Spring Awakening - Metro Weekly - Feb. 13, 2020 by Metro Weekly

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY.COM

CONTENTS

February 13, 2020

Volume 26 Issue 39

BACK ON TAP

After a months-long injury, one of the Washington Ballet’s finest dancers is back with a tap-dancing vengeance. By Randy Shulman

YOUNG LOVE

Spring Awakening, in a breathtaking new production at Round House, finds relevance in the burgeoning sexuality of teenagers. Photography by Todd Franson • Story by Doug Rule

TWO GUNS BLAZING Signature Theatre shoots and scores with the World Premiere of Gun & Powder, an enthralling period musical. By André Hereford

OUT ON THE TOWN p.10 TOXIC MOXIE: TRACY LYNN OLIVERA p.12 THE FEED: SPLIT DECISION p.19 THE FEED: DEPLORABLE DEPORTATION p.20 COMMUNITY: BUDD’S BENEFIT p.21 COMMUNITY CALENDAR p.21 FILM: PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE p.34 STAGE: EXQUISITE AGONY AT GALA p.35 NIGHTLIFE: DC RAWHIDES AT ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS p.39 NIGHTLIFE LISTINGS p.40 NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS p.41 LAST WORD p.46 Washington, D.C.’s Best LGBTQ Magazine for 25 Years 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 Illustrators David Amoroso, Scott G. Brooks Contributing Writers Sean Maunier, Troy Petenbrink, 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 Saint Frank Wedekind Cover Photography Todd 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.

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY.COM

PROCOPIO PHOTOGRAPHY

Spotlight

Dan Roberge of The Washington Ballet

'M ACTUALLY JUST COMING BACK FROM AN INJUry,” says Dan Roberge, a principal dancer with The Washington Ballet. “I had a chronic fracture in my sesamoid in my left foot.” After the October diagnosis, Roberge’s doctor put the 28-year-old in a boot and instructed him to rest. Five months later, and fully healed, the Australian native is returning with a vengeance as the tap-dancing “Hoofer” in George Balanchine’s “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.” The piece, set to music by Richard Rodgers, was originally choreographed for the 1936 Broadway musical On Your Toes, and later separated out as a standalone piece. TWB is featuring “Slaughter” as part of “Balanchine + Ashton,” an assortment of classic works by Balanchine and Sir Frederick Ashton premiering Wednesday at the Kennedy Center. Roberge will dance the role on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday nights, with Alex Kramer and Gilles DeLellio completing the run. “Doing this role makes me excited,” says Roberge, a member of the LGBTQ community. “It's only a 25-minute ballet, but a lot happens in 25 minutes. It's comedic, but it's also dark and sad. It all happens in sort of a whirlwind.” The dancer is no stranger to what he calls unique roles. “A few years back in Ashton's ‘The Dream,’ I was dancing en pointe, which is usually what only the women do. I've performed in ‘Dracula,’ playing Renfield in a straight jacket while pretending to eat bugs in a cage. I've done everything.”

Roberge has been with TWB for a decade — “I came here when I was 18” — and has worked under its former mercurial artistic director, Septime Webre, as well as its new leader, Julie Kent, whose canny approach has been to blend experimental with classical while keeping a keen eye on artistry and elegance. “Septime was a powerhouse director,” Roberge says. “It was all about bravado and extreme athleticism. It was very, very high energy. Julie has a more subdued energy — she focuses more on the smaller details, the artistry. Julie's also a mother, and she’s got motherly instincts, which makes people feel cared about. That's unique in the ballet world because quite often it feels extremely cutthroat. It feels like if it doesn't happen straight away, then your head's on the chopping block. She has a different approach.” Case in point, Kent phoned Roberge the day after his diagnosis. “She said, ‘We'll support you with whatever you need to do to get back in. Don't get down on yourself. We've got you,’” he recalls. “She offered me alternative work within the company. It was a nurturing experience. “If you push your body to the limits every single day, there's bound to be setbacks,” he concludes. “You're bound to experience injuries. It's how you take them in stride rather than how you put yourself down. I guess I have a similar approach to injury management and life setbacks as Julie. We see eye-to-eye in that respect.” —Randy Shulman

The Washington Ballet’s “Balanchine + Ashton” runs from Wednesday, Feb. 19 to Sunday, Feb. 23, in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $25 to $175. For a full schedule, visit www.washingtonballet.org. FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

Spotlight THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW

WILSON FREEMSN

Iron Crow’s production of Richard O’Brien’s indelibly queer cult musical, directed and choreographed by Quae Simpson, is enhanced by audience participation stunts and props, and even comes with a special midnight performance on Valentine’s Day. The cast includes Timothy David Copney as Frank ‘N’ Furter, Brett Klock as Brad, Bailey Walker as Janet, and Brandon Shaw McKnight as Rocky. Worth a trip to Charm City. To Feb. 16. Baltimore Theatre Project, 45 West Preston St. Tickets are $45, or $55 to $65 for VIP, including on-stage seating. Call 410-752-8558 or visit www.theatreproject.org.

THE ROAD WARRIOR

The last two Wednesdays in February, Landmark’s West End Cinema presents the two 1980s sequels in George Miller’s post-apocalyptic franchise starring Mel Gibson as “Mad” Max Rockatansky. Gibson is joined by Tina Turner in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, set for 35th anniversary screenings on Wednesday, Feb. 26. But first, this Feb. 19, comes 1981’s The Road Warrior, highly regarded as one of the greatest action movies ever made. This is one kick-ass movie — and it was long before the days of CGI. Revel in it. Screenings are 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 202-534-1907 or visit www.landmarktheatres.com.

BILLY GILMAN

When Billy Gilman plays Pearl Street Warehouse, you can be sure he’ll sing “One Voice,” the Billboard hit he had in 2000 as an 11-year-old (albeit in a different key). Gilman sings everyone from Celine Dion to Adele, whose “When We Were Young” served as his calling card on NBC’s The Voice four years ago, when he succeeded in getting all four judges to spin in their swizzle chairs. The Rhode Island native went on to become the Season 11 runner-up on Adam Levine’s team. Thursday, Feb. 20. Doors at 7 p.m. 33 Pearl St. SW. Tickets are $20 to $40. Call 202-380-9620 or visit www.pearlstreetwarehouse.com. 8

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY.COM

HUGH CLARKE

Out On The Town

RAYCEEN PENDARVIS IS LIVING BLACK HISTORY

The irrepressible Rayceen Pendarvis takes part in a special LGBTQ-inclusive Black History Month event on Thursday, Feb. 20. Pendarvis will host an evening of live music, interviews, artwork and exhibitors, voter registration, and a display by Black Broadway on U. In the first-floor community room at the beautiful new Cleveland Park Library, 3310 Connecticut Ave. NW. Free and open to the public. Call 202-282-3080 or visit www.TeamRayceen.eventbrite.com. Compiled by Doug Rule

FILM STANDING UP, FALLING DOWN

In addition to giving voice to the title character in Sonic The Hedgehog, Ben Schwartz also appears on screen next week as a failing stand-up comedian who finds an unexpected connection with an alcoholic dermatologist played by Billy Crystal. JxJ, the multidisciplinary arts project based in the newly renovated Edlavitch DCJCC, presents a run of Matt Ratner’s narrative feature, an official selection at the Tribeca Film Festival, in which the two buddies eventually find the strength to start confronting their long-simmering regrets. Opens Wednesday, Feb. 19. To Feb. 27. Presented in the DCJCC’s new state-of-the-art, 140seat Cafritz Hall.Tickets are $9 to $13. Call 202-777-3210 or visit www.jxjdc.org.

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, Feb. 14, and Saturday, Feb. 15, at midnight. 555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672 or visit www. landmarktheatres.com.

WHAT SHE SAID: THE ART OF PAULINE KAEL

The late New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael is widely regarded as the most influential film critic of all time — a distinction all the more notable given that she was a woman who made her mark in a thoroughly male-dominated field and chauvinistic industry. Sarah Jessica Parker reads from Kael’s reviews in Rob Garer’s documentary that weaves together well-chosen film clips, never-before-seen archival material

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

and over 35 new interviews with a cadre of critical colleagues and celebrated filmmakers commenting on her work and influence, among them Camille Paglia, Molly Haskell, David Edelstein, Francis Ford Coppola, Quentin Tarantino, and David O. Russell. Opens Friday, Feb. 14. Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672 or visit www.landmarktheatres.com.

STAGE BOY

In the 1960s, a well-intentioned doctor convinces the parents of twin boys to raise one as a girl following a surgical accident. Inspired by true events, Anna Ziegler’s play explores the beauty of finding love, the complexity of gender identity, and the consequences of the choices we make for those we love. Susan Marie Rhea directs Keegan’s production starring John Jones, Lida Marie Benson, Karen Novack, Mike Kozemchak, and Vishwas. To

March 7. 1742 Church St. NW. Call 202-265-3767 or visit www.keegantheatre.com.

SILENT SKY

Lauren Gunderson’s inspiring drama explores the determination, passion, and sacrifice of the women who redefined our understanding of the cosmos — Henrietta Leavitt and the women “computers” in the Harvard Observatory who transformed the science of astronomy, a decade before women gained the right to vote. Directed by Seema Sueko. To Feb. 23. 511 10th St. NW. Tickets are $20 to $52. Call 202347-4833 or visit www.fords.org.

THE KING’S SPEECH

David Seidler’s play, which inspired the 2010 Oscar-winning film of the same name, gets its D.C. debut as part of the “Broadway at the National” series. The King’s Speech focuses on the true story of King George VI and his efforts to overcome his shyness and profound stammer when he’s thrust onto

the world stage on the brink of World War I after the abdication of his older brother Edward. Nick Westrate stars alongside Michael Bakkensen as the king’s unconventional speech therapist. To Feb. 16. National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Tickets are $59 to $99. Call 202-628-6161 or visit www.thenationaldc.org.

THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR

RYAN MAXWELL

Aaron Posner helms a Folger Theatre production of the delightful comedy of love, money, deception, and the power of women, as the ladies of Windsor serve Falstaff his comedic comeuppance. To March 1. 201 East Capitol St. SE. Tickets are $27 to $85. Call 202-544-7077 or visit www.folger.edu.

MUSIC

TOXIC MOXIE

Washington theater favorite Tracy Lynn Olivera takes on The Toxic Avenger the Musical at Rorschach Theatre.

