Washington Blade, Volume 53, Issue 37, September 16, 2022 by Washington Blade

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • VOLUME 53 • ISSUE 37 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM D.C.’s arts scene returns to normal with theater, ﬁlm, music, & more! PAGES 28-58

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SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • 05

“LGBTQ+ folks need and deserve a full federally recognized blanket of protection that will explicitly protect the LGBTQ+ community from discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity,” Eromosele said. “We deserve the Equality Act.”

Bowser was referring to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Arizona Gov. Doug Duce (R), who have announced their intention to bus migrants crossing the Mexican border into Texas and Arizona to the nation’s capital, in part, to highlight what they

In its question to the mayor about LGBTQ migrants, the Blade pointed out that reports have surfaced that LGBTQ migrants, in particular transgender migrants, have encountered harassment and in some instances acts of violence at locations along the southern boarder where migrants were being housed and processed to be sent to other states.

She said the city is appealing to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for reimbursement of some or all of the $10 million the city is allocating for its stepped-up plan to assist the arriving migrants.

She said discrimination and harassment of LGBTQ people made possible by the lack of a federal nondiscrimination law has resulted in a higher percentage of LGBTQ people, especially LGBTQ people of color, experiencing homelessness, substance abuse, and mental health problems.

Maxx Fenning, a resident of Pompano Beach, Fla., and the founder and president of PRISM, an LGBTQ nonproﬁt organization that supports LGBTQ youth in South Florida, told the rally the so-called “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” law passed by the Florida Legislature has had a negative impact LGBTQ youth in

The mayor noted that most migrants that have arrived in D.C. in the buses from Texas and Arizona have moved on to other destinations outside of D.C.

A statement released by Advocates for Youth, a D.C. group that organized the rally, said the youth activists participating in the rally had mounted a letter writing campaign ahead of the event in which more than 200 letters were to be sent to U.S. senators urging them to support the Equality Act.

“Today, if I go back to my campus, I can be denied housing, lose my insurance, or be taken off jury duty because of my sexual orientation,” he told the gathering. “And it’s because Missouri is one of the dozens of American states that refuses to protect LGBTQIA youth, that refuses to institute nondiscriminationMiaoprotections.”wasreferring to the 28 states, including Missouri, that have not adopted LGBTQ rights legislation and which LGBTQ rights advocates say highlights the need for a federal law like the Equality Act, which would ban LGBTQ-related discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, insurance, and other areas.

“The Office of Migrant Services will provide support with reception, respite, meals, temporary accommodations, urgent medical needs, transportation to final destinations, connection to resettlement services, translation services, and other needs as they are determined,” a statement released by the mayor’s office says.

“I am here speaking about the Equality Act because it affects me and all my friends,” Lewis said. “As queer people, we’re being refused our rights because of who we are and who we love. Our rights are being undermined, and we are being forced to live in fear because our representatives do not have the decency to uphold the Declaration of Independence,” which they pointed out, says everyone has “unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

his state.

She said the new ofﬁce, created within the D.C. Department of Human Services, will work with at least three local community-based groups in providing emergency housing and other services for migrants that have been arriving in a dozen or more buses every week since this spring.

06 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • LOCAL NEWS

Among the speakers at the rally was Ranen Miao, a senior at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., who identiﬁed himself as a gay man.

Bowser said at least three community-based organizations – the Montgomery County-based SAMU First Response Foundation, and the D.C.-based Catholic Charities and United Way would work with the city to provide services, including temporary housing, for the migrants.

Another speaker at the rally, Alex Lewis, an 18-year-old

“I am tired of living in a world where in 55 out of 67 counties, I can be ﬁred, evicted, or denied service at a restaurant just for who I love, along with so many other Americans,” he said. “It has been almost two years since the House passed the Equality Act. It’s time for the Senate to grow a goddamn backbone and do the same.”

Mayor MURIEL BOWSER said on Thursday that the city would take steps to ensure that LGBTQ migrants are treated without bias or harassment. (Washington Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)

sophomore at Emerson College in Boston, who uses the pronouns they/them, self-identiﬁed as “pansexual, transgender, genderﬂuid, and queer.” Lewis said they grew up in Houston.

“This is a new challenge for D.C., but I feel conﬁdent that if we lead with our values, and if we put the right systems in place, which we are doing with the Ofﬁce of Migrant Services, then we will lead a response that makes our community proud.”

“Thank you for raising that,” the mayor said. “And anybody that we work with we expect to uphold our D.C. values, and that includes in this space,” she said, adding that she “absolutely” would ensure that the city’s programs providing assistance to the hundreds of migrants arriving in D.C. in buses each

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser stated at a news conference last week that city workers and community-based organizations joining the city in carrying out a stepped-up effort to assist thousands of migrants being bused into the District from Texas and Arizona will “absolutely” take steps to ensure that LGBTQ migrants are treated without bias or harassment.

A scene from Monday’s protest in D.C. (Blade photo by Michael Key)

Deb Howser, president of Advocates for Youth, told the Washington Blade at the rally she believes a little over half of the youth activists attending the event self-identify as LGBTQ, with the remaining participants being “absolute allies.” She said about a third of the participants were high school students, with about two-thirds being college students.

week will be sensitive to the needs of LGBTQ migrants.

Youth activists hold D.C. rally for LGBTQ rights Students call on U.S. Senate to pass Equality Act

“This is an amazing group of very compassionate and passionate young people,” Howser said. “And they have the right to live free from discrimination.”

About 100 youth activists and their supporters from throughout the country turned out for a rally on Monday, Sept. 12, at D.C. ‘s John Marshall Park near the U.S. Capitol to call on Congress to pass the LGBTQ nondiscrimination legislation known as the Equality Act.

The statement released by Advocates for Youth says Monday’s rally was the culmination of a four-day Youth Activist Institute in D.C. that enabled the youth participants to “hone their advocacy skills and share organizing tactics with peers.” The statement says the youth will return to their schools and communities with the tools to organize classmates and neighbors around the important issue of LGBTQ rights other issues such as sex education and abortion access.

“With this plan, we are staying true to our D.C. values and building a system that will support a compassionate, consistent, and well-coordinated response,” the mayor said in describing the aim of the newly created city ofﬁce.

The mayor commented on potential issues impacting LGBTQ migrants in response to a question from the Washington Blade at a news conference in which she announced she has declared a public emergency that will allow her to release $10 million in city funds to support a newly created Ofﬁce of Migrant Services.

Aimaloghi Eromosele, who identiﬁed herself as a “24-yearold queer Black woman born and raised in Texas,” stated in her remarks at the rally that she is currently living in New York City “getting my Ph.D. in clinical psychology, with a special interest in the impact of societal trauma on communities of color.”

Bowser says new city ofﬁce to be sensitive to LGBTQ migrants Mayor declares public emergency over inﬂux of those bused to D.C.

claim is the Biden administration’s failure to curtail the unprecedented number of migrants entering the U.S. through the southern border.

Bowser also said she will send legislation to the D.C. Council to extend the emergency declaration beyond the 15-day period she has authority to put in place.

At least a dozen participants who identiﬁed as LGBTQ college or high school students spoke at the rally, with several expressing concern that the Equality Act was stalled in the U.S. Senate by a Republican-led ﬁlibuster after being approved two times by the U.S. House during the past two years.

By LOU CHIBBARO JR.

“We know this from media reports, and I stress this — these are numbers we can’t exactly verify — but the governors of Texas and Arizona report that they have sent upwards of 9,400 people on buses destined for the District of Columbia,” Bowser said at the news conference. “And we know that they are targeting Washington, D.C. not because of any particular tie to the people boarding the buses have to Washington, D.C.,” she said. “But they want to make a point to the federal government.”

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • 07

The Alston Foundation, a longstanding LGBTQ organi zation, has provided housing and support services for D.C. homeless and at-risk LGBTQ youth since its founding in 2008.

“When you work at a bar your bar people become your family,” Perruzza wrote. “Joey was family. To everyone who knew him I’m sorry for our loss,” Perruzza wrote, adding, “to his family and to anyone who knew him, he will be missed. RIP my Contributionsfriend.”tothe Joshua York Foundation can be made through: www.joshuayorkfoundation.org

whether it should be dissolved in an orderly manner.

Beloved 17th Street bartender Joey Phalin dies at 43 19-year stint at gay bars Cobalt and JR.’s made him a ‘fixture’ in Dupont

JOEY PHALIN died on Sept. 8.

The Wanda Alston Foundation, which a D.C. Superior Court judge named last month as the city’s receiver for the LGBTQ community services center Casa Ruby, issued a preliminary finding in an interim report filed in court on Tuesday, Sept. 13, declaring that “Casa Ruby should be dissolved in an orderly manner pursuant to D.C. Code.”

The judge’s order came one day after she approved the AG office’s request that Casa Ruby be placed under re ceivership and two weeks after the judge approved the AG’s request that all of Casa Ruby’s bank and credit card accounts be frozen.

“Joey is survived by his loving fiancé Andy [Heline], his dog Bouncer, his family, and innumerable friends,” the JR’s announcement says. “On behalf of the JR’s Bar family and indeed the entire Washington, D.C. service industry, we ask that you keep them in your thoughts at this time.”

“Joey Phalin was a friend and co-worker for over 16 years,” said David Perruzza, owner of the D.C. gay bars Pitchers and A League of Her Own in Adams Morgan and who worked for many years as manager of JR’s before opening his own bars.

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

‘Casa Ruby should be dissolved’: report Court filing by Wanda Alston Foundation paints grim picture

The judge also asked that the report assess whether the Casa Ruby board of directors “should be reconstituted” following allegations by the D.C. Attorney General’s office that the board for years failed to provide legally required oversight of Casa Ruby’s finances and actions by Ruby Corado.

The announcement by Phalin’s brother, James Phalin, says a memorial service for Joey Phalin will be held on Thursday, Sept. 15 at 5 p.m. at the Miller Funeral and Cre mation Services in Victor, N.Y. “A Celebration of Joey’s life will follow (approximately 6 p.m.) at the Victor Village Inn, 34 East Main Street, Victor, until 10 p.m.,” it says.

Joseph C. “Joey” Phalin, who worked from 2002 to 2021 as a bartender at the 17th Street gay bars Cobalt and JR.’s and who became a beloved figure to his customers and friends near Dupont Circle, died unex pectedly on Sept. 8 in Rochester, N.Y., where he had moved last year, according to a social media post by his brother, James Phalin.

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately reach An drew Heline, Phalin’s life partner and fiancé.

The town of Victor is located about 20 miles from Roch ester.The brother’s announcement says Joey Phalin is sur vived by his father and stepmother, Jim and Terri Phalin;

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine said his office’s action put forward in a civil lawsuit against Casa Ruby came after he opened an investigation that found the LGBTQ com munity services center had failed to pay landlords more than $1 million in back rent and could no longer pay the salaries of its employees, forcing the organization to cease most of its operations before a full shutdown in late July.

(Photo courtesy Miller Funeral Home)

The seven-page Receiver’s First Interim Report says an ongoing examination of Casa Ruby’s financial records, which it says were in disarray, indicates outstanding liabili ties exceeding $2 million.

“Casa Ruby’s landlords and employees had gone un paid for some time and both sites were abandoned and appeared to have been ransacked,” the report says. “The documents which remained were in complete disarray and would require time to collect, organize, and analyze,” it says.

“Casa Ruby’s Board of Directors failed to provide any meaningful oversight and Casa Ruby should be dissolved in an orderly manner pursuant to D.C. Code 29-412.23,” the Alston Foundation interim report states.

