They're Here

April 23, 2020

CONTENTS

DAYTIME DRAMA

Ellen DeGeneres says she loves her staff, but they claim mistreatment during COVID-19. By Rhuaridh Marr

THEY’RE HERE

Shangela, Eureka, and Bob the Drag Queen are on a nationwide mission to spread the healing power of drag in HBO’s We’re Here. By André Hereford

Volume 26 Issue 49

THE ART OF NOT LETTING GO

Fiona Apple’s surprise early release is raw, funny and unabashedly sharp. By Sean Maunier

SPOTLIGHT: FULFILLING INTERMISSION p.7 DREAM PROJECT p.8 ONLINE MOVEMENT p.10 CATERED DELIVERY p.11 OUT ON THE TOWN p.13 THE FEED: TAP OUT p.17 SUMMER BLUES p.18 HELPING HAND p.20 TERRIBLE INFLUENCE p.21 SEX, DRUGS, AND CAPE COD p.22 COVID-19: THE NEXT WAVE p.24 WE’RE HERE: BEHIND THE QUEENS p.46 GALLERY: DE NOVO GALLERY’S ONLINE OFFERING p.49 SELFIE SCENE p.51 LAST WORD p.52 Washington, D.C.’s Best LGBTQ Magazine for 25 Years Editorial Editor-in-Chief Randy Shulman Art Director Todd Franson Online Editor at metroweekly.com Rhuaridh Marr Senior Editor John Riley Contributing Editors André Hereford, Doug Rule Senior Photographers Ward Morrison, Julian Vankim Contributing Illustrators David Amoroso, Scott G. Brooks Contributing Writers Sean Maunier, Troy Petenbrink, Kate Wingfield Webmaster David Uy Production Assistant Julian Vankim Sales & Marketing Publisher Randy Shulman National Advertising Representative Rivendell Media Co. 212-242-6863 Distribution Manager Dennis Havrilla Patron Saint Sahara Davenport Cover Photography Johnnie Ingram/HBO 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.

APRIL 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

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Spotlight response to the Roaring Back Fund, a campaign to support the artists and staff who will help propel the company forward post-COVID-19. “Over the last three weeks we’ve raised over a half-million dollars,” she says. “It’s amazing. This community is amazing.” In the interim, there’s “Intermission,” a new online series of programming that kicks off with “Virtual Gifts of Art” posted to Arena’s website. “We reached out to a number of artists that are important to Arena, and they’ve been creating virtual small bits of art,” Smith says. Included in the nearly two dozen submissions are Edward Gero performing Jack Karoac’s monologue The Dharma Burns, Nicholas Rodriguez singing “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’” from Oklahoma!, a series of animated designs by Ken MacDonald from Disney’s Newsies, multiple dance lessons with Parker Esse, Arena’s veteran Helen Hayes Award-winning choreographer, and singing lessons with Laura Bergquist. There’s even a nine-minute “Cooking with Molly” segment in which Smith shows how to make her “Italian Eggs” (poached eggs in a rich homemade sauce of fresh tomatoes and basil). Other similar videos from Arena’s archives have been posted in the “Behind-the-Scenes” section, with rehearsal footage and performance outtakes from past productions, and excerpts from two notable interviews led by Smith: a 19-minute-long conversation with Edward Albee and a five-minute talk with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Smith also leads “Molly’s Salon,” a free, weekly Smith series of half-hour discussions 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 stage director Jackie Maxwell, Steve Moore of the Southwest Business Improvement District, and Edgar Dobie, Arena’s executive producer (April 23); New York-based actor and singer Nicholas Rodriguez, New York-based performer HE FUTURE OF THEATER IS ONLINE, SAYS MOLLY SMITH, and choreographer Phil LaDuca (Arena’s Newsies), artistic director of Arena Stage. “The main way that the coronavirus and Camille Busette of the Brookings Institution’s pandemic will change all theaters, including Arena, is that we will be Race, Prosperity and Inclusion Initiative (April doing more programming online,” Smith says. “I just think it’s inevitable that 30); playwright Craig Lucas, set designer Ken there’s going to be more and more creativity happening online. I think you will MacDonald, and Maria Manuela Goyanes, artistic see theaters streaming more plays and musicals, something that wasn’t really director of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company possible before: It’s always been very hard and complicated (May 7); Jenn Sheeetz, Arena’s properties Click Here working with the unions. In this moment of time, in the director, Aerica Shimizu Banks, public polmiddle of the pandemic, everybody is stretching more, and icy and social impact manager of Pinterest, to Visit moving into decisions they might not have made [before].” Arena Online and singer-songwriter Mary McBride In that vein, Arena recently unveiled an eclectic package (May 14); and playwright Lauren Yee, Kirk of free online offerings, mostly taped discussions and performances, presented Johnson of the Smithsonian National Museum of in lieu of any in-person performances or events in the company’s Mead Center Natural History, and Anita Maynard-Losh, Arena’s for American Theater, which will remain dark until September with the start director of community engagement and senior of the company’s next season. Smith is hopeful for the future, heartened by the artistic advisor (May 21). —Doug Rule

Fulfilling Intermission

Visit www.arenastage.org/tickets/intermission. APRIL 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

Spotlight

Elder

O’Hare

Dream Project

BOUT A YEAR AGO, ERIC ROSEN HAD A NIGHT- supportive husband and also be an actor in the film,” he laughs. mare. “I had dreamed that [then candidate] Pete Buttigieg “It was a tricky dance for me, but we had a blast.” was assassinated,” says Rosen. “I woke from it really Denis O’Hare’s involvement was akin to manna from heavshaken. I couldn't lose it. At the same time, I was having these en. “I've known Denis for a long time but never worked with conversations online with people about Buttigieg, witnessing a him,” says Rosen. “He came over for lunch one day and was very loud blowback from members of the LGBT community that like, ‘What are you working on?’ And I'm like, ‘I'm writing this he wasn't gay enough. I got into a lot of dumb Facebook fights film. Who do you know who's like you that I could ask to do with people about his candidacy in a way that I usually don't.” this.’ He said, ‘Well, I would do it!’ So we went from something The end result became the short film Netuser, directed by that we were going to shoot on iPhones to being able to raise a Rosen, nationally known for his work in theater, significant amount of money for a much bigger film. Click Here having served for a decade as Artistic Director of the It became this amazingly complex thing thanks to highly regarded Kansas City Repertory Theatre (his Denis's involvement.” to Sign up tenure ended in 2018). Rosen’s 15-minute thriller feaNetuser was originally slated to travel the festival tures Denis O’Hare (American Horror Story) as an internet provo- circuit, but COVID-19 squashed that distribution model. So cateur who puts himself and his family (Rosen’s real-life husband Rosen and his producers reconsidered their approach. Anyone Claybourne Elder and the couple’s 2-and-a-half-year-old son, Bo) who signs up by email will be sent a link to the film, which will at risk through a thoughtless encounter on Grindr. Rosen packs have a limited release starting Friday, April 24, to enjoy for free a lot of nuance about the queer rights movement into Netuser, in the comfort of their “stay at home” setting. which concludes on a note both startling and sinister. “We'll press send on a button and it will go out to however Elder, who in 2018 starred in Signature Theatre’s Passion, and many people are signed up,” says Rosen, noting that anyone can whose recent starring turn in the Broadway revival of Sondheim’s sign up during the initial two-week run and receive a link to Company was cut short due to the pandemic, enjoyed working watch. “Being innovative in this moment is necessary for artists, with his husband on the project, though it came with a unique set because we can't rely on the old means of production to get our of challenges. “I was child-wrangling our son and trying to be a stories heard and seen.” —Randy Shulman To sign up for the free Netuser release, visit www.netuserfilm.com. 8

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Online Movement

P UNTIL THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HIT, DANCE of the National Center for Choreography, a Q&A session with Place had cause to celebrate. “In my three years as exec- the “at-home” audience, and video excerpts from the company’s utive artistic director, the budget has grown by over 15 work. percent, to almost 20 percent, allowing us to pay people better Dance Place has been working to try to minimize the financial and expand programming,” says Christopher Morgan. “All of blow faced by all of its artists as a result of postponed and canour programs are at capacity in every way. And the studios are celed events. “We're trying to fundraise [to reflect] the extended completely full.” timelines now that everyone has to work on,” with the hope of More than a month has passed since Dance Place suspend- being able “to remunerate our artists even more beyond the origed programming and closed its doors to the public. It remains inal agreements.” Additionally, all of the organization’s teachers unclear when, and exactly how, the intimate venue will be able are being paid 75% of their fees while Dance Place remains to reopen for performances before live audiences. In the mean- closed, and the staff remains intact, on full salary. time, Dance Place has made increasing moves online with virtual Morgan has particular concerns about the future, mostly as programming. it pertains to how COVID-19 will impact live performance in “Very quickly we were able to shift some of our adult dance general. “I think there's going to be such great sensitivity and classes to virtual programming,” says Morgan. “All of that is concern for live gathering in large numbers. And even though free of charge and open to anyone. Two weeks ago we started a our venue only holds 144, it feels very intimate and in close proxlivestreaming virtual presentation series featuring artists whose imity. So we're discussing the ways we can support our comperformances in our theater space have been postponed — as a munity and make them feel safe and comfortable in our space? way to make sure that we stay connected with our artists, our Everything from increased cleanliness to more space between local audience members, and our community.” seats.” They may also expand ticketed offerings to Next up in the series is Christopher K. Morgan & include livestreaming. Click Here Artists, the Dance Place resident company original”What would it look like if there were some for Info ly scheduled to debut a new evening-length work, amount of livestreaming that's only available at the Native Intelligence, Innate Intelligence, the first weekend in May. time of the performance or at the time of the dress rehearsal?” “In lieu of the premiere and while we wait to reschedule, we're says Morgan. “There's a lot to figure out about this, but I think going to offer what we’re calling a Cocktail Hour and screening,” it's going to be incumbent on all of us to find more ways to says Morgan. It will feature a discussion with the Dance Place engage with our audiences, because the culture is going to shift, director and choreographer moderated by Christy Bolingbroke for sure.” —Doug Rule Christopher K. Morgan & Artists will perform a livestream on Dance Place’s website Saturday, May 2, at 6:30 p.m., with a rebroadcast on Facebook Sunday, May 3, at 6:30 p.m. Visit www.danceplace.org/virtual-presentation-series. 10