’M JUST SORT OF DIPPING MY TOES IN, SEEING HOW IT GOES,” TRACY LYNN Olivera says of her recent move into directing. But for the Helen Hayes Award-winning local theater dynamo, it’s more a jump than a dip. In addition to assistant directing Guys and Dolls, opening at Ford’s Theatre in March, Olivera helmed the just-opened The Toxic Avenger: The Musical at Rorschach Theatre. Joe DiPietro and David Bryan’s fast-paced, musical horror spoof is based on the ’80s cult classic B-movie from Troma Films, and the self-described horror buff Olivera says the mutant hero romance, which runs through March 1, was a natural fit for Rorschach. “We wanted something that would go with Rorschach's mission. They are magic, unusual kind of magic, hero stories, reverence stuff, sexy stuff. To me it had all of those things, because the heart of it, it’s just a superhero romance. Once you take out the gore and the crap jokes...it’s just an ordinary story.” Though directing is proving to be enjoyable, Olivera isn’t abandoning center stage anytime soon. In addition to a double shot at taking home her third Helen Hayes award — with nominations for roles in Olney’s Matilda the Musical and Signature’s top-notch Assassins — Olivera will be appearing in Signature’s hotly-anticipated June run of the Abba musical Mamma Mia! Casting details have been closely guarded but Olivera is looking forward to the “stupid fun” of playing happy-go-lucky Rosie alongside other D.C. theater favorites — though, she notes, “I just know that I have to start doing cardio pretty soon, or mother is going to collapse.” Meanwhile, The Toxic Avenger is commanding most of Olivera’s attention, and Rorschach’s first-ever musical is drawing fans who might have skipped a different production. “Troma was enormous among the [horror] nerds, myself included,” she says. “And I know that we've already been getting some tickets sold from that cross-section of people. A lot of them have never even seen a musical.” The tale of the so-called first superhero born out of nuclear waste also remains a timely lesson for everyone else, given the ongoing issue of the environment and climate change. “It's campy, right? But there are some things that really resonate right now,” she says. “A corrupt politician fucking damaging the earth, just not giving a crap, just wanting to make money at whatever cost. And without getting too dark here, we are dumping toxic waste like this, where there are people. Look at Flint, look at the Dakota pipeline. We're still doing it. And the classism of it, the rich get richer and the poor are covered in mold. So I think it's weirdly super-pertinent right now, and timely.” —André Hereford The Toxic Avenger the Musical runs through March 1 at the Silver Spring Black Box, 8641 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, Md. Tickets are $10 to $40. Call 202-399-7993, ext. 180, or visit www.rorschachtheatre.com. 12

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

A DAVID BOWIE VALENTINE

The music of the late, great Starman is performed by an eclectic mix of local acts for a special Valentine’s Day treat in the intimate performance space above all the treats to be had at the H Street location of Dangerously Delicious Pies. The lineup features the Jennifers, Sister Ex, Marshall Keith, Capital Offender, Taildraggers, Seven Door Sedan, Life on Mars, Tobias Hurwitz with Claudia Neuman, plus the promise of other “special guests.” Saturday, Feb. 15. Doors at 7:30 p.m. The Pie Shop DC, 1339 H St. NE. Tickets are $10. Call 202-398-7437 or visit www.pieshopdc.com.

BOWIE SYMPHONIC: BLACKSTAR

Strathmore pays tribute to the Starman’s final album, 2016’s stark yet adventurous Blackstar — albeit in wholly transformed form as a cello concerto, as conceived and arranged by composer, performer, and MIT professor Evan Ziporyn. The Israeli-born avant-garde cellist Maya Beiser, who the San Francisco Guardian has dubbed a “rock ‘n’ roll queen of contemporary music,” will perform the work accompanied by the Ambient Orchestra and musicians from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music. Saturday, Feb. 15, at 8 p.m. Music Center, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, Md. Tickets are $29 to $69. Call 301-581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.

NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: MAHLER & SCHUBERT

Franz Schubert packs a lifetime of hope, suffering, and joy into the two movements that comprise his Symphony No. 8. The work is commonly referred to as “Unfinished,” although that’s not exactly true: The composer lived for another six years after the work’s debut. The NSO will perform the masterpiece as part of a program that ends with a very contrasting work, Gustav Mahler’s

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY.COM

Symphony No. 5. This powerful showpiece is long and wide-ranging, lasting over an hour in length and covering great emotional range, juggling tender passages with bouts of rage, and expressions of joy and sorrow. Gianandrea Noseda conducts. Thursday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m., and Friday, Feb. 21, and Saturday, Feb. 22, at 8 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets are $15 to $104. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

SHACARA ROGERS

An adjunct professor of music at Howard University in the area of jazz voice, the Philadelphia native is presented as the Valentine’s Day treat at the Hill Center, per its Street Scenes concert series curated by Shannon Gunn. A former lead soloist with Howard’s premier vocal jazz ensemble Afro Blue who has also placed high in various vocal competitions, including garnering 1st runner up in the 2014 Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Jazz Competition, Rogers released 16 Moments, her debut solo album, in 2018. Friday, Feb. 14. Doors at 6:30 p.m. Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Tickets are $25 and include a glass of prosecco. Call 202-549-4172 or visit www.HillCenterDC.org.

SUPER DIAMOND: THE NEIL DIAMOND TRIBUTE

From "Sweet Caroline" to "Heartlight," the San Franciscobased Super Diamond has Neil Diamond covered, literally — and with a ringing endorsement by the legend himself. Thursday, Feb. 20. Doors at 7 p.m. 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $25. Call 202-2650930 or visit www.930.com.

THE NEW ORLEANS SUSPECTS

The Hamilton Live! hosts a concert dubbed the official after-party for the Tedeschi Trucks Band shows taking place around the corner at the Warner Theatre. And that’s just the second of two concerts on tap on Saturday, Feb. 15, featuring a supergroup that arose from Crescent City 10 years ago. The New Orleans Suspects features some of the most highly respected players in town, including guitarist Jake Eckert, formerly of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, saxophonist Jeff Watkins (the James Brown Band), pianist CR Gruver, drummer “Mean” Willie Green (Neville Bros.), and bassist Reggie Scanlan (Radiators). The band tours in support of its recent set Live at the Hamilton, capturing the best of a two-night stint from NYE 2018 at the celebrated D.C. venue. 600 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20 to $30 for the regular show, with doors at 6:30 p.m., and $10 for the After-Party, with doors at 11:30 p.m. Call 202787-1000 or visit www.thehamiltondc.com.

THE VICTORIAN LYRIC OPERA COMPANY: THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE

Maryland’s Victorian Lyric Opera Company presents a new take on the beloved Gilbert & Sullivan operetta. Director Amy Sullivan helms a Classic Hollywood-inspired production, fully staged with a 1940s-esque set intended to evoke the glitz and glamour of movie musicals of the era — though the action still takes place over Leap Day in the Victorian Era. Expect to hear the classic songs “I Am the Very Model of a Modern MajorGeneral" and "Poor Wand’ring One." Performances are Friday, Feb. 21, and Saturday, Feb. 22, at 8 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 23, at 2 p.m., Friday, Feb. 28, and Saturday, Feb. 29, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 1, at 2 p.m. F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre at the Rockville Civic Center, 603 Edmonston Dr. Rockville. Tickets are $20 to $24. Call 240-314-8690 or visit www.vloc.org.

DANCE DISSONANCE DANCE THEATRE: DIASPORA

As part of this year’s Intersections festival at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, the gay-led Dissonance Dance Theatre offers an evening-length program celebrating West African, Caribbean, South American, and American music by performing works of contemporary ballet and modern dances set to soca, blues, samba, and soul, among others. According to the company, “Diaspora aggressively blends contemporary ballet against the tapestry of urban and indigenous culture.” An artist talk-back will follow the performance. Saturday, Feb. 22, at 8:15 p.m. Sprenger Theatre, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $30 to $35. Call 202-399-7993 or visit www. atlasarts.org.

COMEDY IMPROBABLE COMEDY: SWEET & SOUR VALENTINE’S DAY COMEDY SHOW

A love-themed show about Valentine’s Day that isn’t only lovey dovey, the latest from this Maryland-based organization “will celebrate love and roast the holiday that brings it to us on a candy-red, heart-shaped platter.” The lineup of local talent includes Melissa Douty, Mike Brown, Maddox Pennington, and Anthony Oakes. Saturday, Feb. 15, at 8 p.m. Joe’s Movement Emporium, 3309 Bunker Hill Road, Mount Rainier, Md. Tickets are $15 to $25. Call 301-699-1819 or visit www.joesmovement.org.

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

JOSH WOLF

You may remember the cute, gay-friendly straight comic from his regular stints on Chelsea Lately — or from his more recent collaboration with Ross Mathews on the “Josh and Ross” podcast, giving the straight spin on pop culture. The Bostonborn, L.A.-based writer/performer returns to the Arlington Drafthouse for another holiday run of shows, this time over Valentine’s Day weekend. Friday, Feb. 14, at 7:30 and 10 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 15, at 7 and 9:30 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m. 2903 Columbia Pike. Tickets are $25. Call 703-486-2345 or visit www. arlingtondrafthouse.com.

JYNX COMEDY NIGHT

The Brookland location of Busboys and Poets plays host to a monthly showcase of women-identifying, non-binary, and LGBTQ comedians produced by Project Thalia founder Angela Hamilton. Each edition of Jynx is intended to be “supportive and empowering,” and fosters an “atmosphere of caring, compassion, and kindness.” The love-infused February edition of 2020 is headlined by Violet Gray (Night Train with Wyatt Cenac) and hosted by Gigi Modrich, and also featuring Hamilton, Sofia Javed, IO Duarte, and Kirsten Eyles. Also on tap is a performance from Misbehavin’ Maidens, described as “a bawdy, nerd-folk comedy band with a love of feminist, sex-positive music and LGBTQIA+ representation.” Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 8 p.m. 625 Monroe St. NE. Call 202-636-7230 or visit www.busboysandpoets.com.

READINGS & LECTURES DAN PFEIFFER

President Obama’s former communications director and co-host of Pod Save America offers a playbook for fixing the current desultory state of politics as well as defeating Trump and preventing another Trump-like leader in the future. Pfeiffer, who in his book “Un-Trumping America: A Plan to Make America a Democracy Again,” urges Democrats to embrace bold solutions, from fixing the courts to abolishing the Electoral College, will be in conversation with Jennifer Palmieri, former communications director for the Hillary Clinton campaign. Thursday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. Sixth & I Historic Synagogue. 600 I St. NW. Tickets are $35 including one book, or $50 for one book and two tickets. Call 202-408-3100 or visit www. sixthandi.org.