Dito Sevilla, a longtime bartender and bar manager at Floriana Restaurant on 17th Street, called Phalin a be loved “fixture” in the 17th Street neighborhood. Sevilla said Phalin and Heline met in D.C. and became a couple before the two moved together from D.C. to Rochester last year.

with everyone he met.”

08 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • LOCAL NEWS

The judge, who is expected to make the final decision on the fate of Casa Ruby, called all parties in the case, in cluding Ruby Corado, to appear in court or appear virtu ally through a phone or video hookup on Sept. 29 for a status hearing.

“However, additional time may be required to go through the records and files at 2033 Connecticut Ave nue,” according to the report, which says may require the court to order a temporary stop on the pending eviction at that property.

JUNE CRENSHAW is executive director of the Alston Foundation, which determined that Casa Ruby should be dissolved. (Blade file photo by Michael Key)

“It is with a heavy heart that JR’s announces the recent passing of a longtime JR’s bartender, Joey Phalin, who passed away suddenly at the tail end of last week in Roch ester, N.Y,” the JR’s announcement says.

“Joey spent nearly two decades behind the bars at both Cobalt (2002-2006) and JR’s (2006-2021) and was a regular figure on 17th Street and in D.C.’s Dupont Circle neighborhood,” the announcement continues. “During his time at JR’s, Joey made amazingly strong connections

“Eighty percent of the critical records and files at 1635 Connecticut Avenue [N.W.] have been secured and re moved,” the report says, enabling the receiver to vacate the property prior to an eviction underway by the landlord.

“Other than an assortment of donated furnishings at the two leased properties, there are no other meaningful as sets,” the report says.

For those who may not have seen his brother’s an nouncement, many who knew Joey Phalin learned of his passing from a Facebook post by JR.’s last weekend.

Superior Court Judge Danya A. Dayson issued an or der on Aug. 12 naming the Alston Foundation as the Casa Ruby receiver at the recommendation of the Office of the D.C. Attorney General. The AG’s office stated in court filings that Casa Ruby and its founder and longtime executive director, Ruby Corado, had violated the city’s Nonprofit Corporations Act by failing to account for the expenditure funds provided by D.C. government grants and private donors.

Although the official announcements have not dis closed a cause of death, friends and others who knew Phalin said he died by suicide.

Alston Foundation Executive Director June Crenshaw and its Board of Directors chairperson, Darrin Glymph, couldn’t immediately be reached to determine whether they might reconsider the recommendation of dissolving Casa Ruby as an organization if new members could be recruited to serve on the Casa Ruby board.

In her Aug. 12 order naming the Alston Foundation as the Casa Ruby receiver, Judge Dayson directed the Alston Foundation to submit a preliminary status report by Sept. 13 on its findings on whether Casa Ruby had or could obtain the financial resources to resume operating as an organization supporting LGBTQ people in need, such as emergency housing and immigrant related services, or

his mother, Sue Kimball; fiancé, Andrew Heline; brother and sister-in-law James and Ashley Phalin; niece, Kend all Phalin; nephew, Aidan Phalin; sister, Nicole Wilcox; brother Jason Phalin; brother Brent Kimball; sister, Julie Kimball; and many dear friends in Victor and Washington, D.C.James Phalin’s announcement also mentions the cel ebration of his brother’s life scheduled to take place at JR’s in D.C.

His brother James’s social media posting says that in lieu of flowers for upcoming memorial celebrations of Phalin’s life, contributions may be made to the Joshua York Foundation, which is dedicated to suicide preven tion.“JR’s will be hosting a ‘Celebration of Life’ for Joey on Saturday, 17 September 2022 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.,” the JR’s announcement says. “We hope that you will come out to share great stories about Joey and toast to his last ing memory,” it says.

It says the Alston Foundation took immediate steps to secure financial records and sensitive documents pertain ing to Casa Ruby’s clients and employees that were aban doned in two leased offices in the Dupont Circle area.

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • 09

The likeliest scenario, as of Wednesday, was for Senate Democrats to start the proce dural process Thursday to set up for votes on the Respect for Marriage Act early next week, two Democratic aides familiar with the bill told the Blade.

“Sen. Murkowski has long supported marriage equality,” said Hannah Ray, a Murkowk si spokesperson. “She is reviewing the House-passed bill and tracking negotiations in the Senate over possible modifications to the text of the Respect for Marriage Act in troduced by Sens. Baldwin and Collins, so at this time she has not announced how she will vote.”

A competing amendment on religious exemptions, however, is expected to come from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), according to a report in Politico. His office didn’t imme diately respond Wednesday to the Blade’s request to comment on the nature of the amendment or the support obtained for the measure.

Despite Cornyn’s projections, Republicans in the Senate have had a history of keeping their cards close to their vests on measures relating to LGBTQ rights be fore some ultimately break away to vote in the favor of the legislation. Such has been the case in the past 12 years with “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal and the Em ployment Non-Discrimination Act.

Legislation seeking to codify same-sex marriage may be cued up as soon as this week in the U.S. Senate after lawmakers returned from August recess, although reaching the 60-vote threshold to end a filibuster is unassured.

A final push for the legislation among its supporters was evident in recent days as expectations for a vote increased. The Human Rights Campaign was set on Thursday to deliver to the Pittsburgh office of the undecided Toomney letters urg ing him to support the Respect for Marriage Act

Johnson also has indicated his support would be conditional upon the inclusion of language to accommodate objections to same-sex marriage on religious grounds. Lan guage being drafted by Baldwin and Collins for such an amendment, Democratic aides familiar with the bill told the Blade, would affirm the 1993 Religious Freedom Resto ration Act, but go no further.

Whether or not there are 60 votes in the Senate to end a filibuster is another matter. Supporters of the legislation have been bullish about obtaining 10 Republican votes to aid the united Democratic caucus in cutting off debate to move forward with the bill, but only four Republicans have signaled support in some capacity: Susan Collins (Maine), Rob Portman (Ohio), Thom Tillis (N.C.) and Ron Johnson (Wis).

The conclusion of the Politico article that sufficient support remains in question, how ever, appears largely based on quotes from senior Republicans in the Senate who re portedly cast doubt about whether enough members of their caucus would break away to support the bill. Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) was quoted as saying right now no one knows “the exact answer” on the number of votes; he reportedly added he hasn’t done a formal whip count.

By CHRIS JOHNSON | cjohnson@washblade.com

Sen. TAMMY BALDWIN told the Blade she’s continuing her work to build Republican support for the marriage bill. (Photo by Chris Schmitt Photography)

10 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • NATIONAL NEWS

Within the Republican Party, more than 400 prominent Republicans signed a letter organized by the LGBTQ group Freedom for All Americans and issued on Tuesday urging support for the Respect for Marriage Act. Among the co-signers are former Republican National Committee chair Ken Mehlman, who’s gay; Mehmet Oz, the Republican Senate nominee in Pennsylvania; and former president George W. Bush’s daughter Barbara Bush.

Baldwin, for her part, said in a statement to the Blade on Wednesday she continues to remain optimistic about reaching the necessary 60 votes on the Respect for Marriage Act and work continues behind the scenes on those efforts.

“Over the past few months, both sides have engaged in good-faith conversations about how to pass marriage equality into law,” Schumer said. “I truly hope – for the sake of tens of millions of Americans — that there will be at least ten Republicans who will vote with us to pass this important bill soon. Democrats are ready to make it happen — and willing to debate reasonable compromises on the specifics — so I urge my colleagues on the other side to join us.”

“As for vote count, still the same,” one Senate Democratic aide told the Blade on Wednesday. “We don’t have 10 firm commitments from Republicans, but we are close and believe that the votes are there without the firm commitments.”

Concerns that there aren’t enough votes to advance the Respect for Marriage Act were piqued last week in the aftermath of an article in Politico with the headline: “Samesex marriage bill teeters on verge of GOP filibuster.” The article points out numerous Republicans who are possible “yes” votes, such as Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Pat Toom ey (R-Pa.) and Lisa Murkowksi (R-Alaska), have yet to declare outright support for the legislation.Murkowski, who was an early Republican supporter of same-sex marriage, stands out in the group as among the Republicans who have yet to declare a position on the Re spect for Marriage Act, although a spokesperson for the Alaska Republican confirmed to the Blade she remains undecided.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) was reportedly more blunt in his assessment: “I don’t see 10 Republicans,” Cornyn was quoted as saying. “I assume if people were in clined to support it, they would have already declared in support of it.”

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) took to the Senate floor on Wednes day to make the case for the Respect for Marriage Act, which he said was needed in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

“I am continuing my work to build the Republican support needed to pass our bi partisan legislation to protect marriage equality and ensure Americans in same-sex and interracial marriages are guaranteed the same rights and freedoms of every other marriage,” Baldwin said. “These loving couples deserve this certainty and the American people overwhelmingly agree.”

Bolstering the prospects for the Respect for Marriage Act is that the bill would reaffirm existing law as opposed to make changes. The legislation also wouldn’t codify same-sex marriage into the U.S. code, but rather repeal from the books the Defense of Marriage Act, which the Supreme Court struck down in 2013, and require states to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.

“As Republicans and conservatives, we believe strong families and lasting relation ships strengthen communities, and civil marriage is a fundamental freedom central to individual liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” the letter says. “We stand with the 71 percent of Americans today, including a majority of registered Republicans, who sup port the freedom to marry for all Americans.”

Senate may cue up marriage vote soon, but 60 votes not assured Some Republican leaders doubt there’s sufficient support

Blade readers will remember Cornyn was the member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who pressed now U.S. Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson during her confirmation hearing about the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in favor of same-sex marriage, asking her whether she could understand observers being surprised by the outcome.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), the only open lesbian in the Senate, has been a propo nent of the legislation and would be a likely candidate to go to the floor to seek a vote on the legislation.

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In the case of the marriage bill, the standalone approach appears to have won out. Schumer, speaking with reporters, said he expects the marriage vote “in the coming weeks” and threw cold water on the idea about including it in the continuing resolution: “We would prefer to do it as a separate bill. We hope there are 10 Republicans to help us with that.”

These included a tweet in which the Transportation Secretary was called “Pete Buttplug” as well as content from former President Trump’s far-right senior adviser Stephen Miller.

It started amid reports last week, which were conﬁrmed by the Washington Blade, that senior Senate Democratic leadership was considering attaching the Respect for Marriage Act to the continuing resolution, a stopgap that would continue funding the government as lawmakers hammer out a budget for the upcoming ﬁscal year.

Analysis: Bipartisan approach wins out as marriage vote nears Schumer expects action soon to codify rights into law

CHRISTOPHER KANE

Buttigieg targeted with homophobic tweets

It’s unclear why attaching the marriage bill to the continuing resolution was an option. Either as a standalone bill or an amendment, the marriage legislation needs 60 votes to end a ﬁlibuster in the Senate. Including the marriage bill in the budget stopgap may have been seen as

Baldwin and Collins, following news earlier in the week about the possibility of including the marriage bill in the continuing resolution, published a joint op-ed in the Washington Post on the importance of the measure and getting it done on a bipartisan basis.

Bizarrely, at a rally in March, extremist Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) said the couple should “stay out of our girls’ bathrooms,” which appeared to be an attempt to suggest they are sexual predators.

supporters of the marriage bill who had a problem with including the measure as part of the continuing resolution. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis), who’s not only the ﬁrst out lesbian in the U.S. Senate, but a senator with a reputation for seeking to reach the across the aisle, has been in charge of rounding up votes for some time and has signaled that 10 Republicans are within reach. Among the original co-sponsors of the bill is Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who has publicly commented about working her side of the aisle on the bill.