APRIL 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

BRIAN S. ALLARD

Spotlight

ANNA MEYER

Spotlight

Catered Delivery

ATERING IS REALLY SENSITIVE TO WORLD AND economic events,” says Eric Michael. “People don't want to be seen having fancy parties when things aren't going well,”. “We're really an indicator of consumer confidence.” Since Michael launched Occasions Caterers with his twin brother Mark in 1986, the company has weathered several economic downturns, notably last decade’s Great Recession, as well as calamities such as 9/11 and the 2002 D.C. Sniper attacks, which caused the cancellation and cessation of parties for months following. “But nothing compares to what we’re facing now,” Michael says. “What's different is that during all of those other incidents, there were still some parties, there were still some things going on. But right now, because it’s prohibited... there’s no gathering and no catering.” Many caterers have put their services on hold. Not Occasions. The company has opted to take its designation as an essential business seriously, by pivoting to work in food delivery through two new services. There’s a Home Delivery program, featuring a bounty of curated food, with available options ranging from family-sized, fully prepared home meals, to local vegetables and dairy bundles, to various types of available alcohol (only for those who live within D.C. and are also purchasing food). Last week saw the debut of the Mobile Market, which delivers grocery-style grab-bags of goods — including prepared meals and meal kits, produce and dairy packs from the 4P Foods’ network of area farms and creameries, an assortment

of la carte soups, snacks, and sweets options, and boozy beverages — to customers in five D.C. neighborhoods at designated drive-through friendly, no-contact pickup spots. Michael says the idea for the service, orders for which must be placed 48 hours in advance, was formed following “a conversation we had with some of the local farmers who were feeling anxious about selling their goods at farmer’s markets.” Proceeds from Mobile Market and Home Deliveries support another new initiative from the company, Occasions Giving Kitchen, a fundraising program in partnership with the food justice and health equity outfit, DC Greens, which “is helping us find and support people in D.C. who are really at risk [including] seniors; people who are homebound, maybe with immunodeficiency; people who can't go out and forage for food for themselves; and people who can't afford to do that. It's incredibly gratifying.” Occasions has been able to retain roughly 80 full-time employees to work on the new ventures, with dozens more engaged in assorted other part-time or hourly work for the company. “Everything we're doing now is an experiment,” Michael says. “We don't know what the future looks like. We don't know how long we're going to be doing this. But while this is going on and people's lives are challenged, we're committing to providing the services that we're able to. Honestly, we're happy to be able to do what we love most, which is making food and helping people.” —Doug Rule

Call 202-546-7400 or visit www.occasionscaterers.com for more information, including the Home Delivery and Mobile Market menus and ordering forms. APRIL 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

SelfieScene Take a selfie, make it fun! TEXT it to

202-527-9624 Be sure to include your name and city

APRIL 23, 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ METROWEEKLY.COM

VirtVual

Out On The Town

Etheridge

Kesha

GLAAD’S TOGETHER IN PRIDE: YOU ARE NOT ALONE

Melissa Etheridge and Kesha serve as headline performers at a livestream this Sunday, April 26, featuring a ton of LGBTQ celebrities and straight allies raising awareness about the heightened impact of COVID-19 on the community. Organized by GLAAD along with actor and producer Erich Bergen, Together in Pride: You Are Not Alone will share important messages of LGBTQ love, support, and affirmation at a time when some queer-identified people are isolating in homes that may be less than affirming — or worse — and also a time when LGBTQ community centers are seeing an uptick in people, particularly LGBTQ youth, reaching out for help and guidance. Designed as a fundraiser for the more than 250 LGBTQ community centers that are members of CenterLink, Together in Pride will feature performances, interviews, and video messages from a star-studded roster including co-hosts Billy Eichner and Lilly Singh, Billy Porter, Rosie O’Donnell, Jonathan Van Ness, Brian Michael Smith, Ross Mathews, Tyler Oakley, Alex Newell, Marcia Gay Harden, Matt Bomer, Adam Lambert, Bebe Rexha, Dan Levy, Mj Rodriguez, Wilson Cruz, Kathy Griffin, Michelle Visage, Sean Hayes, Sharon Stone, and Tatiana Maslany. Kesha, Melissa Etheridge and the cast of Jagged Little Pill are scheduled to perform. The livestream will start at 8 p.m. on GLAAD’s YouTube channel as well as Facebook Live. Metro Weekly will be linking to the broadcast from our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/metroweekly. Join us there. Compiled by Doug Rule

STAGE HOMEBOUND

Round House Theatre won’t reopen the doors to its recently renovated space in Bethesda until its next season starts up in the fall, but that doesn’t mean it has stopped working. The company has retained its administrative staff and have hired back nine of the actors slated to appear in three canceled spring pro-

ductions, a feat the theater achieved as a result of getting creative and, as with pretty much everything else these days, by going digital. The result is Homebound, an original web series that explores life under Stay-at-Home orders in the Nation’s Capital. The series, starring Craig Wallace and Maboud Ebrahimzadeh, debuts Monday, April 27, with the premiere episode penned by Washington Post columnist Alexandra Petri. The 10-episodes will progress in “chain

story” style, with each subsequent episode — one available for free every Monday evening — building off what came before but written by a different area playwright, including Karen Zacarías, Farah Lawal Harris, Liz Maestri, Psalmayene 24, Tim J. Lord, Audrey Cefaly, Dani Stoller, Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi, and Caleen Sinnette Jennings. The company’s artistic director Ryan Rilette and associate artistic director Nicole A. Watson will offer remote direction during rehears-

als to the actors, who will also be given advice on home lighting by designer Harold F. Burgess II and wardrobe by Ivania Stack. The actors will then film their parts from home. Through June 29. Visit www.RoundHouseTheatre.org/ Homebound.

PLAY AT HOME

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Baltimore Center Stage are founding members of a small coalition of regional U.S.

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by the Met Orchestra and Chorus, created from individual takes from the homes of each of the musicians in the days leading up the gala. The virtual gala will be available as a free livestream starting at 1 p.m., and will remain accessible on demand until 6:30 p.m. the following day. Visit www.metopera.org.

STRATHMORE: “LIVE FROM THE LIVING ROOM”

Macbeth

STREAMING SHAKESPEARE

The Folger Shakespeare Library is offering every play, sonnet, and poem written by William Shakespeare, free on its website. But you can go well beyond the page to the stage courtesy of the institution’s Folger Theatre and its current offerings, such as a video-recorded performance of the company’s 2008 Macbeth, starring Ian Merrill Peakes in the title role. Previously only available for purchase from Simon & Schuster, the video comes with special features, such as interviews with the cast and creative teams. Additionally, Folger has made available full-cast audio recordings of seven Shakespearean classics, produced with Simon & Schuster Audio and featuring professional actors from the company. Titles include everything from A Midsummer Night’s Dream to Romeo and Juliet, from Richard III to Macbeth. All video and audio recordings will be available for free through July 1. Call 202-544-4600 or visit www.folger.edu. theaters 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, and Noah Diaz (House), Miranda Rose Hall (What Happened in the Kitchen), and Keenan Scott II (Strike) from Baltimore Center Stage. Visit www.playathome.org.

MUSIC 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, 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 lineup over the next week includes: a concert celebrating DF 05 Live, SONiA’s first live album recorded 15 years ago, on Friday, April 24; a Spanish-centric show featuring songs from the 2007 album Tango on Saturday, April 25; a concert honoring the 2009 retrospective album Splash on Thursday, April 30; a toast to the 2010 album Blood, Bones & Baltimore on Friday, May 1; and a tribute to the songs of the late Phil Ochs as inspired by the 2011 recording Get Your Phil on Saturday, May 2. All concerts are livestreamed at 2 p.m. and available afterwards at www.facebook.com/ disappear.fear.

METROPOLITAN OPERA’S NIGHTLY STREAMS, VIRTUAL AT-HOME GALA

In its sixth week, the Met continues to sift through its trove of

APRIL 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

“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 2015 production of Lehar’s The Merry Widow starring Renée Fleming, Kelli O’Hara, and Nathan Gunn on Thursday, April 23, Verdi’s La Traviata, the 2012 production starring Natalie Dessay, Matthew Polenzani, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky, on Friday, April 24, and Rossini’s La Cenerentola, as seen in 2014 with Joyce DiDonato and Juan Diego Flórez, on Sunday, April 26. The week’s highlight comes Saturday, April 25, with what is billed as the “most ambitious effort yet to bring the joy and artistry of opera to audiences everywhere during the Met’s closure.” The unprecedented virtual “At-Home Gala” features performances from more than 40 artists captured in their homes around the world, including Jamie Barton, Lawrence Brownlee, Renée Fleming, Christine Goerke, Isabel Leonard, Anna Netrebko, and Bryn Terfel, and all of it hosted by general manager Peter Gelb and music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin from their homes in New York and Montreal, respectively. Nézet-Séguin will also participate as a pianist at the gala as well as be featured as a conductor in pre-recorded performances

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 the Bumper Jackson Duo, Jess Eliot Myhre and Chris Ousley’s American roots project merging country and jazz (April 29), Josanne Francis, an acclaimed steelpan musician and educator (May 6), Mark G. Meadows, a wellknown local theater pianist and vocalist (May 13), AYO, a smooth pop vocalist known for confident lyrics and empowering messages (May 20), and urban jazz harmonicist Frédéric Yonnet (May 27). Call 301-581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.