MARK STEIN

“The Presidential Fringe: Questing and Jesting for the Oval Office” is a look at 30 fringe candidates who have run for the U.S. presidency, including several “firsts” — Victoria Woodhull, the first women candidate, George E. Taylor, the first African-American candidate, and Joan Jett Blakk, the first openly gay drag queen candidate. According to Stein, whose previous bestseller “How the States Got Their Shapes” became the source for the History Channel series of the same name, these candidates have had more than negligible influence on American politics by helping draw attention to overlooked constituencies and influencing mainstream candidates and future elections. Sunday, Feb. 16, at 5 p.m. Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Call 202-364-1919 or visit www.politics-prose.com.

ART & EXHIBITS LONG VIEW GALLERY: NEW YEAR/NEW ARTISTS

The small, private LGBTQ-run Long View Gallery welcomes three new artists to D.C. for its first show of 2020. Works by Jeremy Brown, Bryan Coleman, and Ken Schiano will be featured at the Shaw gallery. Through Feb. 16. 1234 9th St. NW. Call 202-232-4788 or visit www. longviewgallery.com.

OUTBREAKS: EPIDEMICS IN A CONNECTED WORLD

To mark the 100th anniversary of the Great Influenza, the Smithsonian offers an exhibition on epidemiology and human health that, per the spread of coronavirus, shows itself to be as timely as ever. From HIV to SARS to Ebola, Outbreaks shows how viruses can spread from animals to people, why some infectious diseases become pandemics, and the collaborative ways many have been stopped or curtailed. Today, pandemic diseases remain one of the greatest threats to individuals and society, due to an increasingly interconnected, increasingly mobile, increasingly urbanized and industrialized global world. Ongoing to 2021. National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Call 202-633-1000 or visit mnh.si.edu.

ABOVE & BEYOND ART X ACTIVISM: QUEERING THE VISUAL

The Library of Congress and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts present a panel discussion as part of its LGBTQ Changemakers series. The next panel features Joshua Vogelsong (Donna Slash), Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi, Jason Barnes (Pussy Noir),

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY.COM

Olessa Marie Ghadar, and Jesse Meadows, and will be moderated by local librarian and musician Nicholas Alexander Brown of Prince George’s County Memorial Library System. Monday, Feb. 17, at 6 p.m. The Justice Forum in the REACH. Tickets are free, distributed two per person in the Welcome Pavilion starting at 5 p.m. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

NBC

ATLAS INTERSECTIONS FESTIVAL 2020

CAPITAL REMODEL + GARDEN SHOW

George Oliphant of NBC’s George to the Rescue, the home renovation series featuring interior designers and contractors teaming up to help families and communities with much-needed home repairs, headlines this show at the Dulles Expo Center. In addition to Oliphant, who appears on the Main Home Stage on Friday, Feb. 21, and Saturday, Feb. 22, attendees to this year’s show will be able to solicit advice, gather information and purchase services from experts in the home remodeling, renovation, home décor, landscape, and garden design fields. More than 300 exhibitors are expected to attend. A central feature is on the nearly 3,000 square feet of garden space overseen by three large local garden and landscape companies — Blue Sky Landscaping, Meadows Farms, and Premium Lawn & Landscape — showcasing new looks, techniques, and technology to inspire attendees to start their spring projects in everything from gardening and landscaping, to patios and outdoor furniture, to water features. Also, Merrifield Garden Center will present a Flower Market filled with fresh flowers and plants and related goods for purchase. Friday, Feb. 21, and Saturday, Feb. 22, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 24, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 4320 Chantilly Shopping Center, Virginia. Tickets are $12 at the box office or $9 online, or free for military and first responders on Friday, Feb. 21 and federal employees with government ID on Sunday, Feb. 23. (Enter to win tickets at www.metroweekly.com/win.) Call 800-274-6948 or visit www.capitalremodelandgarden.com. 16

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

Since it opened 15 years ago in a renovated former Art Deco movie palace, the Atlas Performing Arts Center has had a visible impact on its H Street Corridor neighborhood through its regular work in presenting “art that informs, educates, enlightens, and inspires,” as the institution’s executive director Doug Yeuell puts it. That is also essentially the goal of Intersections, a festival that aims to showcase art that makes “a difference in our society, culture and world.” The 11th annual festival, set for the last two weekends in February, will offer over 50 performances from artists ranging from musicians to filmmakers, dancers to speakers. The festival officially launches on Thursday, Feb. 20, with a concert by folk-pop singer Malinda and her band as part of a launch party with light bites and drink starting at 7 p.m. The first actual Intersections event, however, takes place the night before — Wednesday, Feb. 19 — with the Author Talk + Book Signing featuring R. Eric Thomas, author/ essayist of Here For It, in conversation with Washington Post culture writer Elahe Izadi. Wednesday also sees the opening of Youth Scene DC, an exhibition of photographs by local youth set up in the Great Hall and organized by eXposure Media Project DC. Other highlights to come in the opening weekend: a performance of Elizabeth McCain’s one-woman-play A Lesbian Belle Tells… on Saturday, Feb. 21; the dance-theater program Small Creatures featuring the works of choreographers Jess Hoversen and Mariah Lopez, on Sunday, Feb. 22; and the Diaspora program from the gay-led Dissonance Dance Theatre, also on Sunday, Feb. 22. Runs to March 1. 1333 H St. NE. A festival pass is $85; tickets to the Launch Party are $45, or $25 for the concert only; individual ticket prices vary. Call 202-399-7993 or visit www. atlasarts.org/intersections for a full schedule and details.

BURLESQUE-A-PADES IN LOVELAND

New York’s Angie Pontani, billed as the “International Queen of Burlesque,” presents the 13th anniversary of a Valentine’s Day show mixing performances in the revived art of striptease with magic, music,

dance, and comedy. New York drag king and transgender comedian Murray “Mister Showbiz” Hill returns as host of an evening featuring performances by Miss Exotic World Champion aka Potani, LGBTQ burlesque dancer The Maine Attraction, Gal Friday, Ben Franklin, Joshua Dean, plus “more guests TBA!” Thursday, Feb. 14, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $29.50. Call 703-549-7500 or visit www.birchmere.com.

GILDED LILY BURLESQUE

The Baltimore burlesque troupe presents its 11th annual Valentine’s “Tassels & Champagne” show, with this year’s theme, “We Love You Baltimore.” Baltimore favorites on tap to perform include Kittie Glitter, the femcee of Elvis’ Birthday Fight Club, Naimah, tribal belly dancer and co-director of “Art of the Belly,” “Butter-faced Beauty Queen” Betty O’Hellno, Tapitha Kix of Twisted Knickers Burlesque, “Baltimore’s Sicilian Queen” Maria Bella, and three Gilded Lily stars: Ruby Spruce aka “The Attractive Nuisance of Baltimore Burlesque,” GiGi Holliday aka “Chocolate That Melts Your Heart” and “The Uncontainable Mourna Handful.” There’ll also be a Moonstruck Market featuring handmade burlesque accessories from local vendors and a V-Day Photo Booth brought to you by Mab’s Mobile Midway. Friday, Feb. 14, at 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. Creative Alliance at the Patterson, 3134 Eastern Ave. Baltimore. Tickets are $25 to $28, or $63 to $68 for two tickets and a bottle of Champagne, $135 for two tickets, a reserved table, bubbly, and chocolates. Call 410-276-1651 or visit www.creativealliance.org.

PRETTY BOI DRAG: OPEN KING NIGHT

Founded by former DC King Pretty Rik E, this troupe of drag kings expands on its original Amateur King Night to become a drag king “open mic,” welcoming of both seasoned drag dabblers as well as those who’d like to try their hand and throw their hat into the ring — “to feel what it’s like to get up there and show the world the king that lives inside” them in a safe, fun environment. The lineup for the Valentine’s Day-themed February show is already locked and ready to go, but interested performers are able to sign up for upcoming Open King Nights. Thursday, Feb. 20, at 8 p.m. The Brookland Busboys and Poets, 625 Monroe St. NE. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Call 202-636-7230 or visit www.prettyboidrag.com. l

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY.COM

GAGE SKIDMORE

theFeed

Sanders and Buttigieg

SPLIT DECISION

Bernie Sanders emerges victorious from New Hampshire, but Pete Buttigieg continues to lead the field. By Rhuaridh Marr

UESDAY’S NEW HAMPSHIRE DEMOCRATIC Primary was almost mundane after the calamitous efforts in Iowa’s caucuses a week prior. Results came in swiftly, there were no noticeable technical hiccups, and when all was said and done, there was a clear winner: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sanders ultimately teased out a narrow win after leading comfortably for most of the night, finishing with 25.7% of the vote, just over one percentage point ahead of former Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who came in a close second on 24.4%. Sen. Amy Klobuchar was the surprise of the night, using a strong debate performance last Friday to propel herself to third place, on 19.8% — something she hopes to parlay into more donations and volunteers for the states ahead. But it was Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden who left New Hampshire bruised and shaken — and in Biden’s case, he left before polls had even closed, instead opting to head to South Carolina. When all was said and done, Warren came in a distant fourth on 9.2%, with Biden on 8.4%. While Sanders has clearly established himself as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, with a huge army of devoted supporters and a solid base of monthly donations to fuel him through future primaries, Buttigieg has perhaps the most notable claim — at least from an LGBTQ perspective — to make after the first two states have cast their votes: an openly gay man continues to lead the Democratic field for president. Buttigieg finished Iowa with 13 pledged delegates to Sanders’ 12, and their close vote share in New Hampshire