Take, for example, Schumer’s decision to bring to the ﬂoor after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs an abortion rights measure with no Republican support as opposed to another more bipartisan measure. Whether or not the measure actually had 60 votes in support is anInafterthought.otherwords, the approach of putting the marriage provision in the continuing resolution was more consistent with the legislative model of Build Back Better and the Inﬂation Reduction Act, which passed without any Republican votes. But the standalone measure is more consistent with approaches seen with the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the gun reform measure. Each made it to Biden’s desk, but in different ways and with different political fallout.

Buttigieg is a decorated war veteran, having served in the U.S. Navy Reserve from 2009 to 2017, including in a deployment to Afghanistan in 2014. A DOT spokesperson and the Michigan Republican Party did not im-

The approach, in fact, could have had the effect of sinking the marriage bill: Republicans who may have been on board could have instead found a reason to vote “no” if the measure were included in the continuing resolution over objections to adding an extraneous issue to the measure.

One thing stands out: The idea of moving forward with the legislation regardless of how Republicans will vote is consistent with the general legislative strategy of Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). Ever the political animal, Schumer has no qualms about forcing a vote on legislation with no chance of getting 60 votes if it means exposing Republicans, especially when that would occur within two months of Election Day.

Sen. CHARLES SCHUMER has appeared to yield to the bipartisan approach to the marriage bill proposed by Sens. TAMMY BALDWIN (D-Wis.) SUSAN COLLINS (R-Maine). (Blade ﬁle photos by Michael Key)

Meanwhile, on Sept. 10, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus condemned the use of the agency’s ofﬁcial Twitter account for the West Texas region for offensive retweets and likes, including of homophobic posts targeting Buttigieg.

Reached for comment, a spokesperson from a regional press ofﬁce shared a statement excerpted from

a way to act swiftly on the marriage bill during a limited legislative calendar before Election Day.

It’s not hard to imagine Schumer getting a call from

If the marriage bill passes in the Senate, as supporters of the measure are predicting, it appears the credit would go to the old-school approach of working across the aisle to build a consensus for a more durable legislative solution. The strict party-line approach will have to take a back seat and ﬁnd another legislative vehicle.

As Pete Buttigieg, secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, continues his push for broader adoption of electric vehicle use, he was again targeted with homophobic attacks online.

Another factor suggesting a bipartisan approach on the marriage legislation has won out: Schumer in the remarks this week name-checked Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) as one of the leaders in the Democratic caucus seeing to build support for the measure. Although Sinema, the only out bisexual in Congress, is viliﬁed among progressives, she was among the leaders in the cadre of lawmakers who obtained sufﬁcient bipartisan support for the infrastructure deal and gun reform measure.

By CHRIS JOHNSON | cjohnson@washblade.com

12 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • NATIONAL NEWS

Two strategies for passing legislation have emerged within the Democratic caucus: either build support among Republicans or push it through to expose their position. Both were on full display over the last two weeks over legislation seeking to codify same-sex marriage into law. At the end of the day, the more bipartisan approach appears to have won out.

mediately return a request for comment on Maddock’s tweet.

that which was tweeted by Magnus, who announced that @CBPWestTexas was deactivated and the offending content was removed.

“We have worked across party lines to bring the Senate together and build support for the Respect for Marriage Act because we should be able to agree that same-sex and interracial couples, regardless of where they live, both need and deserve the assurance that their marriage will be recognized by the federal government and that they will continue to enjoy freedoms, rights and responsibilities that come with all other marriages,” Baldwin and Collins wrote.

Meshawn Maddock, co-chair of Michigan’s Republican Party, referred to the ﬁrst openly gay Cabinet secretary as a “weak little girl” on Twitter Sunday, as many were honoring those killed 21 years ago in the worst terrorist attack ever perpetrated on American soil.

Bigoted attacks against Buttigieg by conservatives are not new. Last year, when the Secretary took a leave of absence to care for his and his husband Chasten’s newborn twins, Fox News host Tucker Carlson said he was “trying to ﬁgure out how to breastfeed.”

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Lee Ralph said, “To anyone who has ever, ever had a dream, and thought your dream wasn’t, wouldn’t, couldn’t come true, I am here to tell you that this is what believing looks like, this is what striving looks like, and don’t you ever, ever give up on you.”

• Hwang Dong-hyuk became the first South Korean to win Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for “Squid Game.”

Lizzo broke RuPaul’s streak to win Best Competition program. RuPaul showed up later in the show to present a major award anyway. Lizzo has not felt the need to la bel herself in the LGBTQ spectrum but has said, “When it comes to sexuality or gender, I personally don’t ascribe to just one thing. I cannot sit here right now and tell you I’m just one thing. That’s why the colors for LGBTQ+ are a rainbow! Because there’s a spectrum, and right now we try to keep it black and white. That’s just not working for me.”Beyond the rainbow scope of queer representation, intersectional, iconic and historic representation was also on hand:

server.

The threats of violence came after social media posts by the anti-LGBTQ+ Libs Of TikTok and far-right media outlet Blaze TV’s host Sara Gonzales, who invited her viewers to join her in shutting the event down.

• Jerrod Carmichael won the Emmy for Outstand ing Writing of a Variety Special for his heartfelt “Rothaniel” in which he comes out as gay as part of the show. Carmichael wowed in a brilliant white, flowing fur coat over his bare chest.

• Lee Jung-jae became the first South Korean actor and first Asian actor to win Outstanding Lead Ac tor in a Drama Series for “Squid Game.”

BRODY LEVESQUE

Drag brunch canceled after threats in Texas

As with many all-ages LGBTQ+ events this summer –from California to North Carolina – hate was ginned up on social media among right-wing extremists who sought to interrupt the event and disband the attendees.

ty where barely two weeks ago, crowds were gathered outside a family friendly drag show at Anderson Distillery and Grill, in Roanoke, Texas, some with signs accusing the establishment and its patrons of sexually abusing chil dren, or of “grooming” them for abuse.

14 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • NATIONAL NEWS

The owners of Cool Beans Bar and Grill posted a mes sage on its expressing their disgust over being forced to cancel the event.

• Early in the show, Hannah Einbinder did a hard flirt from the stage for Zendaya, saying that she was not on the stage to present, but rather to stare at the beautiful actress.

who singlehandedly is responsible for 17 percent of all LGBTQ characters on TV, presented the Gov ernor’s Award to Geena Davis for her work with the Institute of Gender in Media. The mission of the organization is to promote representation of women in media. Davis stood before a video fea turing various women artists including transgen der actress Laverne Cox. The organization is the only public data institute to consistently analyze representations of the six major marginalized identities on screen: Women; people of color; LGBTQ individuals; people with disabilities; old er persons (50+); and large-bodied individuals in global film, television, advertising and gaming.

• LGBTQ icon Jean Smart won Best Actress in a Comedy Series for “Hacks,” a series of which its producer called about “women and queer peo ple.”

• Out actress Sarah Paulsen and Shonda Rhimes,

The pandemic is over (in award show world anyway,) and glitz and glamour have returned. That was the pre vailing impression from this year’s 74th annual Emmy Awards. The show was stunning and exciting from the outset, but even with the pomp and loud noise of cele bration, a queer presence was not to be drowned out.

ing Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series for “The White Lotus.” It was her first award win ever.

• “The White Lotus” also won the Best Limited or Anthology series category, and bisexual Mike White won Best Director for Limited Series as well. White is the son of gay clergyman, author, and activist Mel White. They appeared on “The Amazing Race” as a father and son team.

• LGBTQ icon Jennifer Coolidge won Best Support

For the Emmy nominations, 50 percent of the best drama series nominees, 25 percent of the best comedy and 60 percent of the best limited series featured LGBTQ characters or plot lines. As far as queer talent, that was more sporadic, heavily slanted toward “supporting cate gories” and often with queer talent all in the same cate gory against each other.

• And Sheryl Lee Ralph won Outstanding Sup porting Actress in a Comedy Series for “Abbott Elementary” becoming only the second Black woman in history to win in this category after 35 years. Jackée Harry won for “227” in 1987. “I am an endangered species,” she sang as her accep tance. “But I sing no victim’s song.”

Gay actor MURRAY BARTLETT won Best Supporting Actor for a Limited or Anthology Series for ‘The White Lotus.’ (Screenshot/YouTube)

Denton is home to two state universities with a com bined enrollment of over 55,000 students, the Universi ty of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University, along with North Central Texas College. It is in the same coun

The visibility was significant considering, according to the GLAAD’s “Where We Are on TV Report,” out of 775 series regular characters only 92 are LGBTQ (less than 12 percent.) That 11+ percent is a record high of LGBTQ characters in all of TV history. The record was set by an increase in lesbian, bisexual, and transgender characters, but a decrease in gay male characters from the previous year.

• Gay actor Murray Bartlett won Best Supporting Actor for a Limited or Anthology Series for “The White Lotus.” He thanked his partner Matt, but did not mention the famous “salad scene.”

ROB WATSON

A former employee, Megan Queen, described the bar the bar as a welcoming place for the LGBTQ com munity and said she was heartbroken at the threats made against the establishment, according to the Dallas Ob

Regardless, we showed up, as did other individuals who scored recognition for their identities. Some of the key LGBTQ representative moments included:

• Zendaya became the youngest person ever to win in the leading acting categories two times as she won for the second season of “Euphoria”

Gay actor Bartlett wins big at Emmy Awards

The Disney-themed drag brunch scheduled for Sun day, Sept. 11 was abruptly cancelled last week after an onslaught of threats of violence to the venue, the Cool Beans Bar and Grill, an LGBTQ+ friendly establishment.

The tone of representation was launched immediately as announcer, queer comic, Sam Jay, looking sharp in her black tuxedo, took the mic. On camera even more than host Kenan Thompson, Jay was a presence and a per sonality and decidedly queer. If her gay power was not enough, the point was made when Thompson and out actor Bowen Yang joked on stage. Thompson accused Yang of making a comment that was “a hate crime,” Yang retorted “Not if I do it. Then it’s representation.”

Leading up to the event, word was spread on an ti-LGBTQ+ Facebook groups like Texas Family Project and Protect Texas Kids, the latter warning, “We need to show up in full force and show that the majority of us are against children being involved in these disturbing, sex ually explicit shows.”

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“While its unfortunate to hear the family has lost a mother, as an LGBT citizen of the commonwealth, she represented institutions like the Privy Council that have reversed LGBT rights protections for Caribbean Countries and territories that still have the Privy Coun cil,” Caleb Orozco, an LGBTQ and intersex activist from Belize, told the Washington Blade after Elizabeth died. “The death of a queen does not absolve its insti tutions from its responsibility to show its substantive commitment to LGBT rights in the Caribbean.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is among the myriad world leaders who also mourned Eliza beth’s passing.

EuroPride begins in Serbia amid far-right protests

Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije led clerics and faithful in a prayer “for the sanctity of marriage and family” that accused “invisible forces” of imposing “ungodly and unnatural unions as a sub stitute for marriage and family.”

“Her legacy is one of charity and compassion,” said Pierce.Former Prime Minister Theresa May in 2018 said she “deeply” regrets colonial-era laws criminalizing consensual same-sex relations the U.K. introduced in Commonwealth countries.

We’re very sad to hear of the passing of Her Maj esty Queen Elizabeth II,” tweeted Mermaids. “Our thoughts are with King Charles III and all of the Royal Family at this deeply difficult time.”

event. EuroPride is not cancelled, and will not be cancelled,” European Pride Organizers Association President Kristine Garina said.