ZOOM OPERA

“What would happen if you created a piece specifically intended to be performed live over a conferencing platform like Zoom?” That was the question that guided innovative composer Kamala Sankaram in developing an experiment, along with librettist Rob Handel, dubbed “the world’s first Zoom opera.” Presented by New York’s HERE Arts Center, partly through its COVID-19-era #stillHERE online programming series, the new work, titled all decisions will be made by consensus and touted as an absurdist comedy, tells a story from a Zoom meeting of activists with radically conflicting styles, debating whether a particular moment in time is the right time for a strike. Rising Metropolitan Opera star Zachary James stars with Paul An, Hai-Ting Chinn, Joan LaBarbara, Adrian Rosas, and Sankaram herself, plus special guest Joel Marsh Garland of Orange Is The New Black. Performances, set in a “live” Zoom room with limited capacity and also streamed to HERE’s Facebook page, are Friday, April 24, at 1 p.m., Saturday, April 25, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, April 26, at 3 p.m. Free, with donations accepted through a PayPal digital tip jar to @zoomopera. Visit www.facebook. com/hereartscenter.

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READINGS & DISCUSSIONS

case studies of historical epidemics, including smallpox, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and SARS. Visit www.naturalhistory.si.edu.

ROUND HOUSE’S PLAYWRIGHTS ON PLAYS

THE DEADLY VIRUS: THE INFLUENZA EPIDEMIC OF 1918

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 J.T. Rogers (Oslo) on Julius Caesar on April 23, Charly Evon Simpson (it’s not a trip it’s a journey) on April 30, Sarah Ruhl (Stage Kiss) on May 7, Tim J. Lord (“We declare you a terrorist...”) on May 14, and Mfoniso Udofia (Sojourners) on May 28. Visit www. roundhousetheatre.org/RHathome.

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 Martha’s Table, 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.

ARTS & EXHIBITS OUTBREAK: EPIDEMICS IN A CONNECTED WORLD

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History offers tours of its current and permanent exhibitions from its website, enhanced with Simulated WebVR (or Real WebVR if viewed through a WebVR-compatible browser, or if you happen to own a VR headset). And this exhibition has become timelier than ever in recent months. Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World is set up with displays about how “to prevent animal viruses from spilling over into humans” as well as how to properly respond to disease outbreaks — always in “quick, effective, and cooperative” fashion — all supplemented with

APRIL 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

For a deep dive into a deadly virus from a century ago that has echoes in today’s COVID-19 pandemic, the National Archives offers this online exhibit telling the story of the spread of the 1918 influenza pandemic through assembled documents and artifacts including letters, telegrams, and photos — many featuring face mask-wearing officials and public citizens. That epidemic directly affected one-fifth of the world’s population and is responsible for an estimated 50 million deaths, killing “more people than any other illness in recorded history.” Visit www.archives.gov.

LIVESTREAM DIGITAL DRAG FEST 2020

Last month, Producer Entertainment Group teamed up with Stageit.com to inaugurate a series of online performances mostly featuring drag queens from the ranks of RuPaul’s Drag Race. The festival, now entering its final week, 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: Maddelynn Hatter (“The MaDd Nightmare Fantastic”) on Friday, April 24, at 4 p.m.; DJ Tracy Young spinning a House Party set on Friday, April 24, at 7 p.m.; Jinkx Monsoon (“Jinkx Calls Her Friends”) on Friday, April 24, at 8 p.m.; ’90s pop hitmaker Jill Sobule (“The Original Kissed a Girl Girl”) on Friday, April 24, at 10 p.m.; BenDeLaCreme (“Terminally Detained”) on Saturday, April 25, at 6 and 8 p.m.; Todrick Hall (“SOO/ Forbidden Stripped”) on Saturday, April 25, at 7 p.m.; Sharon Needles (“Call Me On The Ouija Board”) on Saturday, April 25, at 11 p.m.; Hedwig and the Angry Inch composer and lyricist Stephen Trask (“All By Myself”) on Sunday, April 26, at 4 p.m.; Varla Jean Merman (“Live!”) on Sunday, April 26, at 5 p.m.; Nina West (“The Wonderful World of Nina”) on Sunday, April 26, at 6 and 8 p.m.; John Cameron Mitchell (“COVIDivinations”) on Sunday, April 26, at 7 p.m.; raunchy bear rap sensation Big Dipper on Sunday, April 26, at 9 p.m.; pop singer and MTV star Kelly Osbourne (“Quarantine Hangout”) on Sunday, April 26, at 10 p.m.; and Manila Luzon (“(Still) At Home with the Luzons”) on Wednesday, April 29, at 8 p.m. Visit www.digitaldragfest.com. l

NIH

theFeed

Tap Out

Fauchi

Grindr hookups during the pandemic? Only if “you’re willing to take a risk,” says Dr. Fauci. By Rhuaridh Marr

R. ANTHONY FAUCI HAS A NOTE OF CAUTION for anyone debating breaking social distancing for a Grindr hookup: do it at your own risk. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and member of the White House’s coronavirus task force, has emerged as a leading voice amid the ongoing pandemic, helping to quash falsehoods and provide answers to questions many Americans have regarding the virus. Such was the case when Vanity Fair‘s Peter Hamby asked Fauci something that many are apparently considering as lockdowns are extended and human contact becomes taboo: Can I still meet up with that cute guy who tapped me on Grindr? While Fauci didn’t shut down the idea, he did say that anyone willing to flout social distancing and lockdown measures was doing so at their own risk. “If you’re swiping on a dating app like Tinder, or Bumble, or Grindr, and you match with someone that you think is hot, and you’re just kind of like, ‘Maybe it’s fine if this one stranger comes over.’ What do you say to that person?” Hamby asked. “You know, that’s tough,” replied Fauci. “Because it’s what’s called relative risk. If you really feel that you don’t want to have any part of this virus, will you maintain six feet away, wear a mask, do all the things that we talk about in the guidelines? If you’re willing to take a risk — and you know, everybody has their own tolerance for risks — you could figure out if you want to meet somebody.”

Fauci added that it also depends on “the level of the interaction that you want to have.” “If you’re looking for a friend, sit in a room and put a mask on, and you know, chat a bit,” he continued. “If you want to go a little bit more intimate, well, then that’s your choice regarding a risk.” Fauci noted that it wasn’t enough for those considering hookups to make sure the other person is feeling well, as recent estimates show that around one in four people who have the virus are asymptomatic — meaning they show no symptoms. “[If] everybody transmitted would only transmit when they’re sick, that would be much easier,” he said. “But what we’re seeing, which becomes really problematic, is that there’s a considerable amount of transmission from an asymptomatic person.” Dating apps have taken steps to try and urge users not to meet during the ongoing pandemic, with Grindr asking users to “stay home, stay connected” and offering tips including meeting up virtually with photos and group chats, reaching out to other users for support if you’re feeling lonely, and making plans for the future rather than “Right Now.” D.C. recently extended its emergency orders for the COVID-19 pandemic through May 15, as well as clarifying guidelines on the usage of face masks while outdoors. As of writing, there are now almost 2,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the District, with the greater Washington APRIL 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

theFeed region — including Maryland and Virginia — totaling over 21,500 cases. There are 818 confirmed deaths in the region. In addition to tackling hookups and dating, Dr. Fauci has also been forced to shut down talking points from conservative media figures comparing COVID-19 to HIV — part of ongoing attempts to downplay the severity of the virus and instead push for reopening the economy. On Thursday, Fauci appeared on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle. Host Laura Ingraham asked Fauci about whether a vaccine was required in order for COVID-19 restrictions to be lifted. “Dr. Fauci, on the question of a vaccine: We don’t have a vaccine for SARS…. We don’t have a vaccine for HIV,” she said. “And life did go on, right?” Fauci quickly, and politely, rejected the premise: “Laura, this is different. HIV/AIDS is entirely different. We don’t have a vaccine for HIV/AIDS, but we have spectacularly effective treatment. People who invariably would have died years ago right now are leading essentially normal lives.” During the peak of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the ’80s,

Fauci is credited with working with activists to push for a change in how the federal government conducted clinical trials for drugs. NPR reports that those efforts increased the number of people who could access experimental treatments, in turn saving lives that otherwise would have likely been lost to the disease. Speaking to Ingraham, Fauci noted that comparisons between COVID-19 and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) are also misleading, as research on a vaccine stopped when the virus disappeared. “I think it’s a little bit misleading maybe to compare what we are going through now with HIV or SARS,” Fauci said. “They’re really different.” When Ingraham asked if COVID-19 could similarly disappear, Fauci said that it was theoretically possible, but “the degree of efficiency of transmissibility of this is really unprecedented in anything that I’ve seen.” “It’s an extraordinarily efficient virus in transmitting from one person to another,” he said. “Those kinds of viruses don’t just disappear.” l

Summer Blues

New York City Pride cancels parade and other in-person events due to COVID-19. By John Riley

ERITAGE OF PRIDE, THE NONPROFIT ORGAnization behind New York City Pride, announced that the annual parade and all of the city’s 2020 in-person Pride events, originally scheduled from June 14-28, have been canceled as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. It is the first time in the event’s 50-year history that such an action has been taken. “Pride is a staple in New York City, and is oftentimes a safe space for many,” David Correa, the interim executive director of Heritage of Pride, said in a statement. “This weighed on our members, board, and staff, knowing that we serve as a haven for vulnerable communities. It was not easy to arrive at the decision to cancel pride as we have come to know it over the years, especially given the financial impact

