatable fake muscle suit, just as Hounsou appears to be clad as a wizard at a Ren Faire.

The suits and cheesy hairpieces can go, but Angel, costar of Disney Channel’s Andi Mack, will be more than welcome to return as the kid half of this heroic tandem. His performance is one of Billy’s biggest strengths, in addition to the kickass Vasquez family, who we can hope also will return the next time Billy faces down one or more of those nasty Deadly Sins. l

Shazam! is rated PG-13, and is now playing everywhere. Visit www.fandango.com.

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APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

STAN BAROUH

Stage

Boy Trouble

Tense new productions of Native Son and columbinus explore toxic male rage, with varying degrees of success. By André Hereford

T

HE WORLD WANTS BOYS TO BE STRONG, COURAGEOUS, AND COMPETItive, builders and destroyers. Taught to be powerful, what becomes of the boy who feels power coursing through him, but can find no purpose to define it, and no one over which to wield it? Does that heat sink into him, crushed and boiling, until some violent, seismic release?

Two plays opening in D.C. this week — Native Son at Mosaic Theater, and columbinus at 1st Stage — attack the question of post-adolescent male rage from seemingly opposite poles of race and privilege, yet practically meet in the middle. Both dramas depict the devastating, violent eruption of a young man’s toxic sense of powerlessness, or, in the case of columbinus, that of two young men.

In Psalmayene 24’s charged staging of Native Son (HHHHH), adapted by Nambi E. Kelley from Richard Wright’s classic 1940 novel, 20-year old Bigger Thomas (Clayton Pelham, Jr.) has accepted his march towards violent criminality as a foregone conclusion. Poor and black, from Chicago’s South Side, Bigger can abide the hope of his mother Hannah (Lolita Marie) that he’ll rise out of Depression-era poverty through hard work and education. But he doesn’t genuinely believe that he nor any black man can labor himself to the American dream. Not in a nation where he’ll be constantly judged, constrained, and condemned by the color of his skin. Bigger thinks the world doesn’t expect a poor, black kid from the South Side to sprout wings and fly, so he won’t allow himself to hope as his mother might.

Even in the company of seemingly well-meaning white family the Daltons, who employ him as a chauffeur, Bigger never feels perceived as a man first, but always as a black man being watched and controlled, like a caged rat. Resigned to having no control in a white man’s world, Bigger ultimately succumbs to his impulses, both sexual and

violent, with deadly results.

Kelley’s incisive script hones in on the ostensibly inevitable nature of Bigger’s fall, and, accordingly, the direction builds suspense by continually lighting, then dousing, his fuse. At some point, the lit fuse will burn down, and Bigger’s gonna blow. Pelham keeps that explosiveness contained in a brilliantly pressurized performance. His Bigger stays on his guard around Mrs. Dalton (Melissa Flaim), her attractive daughter, Mary (Madeline Joey Rose), and Mary’s boyfriend, Jan (Drew Kopas), careful not to betray his fear and insecurity, or reveal the rage roiling inside him.

Instead, that seething inner voice is personified onstage by Black Rat, a role performed with fierce urgency and commitment by Vaughn Ryan Midder. Black Rat foments Bigger’s desperation to prove himself a man not a boy, not a “sissy” or coward.

As Black Rat shadows Bigger around scenic designer Ethan Sinnott’s effectively spare sets, Midder slides and spins in harmony with Pelham, insinuating his leonine presence skillfully into other characters’ space. It’s a physically demanding role, of several onstage, especially given the abrupt, almost cinematic transitions between scenes.

Flaim and Rose, and Renee Elizabeth

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Wilson, as Bigger’s girlfriend, Bessie, also rise impressively to the physical and emotional demands of Psalmayene 24’s gripping take on Wright’s haunting tale. Bigger himself is haunted by his wicked conscience, and by the conviction that society awaits his downfall. His tragic undoing is that though Bigger can blame society and the system for putting a gun in his hands, he’ll have no one but himself to blame should he decide to pull the trigger.

IT’S BEEN 20 YEARS since Eric Harris and Dylan Kleibold committed the national tragedy we now call Columbine. The high school shooters, who killed twelve of their fellow students, and one teacher, have since been followed by a scarily long list of disaffected young, male mass killers, a phenomenon that columbinus (HHHHH) expressly attempts to put into perspective.