On Sunday, several thousands of protesters took to the streets of Belgrade, many carrying huge Serbian and Russian flags, chanting pro-Russia, pro-Vladimir Putin and anti-LGBTQ slogans and marching to Bel grade’s St. Sava cathedral for prayers.

The two British territories fall under the Privy Coun cil’s“Wejurisdiction.sendour deepest condolences to the Royal Family on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” said Stonewall, a British LGBTQ and intersex rights group, in a statement after Buckingham Palace an nounced Elizabeth’s death. “At this sad time we reflect on the the end of a very significant era for the U.K.” Mermaids, a group that advocates on behalf of transgender and other gender non-conforming young

“We’re all devastated,” she said outside 10 Downing St. “Queen Elizabeth II was the rock on which modern Britain was built.”

Concerns however, have been raised over safety for attendees and participants in the wake of massive anti-LGBTQ demonstrations and the government of Serbia issuing a ban.

“During the bidding process for EuroPride 2022, (the) prime minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabic promised the full support of the Serbian government for Euro Pride in Belgrade, and we expect that promise to be honored,” she added.

ize consensual same-sex consensual relations.

“President Vucic cannot cancel someone else’s

Elizabeth gave royal assent to the Sexual Offenses Act of 1967, which decriminalized consensual samesex sexual relations among men in England and Wales who are at least 21.

“It was with the heaviest of hearts that we learned of the passing of Canada’s longest-reigning sovereign, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” tweeted Trudeau. “She was a constant presence in our lives — and her service to Canadians will forever remain an important part of our country’s history.”

Remembering Queen Elizabeth’s ‘legacy of compassion’

The translation of the tweet below reads: “The es sence of discrimination that the “enlightened elite” neither sees nor cares about. If you’re gay, you can just be gay, period. It’s the only thing that defines you. You are not the prime minister — but LGBT. You are not a member of SNS — but LGBT. And they don’t see a single problem with it, they think it’s something smart.”

Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scot land last Thursday at the age of 96.

“Gratified to see a safe, secure start to #Euro Pride2022. Congratulations @BelgradePride, @ CDREurope, and the entire team of organizers be hind @EuroPride. Looking forward to a week of great events with safety, security, and basic freedoms guar anteed for all.”

“[To them] if you’re gay, you can only be gay, period. It’s the only thing that defines you,” Brnabic tweeted. “You are not the prime minister — but LGBT.”

The kick-off was also attended by U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Christopher R. Hill who tweeted:

She responded angrily on Monday to a local news paper editor who accused Brnabic of selling out the LGBTQ community to become a “Progressive,” a ref erence to Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party, which she joined after becoming prime minister as an inde pendent five years ago.

In his remarks the Serbian leader told reporters that his government had come under intense pres sure from far right-wing groups and the leadership of the Serbian Orthodox Church to cancel the event. Vucic acknowledged that LGBTQ rights and people in the Balkan nation were under siege and threat ened. However he deflected on the issue, “It is not a question of whether [those pressures] are stronger,” he said. “It’s just that at some point you can’t achieve everything, and that’s it.”

Officials from EuroPride and Belgrade Pride com memorated the start of EuroPride 2022 in the Serbi an capital with a ceremonial flag raising Monday as the event gets underway this week.

Radio Free Europe/Liberty reported that Brnabic, who is openly lesbian and was a participant in a 2017 Pride event in Belgrade, declined to intervene to support holding the EuroPride events in light of the ban decreed by Vucic.

Elizabeth, among other things, pardoned Alan Tur ing, an acclaimed World War II codebreaker and com puter scientist who died by suicide two years after his 1952 conviction for “gross indecency.”

Brnabic accused the editor and other “enlightened elites” of cubbyholing gay people as incapable of holding diverse political views.

BRODY LEVESQUE 16 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Undaunted, EuroPride and Belgrade Pride defiant ly announced that the event would go on as sched uled.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II died last week at 96. Her funeral is scheduled for Monday. (public domain photo)

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Court rulings in Antigua and Barbuda and St. Kitts and Nevis in recent months struck down colonial-era sodomy laws. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last month said his country would decriminal

During a routine Saturday press conference two weeks ago, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic an nounced that the international EuroPride event sched uled to be held from Sept. 12-18 was cancelled.

people, echoed Stonewall.

“As we look back at her life and her reign that spanned so many decades, Canadians will always re member and cherish Her Majesty’s wisdom, compas sion and warmth,” added Trudeau. “Our thoughts are with the members of the Royal Family during this most difficultElizabethtime.”is survived by her four children, eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Her eldest son King Charles III, 73, is her heir. Eliza beth’s grandson Prince William is now second in line to the throne.

Prime Minister Liz Truss took office on Tuesday.

British Ambassador to the U.S. Karen Pierce, who has hosted a number of Pride Month receptions in D.C., in a statement said Elizabeth “devoted a lifetime of dedicated service to her country and was an inspir ing role model for everyone across the globe.”

Elizabeth gave royal assent to the marriage equality law that took effect in England and Wales in 2014. Eliz abeth has also urged the U.K. to ban so-called conver sionNewtherapy.British

Jamaica and Uganda are among the Common wealth countries in which homosexuality remains criminalized. The Privy Council, a British appellate court, in recent years ruled against marriage rights for same-sex couples in Bermuda and the Cayman Is lands.

Elizabeth assumed the British throne in 1952 after her father, King George VI, died.

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Reach him at knaff@washblade.com

18 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • VIEWPOINT

Enough already. Elizabeth was one of a kind, a selfless public servant whose likes Britain will never see again. And with her death, the monarchy should end. Australia is expected to vote for an independent republic in the wake of the queen’s death; the current prime minister supports such a move and Greens Party leaders immediately called for it upon Elizabeth’s passing. Greens Sen. Mehreen Faruqi went even further, saying she “cannot mourn the leader of a racist empire.” At least six Caribbean commonwealth countries indicated ear lier this year their intent to leave the commonwealth, following the exit of Bar bados in 2021.

It’s odd to read social media posts from Americans this week, declaring “long live the king,” considering we rebelled against the monarchy and are supposed to disdain such arrangements. We can respect Elizabeth’s life’s work without endorsing the outmoded, racist construct that is the British monarchy. There isn’t much left of the commonwealth and Charles is mostly “playacting,” as Hayes Brown wrote for MSNBC. “The crown and scepter will be costuming, allowing him to uphold the illusion that the monarchy still has a role to play in a modern constitutional republic.”

Charles will serve as a placeholder for King William, who in all likelihood will be Britain’s last king and preside over its inevitable and much-needed disso lution.

After Elizabeth, U.K. ought to ditch its arcane system

The queen’s family is notoriously dysfunctional. Charles’s adultery and cruel treatment of Princess Diana are well documented. Prince Andrew was linked to pedophile predator Jeffrey Epstein and his civil sex abuse case was settled out of court in New York, sparing the queen yet another public humiliation at the hands of her sometimes sordid family. Her grandchildren haven’t fared much better, with William and Harry not speaking after the latter’s leaving royal duties to cut lucrative Netflix deals and grant endless interviews along with his wife begging for privacy.

NAFFKEVIN

But her legacy is complicated by the monarchy’s long record of racist co lonialism; indeed, many anti-LGBTQ laws in Africa and the Caribbean can be traced to the U.K.’s homophobic colonial policies.

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Most of us respected, even revered, Queen Elizabeth II for her 70 years of service to her country, from World War II to the Cold War and 9/11, right through to COVID and the war in Ukraine.

is editor of the Washington Blade.

Her death at 96 comes as the world seems to be falling apart, from cli mate change to war to growing nationalism and authoritarianism around the globe. Her staid tenure as queen was marked by stoic resolve, love of country, checked emotions, and quiet determination that were sometimes mistaken for coldness. What a contrast to today’s toxic politics of crude insults, knee-jerk social media commentary, and emotional public outbursts.

There’s no question that Queen Elizabeth accomplished much in her un precedented tenure as monarch, starting with rallying the British people as princess during World War II and the Blitz. On LGBTQ issues, Elizabeth par doned Alan Turing, the gay World War II codebreaker and computer scientist who died by suicide two years after his 1952 conviction for “gross indecency.” She gave royal assent to the Sexual Offenses Act of 1967, which decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations among men in England and Wales who are at least 21, as the Blade reported. Elizabeth also gave royal assent to the marriage equality law that took effect in England and Wales in 2014. She has urged the U.K. to ban conversion therapy.

Now that the queen is dead it’s time for the U.K. to rethink its anachronis tic form of government. It was one thing for new prime ministers — Elizabeth anointed 15 of them in 70 years — to bow and curtsy before her, but can you imagine elected political leaders bowing before the adulterous King Charles and his “queen consort”? Please.

The queen is dead — now please kill the monarchy

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • 19

Watching Prince William and Kate and Prince Harry and Meghan participate in what the royals call a walk-about, in front of Windsor Castle, and chatting comfortably with all the people there makes me think the monarchy could actually exist for a long time to come. Clearly it may be different but all the children meeting these Royals and taking selfies with them will most likely be supporters all their lives. A statistic I recently heard was 80 percent of the world’s population were born during the 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II. We will now start to get used to a new generation. King Charles III is in his 70s and will not have the time on the throne his mother did, so William will not be waiting until his 70s to become King.

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Thinking back to Queen

Elizabeth’s coronation

An unforgettable spectacle even for a six-year-oldisalongtimeLGBTQ

I have always enjoyed traveling to the United Kingdom and touring many of the palac es including Buckingham and Windsor among others. There is something exciting about seeing history live.

Contrary to some others I am not waiting for the monarchy to end. I still enjoy all the pomp and spectacle that goes with it and figure it is up to the British people, and those in the commonwealth, to call for it to end if that is what they want. As Americans we have more than enough problems of our own to deal with.

Back in 1215 the monarchy became a more limited one with the signing of the Magna Carta, which contained the ideas of limited government and common law. The Magna Carta has had a great influence on constitutional ideas about limited government, habeas corpus, and the Supremacy Clause. In 1689, the British adopted the English Bill of Rights. That document contained ideas of consent of the governed and individual rights. Queen Elizabeth II was, and now King Charles III is, the head of state while the prime minister of the United Kingdom, currently Liz Truss, is the head of government.

One of the first things I remember watching on television other than the “Howdy Doo dy Show,” was the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. I remember the “Howdy Doody Show” because my mom once took me to be in the peanut gallery. The coronation was a spectacle hard to forget even for a six-year-old.

Again, I make these points to show blaming Queen Elizabeth II for all the things the British government has done wrong over the past 70 years is wrong. When the queen gave her annual speech to parliament, and now when the King will give it, they are talking about the policy of the government and that speech is either written or approved by the government.Iremember seeing the play “King Charles III” by Mike Bartlett, when it was at the Shake speare Theater in D.C. “It begins as Charles and his family gather following the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. Charles, as the new king, then holds his first weekly audience with the Prime Minister. They discuss a new Bill for statutory regulation of the press, which has passed the House of Commons and the House of Lords and awaits only Charles’s royal assent to become law. Charles is concerned that the law restricts freedom of the press too much, and would allow governments to censor the news and prevent legitimate uncov ering of abuse of power by the government. He asks the Prime Minister for alterations to the bill, but the Prime Minister refuses. The two men spar, as the Leader of the Opposition arrives for a weekly meeting with Charles, an innovation the new king has introduced. The Leader of the Opposition expresses his own doubts on the bill, but he sees little alterna tive but for Charles to sign.” In the play Charles is forced to abdicate and Prince William becomes king. I don’t think we will be seeing any of that play out in real life.

rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

20 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • VIEWPOINT

Now some would like to blame the queen for some of the things the government of Britain did wrong during her 70 years on the throne, and there were many, but they must remember Britain is a Constitutional Monarchy or Parliamentary Monarchy considered “a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies differ from absolute monarchies (in which a monarch whether limited by a constitution or not is the only one to decide) in that they are bound to exercise powers and authorities within limits prescribed by an established legal framework, which functions within the framework of a parliamentary democracy with the Queen or now the King having very limited powers.”

