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Contents
RENEWED SLATE
Chef Danny Lledó has found a new way to interact with customers through hands-online classes. By Doug Rule
SHE LIKES TO WATCH
A featured star on Celebrity Watch Party, Raven-Symoné is thrilled to let down her rainbow braids and just be herself. Interview by André Hereford Photography by Quentin Ryan
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Volume 27 Issue 2
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INTENSE PERFUME
The new album from Perfume Genius revels in the power and intensity of physical connection. By Sean Maunier
SPOTLIGHT: PROPPED UP p.5 ELAINE PAIGE: ORIGINAL CAT p.7 OUT ON THE TOWN p.11 THE FEED: CHANGEMAKER p.19 SAVING RYAN p.22 NEEDLESS ERASURE p.24 STORMY SITUATION p.25 DEUTSCHE BAN p.26 RAINBOW RUSE p.27 GALLERY: NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS p.34 FILM: STILL WAITING IN THE WINGS p.36 SELFIE SCENE p.39 LAST WORD p.41 Washington, D.C.’s Best LGBTQ Magazine for 26 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 Olivia Kendall Cover Photography Quentin Ryan 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.
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You’ve Got A Friend
Coat of Many Colors
APO Jukebox 30 May 2020 | 8 PM Register: Eventbrite.com Tickets Starting at $20
Music Director Luke S. Frazier
More information: theamericanpops.org 202.599.3865
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Spotlight
Propped Up W
HAT POSSESSES SOMEONE TO BECOME A SERI- Fleisher, the voices behind Jessica and Roger Rabbit. ous collector of movie props? There’s no better perProp Culture smartly trades financial valuations, so common son to ask than Dan Lanigan. “Maybe a better person in this genre of show, for emotional payoffs, as Lanigan connects to ask would be a psychologist,” laughs the amiable, energized actors — Christopher Lloyd (Judge Doom in Rabbit), Bruce host of Prop Culture, which recently debuted on the Disney+ Boxleitner (Tron), and Karen Dotrice (Jane in Mary Poppins) streaming service. Over the years, Lanigan, a television produc- with their original costumes. Among the show’s most heartfelt er (MST3K: The Return), has amassed an astounding collection moments is in the Poppins episode, as Lanigan presents choreogof movie memorabilia, and an impressive knowledge of the rapher Dee Dee Wood with a truly rare find: one of the original behind-the-scenes stories that go along with them. You might chimney sweep brooms from the movie’s rooftop dance. call Lanigan the Indy Jones of prop collectors. “A lot of TV shows of this type come down to the financial Over the course of Prop Culture’s eight engaging, informative value of the item,” says Lanigan. “But for me, it's about the emoepisodes, he hunts down items from such House of Mouse clas- tional value. I don't collect these items because the stuff may be sics as Mary Poppins, Tron, The Nightmare Before Christmas, worth money. I collect them because the films are important to The Chronicles of Narnia, The Muppet Movie, me, and the people that worked on these films, Click Here to and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? as you dive into the details, are important.” In each episode, Lanigan connects with the Should a second season of the show get Watch the Trailer designers behind the costumes, sketches, and approved, Lanigan hopes to expand the repphysical props, who, in turn, recount fascinating details about ertoire of movies covered. “We could do seasons forever,” their creations. We learn, for instance, that the skin-tight outfits he says. “My hope is that we would dip into the Fox movies from Tron were so revealing, the actors were told to wear robes and then Lucasfilm and maybe even Marvel [Disney owns all when off-set. We discover how the spectacular moment where three]. But there are also many great movies that are Warner a cartoon Roger Rabbit crashes through a real-world window Brothers and Universal, so yes, I would love to do an episode blind, shattering it in his precise image, was achieved in one on Blade Runner, and I would love to do one on The Matrix. take. (The preserved pane, like its namesake rabbit, is framed in But, honestly, one of the strengths of us doing the show with Disney’s vaults.) He pays a visit to Nightmare’s legendary com- Disney is that we have access, theoretically, to their entire catposer Danny Elfman, as well as Kathleen Turner and Charles alog.” —Randy Shulman Prop Culture is now streaming on Disney+. MAY 14, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
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Spotlight
The Original Glamour Cat O
NE NIGHT IN 1981, ELAINE PAIGE CAME HOME TO ter on my first vision of that cat.” a surprise guest. “I get to the front door,” she says, “and Paige asked director Trevor Nunn if she could give Grizabella I see this dilapidated, rather thin, scraggly, mangy black a limp. “I remember saying, ‘Do you think it's a bit much? I cat strolling toward me. It really was pathetic. It looked on its don't want people to think I'm playing Richard the Third in a last legs, to be honest. So I gave it a saucer of milk. Needless to cat outfit.’ And he said, ‘No, no, add it!’ It helped me age her say, it stayed the night.” up a bit, because I was obviously much younger then. I wanted The next morning, Paige was woken by a frantic call from Grizabella to have some kind of weight and age to her, to make producer Cameron Macintosh. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new her song land.” show Cats was just days away from opening in London’s West The response at the time was phenomenal. “Nobody had End and Judi Dench, slated to play Grizabella, the Glamour Cat, ever seen anything like Cats at all. It was completely fresh and had injured herself. Could Paige, who had originated the role of new and innovative. John Napier, who designed the show, is a Eva Peron in Webber’s Evita to tremendous acclaim, take on the master. And Andrew managed to pull out all the stops musically role? Oh, and they opened in less than a week. in that there's every kind of style: rock, jazz, and the haunting “It was all such a rush,” says Paige. “I had only a matter of melody of Memory, which I think is probably one of his greatest days to learn what this show was all about. It seemed so odd melodies ever written.” and peculiar to me when I first saw them rehearsing in these Paige revived her now legendary rendition of Grizabella in wonderfully painted jumpsuit skins, with this wild 1998 for a special filmed version of the theatrical Click Here makeup and mad hair. It was sort of like Disney production, which will be livestreamed free for on stage.” 48 hours starting Friday, May 15, part of a weekly to Watch Paige put a lot of thought into how Grizabella series of Webber’s works that has already showwould present. “Her song, ‘Memory,’ is all about reflection and cased the hits Phantom of the Opera and Jesus Christ, Superstar. looking back on her life of glamor that it was,” she says. “It's an “The 1998 film is as it should be seen really — it really is probably emotional appeal about loneliness and longing for something the best version,” says Paige, gently dismissing the 2019 movie that's gone.” Paige used the black stray, which ultimately lived derided by critics and audiences alike. “If you're not able to see out its life with her, as inspiration. “She was really thin and Cats live in a theater, then this is the version to see. Because it is dilapidated and straggly and everything. So I based my charac- presented where it belongs: in a theater.” —Randy Shulman The 1998 version of Cats will stream for free starting on Friday, May 15, at 2 p.m., and will be accessible for 48 hours, through Sunday, May 17. Visit www.youtube.com/theshowsmustgoon. 6
MAY 14, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
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JENY BENITEZ
Spotlight
D
Renewed Slate
ANNY LLEDÓ WAS EAGER TO SHOW OFF HIS NEW- There's cheese and charcuterie, plus all our woodfire items from est baby — his second restaurant, Xiquet DL, above a duck, chicken, lamb, steak. There's something there for everybody. revamped Slate Wine Bar in Glover Park. “I just finished He says the pandemic, “in some ways is creating an oppora nine-month renovation,” Lledó says. “We made everything tunity to be a little more diverse.” Case in point: After getting really beautiful to have people come and enjoy the experience an abundance of requests for paella, Lledó took to offering of a complete woodfire kitchen [and] Valencian cuisine.” Yet classes through Zoom — one a paella cooking series on select almost as soon as the chef and his team were ready to open in Wednesdays, the other wine tastings on Thursdays. “We do all March, everything began to shut down. the prep work for them, so they don't have to go home and cut “We had a lot of excitement on the opening,” he says. “And chicken or portion out vegetables to the right sizes,” Lledó says. then in the second week we were getting as many new reserva- The wine classes, meanwhile, come with four bottles of wine. tions as we were cancellations: ‘Oh, we made a reservation two “Both classes are very interactive,” Lledó says. “When days ago, but based on the news, it seems like we we’ve had wine tastings at Slate before, people Click Here for All wouldn't ask as many questions. Through Zoom, should be staying at home.’” Lledó has been with Slate since 2013, having Upcoming Events there's really a good opportunity to be a little bit gradually worked his way up from part-owner more educational and informative. And I think to full proprietor. He characterizes Slate as “your neighborhood people are used to it with their own meetings on Zoom. Now wine bar, more focused on small bites, small plates, and more of they get to do something fun.” a Mediterranean and American flair.” A year ago, he decided to Lledó sees the Zoom offerings continuing well into the future convert its second-floor office and storage space into a restaurant — after the time when restaurants can legally reopen for dining, with a narrower, more refined focus on the cuisine of Valencia, and at least until he’s able to operate with a 20-person staff for the region of Spain where his father was born and raised. both restaurants, up from the current skeleton crew of five. Yet what Slate and Xiquet currently offer strays from what Lledó “Until we get an overall vaccine and people feel one hundred had planned. “We keep trying to update our menus online to make percent comfortable,” he says, “carryout and delivery and classes things fun. There's two salads. There's a whole vegetable platter. are here to stay.” —Doug Rule Upcoming Cooking Classes include Seafood Paella on Wednesday, May 20, Duck & Chicken Paella on Wednesday, May 27, and a Master Class of Valencian Paella on Wednesday, June 3. Classes start at 6 p.m. Cost is $35 per person per class and include fully prepped ingredients from Xiquet’s retail market. Upcoming #SommNights include an Argentine Wine Tasting on Thursday, May 21, and Spanish Atlantic Wine Tasting on Thursday, May 28. Classes start at 6 p.m. Cost is $85 to $120 and include four bottles of wine. Slate Wine Bar and Xiquet are at 2404 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Call 202-913-4671 or visit www.slatewinebar.com or www.xiquetdl.com. 8
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VirtVual
LINDSEY WALTERS
Out On The Town
AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER’S STREAMING OFFERINGS
The Grapes of Wrath
Through a special agreement with Actors’ Equity Association, the professional theater troupe devoted to Shakespeare is one of the few able to stream full, filmed recordings of past productions. The current offerings are of two stagings from the past season of the center’s National Tour company, including a version of the Bard’s classic comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A timelier, bolder, and more unexpected offering is Frank Galati’s stage adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath. José Zayas directs a spare interpretation of the John Steinbeck Depression-era classic that relies on the 11-member ensemble for versatile storytelling enhanced with music, capped by “We Go On,” an original anthem from company member Madeline Calais that helps close out the show. Both productions are available through at least May 31 on the company’s streaming service BlkFrsTV, praised by the Wall Street Journal for its “webcasts [that] effortlessly convey the joyous experience of watching Shakespeare in Blackfriars Playhouse” — the center’s main, in-the-round theater space modeled after the original Globe Theatre and located in the historic Shenandoah Valley town of Staunton, Va. Tickets start at $10 per show in a “pay the price that works for you” scale that goes up to $100. Visit www.americanshakespearecenter.com. Compiled by Doug Rule
FILM AFI SILVER VIRTUAL SCREENING ROOM
The AFI Silver Theatre has never been closer to home as it is right now, virtually speaking. While its physical venue in Silver Spring remains closed, the AFI offers a rotating crop of titles available for streaming. Highlights among the lineup of films starting up on Friday, May 15: Up From The Streets, a celebration of the music of New Orleans directed by Michael Murphy, hosted by acclaimed jazz musician Terence Blanchard (who also serves as executive producer and music director), and featuring personal reflections or performance footage from homegrown musical giants, from the legends — Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson, the Neville Brothers — to contemporary stars including Harry Connick, Jr. and Wynton Marsalis (a live
virtual Q&A with Murphy and Blanchard is Sat, May 16, at 7 p.m.); The Wolf House, a gonzo fairytale from directors Joaquín Cociña and Cristóbal León, performed in Spanish and German with English subtitles, and described as “David Lynch’s Eraserhead reimagined by stop-motion, avant-garde filmmakers the Brothers Quay”; and Band of Outsiders, the 1964 French New Wave classic by Jean-Luc Godard about a trio of would-be gangsters who spend more time with romantic antics and leisurely endeavors than committing crimes. Other highlights among the full slate of streaming selections presented through the AFI Silver are Rififi, an existential thriller from blacklisted Hollywood exile Jules Dassin, which was released in 1955 and would go on to set the standard for screen robberies for decades to come; Thousand Pieces of Gold, Nany Kelly’s rediscovered 1991 feminist Western, about a real-life young Chinese woman
sold into slavery by her poor parents and trafficked to America, a film that resonates powerfully in the #MeToo era; Spaceship Earth, Matt Wolf’s documentary about the bizarre, true, stranger-than-fiction story about the group of “unconventional visionaries” who spent two years quarantined inside the self-engineered replica of Earth’s ecosystem called Biosphere 2; and On A Magical Night, a playful romantic fantasy by acclaimed writer-director Christophe Honoré about a woman (Chiara Mastroianni) who confronts all of her past lovers over the course of an evening to play the psychological mind games “what if” and “stay or stray.” Ticket purchases benefit the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, with additional support to independent filmmaking and distribution. Visit www.afi.com/Silver.