But first, the play, by Stephen Karam and PJ Paparelli, passes through a lengthy, episodic first act casting a broad view at what it means and feels like to be a suburban American high schooler these days. The script, based on “real interviews with parents, survivors, and community leaders, words from the shooters’ private diaries, and characterizations of contemporary teens,” harnesses little of that exhaustive detail in its uninspired breakdown of the same high school archetypes the media’s been feeding kids since at least as far back as Animal House.

The jock, nerd, queen bee and outcasts that stroll and skulk through Alex Levy and Juan Francisco Villa’s production at 1st Stage don’t seem to be adding much to the Breakfast Club +

Mean Girls x Doom = High School Massacre equation. The cast of teen characters start off reporting their morning rituals via a litany of verbal fragments, performed at times in unison, as they range around Kathryn Kowecki’s set in what looks like a Selfie Generation “Cell Block Tango.”

Only the dreadful anticipation of this all heading to a certain high school in Colorado, along with the energy and appeal of the performers, saves the overlong opening act from feeling too tedious. In particular, Alex Reeves and Brett Cassidy, limning the “goth girl” and “shy fat kid,” respectively, add dimension in their portrayals that resonate beyond type.

For all the time spent distinguishing a stereotypical high school hierarchy, columbinus ultimately uses those kids merely to sketch in a background from which key subjects Eric (Rocky Nunzio) and Dylan (Patrick Joy) stand out in relief. The two angry, antsy, entitled young men secretly plotting mayhem are the only real characters here. But if they aren’t going to tell us something new, then haven’t they taken enough of our time?

A stiff seriousness stalks this production, which, at its worst, can come off like an all too real version of SNL’s comically earnest High School Theatre skits. At its most effective, though, columbinus reminds us of the disheartening ease with which a rage-filled kid like Eric or Dylan, or any of the countless others with documented violent tendencies or mental illness or arrest records, can lay his hands on a gun and attempt to seize power by the most terrible means. l

columbinus runs through April 20 at 1st Stage, 1524 Spring Hill Road in Tysons, Va. Tickets are $15 to $39.

Call 703-854-1856, or visit www.1stStage.org.

Native Son runs through April 28 at Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $20 to $65.

Call 202-399-7993, ext. 2 or visit www.mosaictheater.org.

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APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

NightLife Photography by Ward Morrison

APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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Scene

Avalon Saturdays - Saturday, March 23 - Photography by Ward Morrison See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

DrinksDragDJsEtc...

Thursday, April 4 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-2am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Gong Karaoke Contest, hosted

by Labella Mafia and DeeDee Amor Dior, 8pm • No Cover GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Shirtless Thursday, 10-11pm • Men in Underwear Drink Free, 12-12:30am • DJs BacK2bACk

NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • $15 Buckets of Bud Products all night • Sports Leagues Night NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover PITCHERS Open 5pm-2am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 11pm • Thirst Trap Thursdays, hosted by Venus Valhalla, 11pm-12:30am • Featuring a Rotating Cast of Drag Performers • Dancing until 1:30am • Visit pitchersbardc.com

SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Half-Priced Bottles of Wine, 5pm-close TRADE Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4 ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS All male, nude dancers, 9pm-close • “New Meat” Open Dancers Audition • Music by DJ Don T. • Cover 21+

Destinations A LEAGUE OF HER OWN 2317 18th St. NW 202-733-2568 www.facebook.com/alohodc AVALON SATURDAYS Soundcheck 1420 K St. NW 202-789-5429 www.facebook.com/ AvalonSaturdaysDC 38

APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

Friday, April 5 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-3am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $3 Rail and Domestic • $5 Svedka, all flavors all night long • Davon Hamilton Events presents District 1st Fridays Underwear Party: 90s vs 80s Pajama Dance Party — with Jockstraps!, 10pm-close • Music by DJ EventBrice of NYC • Male GoGo Dancers • $5 before 11pm, $10 after (includes clothes check) • $5 Margaritas, $8 Long Islands all night •

FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR 555 23rd St. S. Arlington, Va. 703-685-0555 www.freddiesbeachbar.com GREEN LANTERN 1335 Green Ct. NW 202-347-4533 www.greenlanterndc.com