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this could have on LGBTQIA+ people and businesses, but our top priority remains the health and well-being of all those that participate with us.” “As the days have passed, it has become more and more clear that even with a decline in the spread of COVID-19, large-scale events such as ours are unlikely to happen in the near future,” Maryanne Roberto Fine, co-chair of NYC Pride, said in a statement. “We understand that we need to reimagine NYC Pride events — and have already begun to do just that.” The board of membership of Heritage of Pride have agreed to participate in the virtual Global Pride event scheduled for Saturday, June 27. NYC Pride will also look at other ways to celebrate pride that allow people to continue socially distancing without

theFeed fear of spreading the virus, and will announce plans for those alternative celebrations as details develop. WABC Channel 7, which has in the past provided coverage prior to and during the Pride Parade, has announced it will broadcast a special programming event in June to communities across New York and the tri-state area, according to Debra O’Connell, the president and general manager of WABC-TV. “This virtual event will shine a light on Pride month and the incredible stories of unity and strength by utilizing the powerful reach of ABC-7, the number one station in the market, and the deep connection we have with our viewers and communities,” O’Connell said. “New York City is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ rights movement. We’ve come a long way since the first Christopher Street Liberation Day March 50 years ago, which is a testament to the bravery and resiliency of LGBTIA+ New Yorkers in the struggle for equality,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. “While this pandemic prevents us from coming together to march,

it will in no way stop us from celebrating the indelible contributions that the LGBTIA+ community has made to New York City or from recommitting ourselves to the fight for equal rights.” The city has left open the possibility that some of the other 2020 Pride Month events may be rescheduled at a later time. In lieu of in-person events, NYC Pride will focus its efforts on supporting initiatives like Pride Gives Back, a grant program designed to support LGBTQ organizations that serve some of the most marginalized communities. Due to the success of the World Pride/50th anniversary of Stonewall celebration, NYC Pride has been able to increase the total number of grants offered through Pride Gives Back. “We are a community that thrives when we are united,” Correa said. “We may not fill the streets of New York City this year, but LGBTQIA+ people carry pride with them all year long. I have no doubt that we will be together again soon.” l

Daytime Drama

Ellen DeGeneres says she loves her staff, but they claim mistreatment during COVID-19. By Rhuaridh Marr

LLEN DEGENERES MIGHT URGE HER VIEWERS to “be kind,” but staff on her daytime talk show claim their treatment has been anything but kind during the COVID-19 pandemic. DeGeneres returned to hosting The Ellen DeGeneres Show earlier this month after shutting down production in March due to COVID-19. The show is currently being broadcast from DeGeneres’ home, and she said that she wanted to return to the air earlier than expected in order to support her staff and crew. “I love them, I miss them, the best thing I can do to support them is to keep the show on the air,” DeGeneres said. However, according to key members of the show’s crew, that love and support has manifested as slashed wages,

uncertainty over the state of the show’s production, and a lack of interest in their mental and physical health from producers — despite some crew members having worked with DeGeneres since the show’s pilot episode in 2003. Variety reports that the show’s core crew of around 30 employees endured two weeks of silence from producers regarding their working hours or whether they would be paid after production was shut down in March. When producers finally did get in touch on April 10, it was to inform them that many of their wages would be slashed by 60% — or the equivalent of just 16 hours of work per week — despite the show returning to air. Not helping matters was that some staff only learned APRIL 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

theFeed that DeGeneres was filming new episodes from home when they saw the information on social media, according to two sources who spoke to Variety. In all, the period of uncertainty lasted around a month, with crew members reportedly unsure whether they would be furloughed and need to apply for unemployment benefits. In addition, non-union outside workers were hired to enable DeGeneres to broadcast the show from her home, which reportedly infuriated the show’s unionized staff — particularly those with the necessary skills were otherwise at home and on a reduced salary. Warner Bros. Television, which distributes The Ellen DeGeneres Show, told Variety that “executive producers and [production company] Telepictures are committed to taking care of our staff and crew and have made decisions first and foremost with them in mind.” With regards the hiring of a non-union company to fit DeGeneres’ home with the necessary broadcast equipment,

the spokesperson said that due to “social distancing requirements, technical changes in the way the show is produced had to be made to comply with city ordinances and public health protocols.” DeGeneres, whose net worth is an estimated $330 million, said she wanted to resume filming in order to support her staff. But when crew members reached out to colleagues working on other shows — including Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee — they found that those crews had been both fully informed and fully paid by their production companies. Jimmy Kimmel paid the crew of Jimmy Kimmel Live! from his own earnings during the show’s COVID-19 shutdown, until ABC took over paying their full salaries after the show returned to air, Variety reports. Warner Bros. told Variety that the “creative, delivery, economics, hours, taping times, staff structures, etc. are completely different for a daily talk show.” l

Helping Hand

Gilead Sciences will give up to $20 million to LGBTQ nonprofit grantees affected by COVID-19. By John Riley

IOPHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY GILEAD Sciences has announced it will offer up to $20 million to support LGBTQ nonprofits that may be experiencing financial hardship or facing imminent closure due to fallout from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The company has launched the Gilead CARES (COVID19 Acute Relief and Emergency Support) Grantee Fund, which seeks to support organizations that have received grants from Gilead in the past, such as those earmarked for HIV prevention, working with aging populations with HIV, or transgender health initiatives, yet may not have the financial wherewithal to continue daily operations or continue serving the same volume of clients. “The Gilead CARES Grantee Fund is a $20 million commitment to support currently-funded nonprofit organizations, across all of our therapeutic areas, both domestically and globally, that are experiencing financial crises due to COVID-19,” says Darwin Thompson, the associate director of corporate giving for Gilead Sciences. “Organizations can apply for up to $100,000 for shifting to remote working conditions due to social distancing, lost revenue from fees for service contracts with state and local governments, lost revenue from cancelled or postponed fundraising events, or decreases in individual donations,” Thompson added. “They can apply to support essential staffing, for funding for personal protective equipment,

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increased technology costs — such as switching to HIPAAcompliant platforms to do virtual work — or any other costs associated with COVID-19 disruptions.” Organizations that have received grants from Gilead within the past two years are eligible to apply for support, and are encouraged to submit an application through the company’s online grants portal. Once there, they will be prompted to answer five questions about the organization, such as how much money it has in reserve, or how the COVID19 pandemic has affected their day-to-day operations. An internal review committee will review the applications and allot a specific amount of money based on an individual organization’s current financial need and overall budget. The fund could potentially support more than 200 organizations across the globe, particularly since not all organizations will ask for — or be granted — the maximum amount of $100,000. Locally, some of the nonprofits who would be eligible to apply for support include the LGBTQ community center Casa Ruby, Us Helping Us, People Into Living, Inc., community health center Whitman-Walker Health, the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, HealthHIV, One Tent Health, Advocates for Youth, Community of Hope, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington. Other potential beneficiaries would include the Richmond-based Nationz Foundation, the Falls Church-

theFeed based NovaSalud, AIDS Action Baltimore, University of Maryland Baltimore Foundation, Inc., and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Thompson says that Gilead will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis, and will likely make a decision within two weeks of an application’s submission. Once approved, the organizations will receive a lump sum of their total grant money within seven days. Thompson says Gilead will be working one-on-one with each of its grantees to assess their need and ensure they can remain operational, which has required them to be flexible when it comes to the services that grantees are expected to provide in exchange for the money they’ve previously accepted. “We’re being really flexible with our current grantees who have programmatic grants,” notes Thompson. “We are providing no-cost extensions for organizations if they won’t meet their deliverables due to COVID-19. We are also allowing grantees to reallocate resources from programmatic purposes to general operating to better support the organi-

zations’ current needs. We are also providing extensions for the submissions of final requests and budget reconciliations, because we recognize we need to be flexible with our grantees at this moment so they are responding to this crisis and the needs of their clients.” Thompson says the chief aim is to ensure that the nonprofits, which serve as partners in the fight against HIV and other diseases, could remain operational during this difficult time. “We heard from a number of grantees that they weren’t in a position to rapidly adapt to these conditions, to social distancing measures, to working remotely, because a lot of the funding they relied on, from galas to individual donations, was going to decrease due to the pandemic,” he says. “So we outlined a plan to support them, and this is what we thought we could do to ensure these organizations remained solvent for the long term.” l For more information on the Gilead CARES Grantee Fund, visit www.grants.gilead.com.

Terrible Influence

Gay men in Morocco fear backlash after trans influencer told followers to download Grindr and find gay neighbors and relatives. By John Riley