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • 21

Madam, Your Majesty, thank you.

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Keeping up with the proceedings is easy, though with the time difference a lot occurs before I’ve opened my eyes. The hardest day will be the funeral, taking place on a Monday, a bank (public) holiday for the locals but a little more tricky for those of us peppered across the globe.

For those of us not home we have to ﬁnd other ways to feel included. A small collection of Brits gathered on our D.C. roof-deck for a Paddington Bear double bill; enjoying sausage rolls, curry and Pimm’s before the ironically British weather chased us inside.

It was early on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, when the ﬁrst rumbles came across the pond about Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s health. “Keep calm and carry on” kicked in until her children arrived in Scotland. Nothing screams imminent death in Britain more than the arrival of close family.

When the news finally broke, I went into autopilot. Saving my yearly tear for the funeral, I put the kettle on to make a cup of tea. Strangely, the kettle had started leaking that week like a very British prophecy. Later I would meet fellow expats in a bar, giving brief hugs of condolence before resuming the national pastime of moaning (the Pimm’s Cup was not to our standards, even with clear instruction.)Wejoined the British public in the impossible task of mourning the loss of such an important woman while maintaining our dignity in the process. Tradition dictates televisions play BBC news non-stop before mourners rest flowers outside the palaces, taking a moment of quiet reflection in the silent embrace of the crowds.

Thank you, Your Majesty

British expat in D.C. mourns late monarch

D.C. isn’t the worst place to be during this time, it’s globally aware and moderately respectful (the large gay community doesn’t hurt.) But Her Majesty was not without detractors, her last few decades tarnished as Meghan-shaped nails were hammered into a Diana-sized cofﬁn, buried underneath the ghosts of a legacy that comes with a monarchy that was once an empire.

When outside the protection of national grief you feel oddly exposed to critical opinion and cruel jokes and begin to second guess your own choice to mourn.

And it’s the level of respect she showed us that I will never forget.

22 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • VIEWPOINT

For those living in Britain the other changes will be gradual. The National Anthem will sound strange, and our money will look foreign. For the rest of us the changes will be a bit more jarring, but we’ll have a cup of tea to steady our nerves and persevere.

MAXIMILIAN SYCAMORE meets QUEEN ELIZABETH II at his university in the U.K. (Photo courtesy of Sycamore)

Her death had been long dreaded. Would the nation be able to survive without her? When His Majesty King Charles III made his ﬁrst address; we braced ourselves for a fraud, an imitation monarch. So, when we were instead met with a son battling to stay strong as he grieved his mother, our defenses dropped and we were united, rallying behind him.

MAXIMILIAN SYCAMORE

is a D.C.-based media producer who is originally from London. The opinions expressed in this op-ed are entirely his own.

To write a piece like this is not easy, it seems almost naive to form opinions based on a public persona. Luckily for me I was able to meet Her Majesty and speak with her for a brief couple of minutes when she visited my university. As I explained to her in moderate detail my task, I was met with a look of interest that was equal parts understanding and fascination. I couldn’t help but think that she wanted to be there, to learn more about her subjects so she could perform her duties just that little bit better.

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • 23

While my friends and family were dying in staggering numbers, the people ﬁghting the hardest against treatment and prevention were ALWAYS conservative Christians — Roman Catholic priests and Evangelical leaders preaching moral condemnation of queer people. They preached that if we just stopped “sinning” we’d be ﬁne, so society shouldn’t waste a penny on us.

Isn’t it weird that conservative Christians once were the main obstacle to ﬁghting AIDS? Remember how Jesus healed the sick without moral judgment? How he exhorted his followers to love all people as neighbors, even the hated Romans and Samaritans? I learned that in Sunday school as a conservative Christian child, which made my years ﬁghting AIDS in Act Up feel weird and dissonant.

But anti-retroviral drugs like PrEP ALREADY offer something like a silver bullet. Treatment and prevention drugs are tools that let us strangle HIV circulation and end the pandemic without a vaccine.

According to the American Medical Association (AMA), the ruling could eventually gut routine healthcare prevention coverage across the board in the U.S.

As reported in the Los Angeles Blade, Federal District Judge Reed O’Connor ruled yesterday in favor of Braidwood Management, a Texas business that describes itself as Christian and claims the “right” not to “pay for homosexuality.”

I have decades of experience in AIDS prevention education, so let me give you a basic overview of the pandemic. Please feel free to skip down to the next section if you don’t need a primer.

PrEP to nearly eliminate the possibility of contracting HIV among at-risk people.

is a columnist for the Los Angeles Blade, a former Air Force intelligence analyst, and an alumnus of Queer Nation and Act Up NY. Reach him at jamesﬁnnwrites@gmail.com.

Treatment to nearly eliminate the possibility of transmitting HIV among the 1.2m Americans already positive, and …

JAMES FINN

O’Connor handed down three specific findings to support his ruling, one of which directly affirms Braidwood’s argument that their religious liberty has been infringed, that Braidwood has a religious right not to pay for treatment that prevents AIDS.

The consensus U.S. (and Canadian/European/UK/Australian) public health strategy for ending the epidemic is combination drug treatment:

Texas Christians attack AIDS prevention drugs

Before effective treatment became possible in about 1996, nearly three quarters of a million Americans died, most of them gay or bisexual men who contracted HIV through sex with other men. Meanwhile in Africa, HIV slowly infected a staggering proportion of the continent’s population, as many as one in ﬁve adults in some regions of southern Africa, where transmission was and remains primarily heterosexual.

You’d think followers of Jesus would have united to push for treatment and prevention, but that’s the opposite of what happened.

Universal at-risk access means an end to the epidemic

Braidwood and their lawyer claim that since Christians do not commit homosexual acts or take IV drugs, Christians are not at risk for AIDS. Therefore, Braidwood should not have to spend money to cover HIV prevention.

CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM 24 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • VIEWPOINT

Braidwood Management challenged a provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA/Obama Care) that requires employer health insurance policies to cover PrEP, an anti-HIV drug formulation that prevents HIV infection (the virus that causes AIDS) at a rate close to 100%.

The U.S. CDC announced in 2019 a goal to effectively end the HIV epidemic in the U.S. by 2030. We’re well on our way to meeting that goal, but PrEP is an essential part of the plan. Without PrEP, the plan fails.

Unlike all other industrialized nations, the U.S. lacks a healthcare network guaranteeing treatment to all. We make due with a patchwork “system” of private-employer and government programs (like Medicare/Medicaid) that leave many vulnerable people out in the cold.

5 4 BR EAK OU T CHECK OUT THE REST OF WOOLLY’S 2022-23 SEASON AT WOOLLYMAMMOTH.NET

No vaccine exists to prevent HIV infection, and while several are in early safety trials, experts do not think we’ll have one in the near future. The most promising vaccines being tested offer something like a 40% efﬁcacy rate, so even if approved, a vaccine will be a very useful prevention tool, not a silver bullet.

AIDS, which used to be almost 100% lethal, ﬁrst came to the attention of doctors in the early 1980s. AIDS is caused by HIV, a virus we now know started circulating in the U.S. by as early as the early ’60s and certainly by the mid ’70s.

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • 25

26 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

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BLADE: I’m so glad you said what you did about Earl and Dottie. There is a palpable exchange of affectionate feelings between them. Would you agree that without their gay hair and makeup people, most country divas would end up looking like Marjorie Taylor Greene?

BLADE: “Monarch”is set in Texas. As a Houston native, how do you feel about the way Texas is depicted in “Monarch,”as well as in other shows set in the state?

KEVIN CAHOON stars as Earl in the new Fox series ‘Monarch.’ (Photo credit: FOX)

a real person named Earl Cox. He is the premier hairstylist to every country star you can ever imagine. So, the (“Monarch”) creator, Melissa London Hilfers, saw his place in their world and thought, “Let’s create a character that is inspired by him.” So, it’s loosely inspired, but she ran with it. I (Earl) have worked for the family for decades. I have been the best friend of Dottie Roman, played by Susan Sarandon. The series evolves when you get to episodes six, seven, and eight, more is revealed as to what Earl knows, and how long he’s been around. He lives on the ranch (The Brambles) with the family. We shot on this incredible 140-acre ranch right outside of Atlanta. It was a dream. The job was a dream. I’m praying that I continue to have more of that dream [laughs]. We’ll see what happens when it gets to season two.

CAHOON: Austin, Houston, Dallas. Then, on the outskirts, it’s pretty red. But I do have to say that within those red pockets, LGBTQIA people are there. They are part of the fabric. They are accepted, they are beloved. They are part of the world.

BLADE: The early 2000s.

CAHOON: We fell in love immediately. I’m from Texas, Beth is from Arkansas. We fell in love over Zoom. That’s how much I love her. She said to me over the Zoom, “Oh, I can tell I’m gonna fall in love with you.” And I said, “Well, I’ve been in love with you for years because I know who you are. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me for the rest of your life.” We have a daily text exchange, Beth and I, which I cherish, and it happens late at night, usually, because we’re both night owls. This text exchange can be about how much we both love Ritz crackers [laughs]. It can go deep, or it can go surface. But I love her and I cherish her, and I’m so lucky that I’ll have her in my life for the rest of my life.

BLADE: As you mentioned, at the same time you were making this music, you were doing a lot of theater and have continued to focus on your acting career. Would you say you’re a singer who acts or an actor who sings?

BLADE: Fantastic. Will “Monarch”’s audience ever have a chance to hear you sing?

CAHOON: Gay people are the motor in the pickup truck of the country music industry. I say that Earl Clark showed up to The Brambles with a suitcase full of rhinestones and a dream. His dream was to be in show business. To be close to an iconic diva of country music, which is Dottie Roman, played by Susan and he enjoys being that close to the ﬁrst lady, and he enjoys his place as the major domo gatekeeper. He will do anything he has to do to retain that position. I think he loves getting dressed up. In the show, they have a fantastic rockabilly hairstyle for me and great, sparkly clothes. I told the wardrobe and hair team that he enjoys getting made-up just as much as he enjoys making Dottie up. That should be part of his essence. That he loves to be seen and he loves to show off and I think they accomplished that with their incredible wardrobe and hair.

BLADE: I ﬁrst became aware of you as a performer via your music and your band Ghetto Cowboy. Your debut album “Doll” won an OutMusic Award in 2006. When you look back at that time, how do you feel about it?

BLADE: Have you had the time to work on any new original music?

CAHOON: First of all, it’s a network series with Susan Sarandon and Trace Adkins. That was a giant appeal. As an actor, I was connected to the world because I grew up in Texas, I grew up in the rodeo and I have a real soft spot for it, if there’s a pair of cowboy boots and a cowboy hat, I’m gonna grab them and put them on. I love the whole aesthetic. I love the world. I love the outsider going out into the plains and staking a claim for himself. That’s the world of “Monarch.” This show biz, country-western family. It is the juiciest of fun soap operas you could ever imagine.

BLADE: Is there any possibility of Earl having a love interest?