Power Peer Educators will provide on-site HIV testing in exchange for limited free entry NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Open 3pm • Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer, $15 • Weekend Kickoff Dance Party, with Nellie’s DJs spinning bubbly pop music all night NUMBER NINE Open 5pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover • Friday Night Piano with Chris, 7:30pm • Rotating DJs, 9:30pm PITCHERS Open 5pm-3am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late

Night menu till 2am • Visit pitchersbardc.com SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers TRADE Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4 • Otter Happy Hour with guest DJs, 5-11pm ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS Men of Secrets • Daryl Wilson presents Freaky First Fridays: 2 Floors of Non-Stop House, Hip-Hop and R&B • Doors open 9pm • Cover 21+

NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR 900 U St. NW 202-332-6355 www.nelliessportsbar.com NUMBER NINE 1435 P St. NW 202-986-0999 www.numberninedc.com PITCHERS 2317 18th St. NW 202-733-2568 www.pitchersbardc.com

NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS Compiled by Doug Rule

A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 2pm-3am • Video Games • Live televised sports AVALON SATURDAYS LGBTQ Dance Party, 10pm-close • $10 Cover before 11pm • General admission $15 • Music

by DJ Drew G • Drink specials • Drag Show, 10:30-11:30pm, hosted

by Ba’Naka and featuring Kristina Kelly, Deja Diamond, and Anastasia Dior • Open Bar on Tito’s and Jameson, 11pm-midnight • Visit www.dougiemeyerpresents.com FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Saturday Breakfast Buffet, 10am-3pm • $14.99 with one glass of champagne or coffee, soda or juice •

WARD MORRISON

Saturday, April 6

BENT AT THE 9:30 CLUB The first, at the top of the year, was a roaring success, with tickets selling out in advance.

The second edition of this new quarterly party at the 9:30 Club, this Saturday, April 6, is shaping up to be a repeat, with low availability of tickets reported earlier in the week. Pussy Noir returns as host, with DJ sets by Tezrah, JJ202, and Lemz, and performances by Sippi, BratWorst, and Bent January 5 Too Free. The cozy BackBar downstairs, meanwhile, offers HellBent with Jacq Jill, DJ Abby, and Diyanna Monet. The focus is on “feelgood fun dance music,” and a party that prioritizes the performers and the patrons over the DJs. The main party starts at 11:30 p.m., while doors for HellBent open at 10 p.m. The 9:30 Club is at 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $15.

Call 202-265-0930 or visit www.930.com.

Additional champagne $2 per glass • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Freddie’s Follies Drag Show, hosted by Miss Destiny B. Childs, 8-10pm • Karaoke, 10pm-close GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $5 Bacardi, all flavors, all night long • REWIND: Request Line, an ‘80s and ‘90s Dance Party, 9pm-close • Featuring DJ Darryl Strickland • No Cover NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Drag Brunch, hosted

by Chanel Devereaux, 10:30am-12:30pm and 1-3pm • Tickets on sale at nelliessportsbar.com • House Rail Drinks, Zing Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer and Mimosas, $4, 11am-3am • Buckets of Beer, $15 • Guest DJs playing pop music all night

SHAW’S TAVERN 520 Florida Ave. NW 202-518-4092 www.shawstavern.com TRADE 1410 14th St. NW 202-986-1094 www.tradebardc.com ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS 1824 Half St. SW 202-863-0670 www.ziegfelds.com

THE LEGWARMERS AT THE STATE THEATRE It’s been over 17 years now since Gordon Gartrell and Cru Jones started what has long been heralded as D.C.’s “premier ’80s tribute band,” performing the guilty pleasure hits of the decade. The group, whose members also include Chet Reno, Lavaar Huxtable, Roxanne Rio, Capt. Morgan Pondo, and Clarence McFly, has performed at concert halls throughout the region and beyond. Yet its home base is Virginia’s State Theatre. The band returns once a month, and at every show audience members dress the part — think shellacked big hair, lacy ankle socks, stirrup and parachute pants. Friday, April 5, and Saturday, April 6. Doors at 7:30 p.m. (with happy hour specials till 8:30 p.m.), showtime at 9:30 p.m. The State Theatre is at 220 North Washington St., Falls Church. Tickets are $20. Call 703-237-0300 or visit www.thestatetheatre.com.