means they’ll each leave the state with an additional nine, putting Buttigieg on 22 to Sanders’ 21. Buttigieg celebrated the results in a speech to supporters in New Hampshire on Tuesday night, saying, “Thanks to you, a campaign that some said shouldn’t be here at all, has shown that we are here to stay.” “We go forward knowing that this is our chance, our only chance,” he said. “Not just to end the era of Donald Trump, but to launch the era that we know must come next. The stakes could not be higher. We cannot afford to miss the mark or to miss this moment. We must get this right.” He also threw some love to the night’s victor: “I admired Senator Sanders when I was a high school, I respect him greatly to this day, and I congratulate him on his strong showing tonight." Another point for Buttigieg to be happy about was an exit poll which found that 63% of NH voters would rather nominate a candidate who can beat Donald Trump, than one who agrees with them on major issues. And of those who want a candidate who can beat Trump, a plurality (28%) opted for Buttigieg over Sanders (21%), Klobuchar (20%), Warren (13%) or Biden (10%). But a potential stumbling block for his historic candidacy comes in the Nevada caucuses on Feb. 22, as Buttigieg faces a state with a more diverse electorate than Iowa or New Hampshire, at a time when his polling among voters of color lags far behind Biden, Sanders, or Warren. He also lags behind all three, plus businessman Tom Steyer, in current FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

theFeed polls in the state. That didn’t stop the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which endorsed Buttigieg for president last year, from celebrating his efforts in New Hampshire. “The electability assumptions of political pundits are tumbling down all around us – with Pete showing in Iowa and New Hampshire that he can build broad coalitions in cities and rural areas and across the political spectrum,” former Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund, said in a statement. “It shatters the notion that an openly gay candidate can win in only the most liberal hotspots and underscores Pete’s position as the best candi-

date to unite Americans in defeating Donald Trump. That the historic nature of his candidacy is relatively subdued is a testament to our progress as a nation. With enormous momentum heading into the upcoming primaries, it is clear America is ready to elect its first openly gay president. “Voters are gravitating toward Pete because he is the antithesis of Donald Trump — calm, thoughtful and solutions-oriented. Pete is not going to scream at rallies, point angry fingers or scapegoat entire groups of people to oversimplify complex problems. Voters want Washington to quit the bickering and extremism and produce for the American people and that is why they are choosing Pete.” l

DEPLORABLE DEPORTATION Gay Salvadoran asylum seeker sues Trump administration for deporting him to Guatemala. By John Riley

GAY SALVADORAN ASYLUM SEEKER HAS SUED the Trump administration for deporting him to Guatemala. The deportation was part of Trump’s “safe third country” policy, for people who come to the United States fleeing violence and instability in their home countries. Under the policy, asylum seekers are blocked from ever receiving a chance to live in the United States. Instead, the Trump administration is sending many to Guatemala — and has future plans to begin sending some to El Salvador and Honduras — as a result of agreements with other nations who accept asylum seekers. Critics of the policy argue that the United States is effectively sending asylum seekers fleeing gang, state-sponsored violence, or political instability in Central America, for example, to other countries in the region with almost identical problems. Additionally, they argue, the “safe third countries” do not have sufficient procedures in place to ensure asylum seekers can safely resettle there. “The Trump administration has created a deadly game of musical chairs that leaves desperate refugees without a safe haven, in violation of U.S. and international law,” Katrina Eiland, an attorney with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, said in a statement. “The administration is illegally trying to turn away asylum seekers and pass the buck to other countries that can’t protect them.” The lawsuit challenging the policy, known as U.T. v. Barr, was filed in federal court, arguing that the policy violates the Refugee Act, Immigration and Nationality Act, and Administrative Procedure Act. The plaintiffs are asylum seekers who fled to the United States and were sent to Guatemala because of the policy, as well as several organizations that serve asylum seekers. One of the plaintiffs, U.T., is a gay man from El Salvador who fled his home country after being threatened by an MS-13 gang member.

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

He believes that he will be attacked or killed for his sexual orientation if he stays in El Salvador. The man traveled through Guatemala on his way to the U.S. border, but experienced homophobic harassment there and believes he will face similar threats if he stays in Guatemala. “The plaintiffs’ cases illustrate how callous the Trump administration’s attacks on the asylum system have become, and how far we have drifted from our own values as a country,” Ruben Loyo, an attorney at the National Immigrant Justice Center, which is part of a coalition of civil and human rights groups representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “Because of this illegal rule and the administration’s perverted application of the ‘safe third country’ label, the U.S. is slamming the door on individuals fleeing life-threatening conditions and sending them back to a country where they have no guarantee of safety and security,” Loyo added. “Instead, the plaintiffs and other asylum seekers often have no choice but to return to their home country where they are exposed to further harm and displacement.” Blaine Bookey, the co-legal director of the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, called the policy “senseless.” “By sending vulnerable people to Guatemala, the administration makes a mockery of the United States’ obligations to protect the persecuted, gutting the U.S. asylum system beyond recognition,” Bookey said. “The Trump administration wants to return the persecuted to their persecutors rather than allow these vulnerable people to seek asylum in our country, the land of immigrants,” Hardy Vieux, the vice president at Human Rights First, said in a statement. “Not only does this violate the law, it is wrong. There is nothing great about a country that betrays its values in the name of stoking fear and demonizing the innocent. We are taking the administration to court because, politics aside, the law still stands for fairness and justice in our country. Most of us know this; some of us need reminding.” l

Community FRIDAY, FEB. 14

PROJECT STRIPES hosts LGBTaffirming social group for ages 11-24. 4-6 p.m. 1419 Columbia Road NW. Contact Tamara, 202319-0422, www.layc-dc.org.

GAMMA is a confidential, vol-

WOMEN IN THEIR TWENTIES (AND THIRTIES), a social

discussion and activity group for queer women, meets at The DC Center on the second and fourth Friday of each month. Group social activity to follow the meeting. 8-9:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www. thedccenter.org.

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.

BET MISHPACHAH, founded

by members of the LGBT community, holds Friday evening Shabbat services in the DC Jewish Community Center’s Community Room. 8 p.m. 1529 16th St. NW. For more information, visit www.betmish.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a

practice session at Barry Farms Aquatic Center. 6:30-8 p.m. 1230 Sumner Rd. SE. For more information, visit www.swimdcac.org.

HIV TESTING at Whitman-

Walker Health. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at 1525 14th St. NW. For an appointment, call 202-7457000 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 703823-4401. www.kiservices.org.

METROHEALTH CENTER

offers free, rapid HIV testing. Appointment needed. 1012 14th St. NW, Suite 700. To arrange an appointment, call 202-8498029. www.metrohealthdc.org.

SATURDAY, FEB. 15 CHRYSALIS arts & culture

TODD FRANSON

untary, peer-support group for men who are gay, bisexual, questioning and who are now or who have been in a relationship with a woman. 7:30-9:30 p.m. Luther Place Memorial Church, 1226 Vermont Ave NW. GAMMA meetings are also held in Vienna, Va., and in Frederick, Md. For more information, visit www.gammaindc.org.

BUDD’S BENEFIT

Budd

Earline Budd honors transgender advocates, while raising funds for Empowering the Transgender Community’s burial fund.

OR ALMOST 15 YEARS, I’VE BEEN DOING WHAT YOU call ‘Dignity in Death’ services,” says Earline Budd, executive director of Empowering the Transgender Community. “I’ve been raising money, helping families of individuals who are LGBTQ and others who don’t have the ability to have a service of dignity for their family members at the time of their death. Recently, I decided I wanted to do something to recognize people in the community who were what I considered unsung heroes and ‘sheroes’ really doing work and who are least recognized.” The resulting “Unsung Heroes/Sheroes Awards Dinner,” on Saturday, Feb. 15, at Chateau Remix in Northeast D.C., will not only serve as a fundraiser for Empowering the Transgender Community’s burial fund, but also feature award presentations interspersed with live entertainment. Awardees honored for their work on behalf of the D.C. area transgender community include Shareese Moné, an advocate and development associate for HIPS; Diane Carter of Community Family Life Services; local advocate Wilhelmena Watson, who has been serving lunches to members of the community at her house on Sundays for the past decade; Jazmin Sutherland of The DC Center; Carla Petross, also known as “Magoo,” and Queen Patti McKinney of Casa Ruby; and Elese Stanley, of So Others Might Eat. Others honorees include Kim Gordon from Damien Ministries (as well as Damien Ministries itself); Officer Gary Thompson of the MPD’s LGBT Special Liaison Unit; Courtney Phillips, the operations manager of The Wanda Alston Foundation; Daryl Wilson of Daryl Wilson Promotions; and Tracy Outlaw of the D.C. Department of Corrections, who, along with DOC’s Transgender Committee, is being honored for their work in changing DOC policies regarding where trans inmates are housed and treated according to their gender identity. Everett Hamilton, CEO of Octane Public Relations, and Earl Fowlkes, CEO of the Center for Black Equity — whose organizations are co-sponsoring the event along with the D.C. Department of Health — will be recognized with individual awards for making the event possible. “The response we’ve received has been remarkable,” says Budd. “People are calling me asking, ‘How can we support this?’ We’re looking to do as much as we can do, and we’re hoping to collect a sizable amount in terms of donations at the event.” —John Riley The Unsung Heroes/Sheroes Award Dinner is Saturday, Feb. 15, from 7 p.m. to midnight at Chateau Remix, 3439 Benning Rd. NE. There is a $20 cover for the event. For more info on Empowering the Transgender Community or its burial fund, visit www.empowertransdc.org.

group travels to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond to see an exhibition on artist Edward Hopper’s frequent use of hotels as settings to highlight themes of loneliness and alienation. Visit begins with a brunch at a French café in the Carytown neighborhood near the Museum. Participants will also get a close-up view of the anti-Confederate statue Rumors of War by openly gay artist Kehinde Wiley, newly installed outside the VMFA entrance. Carpool at 8:30 a.m. from the East Falls Church Metro Kiss & Ride lot. VMFA admission is $16 for adults, $12 for seniors. Drivers needed. Transportation costs for riders should be under $15 per person. For more info, contact Craig, 202-462-0535 or criaghowell1@verizon.net.

KHUSH DC, a support group for

LGBTQ South Asians, hosts a meeting at The DC Center. 1:303 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/khushdc. The DC Center hosts a monthly

LGBT ASYLEES SUPPORT MEETING AND DINNER for

LGBT refugees and asylum seekers. 5-7 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www.thedccenter.org. The DC Center hosts a meeting of its LGBTQ PEOPLE OF COLOR SUPPORT GROUP, facilitated by Dakia Davis. 1-3 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www.thedccenter.org. The DC Center hosts a

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION group for queer or gay women and lesbians on the third Saturday of every month. This month’s theme is “Be right where you are.” 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. To register, visit www. tinyurl.com/fab40meditation.