ALAMO ON DEMAND: CURATED LIBRARY OF INCREDIBLE ENTERTAINMENT
Launched shortly after COVID-19
forced the closure of its cinemas, including the two in Northern Virginia, this national arthouse film chain’s Alamo-At-Home series was such a success, the company has decided to expand its eccentric virtual streaming offerings — with a focus on “challenging, provocative, and occasionally batsh*t insane films.” And the Alamo’s new video-on-demand platform has launched with plenty of films that fit that outlandish bill, including: Butt Boy, Tyler Cornack’s comedy/ thriller about a detective who is out to prove his wild theory about a mentor of his, one he suspects “uses his butt to make people disappear”; The American Scream, Michael Stephenson’s documentary about “home haunters,” or individuals obsessed with turning their properties into elaborate and horrifying spectacles, scaring the pants off their friends and neighbors every Halloween; Extra Ordinary, Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman’s indie horror-comedy starring Maeve
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Higgins and SNL alum Will Forte and billed as “an endearing yet twisted film that takes the classic trope of demonic possession and grounds it in small-town Irish charm”; and Porno, Keola Racela’s 2019 scary tale about a group of repressed teenagers in a small conservative town “visited by a sex demon that gives them a taste of the dark side.” Also available for streaming: Portrait of a Lady on Fire, which featured on Metro Weekly film critic André Hereford’s Best Films of 2019 list. Writer-director Céline Sciamma’s women-in-love feature, focused on a painter and her subject in 1760s France, “wants to look like a painting, and it does so beautifully,” wrote Hereford, who concluded that this “spare pas de deux earns its prizes, as Marianne and Héloïse’s slow-burning romance portrays, with flush familiarity, how falling in love both pins the women down and sets them free.” The current catalog of Alamo offerings can be searched by genre as well as by specific categories, such as “Fantastic Fest Faves” — which includes this year’s Best Picture Oscar winner Parasite — and “Ozploitation,” which showcases the slew of low-budget films made in Australia in the 1970s, as well as a documentary about that Down Under phenomenon, Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! All tickets purchased benefit the Alamo chain as well as featured filmmakers. Visit ondemand.drafthouse.com.
AVALON THEATRE: VIRTUAL CINEMA
In addition to Up From The Streets, the musical snapshot of New Orleans, and Spaceship Earth, about the Biosphere 2 experiment, the “Virtual Cinema” offered by the Avalon Theatre in Upper Northwest D.C. also features Someone, Somewhere, Cédric Klapisch’s 2019 bittersweet romance and examination of the insularity of modern urban life with a look at the parallel lives of two Parisian neighbors, a seemingly star-crossed duo who remain just out of reach of connection; Driveways, the 2019 drama directed by Andrew Ahn that centers on a sensitive young boy (Lucas Jaye) who develops a surprising friendship with a gruff Korean War vet played by the late Brian Dennehy; and The Booksellers, D.W. Young’s 2019 look at an assortment of antiquarian merchants and the underappreciated role they play in preserving history. Tickets range from $10 to $12 for a 3-day streaming period, with roughly half of sales going toward the nonprofit theater and the remainder for the general cause of independent filmmaking and distribution. Call 202-966-6000 or visit www.theavalon.org.
CINEMA ARTS THEATRE’S VIRTUAL CINEMA
Virginia’s Cinema Arts Theatre is among several theaters showing Up From The Streets. However, a portion of the ticket sales from the venue will be donated to the music relief fund overseen by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation and supporting the city’s musicians and music industry workers. The arthouse movieplex in Fairfax also begins streams this Friday of The Cordillera of Dreams, the third in a Chilean film trilogy from Patricio Guzmán exploring his native country’s history as it relates to topography, here focused on the Andes mountain range and its omnipresent yet largely unexamined role in the lives of his compatriots. Other titles available through Cinema Arts include And Then We Danced, Levan Akin’s well-crafted tale of two male company members in the National Georgian Dance Ensemble who become competitors, then partners, then lovers, with Levan Gelbakhiani starring as the quiet yet intense Merab; Sorry We Missed You, Ken Loach’s wrenching, intimate family drama from last year focused on the British working class and exposing the dark side of the “gig economy”; The Times of Bill Cunningham, Mark Bozek’s 2018 documentary about the iconic, gay New York Times street photographer and fashion historian, told in his own words, with narration by Sarah Jessica Parker; Beyond the Visible-Hilma Af Klint, Halina Dyrschka’s course-correcting documentary about an abstract artist way ahead of her time who had been all-but-forgotten to art history due to patriarchal and capitalistic notions of artistic progress and value; and Kantemir Balagov’s Beanpole, which focuses on the intense bond that forms between two women, both anti-aircraft gunners during World War II, who struggle to readjust to a haunted world and life in Leningrad after the war. In Russian with English subtitles. Visit www.cinemaartstheatre.com.
STAGE 1ST STAGE: VIRTUAL COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS SERIES
With the COVID-19 pandemic keeping stages dark for a third month, Virginia’s 1st Stage becomes another area theater company taking to Zoom to connect artists with patrons and keep everyone interested and engaged in its work. The troupe’s new weekly series continues with “Artistic Directors in Conversation” featuring the company’s current artistic director Alex Levy and founder Mark Krikstan in a conversation about their history
and creative processes and moderated by associate artistic director Deidra LaWan Starnes, on May 16; “Performers in Quarantine,” focused on actors from the upcoming production of the gay-themed show The Nance sharing their experiences during the shutdown, on May 23; “How 1st Stage Develops New Work,” featuring two playwrights whose works the company has premiered, Bob Bartlett and his Swimming with Whales and E.M. Lewis and Now Comes The Night, on May 30; “The Life of a Solo Artist,” featuring artists from The Logan Festival discussing their one-person productions, on June 6; and “Cultural Tysons,” focused on
how arts and cultural organizations in the area have weathered COVID19 and what they have coming up, on June 13. All conversations are live at 2 p.m., with recordings of each posted online for later viewing. Register for each Community Conversation at www.1ststage.org.
BRAVE SPIRITS THEATRE’S ONLINE STAGED READING FESTIVAL
Alexandria’s Brave Spirits Theatre, the Alexandria-based company that puts a feminist twist on early modern English classics, is in the midst of a month-long staged reading festival celebrating the history plays from Shakespeare’s era
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and intended as a supplement to the company’s current two-year Shakespeare’s Histories project. By virtue of it being moved online due to COVID-19, the festival’s plays are being planned and performed not only by its ensemble cast but also by collaborators from across the world. Spanning historical events from 1199 to 1499, many of the plays provide sources for Shakespeare’s works and alternate versions of events and characters. Streamed from BST’s YouTube channel on Mondays and Tuesdays starting at 7:30 p.m., the festival continues with Edward the Third, written by Shakespeare and others and directed by Marshall B Garrett, on Monday, May 18; Thomas of Woodstock, an anonymous Elizabethan-era work that may have influenced the Bard’s Richard II and Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, to be directed by Emily MacLeod, on Tuesday, May 19; The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth, another anonymous Elizabethan work thought to be a source for Shakespeare’s “Henriad” history plays, to be directed by Kelly Elliott, on Monday, May 25; Edward the Fourth, Parts 1 and 2 by Thomas Heywood, directed by Claire Kimball, on Tuesday, May 26; The True Tragedy of Richard the Third, yet another anonymous Elizabethan play that may have influenced Shakespeare, which will be performed by the MFA class of Mary Baldwin University, on Monday, June 1; and Perkin Warbeck by John Ford and directed by Alasdair Hunter, on Tuesday, June 2. Free to stream, with donations welcome.
HOMEBOUND
Round House Theatre won’t reopen its recently renovated space in Bethesda until the fall season, but the company has hired back nine actors who were slated to appear in three canceled spring productions for Homebound. An original web series that explores life under Stay-at-Home orders in the Nation’s Capital, the series stars Craig Wallace and Maboud Ebrahimzadeh and is progressing in a 10-episode “chain story” style, with each episode — one available for free every Monday evening — building off what came before but written by a different area playwright. Launched with “Connect!,” a 12-minute episode written by humorist and Washington Post columnist Alexandra Petri, and “Human Resources,” a 13-minute episode written by Karen Zacarías and featuring Ebrahimzadeh and Alina Collins Maldonado, the series continues this week with Farah Lawal Harris of Young Playwrights’ Theater, who picks up the story with “We Wear the Mask,” a 13-minute episode featuring Wallace and Chinna Palmer. Subsequent weeks will offer episodes from Liz Maestri, Psalmayene 24, Tim J. Lord, Audrey Cefaly, Dani Stoller, Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi, and Caleen
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Sinnette Jennings. The company’s artistic director Ryan Rilette and associate artistic director Nicole A. Watson are offering remote direction during rehearsals to the actors, who are filming their parts from home with additional guidance on home lighting by designer Harold F. Burgess II and wardrobe by Ivania Stack. Through June 29. Visit www.RoundHouseTheatre. org/Homebound.
MOSAIC ALIVE
Until it returns to regular programming at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in August, the Mosaic Theater Company has taken to Zoom and Facebook for twice-weekly discussions with its artists and other experts on relevant topics, all directly or indirectly related to productions and events in the company’s upcoming Season 6. Next up is “From Sight to Opening Night: The Director’s Process,” a peek into how KenYatta Rogers and Gregg Henry go about their work overseeing a show, on Friday, May 15, at 4 p.m.; “Peace Cafe: Peace, Resistance and Reconciliation,” focused on the life and legacy of Emmett Till as seen through the lens of Mosaic’s entire Encountering Emmett Series, on Monday, May 18 at 4 p.m.; and “At Home with Mosaic: The History of H Street,” details to be announced, and set for Friday, May 22. All discussions start at 4 p.m. Still available for streaming is the Season 6 announcement, when artistic director Ari Roth unveiled the lineup for the season that starts up in the fall, followed by a live discussion and Q&A. Visit www. mosaictheater.org/alive.
MOLLY’S SALONS AT ARENA STAGE
While the Mead Center for American Theater remains dark until September with the start of its next season, Arena Stage has come up with an eclectic package of free online programming, mostly taped discussions and performances. Among the offerings is this free, weekly series of half-hour discussions led by the company’s artistic director Molly Smith and featuring a rotating mix of Arena artists, leaders, and outside affiliates. Available for streaming from Arena’s website every Thursday night at 7 p.m., the upcoming lineup includes Jenn Sheeetz, Arena’s properties director, Aerica Shimizu Banks, public policy and social impact manager of Pinterest, and singer-songwriter Mary McBride (May 14); and playwright Lauren Yee, Kirk Johnson of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and Anita Maynard-Losh, Arena’s director of community engagement and senior artistic advisor (May 21). The previous five discussions in the series are also still available for streaming, with updates from choreographer Parker Esse, actors Nicholas Rodriguez and Edward Gero, play-
MAY 14, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
wrights Karen Zacarías and Craig Lucas, director Charles RandolphWright, and Maria Manuela Goyanes, artistic director of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, among others. Visit www.arenastage.org/tickets/intermission.
PLAY AT HOME
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Baltimore Center Stage are founding members of a small coalition of regional U.S. theaters also including the Kennedy Center and formed in the wake of COVID-19 as an attempt to inspire and engage both professional artists as well as theater amateurs and novices — connected through the act of storytelling and performance. The “Play At Home” initiative features a growing series of plays under 10 minutes in length, created “specifically for this moment of unprecedented isolation, to inspire joy and connection for all.” Available as free downloads, the plays were written with the intimate setting of a private home in mind. The commissioned playwrights were also encouraged to think outside the box and allow for the inclusion of “elements that could not be reproduced for the stage.” The lineup includes Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi (The Diaz Family Talent Show), Aleshea Harris (If, Can, Mayhap), and Mike Lew (Performance Review), all specifically commissioned by Woolly Mammoth, Noah Diaz (House), Miranda Rose Hall (What Happened in the Kitchen), and Keenan Scott II (Strike) from Baltimore Center Stage, and Timothy Allen McDonald & Rob Rokicki (The Greatest 10 Minute Musical Ever Written!), a musical and reality TV show mashup from Jose Casas (Holyyyyyyy Hottttttt Cheetosssssss!!!!!!!) and Paige Hernandez (7th Street Echo), among those commissioned by the Kennedy Center with a focus on young audiences. Visit www. playathome.org.
ROUND HOUSE’S PLAYWRIGHTS ON PLAYS
One of the earliest offerings in its new digital programming slate “Round House at Your House,” this series features Round House Theatre-affiliated artists engaging in conversation with the company’s literary manager Gabrielle Hoyt, with a focus on the artists’ own work and a play of their choice that inspired them. The discussions are livestreamed every Thursday at 7 p.m., allowing participants to submit questions for the playwrights in real-time via comments. The series continues with Tim J. Lord, whose play “We declare you a terrorist...” will debut next season, discussing Charles Mee’s Iphegenia 2.0 on May 14, Aaron Posner (The Tempest: Classic Tale Magically Reimagined) on May 21, and Mfoniso Udofia (Sojourners) on May 28. You can also still view the
six previous discussions, including Martyna Majok (Cost of Living) on Conor McPherson’s The Weir, J.T. Rogers (Oslo) on Julius Caesar, and Sarah Ruhl (Stage Kiss) on Paula Vogel’s The Baltimore Waltz and Charles Mee’s Big Love. Visit www. roundhousetheatre.org/RHathome.
SIGNATURE STRONG, SIGNATURE STRONG LIVE
For its virtual programming offerings, Signature Theatre has been producing a discussion-centered series every Tuesday in addition to uploading short videos of standout numbers from past productions to its website. So far, the Shirlingtonbased theater company has presented six episodes in its weekly #SigStrongLive series, varying in length from 40 to 60 minutes and available for viewing on its YouTube channel. Highlights include two “Signature Favorites” discussions, Episodes 1 and 7, both led by artistic director Eric Schaeffer and featuring four of the company’s leading players — Tracy Lynn Olivera, Bobby Smith, Maria Rizzo, and Nova Y. Payton — with Episode 7 also featuring a guest appearance by the Washington Post’s Peter Marks; Episode 3’s “Sondheim at Signature” discussion, also led by Schaeffer, focused on the greatest living playwright and his special connection to Signature as seen through regular Sondheim performers Claybourne Elder (Sunday in the Park with George), company co-founder and actor Donna Migliaccio (Gypsy), and actor Christopher Michael Richardson (Assassins); and Episode 5’s “A Chorus Line Reunion,” featuring Matthew Risch, Emily Tyra, and others from the cast of the sold-out 2019 production along with its director Matthew Gardiner and choreographer Denis Jones. Meanwhile, highlights from the #SignatureStrong series include: two songs from the 2011 production of Chess starring Euan Morton, who gives a special message from his home; exclusive clips of Chita Rivera, who starred in the 2008 production of Kander & Ebb’s musical The Visit; Nova Y. Payton introducing a clip of her singing “I Am Changing” from the company’s 2010 production of Dreamgirls; and a clip of “Cool” from the company’s 2015 West Side Story, showcasing the classic choreography from Jerome Robbins as adapted by Parker Esse and performed by Max Clayton and other cast members. Visit www.youtube.com/user/sigtheatre/videos or www.sigtheatre.org.