THE DEPECHE MODE DANCE PARTY FYM Productions presents the 18-year anniversary of this “Black Celebration” where “People Are People” pursuing their own “Personal Jesus” and “Strangelove” in a “Policy of Truth.” In other words, it’s a “Dream On” party for fans of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, and Andy Fletcher, the moody melody men and electronic dance pioneers of Depeche Mode. DJs Steve EP, Missguided, and Killa K will spin all the Songs of Faith & Devotion that a Violator could wish for at what is billed as “the largest Depeche Mode dance party on the East Coast.” Talk about Some Great Reward. Saturday, April 6, at 9 p.m. Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. Tickets are $12 in advance, or $15 at the door. Call 202-667-4490 or visit www.blackcatdc.com.

ELECTRIC RAINBOW: HANGIN’ WITH MY PEEPS EDITION The first Sunday of every month, DJ Chord throws a weekend winddown party in the unmarked space behind the freezer door in Capo DC, the Shaw sandwich shop. And behold, the month of Easter naturally kicks off with a party celebrating all the Peeps and performances by KC B. Yoncé and Jazzmine to make anyone rise from the dead. Hallelujah for marshmallows!

Sunday, April 7, from 5 to 10 p.m. The BackRoom, 715A Florida Ave. NW. Call 202-910-6884 or visit www.facebook.com/TheBackRoomCapo. l

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NUMBER NINE Doors open 2pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5 Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close • Time Machine and Power Hour, featuring DJ Jack Rayburn, 9:30pm

TRADE Doors open 2pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 2-10pm • Beer and wine only $4

PITCHERS Open Noon-3am • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 2am • Visit pitchersbardc.com

ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS DC Rawhides LGBTQ Country Western Dancing Lessons: West Coast Swing. Doors open at 7pm, lesson from 7-8pm • Open Dance until 10:50pm • $5 Cover until 9pm, $10 after 9pm • Men of Secrets upstairs, 9pm-close • Guest dancers • Ladies of Illusion Drag Show with host Ella Fitzgerald in Ziegfeld’s • Doors open at 9pm, Shows at 11:30pm and 1:45am • Music by DJ Don T. • Cover 21+

SHAW’S TAVERN Brunch with $15 Bottomless Mimosas, 10am-3pm • Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers

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Sunday, April 7 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 2pm-12am • $4 Smirnoff and Domestic Cans • Video Games • Live televised sports FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Ella’s Sunday Drag Brunch, 10am-3pm • $24.99 with four glasses of champagne or mimosas, 1 Bloody Mary, or coffee, soda or juice • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Monthly Zodiac Drag Contest, hosted by Ophelia Bottoms, 8-10pm • $5 Cover • Karaoke, 10pm-close GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Karaoke with Kevin downstairs, 9:30pm-close

APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Drag Brunch, hosted

by Chanel Devereaux, 10:30am-12:30pm and 1-3pm • Tickets on sale at nelliessportsbar.com • House Rail Drinks, Zing Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer and Mimosas, $4, 11am-1am • All Day Happy Hour • Buckets of Beer, $15 • Guest DJs NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5 Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close • Multiple TVs showing movies, shows, sports • Expanded craft beer selection • Pop Goes the World with Wes Della Volla at 9:30pm • No Cover PITCHERS Open Noon-2am • $4 Smirnoff, includes flavored, $4 Coors Light or $4 Miller

Lites, 2-9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Visit pitchersbardc.com

our house glam boxes!

• Walk-Off Contest at 10:30pm • Music by Joann Fabrixx • Special guest hosts and performers

SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Dinner and Drag with Miss Kristina Kelly, 8pm • For reservations, email shawsdinnerdragshow@ gmail.com

ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS Men of Secrets — Nude Male Dancers • Doors open 9pm • Cover 21+

TRADE Doors open 2pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 2-10pm • Beer and wine only $4 • GLAM BOX: A Monthly Dress-Up Dance Party, 9pm • Come in a look, or find one in

Monday, April 8 FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Singles Night • Half-Priced Pasta Dishes • Karaoke, 9pm GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $3 rail cocktails and domestic beers all night long • Singing with the Sisters: Open Mic Karaoke

APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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Night with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, 9:30pm-close NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer, $15 • Half-Priced Burgers • Paint Nite, 7pm • PokerFace Poker, 8pm • Dart Boards • Ping Pong Madness, featuring 2 PingPong Tables NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Shaw ’Nuff Trivia, with Jeremy, 7:30pm

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TRADE Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4

Tuesday, April 9 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Taco Tuesday • Karaoke, 9pm GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $3 rail cocktails and domestic beers all night long

NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer $15 • Drag Bingo with Sasha Adams and Brooklyn Heights, 7-9pm • Karaoke, 9pm-close NUMBER NINE Open at 5pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover PITCHERS Open 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 11pm • Visit pitchersbardc.com SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas

APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

and Select Appetizers • Half-Priced Burgers and Pizzas, 5-10pm

by Ms. Regina Jozet Adams, 8pm • Bingo prizes • Karaoke, 10pm-1am

TRADE Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4

GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4pm-9pm • Bear Yoga with Greg Leo, 6:30-7:30pm • $10 per class • $3 rail cocktails and domestic beers all night long

Wednesday, April 10 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • $6 Burgers • Beach Blanket Drag Bingo Night, hosted

NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR SmartAss Trivia Night, 8-10pm • Prizes include bar tabs and tickets to shows at the 9:30 Club • $15 Buckets of Beer for SmartAss Teams only • Absolutely Snatched Drag Show, hosted by Brooklyn Heights, 9pm • Tickets available at nelliessportsbar.com NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover

PITCHERS Open 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 11pm • Visit pitchersbardc.com SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Cocu Social: Pasta Making Class, Second Floor, 6:30pm • Piano Bar with Jill, 8pm TRADE Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4 l

Scene

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Stonewall Kickball Flip-Cup at The Green Lantern - Sunday, March 24 - Photography by Ward Morrison See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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LastWord.

People say the queerest things

“Raise your voices now.

Spread the word. Rise up. ” — ELLEN DEGENERES, on Twitter, urging a boycott of hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei. The country has come under intense criticism after introducing a Sharia-based penal code which, among other extreme punishments, mandates death by stoning for those convicted of same-sex sexual relations.

“A publicly financed facility like the Buffalo Niagara International Airport is not the appropriate venue for a Chick-fil-A restaurant.”

— New York State Assemblyman SEAN M. RYAN (D-Buffalo), in a statement after the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority reversed a decision to allow Chick-fil-A to open a restaurant in Buffalo Niagara International Airport. “We hope in the future the NFTA will make every effort to contract with businesses that adhere to anti-discriminatory policies,” Ryan said, “and we’re confident another vendor who better represents the values of the Western New York community will replace Chick-fil-A as a part of this project in the very near future.”

“Those scenes are desperately important when you have an icon of that magnitude, who means so much to one community. ” — TARON EGERTON, speaking to GQ about the sex scenes in upcoming Elton John biopic Rocketman. Egerton said he hoped the scenes would not be cut to appease hostile markets. “It’s Elton John. We’ve got to own that. I don’t care how well the film does in Russia,” Egerton said. “It doesn’t matter. It can’t matter. What’s an extra $25 million at the box office? What are you willing to do for that? Sacrifice sleeping at night because you watered the whole thing down?”

“This bill would allow state-sanctioned discrimination

against many Texans, but would particularly impact the LGBTQ community.

”

— REBECCA MARQUES, Texas State Director at Human Rights Campaign, in a statement after the Texas State Senate passed a “religious exemptions” bill that would businesses and individuals to cite religious beliefs as justification for discriminating against LGBTQ people. Marques called the passing of the bill, which will next head to the House, a “dark moment for Texas.”

“If President Trump were to say, I am now the first female president?

Who would celebrate that? ” — U.S. Rep. MATT GAETZ (R-Fla.), arguing that he can’t support the Equality Act because “bad actors” could take advantage of its protections for LGBTQ people. Gaetz bizarrely used Donald Trump coming out as transgender as justification for voting against the Act, saying, “Consider this possibility — if President Trump were to say, I am now the first female president? Who would celebrate that? Would those who support the legislation think that’s a good thing, or would they be dismayed?

Bad actors have already weaponized some ostensible equality laws for their own benefit.”

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APRIL 4, 2019 • METROWEEKLY