Weekly Events DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a

practice session at Deanwood Aquatic Center. 9:15-10:45 a.m. 1350 49th St. NE. For more information, visit www.swimdcac.org.

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

DC FRONT RUNNERS running/

walking/social club welcomes runners of all ability levels for exercise in a fun and supportive environment, with socializing afterwards. Route distance will be 3-6 miles. Walkers meet at 9:30 a.m. and runners at 10 a.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW. For more information, visit www.dcfrontrunners.org.

SUNDAY, FEB. 16 AGLA holds an AFTERNOON COFFEE SOCIAL for LGBTQ people from Northern Virginia to socialize and converse with their fellow community members. Organizer Eric will be wearing gold and purple Mardi Gras beads for easy identification. 2:303:30 p.m. Rappahannock Coffee, 2406 Columbia Pike, Arlington, Va. For more information, visit www.agla.org. Volunteers are needed to help prepare CASA RUBY’S MONTHLY DINNER. Held on the third Sunday of each month, in conjunction with The DC Center and Food Rescue DC, the event provides a hot meal to those housed at Casa Ruby. Homemade or store bought meals welcome. 7-8 p.m. Casa Ruby Shelter, 1216 Kennedy St. NW. For more information, contact lamar@ thedccenter.org, jon@thedccenter. org, or visit www.casaruby.org.

Weekly Events LGBT-inclusive ALL SOULS

MEMORIAL EPISCOPAL CHURCH

celebrates Low Mass at 8:30 a.m., High Mass at 11 a.m. 2300 Cathedral Ave. NW. 202-232-4244, www.allsoulsdc.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a

practice session at Wilson Aquatic Center. 9:30-11 a.m. 4551 Fort Dr. NW. For more information, visit www.swimdcac.org.

DC FRONT RUNNERS running/

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.

DIGNITYUSA offers Roman

Catholic Mass for the LGBT community. All welcome. Sign interpreted. 6 p.m. St. Margaret’s Church, 1820 Connecticut Ave. NW. For more information, visit www.dignitywashington.org.

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST wel-

comes all to 10:30 a.m. service, 945 G St. NW. For more info, visit www. firstuccdc.org or call 202-628-4317.

HOPE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST welcomes GLBT community for worship. 10:30 a.m., 6130

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

Old Telegraph Road, Alexandria. Visit www.hopeucc.org. Join LINCOLN

CONGREGATIONAL TEMPLE – UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST for

an inclusive, loving and progressive faith community every Sunday. 11 a.m. 1701 11th Street NW, near R in Shaw/Logan neighborhood. Visit www.lincolntemple.org.

METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA services at 11 a.m., led

by Rev. Emma Chattin. Children’s Sunday School, 11 a.m. 10383 Democracy Lane, Fairfax. For more info, call 703-691-0930 or visit www.mccnova.com.

NATIONAL CITY CHRISTIAN CHURCH, inclusive church with

GLBT fellowship, offers gospel worship, 8:30 a.m., and traditional worship, 11 a.m. 5 Thomas Circle NW. For more info, call 202-232-0323 or visit www.nationalcitycc.org.

ST. STEPHEN AND THE INCARNATION, an “interracial,

multi-ethnic Christian Community” offers services in English, 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., and in Spanish at 5:15 p.m. 1525 Newton St. NW. For more info, call 202-232-0900 or visit www.saintstephensdc.org.

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF SILVER SPRING

invites LGBTQ families and individuals of all creeds and cultures to join the church. Services 9:15 and 11:15 a.m. 10309 New Hampshire Ave. For more info, visit www.uucss.org.

MONDAY, FEB. 17 Presidents’ Day **The DC Center will be closed for Presidents’ Day. All regularly scheduled meetings are cancelled.**

ADVENTURING outdoors group

celebrates Presidents’ Day with an urban hike from Arlington Cemetery to Congressional Cemetery. Route starts with a visit to the graves of Presidents William Howard Taft and John F. Kennedy at Arlington and ends with a tour of LGBTQ gravesites at Congressional. Lunch at Union Station. Total length will not exceed 8 miles; many bail-out possibilities at Metro stations along the way. Bring beverages, lunch (or buy one at Union Station), comfortable walking shoes and $2 trip fee. Meet at 10 a.m. inside the Arlington Cemetery Metro Station by the station attendant’s kiosk. Hike ends by 4 p.m. at the Potomac Metro Station. For more information, contact Craig, 202-462-0535 or visit www.adventuring.org.

GLAA, the all-volunteer, nonpar-

tisan political organization that defends the rights of LGBTQ people in the nation’s capital, holds its monthly meeting at The DC Center. 7-8:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www.glaa.org. Join LGBTQ people from around the D.C. area for a biweekly BOARD GAME NIGHT, hosted by a local Board Gamers Meetup group. 6-9 p.m. Panera Bread, 1350 Connecticut Ave. NW, basement level. For more information, visit www.meetup.com/DC-LGBTBoard-Gamers.

Weekly Events 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. 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. Visit www.ushelpingus.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.

TUESDAY, FEB. 18 CENTER BI, a group of The DC

Center, hosts a monthly roundtable discussion around issues of bisexuality. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. Visit www.thedccenter.org.

THE HEALTH WORKING GROUP

of The DC Center hosts a “Packing Party,” where volunteers assemble safe-sex kits of condoms and lube. 7-9 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www.thedccenter.org.

Weekly Events THE GAY MEN'S HEALTH COLLABORATIVE offers free

HIV testing and STI screening and treatment every Tuesday. 5-6:30 p.m. Rainbow Tuesday LGBT Clinic, Alexandria Health Department, 4480 King St. 703746-4986 or text 571-214-9617. www.inova.org/gmhc

OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS

holds an LGBT-focused meeting every Tuesday, 7 p.m. at St. George’s Episcopal Church, 915 Oakland Ave., Arlington, just steps from Virginia Square Metro. Handicapped accessible. Newcomers welcome. For more info, call Dick, 703-521-1999 or email liveandletliveoa@gmail.com.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 19 BOOKMEN DC, an informal men’s

gay-literature group, discusses The Swerve: How the World Became Modern, by Stephen Greenblatt, at The DC Center. All are welcome to attend. 7:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. Visit www.bookmendc. blogspot.com.

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.

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.

THURSDAY, FEB. 20 AGLA BOOK CLUB meets at

Federico’s Ristorante Italiano to discuss You Will Not Have My Hate, by Antoine Leiris. Everyone welcome. 7:30-9 p.m. 519 23rd St. S., Arlington, Va. Please RSVP in advance by emailing info@agla.org. Join other LGBTQ military, national security, and DoD workers for the monthly DOD PRIDE HAPPY HOUR at Freddie’s Beach Bar. 5-8 p.m. 555 23rd St. S., Arlington, Va. For more information, visit www. facebook.com/DoDPrideEvents. The DC Center holds a meeting of its POLY DISCUSSION GROUP, for people interested in polyamory, non-monogamy or other nontraditional relationships. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. Visit www. thedccenter.org. l For more events, visit www. metroweekly.com/community/ calendar.

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

Young Love

Duncan Sheik’s Tony-winning Spring Awakening, in a breathtaking new production at Round House, finds relevance in the burgeoning sexuality of teenagers. By Doug Rule The cast of Spring Awakening photographed by Todd Franson on the set Friday, February 7, 2020. Costumes by Sarah Cubbage • Set by Adam Rigg • Stage Lighting by Colin K. Bills

TEVEN SATER AND I BOTH HAD A VISION FOR HOW this classic play from the 19th century might be adapted as a contemporary musical,” says the Grammy-winning pop star Duncan Sheik. With Spring Awakening, the duo more than succeeded. The show, featuring music by Sheik and lyrics and book by Sater, based on Frank Wedekind’s original German play, hauled in eight Tony Awards in 2007. It went on to become the toast of several theater seasons, with its multi-year original run on Broadway as well as successive national tours. Thirteen years later, the musical remains a powerful, stirring, provocative work. Sheik points to Spring Awakening’s overriding theme as the chief reason for its continued popularity and cultural relevance. “It’s about how parents and clergy and teachers can really mess up the kids that are in their charge, by not communicating with them, or not communicating with them honestly,” he says. “Specifically about issues of sex, but that can go into any other area that you don't want to speak of... And giving them a lot of canned, bourgeois notions about religion and values, and stuff that was really hypocrisy, and how that can damage children. “It was certainly like that in the 19th century, and it continues

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

James Mernin as Ernst and Christian Montgomery as Hanschen

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY.COM

Evan Davies as Melchior and Christina Sastre as Wendla

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY.COM

to be like that today. You only have to look at the White House to see that to be the case.”

A FEW MILES NORTH of D.C., in Bethesda, the recently renovated Round House Theatre is introducing a new generation of actors and theatergoers to Sheik’s musical, in a dazzling new production overseen by Alan Paul. The Associate Artistic Director at Shakespeare Theatre Company, Paul has become one of Washington’s go-to musical theater directors. He takes a notably fresh approach for his Round House debut, starting with a 13-person cast comprised mostly of recent college grads in their early 20s. The two main exceptions are acclaimed veteran actors Bobby Smith and Tanya Beckman, who play all the Adult Men and Adult Women characters, respectively. “You can't make these characters likeable, really,” Smith says. “So much of the conflict in the show [stems from] everything the adults do incorrectly.” Paul calls the production “a showcase for a lot of really talented young performers in the area. The musical asks them to do a lot of big things.” He singles out for praise 23-year-old Carson Collins, who plays Georg, the boy infatuated with his female teacher: “He's a breakout vocal star from the ensemble. He's got incredible solos.” Meanwhile, James Mernin, a 22-year-old New York native, portrays Ernst, a boy struggling with his sexual identity. Ultimately, he can’t resist the charms and kisses of Hänschen, portrayed by Christian Montgomery — one of the cast’s oldest actors, at age 27, and also one of its best-known. “It's really cool to show that, yes, gay people have always been here too, even in 1891 in Germany,” Montgomery says, who later suggests that Hänschen is more likely bi- or pansexual. “He’s attracted to basically everything — he falls on the spectrum. He is just very confident, and he knows what he wants and he's not afraid to go for it.” In the show, Hänschen and Ernst kiss a total of five times, something the two gay actors prepared for and rehearsed repeatedly until their kissing was perfect — perfectly scripted, that is, and performed the same way every time, like any other piece of choreography. The two decided in advance how long each kiss would last by counting. “The last kiss we have is a four count,” Mernin says. “It’s very by-the-number. The counts help us stay in time with the music so that when we finish the scene, we're not really ahead or behind the pickup for the next verse of the song.” Montgomery and Mernin were guided through their kissing scenes by Lorraine Ressegger-Slone, the show’s intimacy consultant. With her help, Montgomery says, the most intimate moments become “very technical, which is great when you're working with somebody and you have to do the same thing every day. You want to make sure you know exactly what you're doing, and that it's work, like anything else.” Intimacy direction, says Ressegger-Slone, is a new and burgeoning field, and an offshoot of choreography — fight choreography in particular. “Just as you would choreograph a dance or a fight for the stage,” she says, “you want to choreograph those intimate moments as well.” This is particularly relevant for any scene dealing with sexual situations or nudity. Her work involves “being an advocate and a voice for actors, and a safe