TRANSGENDER WOMAN AND SOCIAL MEDIA influencer told her followers to download gay dating apps to see which men in their communities are gay. Naoufal Moussa, also known as Sofia Talouni, is a Turkeybased beauty influencer whose nightly Instagram Live series was watched by more than 100,000 people. Moussa made the suggestion during a broadcast last week. Speaking in Moroccan Arabic in the video, she suggested that her followers download gay dating apps like Grindr, PlanetRomeo, and Hornet and create fake profiles pretending to be bottoms so they could see which people near them identify as gay. “These apps will show you the ‘gay’ people who are near you,” Moussa said. “100 meters, 200 meters, or even one meter, just next to you in the living room. Since everyone is together at home, it could show you your husband in your bedroom, it could show you your son who might be in the bathroom. It could show you your neighbor from next door. It could show you your cousin, your uncle. Everyone.” She also said she “felt bad for those faggots,” but didn’t care. While Moussa did not explicitly tell her followers to use the information to “out” gay men, pictures of men with pro-

files on the apps began circulating in closed Facebook groups, with homophobic captions and threats of violence against the individuals whose pictures they found on the apps. Moussa showed screenshots that her followers had taken and sent to her in a subsequent Instagram Live broadcast. Jens Schmidt, the founder and CEO of PlanetRomeo, said in a statement to Business Insider that the company sent a security message to its Morocco-based users, blocking all profiles created since April 13, when Moussa’s antiLGBTQ broadcast occurred, and contacted Facebook to have its administrators remove the groups being used to out gay people. LGBTQ activists were outraged by Moussa’s actions, and called for her account to be removed from Instagram, which it was on Friday. The LGBTQ and feminist organization Nassawiyat called for Moussa’s account to be removed due to the harm that her suggestion can cause LGBTQ people, who are at risk of being prosecuted in a country where homosexuality is criminalized. New York-based LGBTQ activist Adam Eli also called for Moussa’s account to be removed. “Young people are being outed and kicked out of their homes DURING the #Covid19 lockdown with nowhere to APRIL 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

theFeed go,” Eli wrote last week. “PLEASE NOTE that she is trans which is why there is a rainbow flag in her profile. As we know VERY well all types of hate and prejudice exist within our community.” In another Instagram post on Sunday, Eli said that Moussa had created a backup account after her first was removed, accusing her of “hate speech” and noting that her backup account had gained 75,000 followers in 14 hours, saying “there’s always an audience for hate.” “I’m posting this to show what happens what happens when you openly and loudly attack the queer community,” Eli wrote. “1. We get you shut down, AGAIN. And again and again and again. 2. You embolden people to act on whatever prejudice they already possess. Because of these tirades there are people that are being kicked out of their homes amidst the covid lock down. People being ATTACKED online and in person.” Then, including a screenshot of a veiled threat that one of his friends had received, Eli wrote: “Words have consequences. If you want Morocco to stay an Islamic country that doesn’t recognize homosexuality ok fine this is not a conversation about that — But when a public queer person calls gay people dirty disgusting faggots you put the life of queer young people in danger. And the global queer community won’t stand for that.” For the men who were outed due to Moussa’s stunt, however, the removal of her account is trivial compared to the fear they now live with. Gay Moroccans have told various media outlets that they have heard stories of people

being physically attacked, threatened, blackmailed, or even tortured by their own families after being outed. One 19-year-old Moroccan man told Insider that his photos are circulating online, and he fears what will happen when his family discovers them. “I’m certain that I will be kicked out immediately,” he said. “Or worse, beaten up.” Another gay Moroccan, 20, says his pictures are also circulating around social media and the fear and anxiety of being outed has him living “in constant fright.” A gay man from Casablanca, known as “Nassim,” told the British LGBTQ website PinkNews that he knows of at least 40 gay men who have been outed and kicked out of their homes in Casablanca alone. “If our parents know that we’re gay they will immediately kick us out, abuse us, or, if you’re very lucky and your parents have a little bit of humanity in them, they will keep you but your life will never be the same,” he said. “They will always see you as sick, and they’ll keep constantly trying to talk you into changing and maybe go to a therapist.” He noted that the LGBTQ community had been “living in peace for a while” under a sort of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell-style arrangement where homosexuality was simply not mentioned, but that peace has been broken due to Moussa’s broadcast. “She has ruined the lives of so many people just in the past four days,” Nassim said. “[B]ecause of Sofia now, there’s hundreds of Facebook groups run by Moroccans just to find gay people and expose them… Moroccans hate gays with all their hearts.” l

Sex, Drugs, and Cape Cod Trailer released for Hightown, a queer crime drama set in Provincetown. By Rhuaridh Marr

HE TRAILER for upcoming STARZ crime drama Hightown has released, showcasing its lesbian lead character and numerous LGBTQ themes. Set in the LGBTQfriendly beach resort of Provincetown, Mass., Hightown stars Monica Raymund (Chicago Fire) as Jackie Quiñones, a hard-partying, lesbian National Marine Fisheries Service agent, whose life is thrown into disarray when she discovers a body on the beach. Per the show’s official release: “As a result of this trauma, Jackie takes the first steps toward becoming sober — until she becomes convinced that it’s up to her to solve the murder. Now at odds with Sergeant Ray Abruzzo (James Badge

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Dale, Only the Brave), an abrasive but effective member of the Cape Cod Interagency Narcotics Unit, Jackie starts to spiral. “And she’s not alone. Ray, too, spins out of control; losing himself in the investigation. The lives of everyone connected to this murder crash and converge, reminding us just how complicated — and deadly — our addictions can be.” In addition to exploring Jackie’s various hookups and relationships, the trailer also features a number of LGBTQ elements, including a Pride parade and Provincetown’s nightlife. l Hightown debuts May 17 on STARZ.

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The

Wave Researchers warn that the U.S. needs to get ahead of the curve before a possible second wave of COVID-19 infections hit. By André Hereford

HILE POLITICIANS AND THE PUBLIC DEBATE when, where, and how our communities should relax social distancing and “liberate” the economy, the coronavirus itself marches on unfazed by tweets or demonstrations. The U.S. continues to lead the world in new cases of infections, and the death toll from COVID-19 keeps rising at a rate of more than 1,000 Americans per day. Lockdowns are helping to limit the spread of the virus, but COVID cases are surging in states from Maryland and Pennsylvania to Iowa and Wisconsin. Even as tension mounts among a populace growing restless sheltering in place, leading scientists and clinicians like Dr. Thomas J. Hope, of 24

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Northwestern University’s Hope Laboratory in Chicago, are still working to determine whether this virus is especially contagious. “Or,” as Hope ponders, “is this what any of these viruses would look like if there was no preexisting immunity?” “Regular flu can transmit this easily,” he says. “But we usually don't see it because you have either a good preexisting immunity and you never get any symptoms, or you have enough immunity that you're not starting from scratch when you respond.” Hope predicts that before all is said and done, we’ll know more about the transmissibility of this coronavirus, “but right now I don't think we can answer that question.” In search of answers, the virologist, dedicated for decades to

MARTIN SANCHEZ / UNSPLASH

HIV research and prevention science, has thrown his lab at the problem of studying this coronavirus. “I'm not a vaccine maker or a drug finder, but I try to just understand how things work. And I think we really have no idea how this damn thing works,” he says. Mysteries abound, for instance, around how COVID-19 affects the body’s organs. “We think about it in the lungs, but it's causing heart attacks and problems with diabetes and kidney failure and liver problems and all this stuff,” Hope says. “What they don't know is are all those problems because the virus is going there, or are those problems because of hypoxia? If you're not getting enough oxygen, your body starts to say, ‘Okay, if we’ve got to get

rid of something, let's get rid of these kidneys first. Maybe we have a chance. Otherwise, no chance.’ So we don't yet know how this is all working. With my methods, I should be able to go right after the action.” The Hope Laboratory is one of dozens throughout the U.S. bringing their expertise to the fight against this pandemic. In nearby Madison, Wisconsin, Dr. Dave O’Connor’s lab at the University of Wisconsin is also attacking the problem, similarly applying methods and experience honed through years of studying HIV/AIDS. “I'm an HIV researcher first and foremost. That's how I identify,” says O’Connor. “Most of my way of thinking is informed by my involvement in the response to HIV, and that APRIL 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

“This fall it's going to come with a vengeance. And instead of starting in one place — Wuhan, China — and spreading around the world as quickly as it did,

it's going to be like a thousand Wuhans releasing [the] virus at the same time.” —Dr. Thomas J. Hope includes the work that we've done on emerging viruses over the last decade or so.” O’Connor’s lab is focused on another critical component of combating coronavirus: trying to come up with better ways of testing for it. "You've seen that there are shortages of supplies, there are shortages of the nasal swabs,” he says. “So we've been working with some local biotech companies to try to come up with clever alternative ways to do some of the testing in ways that would expand the supply chain.” The redesigned tests would produce the same result, O’Connor says, “but do it in a way that allows you to use different types of reagents and chemicals. Instead of using nasal swabs, which are running low, use saliva. So we’re thinking about different ways of expanding access to testing by using different approaches.” Testing — and creating testing that’s functional, accessible, and affordable — has been and continues to be a highly contentious issue. As O’Connor notes, “People can say as much as they want that testing is available to everyone who needs it, but I bet you'd be able to find hundreds and thousands of people for whom that was not their experience.” Yet he also notes that even if the scale of available testing were to match the demand, “That's going to be a big challenge. And even if we could do that

between the current coronavirus outbreak and the 1918 flu pandemic that struck in three lethal waves within less than ten months. The second wave was, by far, the worst. “This, I think, is definitely going to happen: this fall it's going to come with a vengeance,” says Hope. “And instead of starting in one place — Wuhan, China — and spreading around the world as quickly as it did, when the environmental conditions get better for the virus and we enter the flu season, it's going to be like a thousand Wuhans releasing [the] virus at the same time.” O’Connor likewise warns that the fall flu season might bring a devastating resurgence of the virus, but he also foresees science and medicine stepping up to mitigate the problem. “I don't want to be overly pessimistic,” he says. “I think that it is likely that between now and the fall you will discover that there are going to be some therapeutic products that will help. I don't believe they'll be cures, but I believe that they will help minimize the severity of disease in hospitalized patients. I think we will gain some operational experience in terms of how best to manage patients who are hospitalized and who are really sick, and I think that all of this will help minimize the impact of a fall wave. “But I think we also need to be braced for the possibility that this might be the appetizer to a fall wave main course, and that fall wave might be much, much worse and much, much longer in duration than what we're experiencing now. I hope I'm wrong. But I think we need to be preparing for that.” Both O’Connor and Hope insist that the best preparation for any of us is to be armed with accurate knowledge about what you can do to protect yourself and others. Hope makes a point of putting good information out there, he says, in order to fight against misinformation — like a purported coronavirus home cure someone sent him on Facebook. “It was amazing, right? ‘Take your hair dryer on the lowest setting and blow it up your nose because the virus doesn't like heat.’ Are you kidding me? And people keep sending me all these things about gargling with vinegar. And I just keep saying, ‘No. No, no, no. If that makes you feel better, do it, but don't think it's going to keep you from getting infected.’” Understandably, the fear of contagion and the distress of confinement, along with the grief and anger fueled by loss and financial pain, have led some to desperation. But we have so much more than just hunches and home cures on our side to fight this disease. “We’re not at the virus' mercy,” O’Connor insists. “We are living with the virus, just as people living with HIV are living with HIV. They're not defined by their virus. They are people who happened to be infected. We are a society and a community that happens to be experiencing this epidemic. I think what that means is we need to be mindful of that. We need to understand what the ramifications are, but we need to figure out how to move past it so that the virus doesn't define us. We have a lot of power individually and collectively. We just need to work together to try to use it as effectively as we can to move forward as well as we can.” l

“We’re not at the virus' mercy. We are living with the virus, just as people living with HIV are living with HIV. They're not defined by their virus.