BLADE: Could there someday be a creative collaboration between Kevin and Beth?

CAHOON: There is. If a season two happens, I think that that is in the pipeline.

CAHOON: I would say that I’m an actor who sings. Even with the rock ‘n’ roll, it was coming from a place of character, and a place of story. I felt like I was playing a character when I was fronting my band.

By GREGG SHAPIRO

BLADE: It’s very much in the mold of a classic nighttime soap opera.

BLADE: Austin.

CAHOON: It is! In the greatest way. Who doesn’t love that? We all loved “Desperate Housewives,” “Nashville,” “Dallas,” and “Dynasty.” The character (I play) was inspired by

CAHOON: Yes! Come on. I would just die and go to heaven. That would be a dream. Maybe we can come up with a song for the show.

KC: Yes, it was even before “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The culture had no understanding about this music and these people that really were making this music. So, it really felt like the outsiders were crashing their way through the door. I even felt that way naming the band Ghetto Cowboy. I thought, “People who are disenfranchised and pushed to the outskirts of society are forced to live in a ghetto.” Whether it’s a Jewish ghetto or a Spanish ghetto or African American, or even rural people in Appalachia or in rural parts of this country, they are pushed, pushed, pushed to the boundaries. By naming the band that I thought, “Oh, this is what it is. We’re gonna come in. We’re gonna be cowboys in this and we are going to stake our claim from the outside.” It was an incredible moment, and it was so exciting, and it was one of the greatest times of my life.

28 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

‘Monarch’s’ hot butterﬂy: an interview with Kevin Cahoon Out actor/singer on Fox’s new show and falling in love with Beth Ditto

CAHOON: I haven’t, and I want to. I think about it all the time. It’s coming, I promise. I have an idea for the long-awaited second album [laughs].

CAHOON: Well, I hope that’s another thing in season two. Let’s get a boyfriend and let’s get a song.

CAHOON: Texas is such an interesting place. Because you have these hotbeds of liberal progressiveness.

BLADE: You’re currently in the new Texas-set Fox series “Monarch” in which you play Earl Clark. What was it about the character of Earl that appealed to you as an actor?

Fox’s new musical nighttime soap opera “Monarch” is to country music as the network’s “Empire” was to hip-hop. Complete with over-the-top characters, familial intrigue, inﬁdelity, and tragedy. Oh, and a few queer characters, too. Among those characters is hair and makeup artist Earl, played by out actor and singer Kevin Cahoon. In addition to occasionally being the much-needed source of comic relief, Earl also plays the irreplaceable best friend of country music queen Dottie Roman, played by none other than Oscar-winner Susan Sarandon. Fortunately for us, Kevin was kind enough to make time in his schedule to answer a few questions.

BLADE: The queer energy in “Monarch”is powerful with you and singer/songwriter Beth Ditto, who plays Dottie’s and Albie’s (Trace Adkins) daughter Gigi, representing for us. What is it like working with Beth?

KEVIN CAHOON: That’s one of the proudest achievements I’ve ever had in my life; winning an OutMusic Award for “Doll.” It really is! It’s on every bio, every résumé. I was so proud to have received it because, in a way, I was coming from the theater, and to do this as my ﬁrst foray into music, creating rock ‘n’ roll and pop songs; it just felt like the warmest embrace. I was so honored to receive that. That whole period of my life, with Ghetto Cowboy, and playing all of those incredible venues, like Don Hill and CBGB’s. To have been a part of that and to have been a part of the queer music scene at that time felt special. The LGBTQIA community is still moving forward, trying to gain equality across the board. But at that time this was (during) “don’t ask, don’t tell.” This was before marriage equality.

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A diverse fall theater season underway in D.C. Exploring the American workplace, Moms Mabley, abortion access, and more

Finally, Theatre Washington has announced the return of Theatre Week, a three-week celebration of the launch of the 2022-2023 theater season in D.C. Theatre Week will be held Sept. 22-Oct. 9, and will offer shows at discounted prices, a Kickoff Fest and Concert on the Southwest waterfront, and other community events.

At 1st Stage in Tysons, out director Jose Carrasquillo is staging Nottage’s “Mlima’s Tale” (through Oct. 2), a story about an elderly poached elephant whose magniﬁcent ivory tusks embark on a journey across the world, introducing characters connected to the ivory trade. 1ststage. org

Oct. 23) a play about a disillusioned urban couple who in pursuit of happiness forsake contemporary trappings for a more 1950s lifestyle. Spookyaction.org

With “Judy” (October 22), the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington celebrates the music of the incomparable legend Judy Garland. Fourteen soloists plucked from the Chorus will share stories and sing her tunes, including favorites like “Over the Rainbow,” “The Trolley Song,” “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “The Man That Got Away,” and “Happy Days are Here Again.” Gmcw.org

GALA Hispanic Theatre in Columbia Heights presents “Revoltosa”/ “The Troublemaker” (through Oct. 2) helmed by out director José Luis Arellano. Alternating between song and Spanish spoken word (with English subtitles), this popular zarzuela is at its heart “a story about an outspoken woman who upturns traditions with her neighbors and delights in exposing social hypocrisies.” Galatheatre.org

At Signature Theatre in Arlington, the fall season has already kicked off with Ethan Lipton’s “No Place to Go” (through Oct. 16), a commentary on the sad state of working in America starring Bobby Smith backed by a cool trio of musicians. In a stunning performance, Smith plays George, a writer/musician juggling artistic pursuits and a day job as an information reﬁner. When the unfeeling company decides to streamline, George must decide whether to remain in the city that never sleeps or follow his “permanent part-time job” to Mars.

Throughout Theatre Week, more than 20 area productions will offer discounted tickets at $22, $33, $44 through Goldstar. More information on Theatre Week shows, events, and registration is available at theatreweek.org.

At Anacostia Arts Center, award-winning performer Charisma Wooten is reprising her celebrated comedy cabaret, “A Night with Jackie ‘Moms’ Mabley” (Sept. 23 – Oct. 9), presented by Essential Theatre. For decades Mabley killed it playing man-hungry Moms, shufﬂing around stages in a housecoat and slippers. Offstage, often outﬁtted in silk shirts and trousers with a showgirl on her arm, the famed groundbreaking Black comedian was out to friends and colleagues. Theessentialtheatre.org

ence.TheArenastage.orgDMVfallseason is more than peppered with plays by Lynn Nottage, the African-American Pulitzer Prize winner whose work frequently highlights the struggles of working class and marginalized people. Below are two.

North Bethesda’s Strathmore Music Center boasts a fall lineup including, among many offerings, music collective Sweet Honey in the Rock (Sept. 16), famed Bossa Nova phenom Sergio Mendes (September 29), and “The Hip Hop Nutcracker” (Nov. 20-22). Strathmore.org

Shakespeare Theatre Company opens its season with Tony-winning Mary Zimmerman’s “The Notebooks of Leonarda da Vinci” (Sept. 29 – Oct. 23). Composed entirely of words from da Vinci’s notebooks, the piece brings his glorious genius to vivid life. Shakespearetheatre.org

Spooky Action Theatre’s autumn offering is gay playwright Jordan Harrison’s “Maple and Vine” (Sept. 29 –

Arena Stage opens the fall season with “Holiday” (Oct. 7 – Nov. 6), a sparkling romantic comedy penned by Philip Barry, followed by retiring artistic director Molly Smith’s directorial adieu “My Body No Choice” (Oct. 20 through Nov. 6), some of America’s leading female playwrights share what choice means to them, through the telling of ﬁction and non-ﬁction stories rooted in personal experi-

At Olney Theatre, Clare Barron’s off-Broadway hit “Dance Nation” (Sept. 28 – Oct. 30) follows a tweenage dance team from Liverpool, Ohio, as they compete for the top prize at the Boogie Down Grand Prix. Actors of varied ages — including excellent out actor MaryBeth Wise — portray the girls (and one boy) as adolescents and their future adult selves. Not for kids.

THEATER 30 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

The 2022 Theatre Week Kickoff Fest and Concert will take place on Saturday, Sept. 24 on the Waterfront in Southwest. The Fest from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at Arena Stage (1101 Sixth St. SW), will feature performances, workshops, conversations, free locally made food & drinks, giveaways, and more. The Kickoff Concert will follow on the ﬂoating stage (Transit Pier) on the Wharf, and will feature performances from D.C.-area theater luminaries. Both events are free with registration through Goldstar, the ofﬁcial ticketing partner of Theatre Week.

BOBBY SMITH in ‘No Place to Go’ at Signature Theatre. (Photo by Christopher Mueller)

At Ford’s Theatre, esteemed out director Michael Wilson is staging Horton Foote’s “The Trip to Bountiful” (Sept. 23 – Oct. 16), an American classic about going home. The much-anticipated (by me for sure) production features D.C. great Nancy Robinette as Carrie Watts, an elderly woman determined to return to her rural hometown. The cast also includes Joe Mallon as Carrie’s overly protective son Ludie, and Kimberly Gilbert as his selﬁsh wife Jessie Mae. Fordstheatre.org

Theatre J has tapped talented Paige Hernandez to direct Nottage’s “Intimate Apparel” (Oct. 19 – Nov. 13). Set on New York’s Lower East Side circa 1905, it’s the story of Esther, an African-American seamstress, who while sewing lingerie yearns for romance, particularly with one Orthodox Jewish fabric merchant. Theaterj.org

Smartly staged by Signature’s artistic director Matthew Gardiner, the show runs a brisk, effective, and entertaining 90 minutes. With the feel of a nightclub act squeezed into an ofﬁce, George, the band’s front man, stands mostly center stage, bookended by a standard issue desk and a large copy machine. “No Place to Go” proves a wonderful vehicle for Smith, allowing the out actor to demonstrate his sensational singing range, comedic gifts, and depth as an actor. Sigtheatre.org

Mosaic Theater Company opens its fall season with playwright Ifa Bayeza’s “The Till Trilogy” (Oct. 4 – Nov. 20). The three plays (“The Ballad of Emmett Till,” “Benevolence,” and the world premiere “That Summer in Sumner”) reﬂect on the life, death, and legacy of young Emmett Till, whose senseless murder in 1955 Jim Crow South remains a pivotal moment in American history. The long-awaited production directed by Talvin Wilks, features ten actors performing in rotating repertory. Included in the cast are talented out actors Vaughn Ryan Midder and Jaysen Wright.

And for theatergoers who missed it last season, Olney Theatre is remounting its terriﬁc production of “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” (Nov. 9 through Jan. 1, 2023). And fortunately for audiences, out actor Jade Jones, a self-described queer, plus-sized Black woman, is reprising her star turn as Belle. Olneytheatre.org

By PATRICK FOLLIARD

In this popular zarzuela (akin to an operetta), brimmingwith secret jealousies and desires, an outspokenwoman delights in exposing social hypocrisies.A classical battle of the sexes with unforgettable music!THRU OCT 2In Spanish with English surtitles Cerrando el círculoAntonio Granjero + Entreflamenco (Santa Fe, NM-based) Flamenco MenFlamenco Aparicio Dance Co. (DC-based) Alejandra Flamenco Spain Arts and Culture + FECACE (Spain) NOV 4 - 6 NOV 10 - 13 OCT 29 - 30 Six contemporary films by emerging directors and a classic from the Mexican Golden Age. Join us for exclusive talkbacks with producers, artists,directors, and experts, and receptions after the screenings. NOV 30 - DEC 4All films in Spanish with English subtitles 202-234 -7174 | galatheatre.org 3333 14th Street NW @teatrogala Masks and proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required

la zarzuelade 1897 para el hoy

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • 31 One Columbia Heights 2022-2023 FALL SEASONRevoltosaVariacionesde

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French disco is back with a vengeance and a Canadian accent in Adams Morgan. With “the idea of a French wine dance party” in mind, the bar will specialize in “juicy” natural wines, grower Champagnes, and funky cocktails. Look out for offbeat plates like poutine with elevated add-on options like truffle, and a foie gras-ice cream-stuffed twinkie. The first floor will feature velvet banquettes for lounge seating; upstairs will include touches like a pool table, large-group seating, and plenty of space for dancing to enjoy the house collection of soul, funk, and disco vinyls.