“IT’S ABOUT HOW PARENTS AND CLERGY AND TEACHERS CAN REALLY MESS UP THE KIDS THAT ARE IN THEIR CHARGE, giving them a lot of canned, bourgeois notions about religion and values, and how that can damage children.” —Duncan Sheik FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

person, helping them establish healthy boundaries, and to articulate those boundaries.” Paul McGill, a New York-based choreographer, is another new artist brought on specifically for the production. “The dances in this are unusual,” says director Paul. “Sometimes they're just psychological gestures. I think [McGill’s] done an amazing job capturing the internal world of the kids in this show. I don't think people have seen movement that looks like this before.” McGill says that Bill T. Jones’ choreography from the show’s original Broadway production “is definitely in the bones of the material. I tried my best not to put any stomps in the ‘Bitch of Living,’ but it's hard to steer away from what the music is calling for.” A big fan of McGill’s work with the show is actor James Mernin, who actually started his career as a dancer in New York City. Seeing McGill’s efforts has reignited his own passion for choreography. “Paul McGill is a genius,” he says. “He knows how to blend emotions, staging and stance together so flawlessly that audiences don't know they're witnessing a huge dance number until it's after the show. The first thing that a lot of my friends who have seen the show said was, ‘That choreography was breathtaking and flawless, and it worked so seamlessly into the show that it didn't seem like, ‘Okay, time for a big dance number now.’” Other cast members have been gratified to see that Spring Awakening seems to be catching on among today’s adolescents — or at least among Maryland high schoolers. “Seeing teenagers...coming to the show, and getting to talk to them afterwards has been really rewarding,” says 24-year-old Chani Wereley. “To know that our work playing these young people on the stage is resonating with people who are in that time of their life is really cool.” After a recent performance Wereley met a girl who identified with her character Martha, whose father abuses her, and the song she sings, “The Dark I Know Well.” “She came up to me and told me that she was a survivor, and that song was everything she can't say out loud, and just started crying,” Wereley says. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is why I do theater.’ It was so

rewarding, in the worst way.” “MUSICAL THEATER IS an interesting medium, because a lot of these shows, they take many years of development,” says Sheik, now 50. It can take many more years for each show to finally see the light of the stage and enter the public domain. “You kind of have to have a lot of irons in the fire in order to make it work. I’ve got lots of — possibly too many — shows in various stages of development.” Over the past year alone, a new crop of musicals composed by Sheik have briefly lit up Off-Broadway, including Alice by Heart, his musical twist on Lewis Carroll’s classic Wonderland fantasy created with his Spring Awakening collaborator Sater, and The Secret Life of Bees, adapted from the novel by Sue Monk Kidd and featuring a book by Lynn Nottage and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead. Meanwhile, next month sees the Off-Broadway premiere of Whisper House, a haunting new work featuring music by Sheik and lyrics co-written by the musical’s book writer Kyle Jarrow. And just last week, Sheik launched another show OffBroadway — Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, a musical take on the hit 1969 film about sexual exploration, boasting a book by Jonathan Marc Sherman and lyrics co-written with Amanda Green. Paul Mazursky’s debut feature film is “sort of a cult favorite,” Sheik says, heralded for its frank and continues on page 33

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

Katie Rey Bogdan as Anna and Kalen Robinson as Thea

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY.COM

Chani Wereley as Martha and Jane Bernhard as Ilse

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY.COM

Carson Collins as Georg and Michael J. Mainwaring as Otto

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY.COM

Sean Watkinson as Moritz

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY.COM

unconventional look into issues of sexual experimentation and open relationships among a group of young, straight, married professionals. The adaptation is half a world away and nearly a century removed from the setting of Spring Awakening, but Sheik does see a throughline. “It's similar territory, because it's about a group of people trying to navigate new norms and values about sexuality — but from the perspective of adults in the late '60s, in bourgeois L.A., as opposed to teenagers in the 1890s in bourgeois Germany. “Spring Awakening is this sort of perennial, which is really lovely,” he continues. “There continue to be productions all over the country, and certainly all over the world. It's really gratifying, and it's an amazing thing.” Sheik generally doesn’t get involved or see the many regional productions of the show — no matter how innovative or acclaimed they may be, like the one currently

on stage at Round House. “I just opened a show here in New York,” says the singer-songwriter, currently busy with his wife co-parenting their first-born child, a 14-month-old daughter. “As much as I would have loved to have come to D.C. and been around for that process, I just can't be in two places at once.” Maybe next time. “The play will always probably be relevant, sadly, and the musical I think gives voice to that in a more contemporary manner,” Sheik says. “Hopefully some people will see it, and it will sort of sink in that it's really important to listen to the voices of young people.” l Spring Awakening runs through Feb. 23 at Round House Theatre, 4545 East-West Highway, in Bethesda, Md. Tickets are $50 to $60. Call 240-644-1100 or visit www. roundhousetheatre.org.

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

Movies

Smoldering Gaze

Artist and subject engage in a slow-dance of mutual attraction in the lesbian drama Portrait of a Lady on Fire. By André Hereford

N 1760 FRANCE, MARIANNE, AN ARTIST, IS SUMMONED TO A WINDSWEPT island château to paint the bridal portrait of tempestuous beauty Héloïse, betrothed by her mother, the Countess, to a gentleman in Milan. Having no interest in entering into the arranged marriage, Héloïse refuses to sit for the portrait. So the Countess enlists Marianne to accompany Héloïse as a “walking companion,” assigned to secretly study her subject in order to produce the portrait. Accordingly, in writer-director Cécile Sciamma’s simmering Portrait of a Lady on Fire (HHHHH), Marianne (Noémie Merlant) observes the intense, alert Héloïse (Adèle Haenel) with delicate care and stolen glances, furtively studying her gestures and features, and sketching on the sly. Freshly sprung from a convent, Héloïse responds to the attention, but more importantly, to the stimulating companionship. She’s had little to no exposure before to an independent woman like Marianne. Their walks along the beach, and Marianne’s secret portrait-painting, fill their days, until their passion can no longer be contained. But more than merely dressing up the typical queer, will-they-or-won’t-they romance with period finery, Sciamma, who broke out with 2011 gender-bending drama Tomboy, imbues this lush portrait with a sensuality that’s gorgeously cinematic. Shot with painterly skill and depth by award-winning cinematographer Claire Mathon

(Stranger by the Lake), Portrait of a Lady on Fire seems shaped by sea air, sand, oil paint, and candlelight. At night, by a roaring bonfire, Marianne and Héloïse join in a joyful gathering of women in song. Under glaring sunlight, the weight of Marianne’s heaping, wet dress as she trudges up a beach, contrasted with the unfettered movement of a boatman in his breeches, speaks as clearly as any line of dialogue about the era’s differences between the rights of men and women. So too does the story say plenty about the differences in privilege and opportunity afforded to noblewoman Héloïse and working woman Marianne, who can choose whether or not to marry, or to take over her father’s portrait studio. Yet for all Marianne’s independence, she can’t resist Héloïse’s gaze, a powerful stare that seems to pierce straight through her. For that lightning glare alone, Haenel is perfectly cast in the role, and contributes even more in the full dimension of her performance, matched by Merlant’s measured restraint as Marianne. Between them, they create an electric pocket of desire and intimacy within Sciamma’s bittersweet portrait of two ladies in love. l

Portrait of a Lady on Fire is rated R, and opens Friday, Feb. 14 at Landmark’s E Street Cinema in D.C., the Bethesda Row Cinemas in Maryland, and the Angelika Mosaic in Virgina. 34

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

STAN WEINSTEIN

Stage

Heartfelt

An obsessed widow clings to her dead husband’s memory, and a handsome transplant recipient, in Exquisite Agony. By André Hereford

ICH WITH PURPOSE AND ATMOSPHERE, THOUGH COMPARATIVELY thin on plot, Nilo Cruz’s engaging Exquisite Agony (HHHHH) tinkers and toys with challenging ideas that it doesn’t really take out of the box. Cruz’s drama establishes the intriguing premise of opera singer Millie Marcel (Luz Nicolas) fixating on finding the young cardiac patient now living with her late husband’s heart, but populates her story with a swirling cast of complicated characters who become embroiled in her obsession without doing much else. Directing GALA Hispanic Theatre’s D.C. premiere of his work, Cruz, the Pulitzerwinning playwright of Anna in the Tropics, conjures an alluringly operatic mood, abetted by a robust performance from Nicolas, who originated the role of Millie in the play’s Off-Broadway debut last year. She’s paired with Joel Hernández Lara, as Amér, the grateful recipient of the heart that once pumped blood through the veins of Millie’s late husband Lorenzo. Clinging to the memory of him, and insisting he had a “good heart,” she yearns to know Lorenzo’s new home, despite the objections of hers and Lorenzo’s adult children, Romy (Catherine Nunez) and Tommy (Andrés Talero). Romy laments that Millie continues to love Lorenzo better than he ever loved her, while Tommy rails against Millie’s “militant” refusal to let him go. In the rising pitch of their emotions, Amér remains an object to be examined, as the play ponders the idea that we are more than the sum of our DNA, memo-

ries, and experiences. Meanwhile, Millie ponders Amér’s bare chest up close at every opportunity, as Amér confides in his brother Imanol (José Antonio González) that he might actually feel a metaphysical connection to the deceased Lorenzo. Countering these spiritual assessments, Doctor Castillo (Ariel Texidó), who performed the transplant operation, adds his clinical perspective on the matter, while also falling for Millie. Conveying the doctor’s dawning infatuation, Texidó invests his man of science with winning warmth, humor, and openness. He allows us to see the good doctor moved to reconsider some of the notions he holds dear, and his command of the stage appears effortless, even when he’s just seated next to Nicolas. Their bubbly rapport threatens to overshadow Millie’s story with Amér, though Lara does make a strong impression in his role as the kind and sensitive young musician grateful for a second chance at life. Cruz emphasizes his vitality, sending Amér running laps around Clifton Chadick’s stylishly minimal set. For her part, Millie prowls and stretches about the stage with a feline vigor of her own. Often she seems like a woman too much alive, and with too much to live for, to be so hung up on a dead man. l