MUSIC A NIGHT IN WITH THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA: BEETHOVENNOW
In lieu of presenting spring concerts, including the return of the world-renowned Philadelphia
KENNEDY CENTER COUCH CONCERTS
The Kennedy Center presents a free Millennium Stage concert every night at 6 p.m. under normal circumstances — that is, when the large campus is open to the public. Until it can reopen post-pandemic, the organization is offering Couch Concerts livestreamed direct from artists’ homes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 4 p.m. Even better, all past Millennium Stage and #KCCouchConcerts remain online for streaming anytime — a treasure trove that includes recent livestreams including the double bill of Kennedy Center Hip-Hop Advisory Council member Kokayi and up-and-coming local five-piece band Oh He Dead, and the Washington Women in Jazz Festival Showcase with Amy K Bormet, Christie Dasheill, and Nicole Saphos; plus recent Millennium Stage Encore shows from the 2013 concert by ’90s hit-making hip-hop group Arrested Development to the 2019 “Wind Me Up Chuck!” special tribute to the late godfather of go-go and featuring his namesake outfit The Chuck Brown Band, or from the 2018 concert by the four-part-harmony-focused Australian indie-folk band All Our Exes Live in Texas, to the 2019 concert featuring Mexican starlet and past Best New Artist Latin Grammy Awardee Gaby Moreno. Visit www.kennedy-center.org/ whats-on/millennium-stage/ couch-concerts.
LAUREN CALVE
Until it can once again host live events under the dome in its acoustically rich former synagogue space, Sixth and I has launched a Living Room Sessions series, co-presented by DCist, featuring select artists in free livestream performances. Next up in the series is Lauren Calve, a Northern Virginia Americana artist who is touted as “evoking Patty Griffin’s dynamic voice, Bonnie Raitt’s smoky aura, and Ben
L-R, SCOTT SUCHMAN, SCOTT SUCHMAN, MARGOT SCHULMAN
Orchestra to the Kennedy Center, Washington Performing Arts has been promoting a “DIY package of content” through its Digital Engagement Focus Team for at-home cultural consumption. One highlight is the world-renowned orchestra’s “BeethovenNOW: Symphonies 5 & 6” program. On March 12, music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin led the symphony in a concert, closed to the public due to COVID-19, that was performed and recorded in an empty Verizon Hall. The program opened with the world premiere of Iman Habibi’s Jeder Baum spricht, written in dialogue with the two celebrated symphonies from the German master, who was born 250 years ago this year. Visit www.philorch.org/performances/special-performances/ live-stream.
Folds, Louis-Dreyfus, Fey
KENNEDY CENTER DIGITAL STAGE
It’s not everyday you can see Beyoncé perform Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary” or serenade Barbra Streisand with “The Way We Were,” or catch Steve Carrell saluting his comedic forebear Steve Martin. Those are just three standout performances from past Kennedy Center Honors productions now available for streaming online while the physical complex remains closed to new performances. Bruno Mars’ rendition of “Message In A Bottle” for Sting, the former Police frontman performing “The Rising” in tribute to Bruce Springsteen, and Audrey Hepburn raising a toast to Cary Grant are three other past Honors highlights that factor into the Kennedy Center’s Digital Stage, where you can also see acceptance speeches from recipients of the institution’s annual Mark Twain Prize for comedy, ranging from Ellen DeGeneres to Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bob Newhart to Eddie Murphy, Tina Fey to David Letterman. But the online offerings go well beyond those many multi-artist confabs with other excerpts from Kennedy Center presentations of artists ranging from Iranian-American comedian Maz Jobrani to Ben Folds with the National Symphony Orchestra to those who have been featured on the venue’s all-genre Millennium Stage. There are also a handful of Digital Stage Original featurettes focused on: Dale Chihuly and the chandelier the artist created for the renovated Terrace Theater in 2017, Matt Karas and his behind-the-scenes photographs featuring dancers from the New York City and Mariinsky ballets and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and the eclectic, showstopping costumes from Cuban designer Celia Ledón. Visit www.kennedy-center.org/digitalstage.
Harper’s slide style.” Friday, May 15, streaming from Sixth and I’s Facebook page starting at 4 p.m. Free, although both RSVPs and donations, which will be shared evenly among the venue and the featured artists, are appreciated. Call 202-408-3100 or visit www. sixthandi.org.
METROPOLITAN OPERA’S NIGHTLY STREAMS
The Met continues sifting through its trove of “Live in HD” recordings of past productions for free nightly streams from its website. The upcoming lineup of encore presentations, starting at 7:30 p.m. and remaining available up to 23 hours later, includes the 2008 staging of Britten’s Peter Grimes starring Patricia Racette, Anthony Dean Griffey, and Anthony MichaelsMoore, on Thursday, May 14; a “Viewer’s Choice” presentation of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor
as seen in a 1982 production starring Joan Sutherland, who garnered the nickname “La Stupenda” as a result of what the company’s announcement calls a “breathtaking, hair-raising, utterly unforgettable performance as the hapless Scottish lassie whose heartbreak morphs into murderous rampage,” with Alfredo Kraus matching her note for note as her anguished lover Edgardo, on Friday, May 15; and two productions of Verdi to round out the weekend — the company’s 2013 Rigoletto, a neon-bedecked production helmed by Michael Mayer that transports the action to Rat Packera Las Vegas on Saturday, May 16, and Nabucco, the breakthrough opera that catapulted Verdi into the pantheon of revered composers, an epic seen in a 2017 production featuring Jamie Barton and Plácido Domingo, and conducted by James Levine, on Sunday, May 17. Visit www.metopera.org.
OPERA PHILADELPHIA’S DIGITAL FESTIVAL O
With its season cut short due to COVID-19, Opera Philadelphia, touted by the New York Times as “a hotbed of opera innovation,” is another preeminent arts organization that has taken up the digital mantle by making streams available of past productions — in this case, as an attempt to raise $4 million by May 31 so the company can move forward with plans for its 202021 season. The digital streaming festival features video streams of five hit productions, including four recent world premieres, such as the 2020 International Opera Awardnominated production Denis & Katya, a timely and immersive multimedia chamber opera by composer Philip Venables and librettist-director Ted Huffman that was commissioned in collaboration with Music Theatre Wales and France’s Opéra Orchestre National
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EM WATSON
STRATHMORE’S LIVE FROM THE LIVING ROOM: AYO, FREDERIC YONNET
MASON ARTS AT HOME VIRTUAL EVENTS
George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts has organized a series of online events in place of live events and to finish out the school year. The #MasonArtsatHome series includes “Music in the Time of Quarantine: School of Music Finale Concert,” with performances by the Mason choirs, Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble, Faculty Brass Ensemble, and the Tuba & Euphonium Ensemble, among others, plus an introduction by the school’s director Dr. Linda Monson, on Saturday, May 16, at 8 p.m.; and “Behind the Scenes with the Creative Team of Swing 2020,” a discussion about the innovative work of swing dance co-commissioned by the GMU Center for the Arts and New York’s Joyce Theater, led by Joyce’s Ross LeClair and featuring choreographers Caleb Teicher, Evita Arce, LaTasha Barnes, and Nathan Bugh and music director Eyal Vilner, on Monday, May 18, at 7 p.m. All virtual events take place on the center’s Facebook page. Visit cfa.gmu.edu for more information. Montpellier. Inspired by the true story of 15-year-old runaways Denis Muravyov and Katya Vlasova and their armed stand-off with Russian Special Forces that culminated in their own deaths, the recording of Denis & Katya features American baritone Theo Hoffman and German-American mezzo-soprano Siena Licht Miller. Also currently streaming: the online premiere of composer Daniel Bernard Roumain and librettist Marc Bamuthi Joseph’s We Shall Not Be Moved, a hit 2017 production directed by Bill T. Jones that returns as a way to also commemorate the 35th anniversary of the deadly bombing of West Philadelphia’s MOVE compound, where the opera takes place. The festival continues with the online premieres of The Barber of Seville, the 2014 popular staging overseen by director Michael Shell and featuring colorful sets and costumes that recall the comic films of Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, on May 15; Sky on Swings, the 2018 chamber opera with an unflinching yet uplifting exploration of
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Alzheimer’s disease from composer Lembit Beecher and librettist Hannah Moscovitch and starring mezzo-sopranos Marietta Simpson and Frederica von Stade, on May 22; and Breaking the Waves, a 2016 adaptation of the Lars von Trier film from composer Missy Mazzoli, librettist Royce Vavrek, and director James Darrah, on May 29. Special opening-night content for each production includes pre-show interviews with featured artists. The productions remain online and on-demand for varying lengths of time through August 31. Visit www. operaphila.org.
SONIA: DIGITAL ACTS OF KINDNESS
Sonia Rutstein was supposed to be on her annual concert trek through Germany right now. Instead, the Baltimore-based folk-pop singer-songwriter, who records and performs as SONiA disappear fear, has entered the brave new world of livestreaming. While many of the physical appearances in Germany are being rescheduled for later this year or early 2021,
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all the virtual concerts are being performed on their original dates, most organized to celebrate a different album from SONiA’s 30-plus year recording career. The roughly hour-long shows, captured from her home music room, are presented on Facebook for free, though donations through PayPal are accepted. The remaining lineup includes: an all-requests concert on Thursday, May 14; a show focused on the 2016 double-CD LiVE at MAXiMAL recording from Rodgau, Germany, on Friday, May 15; another focused on her most recent album By My Silence, on Saturday, May 16; and concludes with a spotlight on Small House No Secrets, SONiA’s new musical co-developed with playwright Jody Nusholtz and previewed at last year’s Kennedy Center’s Page to Stage festival, on Sunday, May 17. All concerts are livestreamed at 2 p.m. and available afterwards at www.facebook.com/ disappear.fear.
Every Wednesday, Strathmore offers livestreams primarily featuring solo performances of its multigenre Artists in Residence, both those from the current 2020 class as well as a select few alumni of the esteemed A.I.R. program. Each concert presents bite-sized performances — roughly 20 minutes in length — captured live from the living rooms of local musicians and streamed via Facebook Live starting at 7:30 p.m. The lineup continues with AYO, a smooth pop vocalist known for confident lyrics and empowering messages (May 20), and urban jazz harmonicist Frédéric Yonnet (May 27). Fortunately, you can also access recordings of past concerts in the series on the Facebook page @StrathmoreArts, among them: Christian Douglas, a budding pop artist and theater artist who most recently performed in the ensembles of Arena Stage’s Newsies and Signature Theatre’s Gun & Powder; Mark G. Meadows, another well-known local theater pianist and vocalist; Niccolo Seligmann, a gay artist merging the sounds of obscure folk instruments with early classical music; Christylez Bacon, the celebrated Grammy-nominated progressive hip-hop artist and multi-instrumentalist; and the Bumper Jackson Duo, Jess Eliot Myhre and Chris Ousley’s American roots project merging country and jazz. Call 301-581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.
TOM GOSS: DANCING IN MY ROOM VIDEO PROJECT
The former D.C. resident and gay indie-pop artist Goss is grooving into new territory with a new single. “Dancing In My Room” is an upbeat synth-pop bop featuring fellow indie artists Natalie Jane, Max Emerson, and Sam Renascent, who raps in French. The song’s main video features all four artists plus a ragtag assortment of fans of all types and stripes from around the world, all dancing around their environs to relay the simple yet compelling message: you may be “stuck at home, but you’re not alone.” Goss launched the project with a built-in #AtHomeDisco challenge, encouraging others to create their own versions of the song and video; so far, another quartet of artists has created a version sung in Spanish with a rap in Mandarin, while a trio performs it in French with a Korean rap — in total, “11 artists of all ages and backgrounds across seven different countries and five continents. A reminder that we are not alone.” All proceeds from streams of the song and videos will benefit United Way Worldwide and its work in supporting community service organizations, which have been hit hard during COVID-19. Search for
@tomgossmusic across social media platforms, or visit https://youtu.be/ u9iDytpVHk0. Although best known for its flagship production the Christmas Revels, the Washington Revels puts on shows and engages its diverse community of participants in other activities throughout the year, ranging from a Madrigal group to an AfricanAmerican acapella group. Of course, in this time of COVID-19, they’ve moved everything online, offering several virtual events that anyone can join, whether as an active participant or an engaged observer. One particular highlight is the monthly “Community Sing” event, a co-partnership with Carpe Diem Arts, with in-kind support from Takoma Radio. Held on the 21st of every month, the next event, on Thursday, May 21, will focus on spring songs and sentiments and also recognize that May is both Asian Pacific Heritage Month and Jewish American Heritage Month. The event kicks off at 6:30 p.m. on Facebook Live. Free, but donations of at least $5 are requested to support Revels performers during the pandemic. Visit www.RevelsDC.org.
YMUSIC: TRUE TO NATURE-INSPIRED CONCERT
The extraordinary Brooklyn-based contemporary classical chamber ensemble yMusic had been scheduled to present a concert at the National Gallery of Art on April 19. The concert was planned in conjunction with the exhibition True to Nature: Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780–1870. The museum has since posted exhibition resources online, and in turn, yMusic has also made the program it developed for the concert available online. See the light- and atmosphere-filled landscapes, seascapes, and skyscapes from the exhibition that inspired the ensemble, and hear the musical compositions the musicians have paired with these “en plein air” paintings — most of which are yMusic originals, with additional works by Gabriella Smith, Andrew Norman, Sufjan Stevens, and Caroline Shaw. The program is presented piece-by-piece through videos along with program notes from guest artistic director Kate Nordstrum. Visit www.liquidmusic. org/blog.