Butter Me Up

Bar Spero

Tigerella at Western Market

entrees, and its spectacular sushi selection with items like foie gras and golden eye snapper.

The creators of celebrated Mt. Pleasant morning Mecca Elle have opened Tigerella in Foggy Bottom’s Western Market. This all-day locale begins with café-style coffee, toasts, and sandwiches, but the dining room adds shareable snacks, meat and cheeses, and Italian entrees. A happy hour will begin soon. Western Market will also soon welcome a ﬁstful of new openings in the coming months, from Alitiko, a Greco-Middle Eastern concept, to ExPat, a sports betting bar, to Hippo Taco, an Asian-fusion concept.

NoMa’s sleek new hotel entrant, the Morrow, will house three dining options care of Michelin-starred chef Nicholas Stefanelli, who runs tasting-menu Masseria in nearby Union Market. The ground-ﬂoor French-inspired Le Clou is a chic, brasserie-style restaurant (with an adjoining lobby cocktail bar), while the energetic rooftop bar, Upstairs at The Morrow, pours elegant cocktails and offers wide city views. The sophisticated Vesper lounge, with craft cocktails and live music, will open in the winter.

The Wharf continues to expand and other highlights

Colorful foliage, colorful openings: While the dining industry has struggled under the weight of the pandemic, stafﬁng shortages, supply chain crises, inﬂation, and a spate of closings over the summer, the spirit of colorful creativity in the District hasn’t slowed. This fall, we look forward to visiting brand-new ideas, creative concept changes, additional spots from beloved chefs, an ever-expanding Wharf, and more. Note that some of these restaurants have opened already, while others have planned opening dates through the rest of the year.

14th Street mainstay Tico has closed its doors after eight years, making way for a new concept by the same owner, Michael Schlow. Schlow also operates sushi restaurant Nama and Italian restaurant Alta Strada. Nama Ko will offer a large cellar of Japanese whiskeys and sakes, plus a raw bar, full

D.C.’s creative culinary scene thriving post-pandemic

DINING 34 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

Gordon Ramsay’s Fish & Chips and Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen

By EVAN CAPLAN

Nama Ko

Philippe Chow

Le Mont Royal

Celeb fave Philippe Chow drops down I-95 from Manhattan to another new spot on the Wharf for Chef Chow’s spin on ﬁne-dining Chinese. Known for his modern and theatrical style, Chef Chow’s brings a menu of lavish, Beijing-style dishes like glazed spare ribs and tableside-carved Peking duck. The restaurant features sweeping waterfront views of the Potomac.

D.C. is getting plenty of new restaurants this fall.

Michelin-starred and TV shouter Gordon Ramsay is anchoring himself twice over on the expanding Southwest Wharf with new locations of his Fish & Chips and Hell’s Kitchen chains. Fish & Chips is Ramsay’s take on the classic British pub grub, with cod dusted and deep-fried under a crust of custard powder batter. The massive 14,000-sqaure-foot Hell’s Kitchen, with three other U.S. locations, takes cues from Ramsay’s ﬁery TV show (and personality). The menu will include the British chef’s signatures like Beef Wellington, the “HELL’S KITCHEN Burger,” and Sticky Toffee Pudding. Don’t miss cocktails like the Notes from Gordon (gin, green tea, peach), complete with a message from Chef Ramsay himself.

Nick Stefanelli at The Morrow

From the owner of Georgetown’s tasting-menu Michelin-starred Reverie comes Bar Spero to the Capitol Crossing complex. Taking inspiration from San Sebastian, Spain, Bar Spero is named for its owner and chef Johnny Spero, with a dynamic energy, modern dishes, raw bar, and ﬁery grill that touches nearly all the dishes. Check out highlights like grilled imported Spanish turbot and lobster knuckle tossed right on the embers.

The little bakery that could is now opening its second brick-and-mortar shop just off 14th Street, N.W. The breakfast sandwich concept that began as a pop-up in May 2020 at HalfSmoke is now plating its celebrated breakfast sammies on toasted brioche butter rolls baked daily, as well as superfood bowls, toasts, and tots. On the liquid side, look to house-pressed juices, smoothies, and brunch cocktails.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR THESE ANDPERFORMANCESUPCOMINGMORE Join us at the Center for the Arts! Affordable tickets Diverse programming for all experiencesAccessibleagesarts MOMIX TICKETS: cfa.gmu.edu 703-993-2787

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Located on the Fairfax campus of George Mason University. For information on health and safety protocols, visit cfa.gmu.edu/expect.

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KRISTIN CHENOWETH IN CONCERT For The Girls

A compilation of the company’s most dazzling dance and acrobatic vignettes

KRISTIN CHENOWETH

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • 35

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Grammy Award-winning singer Steve Lacy will be performing on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 8 p.m. at the Fillmore in Silver Spring. Tickets start at $235 and can be purchased on the Fillmore’s website.

Lizzo performs her “Special Tour” at Capital One Arena on Tuesday, Sept. 27. Tickets start at $69.50 at ticketmaster.com.

Mary J. Blige brings her “Good Morning Gorgeous” tour to Capital One Arena on Sunday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $69.50 at Tickmaster.com.

Santigold will be performing as part of her Holiﬁ ed Tour on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. at the Fillmore in Silver Spring. Tickets start at $35 and can be purchased on the Fillmore’s website. Fairfax Symphony and Orchestra will be per-

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington D.C. will be celebrating the life and legacy of actress Judy Garland with a cabaret titled “Judy” on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 5 p.m. (ASL) and 8 p.m. at Capital One Hall. Fourteen select soloists from the Chorus will share stories as they sing their favorite Judy tunes. Songs include “Over the Rainbow,” “The Trolley Song,” “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “The Man That Got Away,” and “Happy Days are Here Again.” Tickets cost $45 and can be ppurchased on GMCWDC’s website.

Morrissey performs at the Anthem on Monday, Nov. 28 at 8 p.m.

7th Annual Law Rocks Washington DC will be on Thursday, Sept. 22 at 6:30p.m. at 9:30 Club. Law Rocks toured ﬁ rst to D.C. in 2015 and has raised more than $615,000. Eight bands of musically brilliant legal professionals will be rocking out to support local nonproﬁ t organizations. Tickets are available on Law Rocks’s website.

As summer comes to a close, many venues across the DMV are gearing up for their fall entertainment rosters. Below is a list of must-see music acts in the upcoming months.

D.C.’s live music venues are jumpin’ again Lizzo, B-52s, and Bob Mould all coming to town this fall

MUSIC 36 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

Panic at the Disco performs its “Viva Las Vengeance” tour at Capital One Arena on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m.; tickets at ticketmaster.com.

Pet Shop Boys and New Order bring their “Unity Tour” to Columbia’s Merriweather Post Pavilion on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets range from $29.50-169.50 at Merriweather’s website.

By TINASHE CHINGARANDE

Don’t miss out performer Lil Nas X at the Anthem on Sunday, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m.

Two Feet: Fall Tour 2022 will be on Monday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. at 9:30 Club. Brothel will be the opening act. Tickets cost $25 and can be purchased on 9:30 Club’s website.

The Reston Chorale, Piedmont Symphony Orchestra and PSO Rock Band will perform “Bohemian Rhapsody: The Music Of Queen (And Friends)” on Sunday, Oct. 16 at 4 p.m. at Capital One Hall. The music acts will perform some of Queen’s greatest hits, including “We Will Rock You,” “We Are the Champions,” “Under Pressure,” and of course, “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased on Ticketmaster.

The legendary B-52s kicked off their farewell tour earlier this summer and it comes to D.C.’s Anthem on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets at the Anthem site.

forming work from German composer Brahms and Sibelius on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 8 p.m. at Capital One Hall. Jeremy Denk will be on piano, and Christopher Zimmerman will music direct and conduct. Tickets start at $45 and can be purchased on Capital One Hall’s website. Judah & the Lion will be performing on Thursday, Oct. 13 at 8 p.m. at the Fillmore in Silver Spring. Tickets start at $35 and can be purchased on the Fillmore’s website.

LIZZO brings her ‘Special Tour’ to D.C. this fall.

Local gay favorite Bob Mould plays at Wolf Trap on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 8 p.m.

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • 37

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“A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration,” from Oct. 30, 2022 to Jan. 23, 2023. For this exhibition about Black Americans moving from the South to other parts of the United States starting around 1900 and continuing into the 1970s, the BMA and the Mississippi Museum of Art co-commissioned 12 artists to create works that examine the impact of the Great Migration on the social and cultural life in the United States. Participating artists include: Akea Brionne; Mark Bradford; Zoe Charlton; Larry W. Cook; Tork-

wase Dyson; Theaster Gates Jr.; Allison Janae Hamilton; Leslie Hewitt; Steffani Jemison; Robert Pruitt; James Richmond Edwards and Carrie Mae Weems.

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: One highlight of the BSO’s fall series is a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore on September 16, 1982. To mark the occasion, the BSO has planned a 40th Anniversary Season Opening Celebration for September 17, with Jack Everly as conductor and Ledisi as vocalist. More information about the symphony’s fall schedule is on its website at bsomusic.org.

Although Waters’s donation to the museum includes works by himself and others, “Coming Attractions” will focus on art he has collected and displayed at his homes in Baltimore, New York City, and San Francisco.

“Omar Ba: Political Animals,” from Nov. 20, 2022 to April 2, 2023. This is the ﬁrst U.S. museum exhibition of the work of painter Omar Ba, a leading contemporary African artist.

“Baltimore, Addressed: Baker Artist Awards,” from Nov. 13, 2022 to March 12, 2023. Five past winners of the coveted Baker Artist Award — Laura Amussen; David Page; Ernest Shaw; Susan Waters-Eller and Pamela Woolford — respond to “the past, present and imagined future of the city.”

Baltimore Soundstage, 124 Market Place: Madonna Gaga Britney Dance Party!, September 16; Shrek Rave, September 17; Old 97’s with Vandoliers, September 18; Pusha T, September 20; Wednesday 13, Bag of Humans, Space Lumberjacks, September 22; Dead Like Disco with Brothers Clair, September 23; Maddie & Tae with Sacha and Abbey Cone, September 24; The Get Up Kids, September 27; Nine Inch Naans Tour with Bloodywood, A Killer’s Confession and Iris Divine, September 29; and Japanese Breakfast, September 30.

The guest curators are photographer Catherine Opie and artist Jack Pierson, both of whom have been friends with Waters for years and are represented in his collection. The exhibit is organized by Leila Grothe, the museum’s Associate Curator of Contemporary Art.

“Stanley Whitney: Dance with Me Henri,” from Nov. 20, 2022 to April 23, 2023. Works on paper by a Philadelphia-born artist whose compositions and use of color and light have strong parallels to the work of Henri Matisse.