Exquisita Agonía (Exquisite Agony) runs through March 1 at the GALA Hispanic Theatre, 3333 14th St. NW. Performances are in Spanish with English surtitles. Tickets are $20 to $55. Call 202-234-7174 or visit www.galatheatre.org. FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

CHRISTOPHER MUELLER

Stage

Two Guns Blazing Signature Theatre shoots and scores with the World Premiere of Gun & Powder, an enthralling period musical. By André Hereford

ASED ON THE REAL-LIFE EXPLOITS OF OUTLAW SISTERS MARY AND Martha Clarke, Angelica Chéri and Ross Baum’s musical, Gun & Powder (HHHHH), in a World Premiere engagement at Signature Theatre, takes off from small-town Texas in 1893 on an intricately layered and gloriously sung journey into American history. Following a creaky, though essential, setup on the cotton sharecropping plantation where light-skinned black sisters Mary (Solea Pfeiffer) and Martha (Emmy Raver36

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

Lampman) were raised by their dear mother Tallulah (Marva Hicks), the plot rides with the siblings on their questing adventure towards freedom and fortune. Born free, but still yoked to their family’s indebted lot, Mary and Martha decide to leave their ma and their race behind, to attempt a daring act they never could get away with back home in Marlin, Texas: passing for white women. Brave girls lacking much experience of the world beyond the cotton fields, they know that a white woman enjoys another kind of freedom than any black woman could hope to find in the rural South. “There’s a whole lot a little bit of freedom can do,” sings Martha. But that little

taste of liberty could come at an extremely steep price, should the sisters’ deception be discovered — and you just know the truth somehow will come to light. The show draws humor, suspense, and powerful emotional complexity from its textured depiction of Mary and Martha’s dangerous lie. Director Robert O’Hara, fresh off the Broadway triumph of Jeremy O. Harris’ no-holds-barred Slave Play, molds the unconventional biography into a rousingly romantic folk legend, recounted throughout by a chorus of kinfolk. They know all the T on the Clarke sisters and sing it back with proper soul and emphasis. The strong seven-performer line of kinfolk — Yvette Monique Clark, Amber Lenell Jones, Rayshun LaMarr, Da’Von T. Moody, Christopher Michael Richardson, Awa Sal Secka, and Kanysha Williams — step, shake, and roll through Byron Easley’s expressive choreography. Together, they stir up a revival. O’Hara also makes points breaking members off for searing solos in front of Jason Sherwood’s artfully fabricated backdrop. Evoking artist Mark Bradford’s sprawling, eight-piece mural Pickett’s Charge, currently encircling the third level of the Hirshhorn Museum, the scenery sells the post-Civil War period, as do Dede Ayite’s lovely costumes and J. Jared Janas’ wigs and makeup. Chéri and Baum’s songs, brimming with wit and feeling, sell themselves, but, of course, the tunes get a huge leg up with a cast this good. Pfeiffer and Raver-Lampman beautifully complement one another as sisters, and costars, delivering a proud soprano Mary and resolute alto Martha who each hold their own as gun-toting bandits, and women vulnerable in love. Martha is pursued by

kind butler Elijah, portrayed by Donald Webber, Jr., as a simple man not nearly as naïve as he might appear. Webber might make him a bit too simple, but as Elijah gains his own taste of freedom, Webber captures the servant’s flowering determination. Mary falls for a very determined man, Jesse (Dan Tracy), who’s rich and white, and none the wiser about the true identity of the woman he loves. Ably essaying a tricky role, Tracy manages to make Jesse a credibly unrefined man of his time, if not too vehemently racist, while still conveying that this smitten guy does truly see Mary — even though he doesn’t really see Mary. His black housekeepers Sissy and Flo do see right through Mary and Martha. Doing double-duty as kinfolk and playing Sissy and Flo, Yvette Monique Clark and Awa Sal Secka practically are a show unto themselves whether singing, speaking, or merely “Um-hmmm”-ing the maids’ pithy play-by-play of the drama unfolding before their knowing eyes. They cleverly comment on the action without pulling us out of it, a virtue shared by many of the songs, like the ditty “Just Passing Through,” which shorthands polite train conversation in hilarious fashion. Leading a ten-person orchestra, Darryl G. Ivey keeps Baum’s score chugging along, supporting powerful musical moments like Pfeiffer slaying Mary’s saucy love song “Real Man,” then quickly softening her sass for the achingly vulnerable “The Way I Am.” An entire life and history are represented in the highs and lows put forth in those two songs. Gun & Powder, which began as a collaborative master’s thesis project for writer and lyricist Chéri and composer Baum when they were classmates at NYU, might very well make history of its own someday. l

Gun & Powder runs through February 23 at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Avenue, in Arlington. Tickets are $40 to $103. Call 703-820-9771, or visit www.sigtheatre.org.

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY.COM

NightLife Photography by Ward Morrison

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY.COM

Scene

DC Rawhides at Ziegfeld’s/Secrets - Saturday, Feb. 8 - Photography by Ward Morrison See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

DrinksDragDJsEtc... Friday, February 14 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-3am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports DC EAGLE Meaty Fridays Happy Hour 5-9pm • Free Hot Dogs all night and Pizza at 7:30pm • $2 off all drinks until 9pm • DJ Popperz spins • $5 Cover starts at 7pm, $10 after 9pm • Birds of Prey Drag Show in the Exile at 10:30pm • $10 Cover • Open until 3am FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm-close

GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $3 Rail and Domestic • $5 Svedka, all flavors all night long • Alpha and Omega Productions and Matt Black Productions presents GLO: Underwear Dance Party, 10pm-close • Featuring DJs Ultra and Phoenix • $5 Cover (includes clothes check) • $5 Fireball 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 • Friday Night Videos, 9:30pm • Rotating DJs 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 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 • Valentine’s Day — ThreeCourse Dinner Special TRADE Doors open 5pm • XL Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass is served in an XL glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $5 • Otter Happy

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

Hour with guest DJs, 5-11pm ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS Men of Secrets, 9pm • Guest dancers • Rotating DJs • Kristina Kelly’s Diva Fev-ah Drag Show • Doors at 9pm, Shows at 11:45pm • Music by DJ Jeff Eletto • Cover 21+

Saturday, February 15 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 2pm-3am • Video Games • Live televised sports AVALON SATURDAYS Side Piece Edition, 10pm-4am • Featuring DJ Drew G • Drag Show, 10:30-11:30pm, hosted by Ba’Naka and a rotating cast of drag queens • $4

Absolut Drinks, 10pm-midnight • 21+ • $20 Cover • $25 VIP • Tickets available at Eventbrite.com DC EAGLE Open at 5pm • Happy Hour until 9pm • Saturday Kink, 9pm-close • Coat/Clothes check open • Rosebud: A DC Boys of Leather Bar Night, 9pm-close • Chocolates and Jello Shots • Flag red, or wear your best red gear, for a free red jello shot • Serving until 3am • 18+ FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Saturday Breakfast Buffet, 10am-3pm • $14.99 with one glass of champagne or coffee, soda or juice • 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 • The Bear Cave: Retro to Electro, 9pm-close • Music by DJ Popperz • 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 NUMBER NINE Doors open 2pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5 Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close • THIRSTY, featuring VJ Chord Bezerra, 9:30pm

DC EAGLE 3701 Benning Rd. NE (202) 455-6500 www.dceagle.com

NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR 900 U St. NW 202-332-6355 www.nelliessportsbar.com

FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR 555 23rd St. S. Arlington, Va. 703-685-0555 www.freddiesbeachbar.com

NUMBER NINE 1435 P St. NW 202-986-0999 www.numberninedc.com

GREEN LANTERN 1335 Green Ct. NW 202-347-4533 www.greenlanterndc.com

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

PITCHERS 2317 18th St. NW 202-733-2568 www.pitchersbardc.com

NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS Compiled by Doug Rule

VALENTINES SWAZZY NIGHTS SwazzEvents, producers of queer-centered parties that are “all-inclusive, body-positive, trans-positive, and accessible,” returns to the Looking Glass Lounge for its monthly outing at this unpretentious Park View spot. Starting at 9 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 14, Valentine’s Swazzy Nights will offer, according to the organizers, “a night of booze, sexy dancing with that qt, and amazing performances.” Among the performers taking the stage at 11 p.m. is the “wicked good time” newcomer Sitara Sin and drag king Mitch. Music, including slow jams and chill-out that will help set the party’s mood, are courtesy DJ Shorno Babu. The Looking Glass Lounge is at 3634 Georgia Ave. NW. Call 202-722-7669 or visit www.facebook.com/swazzevents.