DANCE CHAMBER DANCE PROJECT’S VIRTUAL CHAT SERIES
A month after launching its first-ever online auction to make up for a canceled spring gala, the young contemporary ballet company debuted another virtual component, “Get Closer to the Art.” This series of free multimedia Zoom sessions features the company’s choreographers, dancers, and designers discussing
AUTUMN DE WILDE
WASHINGTON REVELS
McDonald
A NIGHT OF COVENANT HOUSE STARS
Jon Bon Jovi, Dolly Parton, and Meryl Streep are the headliners of a free livestream concert on Monday, May 18, that will raise money for homeless and at-risk youth served by Covenant House. Broadway star Audra McDonald and 60 Minutes anchor John Dickerson will co-host the show. It will also feature appearances by Diane Keaton, Stephen Colbert, Rachel Brosnahan, Robin Thicke, Dionne Warwick, and Jeff Calhoun — not to mention various youth who will bravely share their stories. Proceeds from the concert will help Covenant House provide shelter and care for the increasing numbers of children in need due to COVID-19. The livestream starts at 8 p.m. and will stream on Broadway On Demand, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, iHeartRadio Broadway, Amazon Prime Video, and Stars in the House. Free, but RSVP requested. Visit www.covenanthouse.org/nightofstars-rsvp.
and previewing their craft, particularly as it pertains to the company’s work and its upcoming seventh season, New Works 2020. Launched in mid-April with artistic director Diane Coburn Bruning’s “300 Years of Ballet History in 1/2 Hour” presentation and discussion, the virtual series continues every Tuesday at 5 p.m. The lineup continues with two discussions in a row featuring dancers Luz San Miguel and David Hovhannisyan, first by demonstrating classical ballet partnering, on May 19, and then comparing that to contemporary ballet partnering on May 26. All sessions are free, although donations are invited, and open to those who request the Zoom link by noon on the day-of with an email to RSVP@chamberdance.org. For more information visit www.chamberdance.org.
COMEDY THE OVERACHIEVERS COMEDY SHOW ONLINE
Touted as one of the top comedy shows in the country, The Overachievers moves to Zoom until the DC Improv can welcome people back into its subterranean laugh lair.
The show is hosted by Martin Amini with music by DJ Bo, with the next edition featuring guests Matt Rife, a semi-finalist on NBC’s Bring The Funny who came to fame on MTV (Wild N Out, TRL reboot), and Mia Jackson, a semi-finalist on Season 9 of NBC’s Last Comic Standing who has appeared on Viceland and Inside Amy Schumer. Ticket-holders will be sent an email 30 minutes prior to showtime with instructions on how to log in to watch the show. (While on the DC Improv website, take a listen to “Living the Fairy Tales Vols. 1 and 2,” with comedic spins on the Brothers Grimm stories, including The Fisherman and His Wife as ready by Dylan Vattelana, and Hansel and Gretel as read by Rahmein Mostafavi.) Saturday, May 16, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5. Call 202296-7008 or visit www.dcimprov. com/home/overachievers-online. html.
TIGHT 5 LOOSE 5: A VIRTUAL SHOW
Working to bring the funny to Zoom is the D.C. Comedy Loft with a show featuring comics, all regulars at the venue’s intimate space near Dupont Circle. The premise: five comedi-
ans performing five minutes of old jokes followed by five minutes of new. The lineup for the next two scheduled shows: Felonious Munk, Mark Christopher Lawrence, Robin Montague, host Postman, and “a surprise guest,” on Sunday, May 17; and Jackie Fabulous, Hannah Dickinson, Kasaun Wilson, host Postman, and “a surprise guest,” on Sunday, May 24. Shows are at 8 p.m., with the Zoom link emailed to ticket-holders the day-of. Tickets are $5, with a portion of sales going to the Comedy Loft Employee Lay Off Fund. Call 202-293-1887 or visit www-dccomedyloft-com.seatengine.com/shows/125909.
READINGS & DISCUSSIONS KAREN GRAY HOUSTON: DAUGHTER OF THE BOYCOTT
Houston shares the story of her family’s involvement in the historic Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott that kickstarted the civil rights movement in Daughter of the Boycott: Carrying on a Montgomery Family’s Civil Rights Legacy. She’ll
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discuss the book and themes in a “Virtual Author Talk” presented by the Potter’s House in Adams Morgan. Tuesday, May 19, at 6:30 p.m. Free, but RSVP required to obtain the event’s Zoom link; with donations welcome to the nonprofit bookstore and cafe and especially its pandemic-specific Workers’ Fund. Visit www.withfriends.co/ the_potters_house.
SYMONE SANDERS: NO, YOU SHUT UP
A senior advisor for Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign rallies the young and young at heart to find their authentic voice and use it more effectively in No, You Shut Up: Speaking Truth to Power and Reclaiming America. Sanders, who in 2016 was the youngest National Press Secretary in U.S. history when she worked for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, will discuss her new rousing call to leadership in a virtual conversation with Anna Palmer, senior Washington correspondent for Politico. Tuesday, May 19, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 plus fees, or $30 plus fees for a signed copy of Sanders’s book (to be mailed after the event), and include virtual access to the event. Call 202-4083100 or visit www.sixthandi.org.
FOOD & DINING CLYDE’S, KNEAD HOSPITALITY: FOOD IT FORWARD INITIATIVE
The public is encouraged to “buy a meal for those in need” from participating restaurants in the Clyde’s Restaurant Group and Knead Hospitality chains — including Clyde’s, The Hamilton, Old Ebbitt Grill, Succotash, and Mi Vida. The two local restaurant groups are also working to keep some of their restaurant workers employed through this initiative, a partnership also including the nonprofits Martha’s Table and MedStar Health, which will work to distribute the prepared meals to those directly affected by the COVID-19 crisis. A donation of $13 feeds an individual for one night while $54 covers a family of four, with $91 covering an individual’s meals for a week and $378 feeding four for a week. Visit www.fooditforwarddc.com.
ART & EXHIBITS DE NOVO GALLERY’S SPECIAL ONLINE EXHIBITION
A Capitol Hill bankruptcy lawyer by day, avid art collector Ryan Dattilo launched his first pop-up gallery last year. Now, in response to COVID19 and its impact on visual artists through the loss of shows, sales, and side hustles, Dattilo has revived De Novo Gallery as an online incarnation. The display includes works of art in a range of media created by a mostly local crop of 10 artists, all of
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whom were featured last year at the physical gallery, including Adrienne Gaither, Tom Bunnell, Alex Ebstein, Rex Delafkaran, Dean Kessmann, and Nara Park. The gallery will forego its customary cut of sales to further help the artists. Visit www. denovo-gallery.com.
HILL CENTER GALLERIES: REGIONAL JURIED EXHIBITION
Over the years, this exhibition, featuring works in various mediums and subjects, has grown to include 85 artists from D.C., Virginia, and Maryland. This year’s juror is Myrtis Bedolla, owner of Baltimore’s Galerie Myrtis. Bedolla selected 94 pieces of original hanging work, in any medium, submitted by 85 artists, all of which was moved online, giving it a longer shelf life than usual. Linda Lowery’s Aya was awarded 1st Place, while Jim Haller’s Triptych came in 2nd and Sally Canzoneri’s DC Stores: 1942 and 2014, 3rd. Honorable Mentions: Kasse Andrews-Weller (In The Beginning Quilt...), Sean Dudley (Dukochanmon), Chris Hanson (Early Morning Walk), David Harris (Thorny Issues), Maria Illingworth (Rosie), James Klumpner (#57), Sharon Malley (School Churns), Khanh Nguyen (Porcelain III), Felicia Reed (Choices), and Glenn Strachan (Woman in Recline, Siem Reap, Cambodia). To begin the buying process or to inquire about specific artwork, contact Galleries@ HillCenterDC.org or visit www. hillcenterdc.org/artist/2020-regional-juried-exhibition.
QUEER ART LIVES HERE: DIGITAL CONTENT AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES
Just last year, the New York Times referred to the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art as “the only museum in the world dedicated to artwork that speaks to the LGBTQ experience.” If you’ve never been to the gallery in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, now is as good a time as any to visit — but only online, of course. While the physical location, like every other arts organization, remains closed due to COVID-19, organizers have been working to enhance the museum’s digital offerings, with its Instagram page in particular updated regularly to include virtual tours, collection highlights, and artist profiles. Meanwhile, the museum has stocked its Vimeo page with recordings of lectures and panel discussions from past events. You can also browse the museum’s vast collection by selecting Random Images in the fully searchable Online Collections Database available through its website. Visit www. leslielohman.org.
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TRUE TO NATURE: OPEN-AIR PAINTING IN EUROPE VIRTUAL TOUR
Open-air painting was a core practice for emerging artists in Europe in the late 18th- and early 19th-centuries, and those artists skilled at quickly capturing effects of light and atmosphere often went to great lengths to capture breathtaking sites in person, from the Baltic coast to the Swiss alps to the ruins of Rome. The National Gallery of Art organized this exhibition of roughly 100 oil sketches by intrepid artists from the period, including Jean-BaptisteCamille Corot, John Constable, Simon Denis, Jules Coignet, and André Giroux. While the temporary exhibition’s run was cut short due to COVID-19, the gallery has worked to create a digital version by virtue of a dynamic virtual tour allowing users to zoom in on the works as well as click to read the wall texts and artist biographies. Supplemental materials available online include A Curator’s Quick Tour, or highlights as presented by curator Mary Morton; an Introduction to the Exhibition lecture from Morton, the head of French paintings at the National Gallery, in conversation with Jane Munro of Christ’s College, Cambridge, and private collector Alice Goldet; “Painting in the Open Air,” a conversation between artist Ann Lofquist and Morton; and “Weather in Art: From Symbol to Science,” a lecture from the National Gallery’s art historian David Gariff. Although available on mobile, the tour is best viewed on desktop or tablet. Visit www.nga.gov/features/ true-to-nature-virtual-tour.html.
WORDS TO ART SPRING 2020: ARLINGTON COMMUNITY ART PROJECT
Arlington Arts has been asking participants to post one word a week expressing their feelings and perception of COVID-19, which will then spur five area artists to select words to turn into original sketches to be shared on social media. Originally conceived by Sushmita Mazumdar in 2018 as a collaboration with bus drivers and Arlington’s Art on the ART Bus project, the relaunched 2020 version features work by Metro Weekly contributor David Amoroso, as well as Maribeth Egan, Kate Fleming, and MasPaz. Ultimately, though, anyone is encouraged to make and post artwork based on the submitted words and tagged #WordsToArtArlington. Continues to Sunday, May 24. Visit www.arts.arlingtonva.us.
ABOVE & BEYOND DIGITAL DRAG FEST 2020
Producer Entertainment Group and Stageit.com are presenting a series of online performances mostly featuring drag queens from the ranks of RuPaul’s Drag Race. The festival
continues to feature a sizable contingent of queer celebrity creators in thirty-minute shows that “will never be recorded or re-released.” Most tickets cost $10 and sales are limited to roughly 100 transactions, “to keep audience sizes small and the experience intimate.” Upcoming highlights with ticket availability as of press time include: Tammie Brown (“A Little Bit of Quarantined Tammie”) on Friday, May 15, at 3 p.m.; Latrice Royale (“Eat It! (A Cooking Show)”) on Friday, May 15, at 5 p.m.; gay singer-songwriter Bright Light Bright Light on Saturday, May 16, at 5 p.m.; singer-songwriter Wrabel on Saturday, May 16, at 8 p.m.; Bebe Zahara Benet (“Broken English: A Live Experience”) on Saturday, May 16, at 12 midnight; Bob The Drag Queen (“Bob The Quarantine Queen”) on Sunday, May 17, at 2 p.m.; Darienne Lake (“A Reading (A Comedy Show)”) on Sunday, May 17, at 3 p.m.; BenDeLaCreme (“Still Home After All These Years”) on Sunday, May 17, at 8 p.m.; Jackie Beat (“Beep Bop Boop!”) on Sunday, May 17, at 9 p.m.; Candis Cayne (“Don’t Touch Me!”) on Thursday, May 21, at 9 p.m.; Jill Sobule (“The Original ‘Kissed a Girl’ Girl”) on Saturday, May 23, at 4 p.m.; Johnny McGovern & Lady Red Couture hosting the Digital Drag Fest Awards Red Carpet Pre-Show & Interviews on Sunday, May 24, at 3 p.m.; The Digital Drag Fest Awards 2020 on Sunday, May 24, at 5 p.m.; and ‘90s hitmaker Sophie B. Hawkins on Friday, May 29, at 7 p.m. Visit www. digitaldragfest.com.
DC FRAY’S LGBTQ SPEED DATING EVENT
Next week, DC Fray will host two virtual rounds of its LGBTQ speed dating outing through Zoom, with one session for Women Seeking Women, another with Men Seeking Men. All daters will have the opportunity to chat with others in their session, with an official host serving to facilitate and organize “dates” by putting participants into 1:1 breakout rooms. Participants should expect to interact with the host, enjoy upbeat tunes, and use icebreakers to help prompt conversation while in the main room, and also to go on at least five different “dates,” plus the opportunity for more for the most extroverted. After the event, organizers will connect those participants who expressed a mutual connection or interest, but rest assured: “No personal information is shared or exchanged during the dating session and only daters with mutual interest will be connected.” Thursday, May 21, at 7 p.m. Entry is $10, with registration required. For the WSW session, visit commi.sh/seasons/5972; for MSM, visit commi.sh/seasons/5974. Visit dcfray.com/virtualcommunity for more details or other virtual events from DC Fray.