We are a society and a community that happens to be experiencing this epidemic.” —Dr. Dave O’Connor in the sense that there's people and instrumentation and automation that can make that happen, is there going to be money to pay for it? Who is going to pay for it? “If you make that the responsibility of every person to get their own testing, you're just going to perpetuate some of the health inequalities that are going to continue to affect some of the most marginalized and stigmatized populations, and that's something that I think we need to be really, really worried about.” Regardless of cost or scale, though, testing will play a key role in deciding the debate about when life, work, and play can get back to normal. Just ask House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who told ABC News, “The key to reopening the economy is testing, testing, testing.” Another key would be a vaccine or proven treatment — but the world still waits. And without adequate testing on a mass scale, along with the contact tracing that would allow, scientists caution that relaxing social distancing too soon, and sending people back to work, stores, bars and restaurants, could trigger a deadly surge in coronavirus cases. “People are already talking about a second wave before the first wave is done,” observes Hope, drawing comparisons 26

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JOHNNIE INGRAM-HBO

Click Here to Watch the Trailer

JOHNNIE INGRAM-HBO

“JUST BECAUSE IT'S A SMALL TOWN DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU HAVE TO HIDE. YOU HAVE THE OPTION TO BE YOURSELF. You just have to be brave enough, and fight the insecurities and the stigma, and find your tribe in that town and really celebrate it.” — Eureka

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JOHNNIE INGRAM-HBO

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HERE SHOULD BE A SPECIAL PLACE IN THE TV pantheon for beloved characters, real and fictional, who made their pop culture mark riding from town to town, helping embattled underdogs overcome obstacles. Sure, twelve seasons of doomed locals should have thought twice whenever Jessica Fletcher came knocking, but generations of fans have cheered her peripatetic heroics, along with those of the Lone Ranger, the Incredible Hulk, Michael Landon’s denim-clad Heaven-ly angel, the hulking mad Gordon Ramsey, and two take-your-pick cliques of Queer Eye guys. These saviors arrive right on time to buck up the downtrodden or style-averse, and always leave having shown a way for folks to conquer their own struggles. Now the unlikely trio of RuPaul’s Drag Race superstars Shangela Laquifa Wadley, Eureka O’Hara, and season eight winner Bob the Drag Queen has arrived in the HBO reality series We’re Here to carry the torch for those angels in your corner who show up to save the day. Created and executive produced by partners Stephen Warren and Johnnie Ingram, We’re Here follows the three queens to

there was like a whole process to being legally allowed to drive those vehicles on the road.” All showmanship aside, We’re Here keeps the emotions real in its down-to-earth storytelling about queer and queer-friendly folks in the heartland trying to connect with their families or just find a community. For many of them, like episode two’s Brandon and Mikayla, former high school sweethearts from strict Mormon families, the road to some form of acceptance has been tumultuous. Others, like conservative Pennsylvania mom Erica in episode one, or cowboy hat-sporting Clifton in Twin Falls, hope to atone for their past homophobia or intolerance. In each case, the goal is to show change through laughter, tears, music, and sequins, and with a minimum of typical reality show manipulation. “No,” Eureka says, “there was no producing [behind the scenes]. That’s the thing about the show, is we just kind of let people tell their stories and tell their truth.” That truthfulness was Warren and Ingram’s intent for the show from the beginning, Eureka says, recalling the producers’ first pitch. “The message was really just about showcasing people's stories and we weren't going to come in and just fix all their problems and put a nice big bow on the end. It was going to be real-life stories and give people a chance to start their journey, versus trying to fix it. That's what I hate about some makeover shows — it's just like, ‘Oh we're going to come in and make you beautiful and now we fixed everything.’ But that's not how life works.” Eureka, Bob, and Shangela bring their own truth to the show, especially since each grew up in rural America, and have experienced journeys of finding their community. Having a chance to reflect that experience was a large part of the appeal for Shangela, who says, “It resonated with me because I'm originally from the small town of Paris, Texas. So I know what it's like being in that environment where you feel different, when you feel like you may be the only one like you, that you don't have a huge community of support where you can just really feel free to be yourself. I wanted to be a part of telling that experience to more of the world, and also bringing some joy and some light to it, hopefully. And helping them to see that maybe we can even unearth a community of support in a place where they didn't think one existed.” A New York City resident for the past 12 years, Bob, originally from Columbus, Georgia, recalls the sense of isolation that came with feeling like “there was no one like me where I was from, that I was the only person doing what I was doing. There was just no other queer people. And I personally felt like I had to get out of my small town.” Due in part to shooting We’re Here all over the country, and witnessing how queer culture blossoms in even seemingly hostile environments, he says, “Now I look back and I realize that there actually probably was a community there, thriving and existing, just small. And I actually wasn't alone the whole time I thought I was alone.” Queer visibility, the freedom it affords, and the confidence it inspires are pivotal aspects of We’re Here, and the message the show transmits. “Growing up in Paris, Texas, when I was a young kid, there

“A lot of the places we went to were not racially diverse and sure as heck weren't gender-identity and sexuality-wise diverse. IT WAS A SOBERING REALITY AND A REINTRODUCTION TO WHAT LIFE IS LIKE IN A LOT OF PLACES IN AMERICA, WHEN WE NEED TO DO BETTER.” — Shangela small towns across America, from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to Ruston, Louisiana, where they take largely inexperienced drag daughters under wing to mold into captivating, confident performers. It’s Smoky Eye for the Straight Guy — and for a few gay men, and straight women, and at least one ex-gay-and-bornagain Christian, plus the adorable queer couple of trans man Brandon and his wife Mikayla in Twin Falls, Idaho. Each episode, directed by Peter LoGreco, closes with a fully staged drag extravaganza, featuring Eureka, Bob, and Shangela supporting the homegrown talent. Meanwhile, throughout each episode the lead queens, in and out of drag, support their respective protégés by listening, coaching, and offering them the tools to tell their stories through the art of drag. Those stories, edited into tidy narratives of personal triumph, or struggle against persecution, can be disarmingly poignant and moving for an otherwise campy adventure that opens each week with the queens rolling into town inside Bob’s giant Purse-First wagon, Eureka’s Elephant Queen on Wheels, and Shangela’s Halleloo Express. The colorfully tricked-out show cars, customized to the queens’ catchphrases, exemplify the show’s over-the-top, high drag sensibility — and the producers’ commitment to a great visual, since, as Bob confesses to Metro Weekly, neither he nor Eureka has a driver’s license. “Eureka and I cannot legally drive those vehicles, and I don't know if [they’re] actually road safe, so 36

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was not a gay community, not a visible one,” Shangela recalls. “I'm sure there were gay individuals. I'm sure there were probably even gay gatherings, possibly. But I never knew about any of them because it wasn't very visible. And being gay was something — most people, at least that I knew, didn't really talk about it. There wasn't a local bar or a local club or a recreation center where you could go and be amongst the gays. And so I felt like, possibly, there is no support here. It didn't feel safe to me to go seeking that support because I didn't see anyone else doing it. “But now when I come back, I see so many more gay people. I'm like, ‘Where did all these gays come from?’ There's more people that are comfortable being more open about their sexuality or their gender identification or just being gay. And I love that, so I feel even more connected to my community. And I think, ‘You know what? Maybe there was a community here, pockets of people here, that I could have leaned on.’ But I didn't feel empowered enough and there was nothing to bring us all together. That's why this show, I think, is very important. Not only for the participants, but for people watching, to know that there might be a community of support, allies, right around the corner from you. You just don't know it. And here comes Bob, Eureka and Shangela to help bring them on out.” Shangela and Bob describing lessons learned off-camera mirrors the vulnerability that all the queens show on-screen, too. In one heartwarming scene, while mentoring Christian mom Erica, Eureka opens up about dealing with the death of their mother, who passed away only a couple months before production began on the show last summer. “Honestly, it was a little emotional,” Eureka says of getting out on the road to play fairy dragmother in the midst of that loss. “But I definitely think that what pushed me was knowing how much my mom would appreciate and love the project that I was doing.” Eureka was able to draw from that emotion while forging a connection with Erica, who hopes to make amends with her estranged lesbian daughter, Hailey. “I think it ended up just being a really good way to approach the idea and the project, and really relate with Erica, too, and her daughter, by being able to be honest and open about what I was going through.” Each of the three queens, a sort of Charlie’s Angels of drag, brings their own individual style and je ne sais quoi to molding their various drag children. True to her well-cultivated rep as the ultimate professional, Shangela, ever gregarious and down-home friendly when getting to know the locals, turns into a stern taskmaster when it comes time to plan and rehearse a show. “I bring to those rehearsals what I've always brought to myself from the inside, and also what I've learned,” says Shangela. “Jenifer Lewis, who's a great friend of mine and mentor, whenever I'm doing something, she says, ‘All right honey, no half stepping, it's always full out.’ That's what I kind of go with, that mentality.” The hard work pays off with some breathtaking, high-energy performances on the 38