PITCHERS Open Noon-3am • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 2am SHAW’S TAVERN Brunch with $16 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 TRADE Doors open 2pm • XL Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass is served in an XL glass for the same price, 2-10pm • Beer and wine only $5 • Gay Bash: The Alt Dance Party and Home for Unconventional Drag in the Nation’s Capital, 10pm • Hosted by Donna

Slash • Featuring JaxKnife Complex, Salvadora Dali, Jane Saw, and special guests • Music by The Barber Streisand ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS Men of Secrets upstairs, 9pm-close • Fully nude male dancers • Ladies of Illusion Drag Show with host Ella Fitzgerald in Ziegfeld’s • Doors open at 9pm, Show at 11:45pm • Music by DJs Keith Hoffman and Don T. • Cover 21+

Sunday, February 16 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 2pm-12am • $4 Smirnoff and Domestic Cans • Video Games • Live televised sports

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 BEAR CAVE: #LOVEORLUST The furry fellas behind Bears Can Party come out of hibernation for another tour of the Bear Cave at Green Lantern, this one falling over Valentine’s Day weekend. Caramel’ D and Beowoof are the recurring party’s two new gogo boys who will dance to “ALL genres of music” as spun by DJ Popperz. Naturally, “Beartenders” will be slinging “cheap drinks” from the full bar. The party is open to patrons 21 and over, whether they’re looking for love or lust, and whether they prefer to dress or undress down to their skivvies, checking their clothes with their coat. This Saturday, Feb. 15, starting at 9 p.m. Green Lantern is at 1335 Green Ct. NW. No cover. Call 202-347-4533 or visit www.greenlanterndc.com. KICKS & GIGGLES: THE LONELY HOLES CLUB DJs Ben Norman and Phil Reese originally started this once-a-month queer party as “a dancey anecdote to Saturday’s usual heteronormativity.” Each month brings a different theme, generally creative, and presented in a cheeky kind of way. That’s certainly true with the February edition of the party, geared to all those who have fallen in, out of, or in-between love. Upon entering Uproar on Saturday, Feb. 15, each guest will choose an “easy-to-spot glow stick” that matches the designated hue of their relationship status. Green means all systems go for those single and ready to mingle; yellow is for those seeking to explore beyond traditional bounds but proceeding with caution and in tandem with a partner in some state of play; red (also black) means stop in the name of love, but warm to the idea of friends; and blue is for those who identify as polyamorous. The unstated aim of the party could be thought of as helping guests form bonds with others who color as they do on the sexual spectrum. If you want to get further down in the cheeky gutter with a play on the party’s titular theme, you could say the end goal is to leave no holes barred, and no one left with a lonely behind. The party starts at 10 p.m. Uproar Lounge is at 639 Florida Ave NW. Call 202-462-4464 or visit www.facebook.com/uproarloungedc. THE BIG BOARD: MARKET CRASH AMOR If you’re still struck with that loving feeling next Wednesday, Feb. 19, the Big Board on H Street becomes more than just friendly with the neighborhood’s LGBTQ residents every other hump day, when a love of all things queer is the order of the night, per the community outing called Market Crash. The party attracts those with a love of happy house and poppy dance hits in particular, courtesy of guest DJ Mike Babbitt. Other things to love: Drink specials including $2 specialty shots all night long and $5 draft and rail offerings until 11 p.m. The LGBTQ love starts at 9 p.m. The Big Board is at 421 H St. NE. Call 202-543-3630 or visit www.thebigboarddc.com. l

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

DC EAGLE Open at Noon • Happy Hour until 9pm • Food served 5-8pm, $10 a plate • Cigar Sundays and Cruisy Sundays • Lights out at 8pm • $3 off all Whiskeys & Bourbons, $5 Chivas Regal, $15 bottomless Bud/Bud Light, $20 Bottomless Premium Drafts FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Fabulous Sunday Champagne Brunch, 10am-3pm • $24.99 with four glasses of champagne or mimosas, 1 Bloody Mary, or coffee, soda or juice • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm-close GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Karaoke with Kevin downstairs, 9:30pm-close 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 • 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 SHAW’S TAVERN Brunch with $16 Bottomless Mimosas, 10am-3pm • Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-priced select pizzas and appetizers • Dinner and Drag Show with Kristina Kelly, 6:30pm • For reservations, email shawsdinnerdragshow@ gmail.com TRADE Doors open 2pm • XL Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass is served in an XL glass for the same price, 2-10pm • Beer and wine only $5 • CHURCH: Church-themed dance party featuring house music and pop-up performances • Music by WesstheDJ,

Jesse Jackson, and special guest hosts and performers

Monday, February 17 DC EAGLE Manic Mondays • Food served, 2-6pm • Happy Hour until 9pm, $2 off all drinks • Free Pool play • $2 Bud & Bud Lights, $15 bottomless premium drafts 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 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

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover SHAW’S TAVERN President’s Day Brunch, 11am-3pm • Bottomless Mimosas, $16 • 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, 7:30pm TRADE Doors open 5pm • XL Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass is served in an XL glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $5

Tuesday, February 18 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports DC EAGLE 2-4-1 Tuesdays • All Drinks, Buy one, Get one free • First Drink Free for Guys in Jockstraps 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 • Tito’s Tuesday: $5 Tito’s Vodka all night 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 SHAW’S TAVERN Join us for the New Hampshire Primary Results! • Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • HalfPriced Burgers and Pizzas, 5-10pm • Schitt’s Creek Watch Party, 9pm

TRADE Doors open 5pm • XL Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass is served in an XL glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $5 • Sissy That Tuesday: A Monthly Cabaret, 8pm • Hosted by Pussy Noir and featuring special guests • Music by WesstheDJ

Wednesday, February 19 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports DC EAGLE Happy Hour until 9pm • Karaoke by D&K Sounds from 9pm-1am • $4 Rails, Wines & Domestic Drafts FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • $6 Burgers • Beach Blanket Drag Bingo Night, hosted by Ms. Regina Jozet Adams, 8pm • Bingo prizes • Karaoke, 10pm-1am GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4pm-9pm • Bear Yoga with Greg Leo, 6:30-7:30pm • $10 per

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY.COM

class • $3 rail cocktails and domestic beers all night long • Karaoke, 9pm

Thursday, February 20

NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR SmartAss Trivia Night, 8-10pm • Prizes include bar tabs and tickets to shows at the 9:30 Club • Absolutely Snatched Drag Show, hosted by Brooklyn Heights, 9pm • $3 Bud Light, $5 Absolut, $15 Buckets of Beer

A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-2am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports

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 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 • Piano Bar and Karaoke, 8pm • Democratic Debate Watch Party, 8pm TRADE Doors open 5pm • XL Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass is served in an XL glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $5

DC EAGLE $4 Rail and Domestics for guys in L.U.R.E. (Leather, Uniform, Rubber, Etc.) • Lights Dimmed at 8pm FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm-close

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 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

GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Shirtless Thursday, 10-11pm • Men in Underwear Drink Free, 12-12:30am • DJs BacK2bACk

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

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

ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS All male, nude dancers, 9pm-close • “New Meat” Open Dancers Audition • Music by DJ Don T. • Cover 21+

NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover • ThurSlay, featuring DJ Jack Rayburn, 10pm

Friday, February 21

PITCHERS Open 5pm-2am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised

A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-3am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

DC EAGLE Meaty Fridays Happy Hour 5-9pm • Free Hot Dogs all night and Pizza at 7:30pm • $2 off all drinks until 9pm • $5 Cover starts at 7pm, $10 after 9pm • Birds of Prey Drag Show at 10:30pm • DJ Moka follows the drag show • Open until 3am FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm-close GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $3 Rail and Domestic • $5 Svedka, all flavors all night long • Rough House: Hands On, Lights Off, 10pm-close • All Body Types Welcome • Featuring DJ Lemz • $5 Cover (includes clothes check) 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 • Friday Night Videos, 9:30pm • Rotating DJs

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 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 • Milly Cover Band, 9pm TRADE Doors open 5pm • XL Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass is served in an XL glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $5 • Otter Happy Hour with guest DJs, 5-11pm ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS Men of Secrets, 9pm • Guest dancers • Rotating DJs • Kristina Kelly’s Diva Fev-ah Drag Show • Doors at 9pm, Shows at 11:45pm • Music by DJ Jeff Eletto • Cover 21+

Saturday, February 22 AVALON SATURDAYS Avalon Saturdays and Chorus DC present the

Return of DJ Shane Marcus, 10pm-4am • Drag Show, 10:30-11:30pm, hosted by Ba’Naka and a rotating cast of drag queens • $4 Absolut Drinks, 10pm-midnight • 21+ • $20 Cover, $25 VIP • Tickets available at Eventbrite.com DC EAGLE Open at 5pm • Saturday Kink with DJ Chris Adam in the Main Bar, 9pm-close • $5 Cover • Serving until 3am PEACH PIT @DC9 1940 9th St. NW 1990s Dance Party, 10:30pm-3am • DJ Matt Bailer • $5 before midnight, $8 after midnight • 21+

Sunday, February 23 SHADY PINES @DC9 1940 9th St. NW 1980s Tea Dance, 3-7pm • DJ Matt Bailer • Enclosed and Heated • 21+ • Free l For more specials not featured in print, visit www.metroweekly.com/ nightlife/drink_specials.

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY.COM

LastWord. People say the queerest things

“Every parent should be what you’re being right now, which is unconditionally loving your child. ” — ELLEN DEGENERES, speaking to NBA player Dwyane Wade on her show, after Wade announced that his daughter Zaya is a transgender girl. “Me and my wife Gabrielle [Union], we are proud — and I say proud — parents of a child in the LGBTQ+ community,” Wade said. “Now it’s our job to, one, go out and get information, to reach out to every relationship that we have. My wife reached out to everybody on the cast of Pose.”

“Last week was a perfect clusterfuck. It was completely overwhelming. ” — Actress JAMEELA JAMIL, in an Instagram post after she was forced to come out as queer. Jamil received extensive backlash for being hired as a judge on HBO Max’s voguing and design competition Legendary, due to perceptions that she was straight and cisgender — something she corrected in a tweet on Feb. 5. Reflecting on the incident on Instagram, she said, “[It’s] scary as an actor to openly admit your sexuality, especially when you’re already a brown female in your thirties. This is absolutely not how I wanted it to come out.”

“It seems cruel to punish that defect with death.” — Nineteenth-century British farmer MATTHEW TOMLINSON, in a surprisingly forward-thinking diary entry on homosexuality from 1810, which was recently discovered by Eamonn O’Keefe, a researcher at the University of Oxford. Tomlinson wrote, “If it is their nature from childhood (as I am informed it is)...it must then be considered as natural, otherwise, as a defect in nature.”

“Sadly it takes a straight man with a lot of privilege to come in as well, to actually get things done. ” — Imagine Dragons frontman DAN REYNOLDS, speaking to Billboard after he visited Washington D.C. to push lawmakers in Congress to ban conversion therapy. Reynolds is an outspoken LGBTQ ally, and started the LoveLoud foundation in 2017 to help the Mormon community love and support LGBTQ youth.

“The transgender ban issue is important...because it’s the tip of the iceberg.” — MIA YAMAMOTO, transgender lawyer and Vietnam veteran, speaking to students at NYU Law about Donald Trump’s ban on transgender people serving openly in the military. “[Transgender people] have something to offer the country,” she said. “We believe in this country as much as anybody else.”

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY.COM