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A proud member of the LGBTQ Community,
Democrat John Fanning
has always been there for us. Now it’s our turn to be there for him.
“John’s life has been one of real commitment and real and relevant experience and know-how. All of these will be needed by the Ward 2 Councilmember to get the job done. John Fanning is not only a good guy, he is a fine and ethical public servant with good common sense. He will balance the interests of workers and businesses — knowing both are important — while always keeping uppermost in his mind the residents of DC and in particular, those in Ward 2.” — FORMER COUNCILMEMBER CAROL SCHWARTZ
In the Ward 2 Special Election in June, vote for
fanningforward2se.com /FanningforWard2
@fanning_2
AN ACCESSIBLE, ACCOMPLISHED, COMMITTED LEADER PAID FOR BY FANNING FOR WARD 2 SPECIAL ELECTION, JOHN BOTTINO, TREASURER.
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MAY 14, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
CHARLES WILLIAM KELLY
theFeed
Changemaker
Stephens
Aimee Stephens, transgender woman at center of LGBTQ Supreme Court case, dies at age 59. By John Riley
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HE TRANSGENDER WOMAN WHOSE EMPLOYment discrimination lawsuit lead to a pivotal U.S. Supreme Court case on LGBTQ rights has died, according to her family. Aimee Stephens, 59, who had suffered from kidney disease, had been in hospice care at her home in recent days. Her brother-in-law, John Pedit, told the Detroit News that Stephens passed away on Tuesday. Stephens, the first transgender woman to have a civil rights complaint heard by the nation’s highest court, sued her employer, R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, of Garden City, Mich., after she was fired in 2013 for informing her boss, Thomas Rost, that she intended to come to work in women’s clothes. Stephens had previously identified as transgender, and dressed according to her gender identity, in her private life for years prior to deciding to come out at work. Rost claimed that he had a right to terminate Stephens for failing to comply to the home’s employee dress code, based on his religious beliefs that gender is fixed and determined by one’s biological sex at birth. He claimed those beliefs were protected by the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Stephens filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which ruled that her rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act had been violated and filed a lawsuit against the funeral home chain on her behalf. In the lawsuit, she claimed she had been discriminated against based on her sex, her gender identity, and her failure to adhere to gender norms or sex stereotypes of how a woman is supposed to appear, dress, and act. In 2018, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Stephens’ favor, finding that the funeral home had unlawfully discriminated against her based on sex and sex-stereotyping.
Rost’s lawyers, with the right-wing legal firm Alliance Defending Freedom, appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. The Trump administration sided with Rost, arguing that Title VII’s prohibitions on sex discrimination only apply to those discriminated against based on their assigned sex at birth. The high court heard arguments in the case in October, but has not yet issued a decision as to whether transgender individuals are protected by Title VII. A decision is expected by July, and could be issued as soon as Thursday, May 14. Donna Stephens issued a statement thanking all those who had supported her wife over the years. “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness, generosity, and keeping my best friend and soulmate in your thoughts and prayers,” she said. “Aimee is an inspiration. She has given so many hope for the future of equality for LGBTQ people in our country, and she has rewritten history. The outpouring of love and support is our strength and inspiration now.” Chase Strangio, the deputy director for Trans Justice with the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project and a member of Stephens’ legal team, released a statement honoring his late client. “Aimee did not set out to be a hero and a trailblazer, but she is one, and our country owes her a debt of gratitude for her commitment to justice for all people and her dedication to our transgender community,” Strangio said. “When Aimee decided to fight back after she was fired for being transgender, she just wanted it to be acknowledged that what happened to her was wrong. Being a part of Aimee’s team at the Supreme Court has been one of the proudest moments of my life because of the amazing person behind the case,” Strangio added. “As a member of her legal team, I am deeply sad for this loss. As a transgender person and an advocate, I am filled with MAY 14, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
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theFeed tion of decades of federal case law holding that Title VII protects transgender workers,” Shannon Minter, the legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said in a statement. “No matter how her case is resolved, Aimee will be remembered as a central figure who helped to humanize transgender people and to highlight the discrimination faced by many transgender workers. “Aimee’s career was devoted to serving others and to living out her faith, which was an essential part of her identity,” Minter added. “Like so many other transgender people, I am grateful for Aimee’s courage and willingness to put herself on the line to stand up for the dignity and equality of all people.”
JULIAN VANKIM
both grief and rage that we have lost an elder far too soon. As we, and millions, carry her work for justice forward, may she rest in power and continue to guide us on this path.” The National Center for Transgender Equality called Stephens a “hero in the fight for equal rights for all people.” “Aimee was deeply committed to justice and fairness, and an incredible person,” Mara Keisling, the executive director of NCTE, said in a statement. “She has left us too soon. We send our deepest sympathies to Aimee’s wife, Donna, and to all her friends, families and supporters.” “It is heartbreaking that Aimee Stephens has passed away before the resolution of her historic case, which is the culmina-
Bos
Saving Ryan
Capital Pride’s Ryan Bos developed a sore throat in March. Two hospitalizations later, he wants everyone to take COVID-19 seriously. By John Riley
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YAN BOS WAS GOING ABOUT HIS BUSINESS IN early March when he started to develop a sore throat. He didn’t think much of it initially — after all, he had been suffering from seasonal allergies, and wrote it off as related to that. Two days later, he developed a fever. But Bos still thought he 22
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was suffering from a sinus infection — a diagnosis that a doctor also gave via virtual appointment. Bos began taking antibiotics. His sore throat disappeared and his fever subsided. But, a week later, the executive director of the Capital Pride Alliance developed a cough and lost his sense of smell.
theFeed “I typically have congestion and postnasal drip and all that stuff during allergy season,” he says. “I didn’t think it was COVID-related. But a friend mentioned that they had heard about loss of smell being associated with COVID-19. So I went to GW Hospital to get tested and found out 11 days later that I was positive.” For a full week, Bos couldn’t smell anything, but thought he had turned the corner when his sense of smell returned. “I still had a lingering cough here and there, just at that point I was assuming it was part of the COVID. Fortunately, at the time I hadn't experienced the shortness of breath, though I had experienced a lot of anxiety during the process... But then on April 10, I started to have some stomach issues, and by that evening, I could tell something was wrong.” Six years earlier, Bos had battled diverticulitis, an inflammation in the digestive tract that results in severe abdominal pain, fever, and nausea. When the symptoms hit, he tried to tough it out. But by the morning of April 11, he was back in the emergency room and placed in the COVID unit, since he had previously tested positive for the virus. Tests came back positive for diverticulitis, and Bos was admitted to the hospital. He was also tested twice more for COVID-19 — the first test came back negative, but the second was positive. “They put me in isolation, put me on antibiotics,” he says. “Once my fever got under control and I was able to eat some solid foods they sent me home, which would have been Tuesday the 14th. I was still on antibiotics and my temperature seemed to stay under control until that Sunday, when my temperature started to come back in the evenings.” Bos scheduled another virtual appointment with his doctor, who wondered if the temperature spike “was an allergic reaction to the drug, to the antibiotic.” “Sometimes at the end of the antibiotic cycle you get a drug fever, so we were wondering if that’s what it was,” Bos says. “It spiked to its highest level that Tuesday, and started to come down. On Friday, my doctor had me stop taking all the antibiotics, assuming that if it was a drug fever, my temperature should still come down, but instead, my temperature went back up.” Bos arrived back in the emergency room, where doctors determined that he had developed an abscess from the diverticulitis. They put in a tube to drain the abscess, but Bos developed sepsis, prolonging his hospital stay. As the fever began to subside and he became able to eat solid foods again, he was sent home, but the drain tube remained in until this past Thursday. On April 27, Bos took to Facebook, writing a post to update his friends and family about his second hospitalization and provide them with a warning. “Please note that my doctor and others have started to see a possible connection between GI inflammatory issues and COVID,” he wrote. “It’s not enough to take care of yourself, we must take care of each other!” It was Bos’ primary doctor who drew the connection between his COVID infection and the diverticulitis. “She noted that she’s had several patients that have been getting GI inflammatory issues sort of following the traditional COVID symptoms. And then I got her in contact with the surgical doctor at GW that was assigned to me and they’re actually going to do some further research. And then I decided to do something, specifically because my doctor had made this correlation.” Bos decided to alert others in case they were experiencing some of the same symptoms and could get tested for COVID.
Since posting, several people reached out to him to share similar experiences and nearly identical symptoms. Although Bos never developed the most common symptom of COVID-19 infection — shortness of breath — he had already made the mental connection between his positive test for COVID and his gastrointestinal issues. “Once you have diverticulitis, you’re susceptible to getting it again, based on your diet, based on stress, anxiety and based on exercise,” Bos says. “But based on everything and the severity of it at that time, my doctor feels COVID had more of a direct correlation.” Bos believes the changes that resulted from social distancing may have contributed to his flare-up. An avid runner, he wasn’t exercising as much. He wasn’t going to the grocery store or buying the types of healthy foods he normally would have gotten, and was experiencing feelings of stress and anxiety related to his initial symptoms. All of this, he believes, contributed to his most recent bout with gastrointestinal issues. “Just being more restricted on exercise and not being as intentional on your diet, and the stress and anxiety around the unknown definitely takes a toll,” he notes. “Six years ago, I got diverticulitis right after Pride, and for many of the same reasons — stress, diet, and lack of exercise. “You get excruciating pains in your midsection, abdomen area. For me, it's so excruciating where you can’t find a position that’s comfortable, and it’s difficult to stand straight up because of the pain,” Bos explains. “It’s a mixture of shooting pains that go in phases, and then if you touch your stomach and abdomen, it’s very tender, especially on the opposite side of your appendix.” Luckily for Bos, since the drain tube was removed last Thursday, he has not experienced any more complications, and does not believe he’ll need surgery to remove part of his colon, which is the treatment for the most severe forms of diverticulitis. He’s currently on a low residue fiber diet, which he started after being sent home. Every morning and night, he checks his temperature as a precaution, and checks his blood pressure, which was low due to his illness. He has lost about 12 to 15 pounds since the beginning of his infection. In six to eight weeks, he’ll have to undergo a colonoscopy. Bos credits his roommate for helping see him through the ordeal, as well as his primary care doctor for being vigilant and for serving as a calming presence so he did not overly stress when the symptoms were at their worst. He also credits his work colleagues for giving him space to temporarily step away, thus allowing him to recuperate and avoid additional stress while trying to heal. Bos recommends that everyone take precautionary measures to avoid contracting COVID-19. “Take it seriously, wear masks, obviously wash your hands and all of that,” he says. “Be conscious of how you’re walking on the sidewalks. Be cognizant when you’re in the grocery store and they have the markers in terms of how far away you should stand, take all that stuff seriously. “You also need to find ways to center yourself, whether that is meditating, whether it’s just lying down and listening to your favorite music. Your mind has so much control over your body, so you need to give yourself those healing sensations and forces. If you don't have people in your life, as is the case with many people in the LGBTQ+ community — especially our most marginalized communities who are suffering the worst — you need to find ways to connect with folks to talk to for support during this process.” MAY 14, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
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theFeed
Needless Erasure Trump administration removes LGBTQ data from foster care and adoption reporting system. By John Riley
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HE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS REMOVED AN Obama-era requirement that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services collect data on the sexual orientation of children or parents in the foster care and adoption system. The final rule, published on Tuesday, reduces the number of required pieces of information to be entered into HHS’s Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, including the sexual orientation of a child, foster parent, adoptive parent, or legal guardian. By removing data on LGBTQ identity, the Trump administration is effectively erasing the issues around LGBTQ people in foster care or adoption, including LGBTQ-identifying youth and the barriers that same-sex couples who wish to be parents may face. For instance, research from the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that nearly 30% of youth in foster care are LGBTQ, and those youth are twice as likely to report poor treatment than their non-LGBTQ peers. LGBTQ youth in foster care typically experience more instability due to multiple temporary placements, longer stays in residential care, higher rates of hospitalization for emotional reasons, higher rates of homelessness, and higher rates of criminal justice involvement. Christina Wilson Remlin, the lead counsel for Children’s Rights, and one of several child advocates who had urged the administration to withdraw the proposed rule change before it was finalized, called the removal of LGBTQ data from AFCARS “a huge mistake that will harm the children we serve.” “Thorough and accurate data is critical to ensuring that safety, permanency, and well-being remain the top priorities for children in out-of-home care,” she said. “This latest onslaught against facts puts politics over the best interests of children and makes LGBTQ youth and their outcomes invisible.” Schylar Baber, a foster care alumnus and the executive director of Voice for Adoption, called the administration’s finalized rule “an unnecessary step backwards.” 24
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“How can we make the right decisions about youth in foster care and those waiting to be adopted if we don’t have a robust and complete AFCARS data system?” Baber said in a statement. “Our foster care system is in crisis mode. We’ve waited 25 years for the AFCARS system to be upgraded. I am not sure we have much more time to wait, because our children are paying the price.” Last week, advocates with the pro-LGBTQ organization Family Equality met with representatives from HHS and the Office of Management and Budget to urge them not to finalize the AFCARS rule, citing research that shows that LGBTQ youth are significantly more likely to be physically abused by their parents, and that familial rejection is a leading cause for their entry into the foster care system. Family Equality has also argued that the collection of data on LGBTQ parents — who, according to the Williams Institute, are seven times more likely to foster and adopt than non-LGBTQ couples — would help agencies target their recruitment efforts in the hope of finding placements for youth in the foster care system. “Unfortunately due to the current administration, any attempts at nationwide data collection related to sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and how that relates to safety, stability, well-being and permanency needs for youth in child welfare has come to a standstill,” Dr. Micki Washburn, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work. “That is why it is imperative that we collect this data through AFCARS, as otherwise we will not be able to get a clear picture of the needs and outcomes of these vulnerable youth.” “It is outrageous that during National Foster Care Month, HHS is abdicating its statutory responsibilities to promote the safety and well-being of LGBTQ foster youth,” Julie Kruse, the director of federal policy at Family Equality, said in a statement. “States, tribes, and agencies cannot improve care and outcomes for these youth if they do not have data to measure their efforts.” The rule was swiftly denounced by members of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus, who said it will open
theFeed Azar’s rule change, and ask him to stand with children across the country who are seeking safe, supportive homes free from discrimination.” “Our goal should always be to find loving and supportive homes for kids in need,” added Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), a father of three. “This rule change is completely unacceptable. It will harm the safety and wellbeing of innocent children who are in our foster care system, and open the door to discrimination against parents who are ready, willing and able to provide a supportive home.”