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show, including Shangela’s double-time dance team up with drag daughter Alexia in Branson, Missouri. “I push them because I want their best,” says Shangela. “I want them to be committed, I want them to trust me and I want to trust that they're going to do the work to turn it out. And I have to let them know that, ‘I might be your mean mama today. I'm just letting you know, I'm a sweet person, you've met me, you know me, we've hung out, but today in these rehearsals, I'm a professional, so get ready because I'm going to need you to be the same.’” Bob’s approach is more laid back — a bit less Debbie Allen and a tad more Oprah. “Well, I don't know where I fit in terms of people who already exist,” Bob quips about his mentoring methods. “But I like to listen to what they have to say. I like to hear their ideas and their performance. I like to hear what they've experienced in their lives if they want to tell a story through their drag. And if so, then I try to just cultivate them basically the same as I would treat my real-life drag daughters that I work with in the city, the people that are actually looking to have drag careers.” In fact, Bob has helped groom a number of drag daughters with professional careers, including Drag Race season 10 standout Miz Cracker, Honey La Bronx, Judy Darling, and Free (The Drag Queen), to name a few. “This is from like years ago in New York City, before I had my tubes tied,” he jokes. Eureka has birthed their share of drag children, too, back home in Tennessee, and was just as eager to help their We’re Here children harness the power of drag. “Before drag, I was a lot more introverted,” says Eureka. “Drag helped me become a voice and use my loud voice, and be okay with it. I used to be very ashamed of being super hyper and outgoing and I would hide from it. But now I just celebrate it.” As Shangela notes, “That's why we talk about drag being transformative. It's because you see yourself outside of yourself and you start to realize where you can go by just adding a little extra sparkle. Adding this layer of armor, whether it's the makeup, or it's the costume, or it's the hair, or it's just the stage itself and how the lights kind of take you out of who you are, and put you into who you want to be.” The trick, Bob says, is that it’s “not really about the drag. It has nothing to do with the drag.... You'd think when you watch Little Shop of Horrors, it's about plants, but it's not actually about plants, it's about greed, it's about desire and about feeling unseen. So drag is just the vehicle that we're using as an opportunity. It's a nice way to distract you from guarding yourself because you have your mind set on something else. So I don't think that this is something super specific to drag. It just happens to be that we’re drag queens.” And, as Eureka points out, part of the power of drag is that it doesn’t just transform the queen wearing full nails, hair, hips, and heels. “It's the way people react to you when you're in drag. Everyone's like, ‘Oh my God, you look fierce. You look amazing. That's incredible.’ It's the positive feedback that we get from other people. That gives you the confidence in drag and in this persona. So no matter who you 40

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are, once you get in drag, you just feel that, because people naturally treat you differently and treat you that way. But then also because you feel so beautiful and glamorous and gorgeous or like this other entity, that also brings out a part of you that's a part that you didn't know was there.” Watching Shangela, Eureka, and Bob guide regular folks towards such strength and self-acceptance could prove to be not just entertaining, but a genuine comfort to an audience that’s been sheltering in place at home for weeks. And now that those who cared to indulge in Tiger King have had their fill, it seems an apt time for viewers to cross this rainbow bridge into red-state America for a look at good people living out their fantasies of glamour and fierceness. Like most of us, the We’re Here stars have been locked down as well, albeit in different parts of the country — Bob in NYC,

traveling the world and being celebrated and celebrating others at prides and participating in that. “So to come back to small town America — and some places were very loving — but it was those moments when you realized that hate, discrimination, stigma, all those things still exist. And a lot of these people who lived in these small towns, a lot of my drag daughters dealt with these hardships, these challenges, every day. And as far as we've come in this country, we still have some work to do and we still have some people that we just need to give more of a touch point of our life to. “Sometimes you can change people’s minds and opinions just by them knowing a person from a different community than theirs. And a lot of the places we went to were not very diverse, they were not racially diverse, they sure as heck weren't gender-identity and sexuality-wise diverse. So it's important for us to be out there and do that, and I relearned, it was a sobering reality and a reintroduction to what life is like in a lot of places in America, when we need to do better.” For the most part, despite the lack of diversity they encountered, the We’re Here queens were greeted warmly at every stop — although not always. “They actually edited out some of the times we got the cops the Drag Queen called on us,” says Bob. “We got the cops called on us three times in Branson. They only showed once, [maybe] twice. I can't remember. I felt pretty safe everywhere I went, but also my circumstances are much different. To be fair, my circumstance was not that of a normal queer or drag queen walking around. I was a queer walking around Branson, Missouri with a camera crew of about 30 people. So I never genuinely felt unsafe, but I imagine if I was there under different circumstances, I might be singing a different tune.” Perhaps those less tolerant Bransonites will be singing a different tune after seeing the love, support, and sincerity the stars, participants, and producers have poured into the series. “We're giving people a new start, a place to start, really,” says Eureka. “We're showing these queer folk and the people in the town that there are more resources and support than they may even realize.” The whole point of closing each episode with a spectacular drag performance, says Eureka, “is that's our opportunity to showcase the hard work they've done, one, but also [show] just how much support they have in a town where they feel like they have to hide. ‘Look at the turnout that comes to support you all. You don't actually have to hide. There's a lot more people on your side than you realize.’ “I think that's the change that we're implementing and working on, is just to change your idea about your town. Just because it's a small town doesn't mean that you have to hide. You have the option to be yourself. You just have to be brave enough, and fight the insecurities and the stigma, and find your tribe in that town and really celebrate it.” l

Eureka in L.A., and Shangela with her grandmother in Paris, Texas, at the home Shangela just bought for her. Cast and crew of the show have been off the road for several weeks now, having wrapped production on season one just before the coronavirus pandemic shutdown production everywhere. Sheltering at home with his partner, Bob has been busy doing press for the show, adding, “I talk to my friends every day. I keep myself creative. I make sure that I have projects every day, so that I'm not just waking up and looking at myself. I also take free time to play video games and call my friends and call family and make sure that everyone is keeping themselves sane as well. Checking in on people I love.” Eureka credits doing press for the show with helping stay sane during this moment of uncertainty. “I mean, honestly for me, it's keeping me busy and going, so I'm actually kind of blessed, because at least I have things to really work on and focus on. A lot of entertainers right now are left with not much to do because they travel and that's how they work. So I'm actually just really blessed to have a project that takes extra work from home and all these things to keep me busy, besides my personal stuff that I'm working on.” The extended lockdown has left Shangela ample time to consider the breadth of her journey on the show. “Oh, my gosh. I walked into this thinking that I just knew exactly how this was going to go. But going through this experience from the first city to the last one, I just learned to reconnect with an experience that I thought that I was a little more removed from. I thought as a community, that we have progressed in America, that it's pretty good to be gay these days. And maybe that's because — even though I grew up in a small town, I know what those challenges and hardships look like — I've been 44

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We’re Here premieres Thursday, April 23 on HBO, and airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. Visit www.hbo.com.

JOHNNIE INGRAM-HBO

“I felt pretty safe everywhere I went, but my circumstances are different. I was a queer walking around Branson, Missouri with a camera crew of about 30 people. I IMAGINE IF I WAS THERE UNDER DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES, I MIGHT BE SINGING A DIFFERENT TUNE.” — Bob

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Behind the Queens

We’re Here creators Johnnie Ingram and Stephen Warren put a new spin on a timeworn genre and bring it to vibrant, dramatic life. By Randy Shulman

UR QUEENS ARE REALITY STARS,” SAYS JOHNNIE Ingram. “They’re born from reality television, a thing that is part of pop culture now. And we are bringing this new version of drag, which is finally getting respect as an art form it deserves, to these small towns.” Ingram, with his husband, Stephen Warren, created and executive produces We’re Here. It’s the couple’s first foray into television production, though they’re no strangers to the creative arts. Warren, a co-chair of GLAAD for several years, has worked as an entertainment lawyer for three decades, while Ingram served as an advertising creative director and has been the driving force behind several notable socially conscious ad campaigns. Both men hail from small-town upbringings — Ingram from the relatively tiny Morristown, Tennessee, and Warren from the slightly larger Rochester, New York. “When Johnnie and I conceived of the show,” says Warren, “we knew we wanted to feature towns that were small enough so that it feels like a com46

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munity that's tight-knit, yet big enough so that there's enough people to choose from [as candidates for transformation]. We wanted towns that were reflective of the American experience in different ways.” The six-episode HBO series kicks off with Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and then bounces around the country, going from Branson, Missouri to Twin Falls, Idaho to Shiprock, New Mexico. “The town is very much a character in the show,” adds Ingram. “The town often is struggling with its own identity. I think that adds a little tension.” Still, says Warren, “we weren't able to capture on film some of the more subtle aspects of homophobia, transphobia, black-phobia that exist in these places because people aren't comfortable just saying, ‘Oh, I don't like you, blah, blah, blah.’ The majority of the people we encountered were very, very friendly. But there were a lot of people who would basically say ‘I can't come [to the drag show], I've got football plans,’ or ‘I’m going to the mall that night.’” Getting HBO on board with the show turned out to be easier

Warren (L) and Ingram

than either man could have envisioned. “Basically a week after we conceived of the show, I had a lunch scheduled with the head of HBO,” recalls Warren. “We were just having lunch because we're friends and we do business together. Toward the end, I told him about our idea and he goes, ‘I want it! There's a woman in New York who runs our unscripted division who has wanted to do something like this for years. Could I send it to her?’ And it was done, just like that.” “HBO have been great creative partners,” adds Ingram. “It's been a really, really special experience.” Says Warren, “Nina Rosenstein [the Executive Vice President of HBO Programming] is the most capable and loving executive I have ever encountered — and I have encountered a lot of executives over my career. She has literally trusted us, along with Casey Bloys [President of HBO Programming], and never looked back.” While We’re Here borrows elements found in many current shows that fall into the makeover genre — most notably the transformation of a person’s sense of self and mindset — it raises