the door to discrimination against same-sex couples and stifle the voices of LGBTQ youth in the foster care system who are experiencing mistreatment. “Every child deserves a safe and loving home, but unfortunately LGBTQ children and parents face significant discrimination in the foster care and adoption system,” U.S. Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), a co-chair of the caucus who is raising four sons with her wife Cheryl. “As a mother, and as someone who faced adoption discrimination for being a part of the LGBTQ community two decades ago, I strongly denounce Secretary
Sundgaard
Stormy Situation
Gay weatherman fired after calling out armed lockdown protesters in Minnesota. By Rhuaridh Marr
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GAY WEATHERMAN IN MINNESOTA WAS FIRED after sharing a Facebook post criticizing armed rightwing protesters for gathering outside the governor’s home to demand an end to the state’s stay-at-home order. Sven Sundgaard, 39, had worked for KARE 11 in Minneapolis, Minn., for 14 years, but the station opted to cut ties with him after he shared a post by Michael Adam Latz, a rabbi in the city, Queerty reports. The protesters gathered outside the home of Gov. Tim Waltz (D) on April 17, after President Donald Trump tweeted for his supporters to “LIBERATE MINNESOTA!” The protesters waved Trump campaign flags and carried weapons including rifles, with one person also holding a sign with the word “Fuhrer” and an image of Waltz that had been altered to include a Hitler-style moustache. In the Facebook post shared by Sundgaard, who converted to Judaism after being raised Christian, Rabbi Latz called the protesters “white nationalist Nazi sympathizer gun fetishist miscreants.”
After a far-right news outlet reported on the post, it was shared by former Republican Congressman Jason Lewis, who is currently running for a U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota. Sundgaard later deleted the post, but KARE11 announced this month that he had been fired. “Due to continued violations of KARE11’s news ethics and other policies, we have made the decision to part ways with Sven Sundgaard,” the station wrote on Facebook. “We hope you continue to turn to KARE 11 for your news, traffic, weather and more.” However, the decision didn’t go down well with some of KARE 11’s viewers. One person wrote that they are “on the side of science and Sven. Due to the poor ethics of KARE 11, I have decided to part ways with KARE 11.” “Sad that a weatherman is held to a higher standard than our current president,” wrote another. This week, Sundgaard commented publicly for the first time on his dismissal, saying that he disagreed with KARE 11’s deciMAY 14, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
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theFeed sion and was considering his options to respond. “I first want to thank those who have supported and followed me throughout my time at KARE 11,” Sundgaard wrote on Facebook. “And, I am especially grateful to those who have sent supportive and kind messages over the last several days since the station so publicly announced that it had parted ways with me — and then published its alleged reasons for doing so. “Your overwhelming support has been incredible. Thanks
to those that have been sharing advice and information with me. Please keep all of this coming — it really does help me get through the days in this strange and difficult time.” He continued: “Many have asked me about KARE11’s post regarding my employment and separation from employment. Here’s what I have to say about that for now: I disagree with and dispute my former employers claims and I am considering my options at this time. Thank you again.”
Deutsche Ban T
Germany bans conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth. By Rhuaridh Marr
HE GERMAN PARLIAMENT HAS PASSED A LAW banning the harmful practice of conversion therapy, which falsely claims to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Under the new law, conversion therapy is banned for those under the age of 18, as well as for adults who are forcibly subjected to it. Conversion therapy, which can take the form of talk therapy or more extreme measures such as aversion and electroshock therapy, has been debunked by the American Medical Association and declared ineffective by a number of prominent former conversion therapy — or “ex-gay” — advocates. “Homosexuality is not a disease,” said Germany’s Health Minister Jens Spahn, who is gay. “That’s why the very term therapy is misleading.” Germany’s ban carries penalties of up to one year in prison for those who carry out conversion therapy. It also bans all advertising for the practice. OutRight Action International, which advocates for the rights of LGBTQ people across the globe, praised German lawmakers for enacting the ban, noting that conversion therapy can involve “brutal, inhuman force.” Executive Director Jessica Stern said in a statement that the German parliament had “sent a powerful message that LGBTIQ people are not in need of change or cure. “At the same time, demand for ‘conversion therapy’ will only decrease if acceptance of LGBTIQ people grows,” Stern said. “I urge authorities in Germany to bolster the legal ban on ‘conver26
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sion therapy’ with measures designed to promote understanding and inclusion of LGBTIQ people, thus tackling the root causes of these harmful, inhuman practices.” While some critics argued that the ban does not go far enough in protecting all LGBTQ people from conversion therapy, Spahn said that it was limited to LGBTQ youth and those who are forcibly subjected to the practice in order to be able to defend the law in court, Reuters reports. “I want a ban which will be robust, including if it’s brought before the courts,” Spahn said. He added: “Young people are being forced into conversion therapies, and so it is very important that they should find support in the existence of this law: a clear signal that the state does not want this to happen.” Born Perfect, a National Center for Lesbian Rights campaign led by survivors of conversion therapy, praised Germany for banning the practice. “Germany is the first major European country to protect LGBTQ people from this insidious practice, which is one of the primary drivers of suicide and depression among LGBTQ youth,” Mathew Shurka, co-founder of Born Perfect, said in a statement. “Especially during this time, when many LGBTQ people are feeling more isolated and alone than ever, Germany’s leadership is a powerful example of how governments can stand up for LGBTQ youth.” Shannon Minter, executive director of NCLR, called Germany’s leadership on the issue “groundbreaking,” and said
theFeed Sam Brinton, Vice President of Advocacy and Government at The Trevor Project, noted that research in the United States has shown that young people subjected to conversion therapy are at increased risk of “suicidal ideation and other negative mental health outcomes.” “Germany’s bold action will save lives and send a message to LGBTQ young people around the world that they deserve love, respect, and support,” Brinton said in a statement.
SPOD LGBTQ
the country was “setting a new international standard for protecting LGBTQ youth and for recognizing conversion therapy for what it is — a public health crisis that is devastating the lives of LGBTQ young people.” The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention service for LGBTQ youth, similarly praised Germany for implementing a ban on conversion therapy.
Turkish rainbows
Rainbow Ruse C
Turkish government frets that drawing rainbows will make children gay. By Rhuaridh Marr
HILDREN IN TURKEY ARE BEING DISCOURAGED from drawing rainbows during the COVID-19 pandemic amid fears that they will “turn children gay.” Turkish art museum Istanbul Modern had previously encouraged children to “draw their own rainbow and paste it into the window of their home,” as part of efforts to “give hope” to the country during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But the move angered conservative religious figures in the country, according to The Jerusalem Post, who believed the rainbow drawings were part of attempts to spread acceptance of LGBTQ people. That backlash reportedly prompted Turkey’s Ministry of National Education to order teachers to discourage children from drawing rainbows. Teachers’ trade union Egitim-Sen told Al-Monitor that school principals were reporting orders from local education directorates to now allow students to participate in the Istanbul Modern’s project, “saying it was an LGBTI plot to turn children gay,” Al-Monitor reports. Kaos GL, one of the largest LGBTQ rights organizations in Turkey, told Al-Monitor that”commentators on mainstream and social media have stepped up their attacks on the LGBTI community during the coronavirus pandemic.” “This is hardly new, but it is particularly perturbing that this hate speech is repeated by officials who portray the LGBTI as the culprits, rather than victims, of the pandemic,” said Kaos GL’s Yildiz Tar. “I am concerned that this hate speech, which has intensified over these critical days, will
continue after the pandemic, becoming a permanent fixture of the political rhetoric.” Human rights lawyer Güley Bor said teachers were being accused of “LGBTI+ propaganda,” and called backlash to the rainbows part of an “awful wave of hate speech and phobia is ongoing in Turkey against LGBTI+s.” Bor noted that “many LGBTI+s drew rainbows of their own,” quoting a tweet from advocacy organization SPoD LGBTI, which had shared images of some of the rainbow drawings, writing, “There is no color of hate in the rainbow!” Turkey has become more conservative in recent years due to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamist-influenced government, which has made moves away from the Muslim-majority nation’s previously secular nature. Last month, Erdogan was criticized for defending a religious leader who said that homosexuality “brings illnesses,” and calling criticism of the cleric an “attack on the state.” Ali Erbas, president of the state-funded Directorate of Religious Affairs, claimed that homosexuality causes disease, corruption, and is condemned in Islam during a weekly sermon. Erbas’ comments were criticized by lawyer’s group the Ankara Bar Association, which said they could lead to hate crimes against LGBTQ people and that his comments “came from ages ago.” But Erdogan pushed back against the criticism, saying “an attack against the Diyanet chief is an attack on the state. “Erdogan added: “What he said was totally right.” MAY 14, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
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She Likes to A featured star on Celebrity Watch Party, Raven-Symoné is thrilled to let down her rainbow braids and just be herself. Interview by André Hereford Photography by Quentin Ryan
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FTER MORE THAN THREE DECADES spent growing up on stage and television, Raven-Symoné has made peace with the fact that her face, her roles, her music, memes, and merchandise have been a part of your life. But, as the performer says, “I tend to not dwell on this life that I have,” nor on her very public evolution from adorable child actor on The Cosby Show and teen star of Disney Channel hit That’s So Raven, to Billboard-charting recording artist, with adult roles in films and on Broadway, and a high-profile stint as a proudly out co-host of The View. “I think I would go crazy if I actually thought about all the 28
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stuff that I've done,” she says. “I'm working on that with my therapist, thank you very much.” Rather than looking back, the Emmy-nominated entertainment veteran focuses ahead on her upcoming album of new music, and her current role as star and executive producer of Disney’s That’s So Raven spinoff, Raven’s Home, in which the formerly teenage psychic is now a divorced single mom with two kids of her own. The show, co-starring Anneliese van der Pol, reprising her role as Raven’s bestie and fellow divorcée Chelsea, just aired its third-season finale — as the nation entered its second straight month of shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Watch
Girls. This is now. “I've been in entertainment/Hollywood since I was 16 months old,” says Raven. “I'm 34, so I'm an old biddy and I feel good about it. It's definitely a journey to last this long, and it takes some thick skin. I've got a lot of calluses, cuz. I've got a lot of calluses.” That resilience has seen Raven-Symoné through public trials and controversies over the years, and she’s emerged confident enough to bare her truth on record. Last fall, she even took on the high-wire challenge of competing on season two of FOX’s phenomenally popular The Masked Singer. Performing as the “Black Widow” spider, she belted a mean version of “Before He Cheats,” before eventually going out in tenth place. Now, the star returns to FOX on Celebrity Watch Party, the network’s spin on long-running British hit Gogglebox. The British version features a rotation of regular folks at home on their couches watching TV, reacting and commenting to the audience’s delight. A sort of stripped-down Talk Soup, the show feels tailor-made for a moment when people all over the world are spending plenty of time at home watching TV. So why not watch celebrities watch TV? Celebrity Watch Party casts Raven-Symoné, along with the ever-entertaining Osbournes, father-and-son Master P and Romeo, Rob Lowe, Meghan Trainor, and Tyra Banks, among other stars, to hang out on-camera while flipping through the week’s TV offerings, from RuPaul’s Drag Race and Dr. Pimple Popper, to ABC’s virtual running of the Kentucky Derby. The hook is seeing the celebrities dishing on the good, bad, and ugly of pop culture, off the cuff. For Raven, the show is another opportunity for the former child star to refresh her image and reflect the woman and artist she’s become — even if it does simply entail lounging on her sofa with her friends and her dogs, getting her life while watching Drag Race contestants lip-sync for theirs. METRO WEEKLY: Where am I finding you today? RAVEN-SYMONÉ: In my bed. MW: And in what locality would that be? RAVEN: In California. [Laughs.] Sorry, I don't know you like that,
Pretty much homebound, like everyone else, Raven-Symoné has devoted the unexpected downtime to completing tracks on her album, The Reintroduction. The collaboration with artist-producers Brian London and Austin Brown, better known as R&B duo Blvk Cvstle, definitely reflects Raven’s reinvention of herself as... more herself. The collection of neo-soul and mellow hip-hop tracks — including a few previously released on 2019 EP 33000, and 2020 EP Infrasounds — finds the singer-songwriter, billed as RAVEN, expressing an adventurous maturity, even rapping with swag about same-sex relationships. (For the record, she also reveals that she can see herself someday marrying a woman.) This is not little Olivia or Raven Baxter or Cheetah
I can’t give you my address. I don't know if you're gonna bring me Snickers or not. I’m just playing! MW: Actually, you know what? I found out something about us that I think will start us off on the right foot. My birthday is December 9th, and yours... RAVEN: Hey, what's up, Sag? My birthday's December 10th. Okay, we're cool. We're cool. We're cool. MW: Right, exactly. I watched Watch Party, and I feel like, first of all, this show would not have made any sense a few months ago, but right now it makes perfect sense. RAVEN: I have to disagree with you. I think the show could have lived before corona. That's because I've watched shows like this, and I love the way television is when it's like this. Remember Talk Soup? They used to replay stuff? I love those kinds of shows on YouTube, and I love the original version [of Gogglebox] over in the U.K. and other countries. So I'm excited that America has finally embraced what the world has been going through, and is ready to watch other people watch television. I'm so excited. MW: We're in an era of people posting and watching reaction videos. Have you watched reaction videos? RAVEN: I have watched reaction videos. My reaction videos are kind of interesting. I like the reaction videos of other music videos, and I like the reaction videos of opening boxes. I guess that's a reveal video, but I like that whole just watching someone else's MAY 14, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
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COURTESY OF FOX
RAVEN: After Broadway and after
reaction to something. It's weird how we've evolved because of social media, like, "I'm going to watch somebody open a box of tissue and see what they feel about it." I love watching that. MW: It is weirdly intoxicating. Yesterday I watched the video of Zendaya reacting to the “Savage” remix. It was hilarious. Seeing people be themselves, I guess, is the thing. Is that what you feel this show is? RAVEN: I definitely believe that's why the show is going to be really, really big. For instance, myself, Meghan Trainor, Romeo, or Tyra, when we're normally on screen, we're in three hours of hair and makeup. We are two months of pre-production and a week of filming and one week of editing. But this [show] is like, "Oh, no, no, no. There's no budget, so that's your own clothes. That's your own makeup style. You better get your hair braided and be on-air, and say action and go.” And there's no one there telling you yes or no or maybe. This is all us, and then they edit it later to make sure everybody gets the time they deserve. But just know that you're going to see me when I wake up. And I'm not going to work, so I don't really keep makeup in my house anymore. So don't judge my face when you see me, okay? MW: I was going to ask about the braids, because the braids looked great on Watch Party. How are you keeping up rainbow braids during quarantine? RAVEN: You should definitely see my braiding sessions, like hazmat suits, gloves. My dog is locked up in his little bubble. It's a whole journey, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Thank you, Aisha, I love you. MW: When did you decide to not have makeup in your house?
That's So Raven, I was like, "I'm not doing this anymore. I'm not wearing makeup. I'm not wearing heels. If you catch me in a dress, eh, how about that?" With Watch Party, I'm able to be myself. I'm very vulnerable in this show. Even though I'm having fun and watching television like Tiger King and the Kentucky Derby, which was awesome. The virtual Kentucky Derby was awesome! MW: That was really suspenseful. And I'm from Louisville, Kentucky, so I was like, "Bring it on." RAVEN: I would not have watched that if it wasn't for this show, so I'm really excited to be on it and be Tyra Banks and her mother myself, and you guys get to see all my weirdness. It's going to be a great journey during this corona time. MW: It was also especially nice to have your voice representing the community when Drag Race was shown, because of course we had every single straight guy say he has "never seen Drag Race." I haven't met one straight guy that admits that they have, and I don't think there was one on that show last night who said that they have. RAVEN: Yeah, yeah. They don't watch that, so watching them watch that was fantastic. But I think Celebrity Watch Party picked the right clip when they showed Ozzy asleep. That was epic. My mom called me this morning. She's like, "I'm in love with that family." It's like, I've been in love with the Osbournes since.... Kelly's my girl. I love Miss Sharon, and I love Ozzy too, so I love that whole world. I'm very excited that they're on the show with me. MW: They were fun to see, absolutely. Who else is on the couch with you? And what are your dogs’ names? RAVEN: I have two dogs. One's Budapest, he’s the Chihuahua. One’s Indiana, he's the Pomeranian. My friends that I'm watching television with — so Brian London and Austin Brown, also known as Blvk Cvstle, they helped me with my album. They have their own music out. Between all three of us, we have worked with Bruno Mars, Ariana Grande, Stevie Wonder, and Earth, Wind & Fire. There's a lot of history between us three. MW: Are you guys working on music right now? RAVEN: Correct. I have an album coming out June 26th called The Reintroduction, and Blvk Cvstle has an album coming out as
“I'm probably going to transition more to the back end of television. It's time for me to see what I can create without my face.
I think I'm at that age where I can handle the spotlight in a different section of the club.” 30
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“Painting is a way to create something without anyone else's teeth in it. There’s a lot of people telling me what to do within my acting.
With painting, I'm able to express [myself ] with no other person [involved]. It's really cathar tic.”
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well. We have music already out on all of your streaming services. You can go to my Instagram to find out where all of that is, as well as Blvk Cvstle. MW: The album title, The Reintroduction, sort of begs, the reintroduction of...what? RAVEN: [Laughs.] I like you, Sag. The reintroduction of me. It is the reintroduction of me. On this album, we have everything from what I've released [recently]. You have “Microdosing,” you have “Left Behind,” “Undecided,” but you also have things like “Napswag” and “Boring,” and you have an extra, I think, three songs on the album. I call it The Reintroduction because the last time you heard me sing, not on The Masked Singer, it was a different genre and a different vibration. This is who I am, which is another reason why I said yes to Celebrity Watch Party, which is another reason why I said yes to Masked Singer and all of the other ventures that I'm getting into. Because I'm 34 years old. I'm growing up, and it's time for you to know who I am, and not the curated piece of person that I was this last 30 years. MW: There’s a meme of you that I run into literally every day, you’re eating a sandwich and laughing at what looks like a very private joke. I don't even need to know about what. But how do you interact in general with the internet, when you might bump into yourself all the time?
Janet and Steve Wozniak
RAVEN: [Laughs.] I like it. I press “Like” again and again. Yes,
it's so funny to me because my brand, Raven-Symoné, has really lived in meme and GIF world since the creation of meme and GIF world. “Boss Chick Olivia,” that’s my favorite. Olivia was killing the game back in the day, when social media first started and Instagram first started. I was kind of mad for that one because I was like, "Is anybody getting paid for this? What's happening?" But knowing that even now, just me eating a peanut butter sandwich and having a full conversation with myself in my head, that I will not tell you the details, but trust me, I talk to myself. And having it there, I'm like, "Wow. What's happening right now?" Memes are so interesting. It's so interesting. I would have never guessed I'd be a meme like that again. MW: Was there a moment in your life, whether it was memes or television, or just fame in general, that you were aware of being part of other people's culture? Whether they know you or not, or regardless of what they think of you? RAVEN: That feeling only happens after I finish a project. When I'm in the thick of the project, I tend not to venture out into the world too much because I like to keep my focus 100, which is why no one's really seen me live or at social before corona, because I'd be at work from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. I'm like, "Instagram? I'm tired. I've got to go to sleep. Go get me some chicken. I've got to go," you know what I mean? But now, I have a little more time on my hands, so the fact that I did a Live for 11 hours straight two nights ago is just a testament to corona. MW: After you finish a project, when does it hit you that you’re part of other people’s culture? RAVEN: I don't realize it all the time, because I'm always working. I'm always just trying to push out this content, and always trying to be artistic. Corona’s forcing me to sit back and look, and I'm able to kind of take that in a little bit. So it is interesting to know that Raven's Home, That's So Raven, and the shows that I've been a part of before are threads within the cloak and fabric of our society, as we continue to move forward with social media and Celebrity Watch Party, and Masked Singer, and Fox and Disney. Just knowing that the outlets are endless, it feels good to know that I'm a part of your life. MW: What was it like getting back into this character, Raven Baxter, now that she’s a mother, and in this day and age? RAVEN: Oh, goodness. It was exhilarating. It was scary. I'm nervous. I'm stressed. I'm having a great time. I’ve made new friends. There's a lot of emotions that come with it. The stress MAY 14, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
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COURTESY OF FOX
ple from nine years old to 72, so our employee list is very eclectic. Disney is very, very, very smart when it comes to protecting their employees, so I don't have the answer for that. I just have to refer to the company that hires me, and I trust them that they will not put my life in danger. So when they tell me I'm about to go to work, I'm about to go to work. MW: You've been on multiple shows that have had multiple seasons. What have you learned about what it takes to sustain a sitcom for multiple seasons? RAVEN: For me, what I've learned to sustain a sitcom is to let people do their job. Yeah, I've been in front of the camera my entire life, but that doesn't mean that I know how to work a camera. I know where it should be pointed and who I want it pointed at, but I don't know how to zoom in. Let that person do their job. So when I was younger I was told, Raven-Symoné with Brian London (left) and Austin Brown "Just listen. Don't say anything. Just of failing, the excitement of never failing, the stress of, "Oh my listen." So when I got on the set of Raven's Home first season, goodness, my name's on it three different times. Do not mess up." yeah, I had some opinions but I really stepped back and watched Or, "Oh, that's awesome! My name is on it three different times. people that had good shows on the air before me, and kept them This is like everyone's dream." There's so many emotions that running as well, and learned from them. All the [Executive are wrapped up into getting your own show and having other Producers] that have come through, all of the amazing, talented people to look after, and creating titles for yourself like execu- actors and writers that have come through our stage, you listen. tive producer or director. There's a lot of emotions. It's hard to You listen to the adults, and when you are super confident and you've had a couple years under your belt — so far three or four, go through. MW: I saw that you directed some of the episodes. Is that some- which I'm feeling confident in — I speak up where I need to. If I mess up, I've got family around me. So they're like, "Yeah, Raven. thing you're going to do more often? RAVEN: Yeah, I'm probably going to transition a little bit more Not today. Maybe next episode. We love you, though. Go say away from the front of the screen, and more to the back end of your line." I'm like, "Sweet, sweet. That was cool." television. I've been on screen for the past thirty-three years. It's MW: It's funny to hear you refer to the adults in the room. You're time for me to push it back, and see what I can create without now one of the adults in the room. my face. If I feel like I need to bring my face back then I will, RAVEN: Don't tell me that. I don't believe you. No, I'm not. I'm but I think I'm at that age where I can handle the spotlight in a not an adult yet. I pay taxes, but I'm not an adult. different section of the club. MW: Do you have any role models in that regard? I can't help but think of Debbie Allen as a really great example. RAVEN: Debbie Allen is a GOAT [Greatest of All Time]. She's a GOAT and unicorn, Falkor. Like, she's Falkor to me. I just want to be Debbie Allen when I grow up, but my leg does not go that high, so maybe just be myself. She inspires me. [Child actor-turned-director] Rich Correll inspires me. Danielle Fishel inspires me. Goodness gracious, there's so many people in this world that are doing amazing things, that I can look at and say, "Thank you for your inspiration. Now, let me go slaughter this game real quick." So there's so many people out there. It just depends on my day. MW: Did you already start production on Raven’s Home season four, or will you? RAVEN: We did start season four already and we were excited about it. Corona kicked us out, and we're going to continue, hopefully, once everything is done. MW: When that time comes, what would it take for you to feel safe and secure on a set at this moment? RAVEN: Well, you know we have people of all ages. We have peo-
“I think Celebrit y Watch Par t y picked the right clip when they showed Oz z y Osbourne asleep [during RuPaul’s Drag Race]. That was epic.
My mom called me this morning. She's like, ‘I'm in love with that family.’”
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Sharon and Kelly Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne and friend
husband had the same question when we saw Drag Race pop up on Watch Party. Have you ever met Raven the drag queen? RAVEN: Yes, I met Raven the drag queen. Quick story — Raven the drag queen let me wear her pads on [ABC Family’s] State of Georgia, because when I started the show they said I was a little too skinny, so they needed me to put on a fat suit of some kind to thicken up. So I went to Raven and Morgan McMichaels, and they gave me their drag queen pads. So I am forever in debt to my fantastic family. MW: Are you watching the current season? RAVEN: I am not watching the current season. I watched the highlights, but I'm painting right now and I'm really working on my album, so I'm kind of focused. MW: Music is helping me get through all of this confinement, so I have to ask: What music are you listening to, or whatever else is that thing that helps put you in a good mental place? RAVEN: I'm listening to my own music, to be honest with you. And when it's on Spotify, we'll let Spotify choose who can be in the rotation, but mostly I listen to myself. [Laughs.] I’m sorry, did I say I was a little egotistical? I'm painting a lot. I am painting my album cover as we speak, actually, which is very cathartic for me, for many other reasons that you didn’t ask. And I’m organizing my house, like every baby drawer. Let's just keep it 100. My underwear drawer is ridiculously organized. It looks like I'm staying at Victoria's Secret. That's what corona did for me. And I'm kind of afraid to go back to work, because I know it's going to be a big jumbled mess again because I'm not OCD'ing my house, but it's definitely kept me occupied. I'm happy I got my house done. Let's just say I tightened all of the screws in everything. Things are working. MW: Why is painting cathartic for you? Is it a relationship issue? Is it getting out feelings that you've been dealing with? RAVEN: Painting is all of the above and more. Painting is a way to express myself. It's a way to express the emotions I don't know how to express. It's a way to create something without anyone else's teeth in it. The art that I'm a part of, we have a director, we have a writer, we have an EP, we have a dialogue coach. There's a lot of people telling me what to do within my television and acting. I feel with my painting, I'm able to express it with no other person, right? It's really cathartic for me. MW: I get that. Also, that might change if you were showing it to people. Do you plan to show your paintings? RAVEN: I do. I do plan. For the first part of, the first month of corona, maybe a little bit less than a month, from maybe 10 o'clock at night to three o'clock in the morning, I'd be on Instagram, and my fans and I are painting. We're painting together. We're listening to music, we're painting, and I showed
COURTESY OF FOX
MW: A random question, but maybe not so random, because my
Rob Lowe and sons
them there, from start to finish. Everybody was like, "I want a print." I was like, "I'll do a print when I'm super comfy to get it out of my hands." Now it's still in my hands. I can tweak it as much as I want to, but to really share my art it'll probably happen next year or the year after. MW: Do you title them? RAVEN: Sometimes. It depends, it depends. One of them was called Swole, and it was my 3D art piece that I did outside. I did a live art piece where I painted everything black and stuffed clothes in, and created 3D human sculptures coming off of a piece of wood, along with all of the extra things that I'd gotten from all of my travels. Sunglasses, jewelry, knick knacks and paddy whacks that I'd received from different shows and it was called Swole, so it's that way. MW: What’s the scale of that? RAVEN: That was around eight to nine feet tall, two feet wide. MW: Looking ahead to summer, and with projects that you're hoping to launch, this country is in the midst of something unprecedented and completely uncertain in how it will end. How do you hope we come out of this? RAVEN: I hope we come out of this smarter. I hope we come out of this cleaner. I don't mind wearing a mask in public. I've been to other countries where that is the norm, and it's just another fashion accessory, with some health benefits I'm sure. But we can look at it as a little bit of a fashion statement. Celebrity Watch Party airs Thursdays on FOX at 8 p.m. ET. Visit www.fox.com. Raven’s Home airs multiple times daily on The Disney Channel. Check your local listings, or visit www.disneynow.com. Follow Raven on Instagram at @ravensymone. MAY 14, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
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Gallery
PATRICIA PICCININI, THE STAGS, 2008; FIBERGLASS, AUTOMOTIVE PAINT, LEATHER, STEEL, PLASTIC, AND RUBBER, 69 3/4 X 72 X 40 1/4 IN.; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, GIFT OF HEATHER AND TONY PODESTA COLLECTION; © PATRICIA PICCININI; PHOTO BY GRAHAM BARING
W
National Museum of Women in the Arts
E NEED CONNECTION AND COMMUNITY NOW more than ever, and the arts can provide that bridge,” says Susan Fisher Sterling, director of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. “Museums have often served as places of refuge and solace.” Of course, we’ve had to sacrifice such notions of refuge and solace for the time being, with all museums, including NMWA, closed due to COVID-19. Interestingly enough, however, in certain respects it’s never been easier to get to know the museum and its vast and diverse collection of art. Since the COVID-19 shutdown, the museum’s staff has worked diligently to bolster its digital content and presence. Last month, the museum launched a special portal, NMWA @ Home, which offers many resources and ideas for exploring 34
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and discovering the museum and women in art. Most notably, guests can now peruse the museum’s full collection, featuring more than 1,000 artists and 5,000 objects, searching by name, time period, medium, or theme. Additionally, the portal includes hundreds of profiles of women artists. Visitors can also wander the collection in a manner similar to how they do in person — by exploring nearly a dozen online exhibitions, including the recently added Wanderer/ Wonderer: Pop-Ups by Colette Fu. This fascinating display of intricate, large-scale pop-up books focuses on those that the artist, a Philadelphia native, has created to capture “haunted landmarks around her hometown,” as well as others portraying the myths, legends, and little-known minority cultures found in China’s Yunnan Province, her ancestral homeland.