HBO

“THE THREE PERFORMERS WE HAVE ARE LITERAL STARS. These are three confident, loving, empathetic, strong people who are bringing their belief in themselves, and the struggles that they went through, to these towns.” — Stephen Warren the bar considerably. Each episode plays out like a mini-documentary and is as potently dramatic as it is vibrantly entertaining. The rich balance of entertainment and sentiment is achieved with careful precision by director Peter LoGreco and a talented crew of cinematographers and editors. Each episode follows a basic structure, but subtle variation and slight nuances are introduced to keep episodes from feeling cookie-cutter stamped. The series, which deals with three transformations per episode, packs a remarkable amount of narrative into each hour. It also packs in a remarkable amount of empathy. We’re Here is far from a frivolous makeover series. The level of heartfelt sincerity that emanates from its three glimmering stars — Shangela Laquifa Wadley, Eureka O’Hara, and Bob the Drag Queen — is profound, poignant, and potent. It coaxes deep, eloquent humanity from all three queens, and their compassion and caring grows stronger with each new episode. “From the beginning, Johnnie and I wanted these three drag queens,” says Warren. “We never talked to any other performers. The most important characteristic we knew we needed to have, in addition to being wildly talented, was empathy. And there are many, many performers — whether you're a drag performer or not a drag performer — that don't have that quality. We believed in our hearts that these three had that quality. If they didn't, the show wouldn't have worked.” Very little about We’re Here feels faked or manipulative — the show is defiant in its refusal to create artificially forced resolutions, as in the premiere episode in which one of the subjects desperately longs to reconnect with an estranged, emotionally scarred family member. The ultimate resolution reveals a naturalism rare for this type of program. Both men concede We’re Here couldn’t exist were it not for RuPaul, who virtually single-handedly transformed how societyat-large views — and responds to — the art of drag. “We owe an enormous debt to RuPaul and everything RuPaul has accomplished professionally, personally, artistically,” says Warren. “He has created so many stars from his show. And the three performers we have are literal stars. In each of these towns, there are people who freak out when they see them because they're stars. These are three confident, loving, empathetic, strong people who are bringing their belief in themselves, and the struggles that they went through, to these towns.” “I don't think society has seen this side of drag,” says Ingram. “Not only its importance to the LGBTQ community, but how open-armed they are to others. This show is an olive branch [to non-LGBTQ people] so they can see a whole different side of our community.” l We’re Here premieres on April 23 on HBO, and airs weekly on Thursdays at 9 p.m. Visit www.hbo.com. APRIL 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

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Gallery

Adrienne Gaither “Stonewalling” (Left) Matthew Mann “Judd Tub”

De Novo Gallery’s Online Offering

HAD BEEN CATCHING UP WITH A LOT OF ARTISTS I a mostly local crop of 10 artists, all of whom were featured at the know,” Ryan Dattilo says. “Because of the crisis, every show gallery, including Adrienne Gaither, Tom Bunnell, Alex Ebstein, and every gallery has been closed or canceled, so they’re not Rex Delafkaran, Dean Kessmann, and Nara Park. The gallery selling works. A lot of them also aren’t full-time artists, and those will forego its customary cut of artwork sales. other jobs have all been put on pause, or they’ve been temporarily “I just decided to give the whole thing to the artists,” Dattilo laid off. So I knew it was impacting a lot of them in a tough way.” says. “My thing with the gallery, to begin with, was not about A Capitol Hill bankruptcy lawyer by day, Dattilo making money. It was just about having fun, supporthas become an increasingly active presence on the ing the artists, and getting more people into the arts. Click Here local art and gallery scenes in recent years, particThis is another opportunity to extend that.” to View ularly through his role as a board member of the Dattilo expects to organize another tangible Washington Project for the Arts. Last year, the avid art collector exhibit after the current circumstances end, possibly even one launched his first gallery, a pop-up that kept extending its stay with artworks inspired by the pandemic. “You can go back in across the street from Union Market, where it ultimately ran for history and see that big upheavals and disruptions really changed six months. the way people relate to art. I know that being self-quarantined Now, in response to COVID-19, Dattilo has revived De Novo for two months is going to really affect people. It’ll be interesting Gallery as an online incarnation at www.denovo-gallery.com. to see how the artists reflect that anxiety, that tension — everyThe display includes works of art in a range of media created by thing that we’re all going through.” —Doug Rule APRIL 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

Music

The Art of Not Letting Go

dropped out of a window. Apple also ruminates on her feelings of solidarity and responsibility towards other women, sometimes real and sometimes imagined but intensely felt either way. “I wonder what lies he’s telling you about me,” she muses on “Newspaper,” forging a camaraderie in her own head with a woman who she imagines has been, Fiona Apple’s surprise early release is raw, funny and is about to be, hurt the same ways she and unabashedly sharp. By Sean Maunier has been. On “Shameika,” in a lyric that has already been riffed on countless times ETCH THE BOLT CUTTERS COULDN’T HAVE COME AT A BETTER TIME since the album’s release, Apple reminiscand Fiona Apple knew it. Like many artists with new music on hand, she decided es on a time decades ago when a classmate to release her album early, in this case roughly six months ahead of schedule. And told her she “had potential.” In that single like many of her peers, she has accidentally put out an album spectacularly well-suited line, she captures how powerful an impact to the current moment, right down to writing and recording it from her own home. It is words of praise from a total stranger can an unconventional record, but in a way that we would expect from Apple. Its structure, have, when delivered in the right way at if it can be called a structure at all, is complex and seemingly random, a feeling that the right time. is reflected in its mood. Her lyrics, both sung and spoken, are delivered among other True to form, however, Apple does not vocalizations ranging from scatting to shrieks to hisses to whispers. Few limit herself to righteous anger artists, let alone those with her profile and prominence, could deliver that and resignation, present as they Click Here range and get away with it. are. Her wit is sharp as ever, to Buy or It’s a chaotic album that is in many ways a reaction to a chaotic world, and this album finds her more Stream both outside and in. Apple deals with a lot of pain and hurt throughout pointed and playful than she Fetch the Bolt Cutters (HHHHH), touching on the entire spectrum of harm has ever been. The complexity from petty slights to deep, traumatic wounds. She returns again and again to the harm and the abruptness with which she shifts that men do to women, and the knock-on effects of that harm. “When I learned what and switches from humor to melancholy he did, I felt close to you,” she confesses to an ex’s new partner on the tense and unset- to rage is both unsettling and compelling. tling “Newspaper,” admitting “In my own way, I fell in love with you.” Elsewhere, she Fetch the Bolt Cutters finds Fiona Apple pulls even fewer punches. “Good morning,” she spits in the outro to the fantastic “For once again making uniquely captivating Her.” “You raped me in the same bed your daughter was born in.” It’s a stark, arresting and infectious music on her own terms, line that, after a jaunty song skewering performative masculinity, lands like a brick whether we’re along for the ride or not. l

Fetch the Bolt Cutters is available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music. 50

APRIL 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

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!

Diana and Michele (Oklahoma City, OK)

Ron (Takoma Park, MD)

Rich (Las Vegas, NV) Bonnie and Bonnie (Waldorf, MD)

Robert (Washinbgton, DC)

APRIL 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

LastWord. People say the queerest things

“As a Jewish American who lost family in the Holocaust, I’m offended by any comparison to Nazism.” —Colorado Gov. JARED POLIS (D), who is gay and Jewish, responding to a reporter who asked about Colorado House Minority Leader Patrick Neville (R) saying Polis’ COVID-19 stay-at-home order was part of a “Gestapo-like mentality.” “We act to save lives,” Polis said, “the exact opposite of the slaughter of 6 million Jews and many gypsies and Catholics and gays and lesbians and Russians and so many others.”

“Probably not the first time a black man topped him.” —Writer and former child actress QUINN CUMMINGS, in a viral tweet quoting news that Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jaime Harrison had outraised Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in the first quarter of 2020.

“I knew that I could not portray this gay man honestly without letting you all know that I am a gay man myself. ” —Actor J. AUGUST RICHARDS (Angel, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), revealing on Instagram that he is gay. Richards currently stars in NBC’s Council of Dads as Dr. Oliver Prost, who is married to another man and has a daughter. Of coming out, he said, “I knew how important it is to other people out there like me, who would need to see that role model, so I took that responsibility very seriously.”

“They call us a plague,

so we took it to heart and decided to infect something.

”

—JAKUB KWIECINSKI AND DAWID MYCEK, a Polish gay couple, in a YouTube video announcing that they are making and distributing rainbow facemasks for free to help combat both COVID-19 and rising anti-LGBTQ sentiments in the European nation.

“Hopefully this makes it clear that there is an LGBTQ agenda they are forcing on young audiences.” —Anti-LGBTQ professional handwringers ONE MILLION MOMS, in a post on its website warning parents not to let their children watch Disney XD animated show DuckTales because one of its main characters has gay parents. The group, an offshoot of the anti-LGBTQ American Family Association, added: “It is apparent that this particular producer is not finished with indoctrinating children by exposing them to homosexual relationships through a facade of normalcy.”

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They're Here - Shangela Cover - Metro Weekly - April 23, 2020

Articles inside

Last Word.

Fiona Apple: The Art of Not Letting Go

De Novo Gallery's Online Offering

Behind the Queens

The Next Wave

Sex, Drugs, and Cape Cod

Terrible Influence

Helping Hand

Daytime Drama

Summer Blues

Tap Out

GLAAD's Together in Pride: You Are Not Alone

Out On the (virtual) Town

Catered Delivery

Online Movement

Dream Project

Arena's Fulfilling Intermission