CLARA PEETERS, STILL LIFE OF FISH AND CAT, AFTER 1620; OIL ON PANEL, 13 1/2 X 18 1/2 IN.; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, GIFT OF WALLACE AND WILHELMINA HOLLADAY
JOANA VASCONCELOS, VIRIATO, 2005; FAIENCE DOG AND HANDMADE COTTON CROCHET, 29 1/2 X 17 3/4 X 15 3/4 IN.; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, GIFT OF HEATHER AND TONY PODESTA COLLECTION; © JOANA VASCONCELOS; PHOTO BY LEE STALSWORTH
SHIRIN NESHAT, ON GUARD FROM THE SERIES “TURBULENT,” 1996; GELATIN SILVER PRINT WITH INK, 11 X 14 IN.; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, GIFT OF TONY PODESTA COLLECTION; © SHIRIN NESHAT
YAEL BARTANA, WHAT IF WOMEN RULED THE WORLD, 2016; NEON, 98 1/2 X 38 1/2 IN.; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, MUSEUM PURCHASE, BELINDA DE GAUDEMAR ACQUISITION FUND, WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM THE MEMBERS’ ACQUISITION FUND; © YAEL BARTANA; PHOTO BY LEE STALSWORTH
MICKALENE THOMAS, A-E-I-O-U AND SOMETIMES Y, 2009; PLASTIC RHINESTONES, ACRYLIC, AND ENAMEL ON PANEL, 24 X 20 X 1 1/2 IN.; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, GIFT OF DEBORAH CARSTENS; © MICKALENE THOMAS, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND LEHMANN MAUPIN: PHOTO BY LEE STALSWORTH
MWANGI HUTTER, STATIC DRIFT, 2001; 2 C-PRINTS ON ALUMINUM (DIPTYCH), 29 1/2 X 40 IN.; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, GIFT OF THE TONY PODESTA COLLECTION, WASHINGTON, DC; PHOTO BY LEE STALSWORTH
LOÏS MAILOU JONES, ARREAU, HAUTES-PYRÉNÉES, 1949; OIL ON CANVAS, 19 1/2 X 23 5/8 IN.; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, GIFT OF GLADYS P. PAYNE; © LOÏS MAILOU JONES; PHOTO BY LEE STALSWORTH
Naturally, the most popular woman artist Mother, which examines the storied Mexican Click Here to in the world — Frida Kahlo — is well-repreartist’s bond with her mother. More signifisented in the collection of “the only major cantly, you’ll find online Kahlo’s Self-Portrait Explore the Museum museum in the world solely dedicated to Dedicated to Leon Trotsky, which is the only championing women through the arts.” Explore the online Kahlo painting hanging in any museum in Washington, D.C. exhibition Mamacita Linda: Letters between Frida Kahlo and her —Doug Rule Visit www.nmwa.org/nmwa-at-home. MAY 14, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
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Movies
ogizing for inadvertently moving out of frame in one shot. But it’s the camera crew that does Rivera and the film a disservice with clunky composition throughout, whether performers are walking, dancing, or standing still. Campy star cameos don’t compensate for a grating lead character The two-time Tony-winner sparkles in the offbeat musical Still Waiting in the Wings. By André Hereford among the array of Broadway and TV stars — from Lee Meriwether and Ed Asner, to HEATER QUEENS STARVED FOR A FRESH BANQUET OF STARDUST AND Sally Struthers and Bruce Vilanch — who showtunes might choke on the processed cheese of Still Waiting in the Wings add dashes of grace and wit to this modest (HHHHH). The followup to 2014 film fest fave Waiting in the Wings: The production. Meriwether, reprising her role Musical continues the onscreen adventures of struggling New York City actors, now as Anthony’s hometown Montana mentor, roommates, Anthony (Jeffrey A. Johns) and Tony (Adam Huss). The script, by Johns Ethel, lends sweet support, and gamely and Arie Gonzalez, intends that straight meathead Tony is the cute, dumb one, and goes full-out for a gag in drag. Broadway gay Broadway hopeful Anthony is the bright-eyed optimist, but both of these guys are hunk Nick Adams, in a fleeting musical dense. Sincerity, not smarts or talent, guides them along their chase for that one big cameo, shows Anthony how a song is break, as Tony lands a role on a soap opera, and Anthony faces off against conniving really sung, while Seth Rudetsky earns the rival actor/waiter Bradley (Joe Abraham). film’s truest laughs as a voice More the film’s focus, Anthony pursues his performing pasteacher who tells Anthony Click Here to sion with all the stubborn, high-energy glee of a gayer Pee-Wee Watch the Trailer exactly what the audience Herman — but with none of Pee-Wee’s edge, or style, or cheeky might also be thinking. The sex appeal. Yes, Pee-Wee Herman is some kind of matinee idol compared to Anthony, scene reveals a level of self-awareness that whose belting-it-to-the-back personality can only do so much to prop up his shaky peeks too rarely from behind the film’s singing. Nevertheless, Anthony did emerge from the first film with an adoring stripper curtain of toothy theatricality. boyfriend, Lee (Blake Peyrot), a good excuse for adding a few oiled-up, jock-wearing Clearly, the filmmakers understand a supporting characters to this film’s swirl of shirtless chorus boys and, in one scene, a thing or two about the ego-churning mix roomful of actors auditioning for a role in a porno. of camaraderie and competition between Director Q. Allan Brocka (Eating Out) dispenses the eye candy more assuredly than struggling actor friends and frenemies. the jokes. Between editing that fumbles the punchlines, and camerawork that struggles The plot is predictable but emotions ring at times to keep actors in frame, neither the comedy nor the musical numbers really true, even as the passel of indistinct origifind their timing. And even legends suffer. The bloopers that run alongside the closing nal tunes by several different writers leave credits include a take of theater diva Chita Rivera, who briefly appears as herself, apol- musical finesse waiting in the wings.
Wings ’n Things
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Still Waiting in the Wings is available May 15 on DVD, and all digital platforms, including Amazon, iTunes, and Google Play. Visit www.JJSpotlightProductions.com. 36
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CAMILLE VIVIER
Music
released, featuring haunting vocals layered over grinding guitar lines that eventually fade out into a low drone, blurring together in a beautiful sort of heat death. Perfume Genius wouldn’t be Perfume Genius without a healthy amount of broodThe new album from Perfume Genius revels in the power and ing, but tracks such as “On The Floor” intensity of physical connection. By Sean Maunier find him flirting with pop and Americana, bringing a welcome sense of joy and abanVERY PERFUME GENIUS ALBUM HAS LEANED TOWARDS THE AUTOBI- don. This decidedly upbeat track revels ographical, reflecting whatever his external circumstances and internal preoc- in the feeling of intensely missing a lovcupations might be at the time. For the formerly Seattle-based, recently L.A.- er’s physical presence, neatly capturing relocated Mike Hadreas, these albums are acts of self-creation more than self-reflec- both the pain and the joy of imagining a tion, not so much exploring himself as singing himself into existence. shared moment together. Set My Heart On Set My Heart on Fire, Immediately (HHHHH) turns that act of creation outwards, Fire is well-balanced though, and Hadreas finding the self in conversation with the outside world, most of all in real and imagined matches these more brash and extroverted connections with others. On this album, as in life, dissonance, harmony, struggle, and moments with quietly vulnerable ones, a joy are all bound up together. Rather than smoothing over the tension and contradic- push and pull that eventually comes to a tion between them, Hadreas, always a skillful and deliberate songwriter, thoughtfully head towards the end with “Nothing At embraces them as parts of a whole. All,” the most intense song in an album Compared to his last album, Set My Heart On Fire is a noticeably more grounded that doesn’t shy away from intensity. work. It opens in a way that calls back to No Shape, with quiet, intimate vocals over Human intimacy as described by sparse piano, but rather than exploding into a riot of instrumentation as “Otherside” did, Perfume Genius is a powerful and intense“Whole Life” shifts more smoothly, opening up into a cascade ly felt force, even as it is furtive, Click Here to of string harmonies. Midway through, Hadreas starts singing unpredictable and often fleeting. that half of his whole life is “done,” rather than “gone.” That To listen to Set My Heart On Fire, Watch “Describe” shift from a sense of loss to one of completion is subtle, but Immediately in a moment when our impossible to miss. Shedding some of the excess of No Shape allows Hadreas’ writing to relationships to our own bodies and those breathe, letting these subtleties and ambiguities sit out in the open. of others has been so abruptly turned on its Dialing back some of the excess of his previous work allows more variation to head is a fraught but rewarding experience, emerge, making for a more fluid and dynamic album that rarely loses its fire. Hadreas its bluntness and honesty feeling almost like has become more comfortable with guitars and bass, using them to great effect to permission to feel the full depth of our basic add a depth and element of dissonance to tracks like “Describe,” the first single to be longing for human contact.
Intense Perfume
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Set My Heart On Fire, Immediately will be available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music on May 15. MAY 14, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
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SelfieScene
Be Scene! Take a selfie, and make it fun if you like, and TEXT to 202-527-9624.
Be sure to include your name and city. YOU could appear in next week’s Selfie Scene!
Albert (Baltimore, MD)
Nicki (Washington, DC)
Scott (Baltimore, MD) Tom (Los Angeles, CA)
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BE THEIR MVP Every year, more than 6 million animals enter shelters nationwide. Only half are lucky enough to find a home. You can become someone’s most valuable person.
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PHOTO: ADEDAYO KOSOKO • HAIR AND MAKEUP: ANA B
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Photo: Adedayo Kosoko Hair and makeup: Ana B
FOR
LastWord. People say the queerest things
“You don’t do that shit. Fuck wrong with you? Gay ass bitch.” —A babysitter in a viral TikTok video, after slapping a young boy for dancing alongside his sister to the song “Savage.” The boy’s mother and godmother posted on Twitter that law enforcement “are already involved,” and that the babysitter would be turning herself into police. “My godson comes from a loving home & whether he’s gay or not we love him regardless,” the godmother tweeted, adding, “His mom thought she could trust this person to watch them for 10mins & this happened.”
“We cannot be silent in the face of rising violence against transgender people of color. ” —Former Vice President JOE BIDEN, in a tweet after the recent murders of transgender women in Missouri and Puerto Rico. “It’s our moral obligation to end this epidemic, and ensure everyone can live open and proud and free from fear,” Biden wrote.
“I don’t fit the three-month abstinence policy, but why should I? ” —Actor YUVAL DAVID, speaking to CBS News about an FDA policy which prevents him from donating his blood and plasma after recovering from COVID-19. David, who says he contracted the virus in March, falls afoul of a policy requiring gay and bisexual men to abstinent for three months prior to donating. That despite David’s only sexual partner being his monogamous husband.
“The vast majority of the people in the city believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.” —Anti-LGBTQ preacher FRANKLIN GRAHAM, claiming without evidence that most people in New York City oppose same-sex marriage. Graham was speaking to the New York Times after being criticized for operating a COVID-19 tent hospital in Central Park that required medical volunteers to agree to a statement opposing LGBTQ people.
“HHS is adopting changes that would be harmful in the best of times but that are especially cruel in the midst of a global pandemic.” —Georgetown University professor KATIE KEITH, speaking to Politico about the Trump administration continuing to pursue plans to rollback protections for transgender patients in the Affordable Care Act. Specifically, it would impact the Obama administration’s rule that the legislation’s ban on discrimination “on the basis of sex” applies to transgender people.
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