Hippodrome Theatre, 12 S. Eutaw St.: Fall shows include Hamilton, October 11 to 30; State Ballet of Ukraine – Swan Lake, November 5; Randy Rainbow: The Pink Glasses Tour, November 11; Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, November 15 to 20; Nutcracker! Magic of Christmas Ballet, December 7 and 8; Paw Patrol Live! The Great Pirate Adventure, December 10 and 11; Little Jagged Pill, December 13 to 18.

Catherine Opie took this portrait-style of JOHN WATERS (Image courtesy BMA)

Tomlinson, The Have It All Tour, November 5; New Jack City Live On Stage, November 6; Spy Ninjas Live, November 18; Alton Brown Live: Beyond the Eats – the Holiday Variant, November 19; Disney Princess Concert, November 25; Cameo Featuring the Rolex Band, November 26; Steve-O (from Jackass) The Bucket List Tour, November 30; Steven Crowder and Dave Landau’s Rebel with a Cause Tour, December 3; Mannheim Steamroller Christmas by Chip Davis, December 4, Chelsea Handler, December 15; Eddie B. Teachers Only Comedy Tour, December 16.

The Peale, 225 Holliday St. After a ﬁve-year, $5.5 million renovation, Baltimore’s historic Peale Museum reopened in August as The Peale, Baltimore’s Community Museum. Inaugural exhibits include “Spark: New Light,” a collaboration between Towson University and the University of Maryland Baltimore County, featuring the work of more than 20 faculty members and MFA student artists celebrating the building’s reopening with “illuminated and illuminating works of art, until Sept. 25, and Peale Faces, until Aug. 13, 2023, featuring artist and “participatory history specialist” Lauren Muney’s hand-cut silhouette portraits of city residents. More information about Peale events is at ThePealeCenter.org.

“We have both known John Waters for years as an auteur ﬁlmmaker, a writer, an artist, an art collector, and a friend. We are honored to have the opportunity to curate a presentation of his collection, which so richly reﬂects his personality and imagination,” Opie and Pierson, who both identify as queer, said in a statement.

Baltimore Center Stage, 700 North Calvert Street: Our Town, September 15 to October 9; Kulu Mele African Dance and Drum Ensemble and the Osagyefo Dance Company, September 17; Baltimore Butterﬂy Sessions, September 19, November 7 and December 5; BCS Sound Check with Michelle J. Rodriquez in Concert, October 21; Ain’t No Mo’ (in association with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company), October 27 to November 20; The Rocky Horror Picture Show, featuring EarlOrrin Productions’ Chocolate Covered Rocky Horror, in partnership with Creative Alliance, October 28 and 29; and BCS Sound Check with Eze Jackson in Concert, November 18.

“Coming Attractions” will feature about 90 works of art selected from 372 works that Waters, a BMA trustee, plans to leave to the museum upon his death. When his donation was announced in 2020, representatives promised the museum would have a preview of what’s to come while Waters was still alive, and this show is it.

Maryland Center for History and Culture: 610 Park Ave. On Nov. 5, the Mount Vernon history center will open “Claire/ McCardell,” a yearlong exhibit about Claire McCardell, an inﬂuential designer of women’s clothing from the 1930s to the 1950s and beyond. More information about the history center and its collections is on its website, mdhistory.org.

Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Avenue: On October 6, drag performer Betty O’Hellno and friends will host two singalong presentations of a 1975 cult classic, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Costumes are encouraged. The following two nights, October 7 and 8, Creative Alliance will present “Chocolate Covered Rocky Horror,” a musical performance that promises to take the Rocky Horror experience to “a whole different dimension.” A full calendar of events, including Sidewalk Serenades, Dr. Sketchy’s classes in “life drawing with a twist,” and the popular Art to Dine For series, is at creativealliance.org.

Doors Open Baltimore: A popular annual program that allows participants to tour places that aren’t usually open to the public returns on October 1 and 2, with more than 40 sites open this year. Examples include the Arabber Preservation Society; the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower; Chesapeake Shakespeare Theater; the H. L. Mencken House and Humanim at American Brewery. The complete list is at doorsopenbaltimore.org.

Baltimore arts preview: John Waters, Tina Turner, and more Busy season in Charm City with ‘Hamilton,’ Randy Rainbow among standouts

Waters’s last major show at the BMA was “John Waters: Indecent Exposure,” a retrospective of his own work as a visual artist, which ran from Oct. 7, 2018 to Jan. 6, 2019. “Coming Attractions” will be on view until April 16, 2023.

BALTIMORE 40 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

Lyric Baltimore, 140 West Mount Royal Avenue: CoComelon Live!, September 16; Trixie and Katya Live, featuring drag stars Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova, September 19; Michael Blackson and Jess Hilarious, September 24; The Price is Right Live, October 7; Baltimore Soul Jam; October 15; Disney Junior Live on Tour, October 21; and Whose Live Anyway?, featuring Ryan Stiles, Greg Proops, Jeff B. Davis and Joel Murray, October 29.

Other major shows opening this fall at the Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive, include:

Also Joe Gatto Night of Comedy, November 4; Taylor

Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles St. After cancelling its fall gala last year, the Walters has scheduled its 2022 celebration and fundraiser, An Evening at the Walters, for Oct. 15 from 6 p.m. to midnight. More information about that event and others is on the museum’s website, thewalters.org. Its current blockbuster, “Activating the Renaissance,” opened in April and continues until February 26, 2023.

Everyman Theatre, 315 West Fayette Street: Dinner and Cake, September 6 to October 2; The Lion in Winter, October 18 to November 13; Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, December 6 to January 1, 2023.

More visual arts events:

By ED GUNTS

Among the featured works are paintings, sculptures, photographs, and prints by Diane Arbus; Nan Goldin; Mike Kelley; Richard Prince; Cindy Sherman; Gary Simmons; Cy Twombly; Andy Warhol; Christopher Wool and others.

Performing arts events:

What sort of art does gay writer and ﬁlmmaker John Waters collect? Does it reﬂect his subversive sense of humor and empathy for outsiders? How did he get to be such a savvy art collector?Fanswill get some answers from “Coming Attractions: The John Waters Collection,” an exhibit opening Nov. 20 at the Baltimore Museum of Art. It’s one of many shows and exhibits coming to Baltimore this fall, including the national touring productions of “Hamilton,” “Jagged Little Pill” and “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical,” and appearances by Randy Rainbow, Trixie Mattel, Chelsea Handler and others.

American Visionary Art Museum: The next “mega exhibit” at the American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Highway, is “ABUNDANCE: Too Much, Too Little, Just Right (Championing good, honest work from the hand and the heart),” from Oct. 8, 2022 to Sept. 2023. The curator is AVAM curatorial and development curator Gage Branda. It’s the ﬁrst major exhibit at AVAM under new director Jenenne Whitﬁeld, who this month succeeded founding director Rebecca Alban Hoffberger, who retired in April.

“Darrell Ellis: Regeneration,” from Nov. 20, 2022 to April 23, 2023. This is the ﬁrst comprehensive museum exhibition devoted to the work of a multi-faceted artist who died of AIDS-related causes in 1992 at the age of 33. The show is co-organized with The Bronx Museum of the Arts.

Part of the exhibit is a grouping of works that represent Waters’s relationships with people in the art and ﬁlm worlds, such as Brigid Berlin; Colin de Land; Cookie Mueller and Warhol. There’s also the ﬁrst work of art by a non-human that the BMA has ever agreed to display (or add to its collection) – a painting by Betsy the Chimpanzee, who lived and painted at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore in the 1950s.

“Our hope is to share with audiences another aspect of John’s creative vision by offering a glimpse into what he values: artists who are unafraid to take risks, who do not compromise, and who create their art on the margins.”

Follow Raven on a multisensory journey from darkness into light. Preston Singletary (Tlingit American) tells this Northwest Coast origin story in stunning new glass works. Organized by the artist and Museum of Glass, Tacoma, Washington. Guest curated by Miranda Belarde-Lewis (Zuni/Tlingit), PhD, and the multisensory visitor experience was designed by zoe | juniper. Generous support for the exhibition at the National Museum of the American Indian provided in part by Dr. Quincalee Brown and Dr. James. P. Simsarian, Uschi and William Butler, and Mary W. Hopkins. americanindian.si.edu The white raven is a spiritual being. Visitors can follow his journey throughout the exhibition. Dieit Yéil (White Raven), 2018; blown, hot-sculpted and sand-carved glass; steal stand. Photo by Russell Johnson, Courtesy of Museum of PrestonGlass Singletary: Raven and the

BY IFA BAYEZA DIRECTED BY TALVIN WILKS

Tickets & Till Trilogy subscriptions 202.399.7993mosaictheater.orgatx501 OCT 4–NOV 20 The epic saga of a Civil Rights icon in three dazzling plays THE BALLAD OF EMMETT TILL THAT SUMMER IN SUMNER (world premiere) BENEVOLENCE MOS-006-TillTrilogy_Ad_WashBlade_FallArtsGuide_halfpagehorz_v2_2022_09_12.indd 1 9/12/22 10:38 AM

Daylight

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • 41 the trilogy

Now open at the National Mall Box of

By JACK WALKER

MAGNOLIA APPLEBOTTOM at the Washington Blade’s Rehoboth Summer Closing Party held at Diego’s Bar and Nightclub on Sept. 9. Diego’s and other venues have events scheduled throughout the fall. (Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

A Night of Divas, hosted by Mona Lotts and Kristina Kelly each week at The Pines, is a hilarious comedy performance you won’t want to miss. Doors open at 8 p.m., and tickets can be purchased online

REHOBOTH 42 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

SEPTEMBER

Oct. 7: Fall in Love with Seth Sikes at this nightclub performance hosted by The Pines, with doors opening at 7 p.m. and tickets available for purchase online

Everyone’s favorite summer destination keeps the party going

Saturdays: The Legends Show keeps the weekend busy at Blue Moon, incorporating a cast of celebrity impersonators into a wonderful live singing show held at 7 and 9 Saturdays:p.m.

19: The Can’t Fool The Blues concert at The Pines is the best spot for a night of fun and dancing as the Rehoboth jazz band provides musical stylings that blend various genres. Doors open at 9 p.m.

Oct. 28: Rocky Horror Picture Show will be played in an interactive viewing at The Pines, with doors opening at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $25 and can be purchased online

Bingo at Blue Moon, located at 35 Baltimore Ave., offers an opportunity for light-hearted fun with this drag recreation of a classic, old fashioned church game from 8 to 9:30 p.m.

Nov. 11 to 13: The Little Mermaid will be shown at Clear Space Theatre for just one weekend in this show spotlighting youth performers. Tickets can be purchased

Clear Space Theatre announced its upcoming season at its annual gala on Sunday night held at the Rehoboth Beach Country Club. Among next season’s shows are “The Spongebob Musical,” the beloved “Kinky Boots,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Godspell,” “Damn Yankees,” and an exclusive new work produced just for Clear Space by alumnus Wesley Cappiello slated for June.

Fall events in Rehoboth Beach

onlineSundays:

Drag Brunch at The Pines brings the weekend to a close as local talent and delicious food come together at 11:30 a.m. each week. Tickets to the event areMondays:$15.

Flaming Pianos Prime Rib & Show offers an upscale dining experience at The Pines each week for $23.Tuesdays:

OCTOBER

Sept. 15-20: Other Desert Cities takes to the stages of Clear Space Theatre Company, located at 20 Baltimore Ave. Performances are held on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, with an additional matinee performance at 2 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets range from $20 to $32, and can be purchased online Sept. 16: The George Michael Experience, hosted by Todd Alsup, brings back iconic songs and transforms them in the musical stylings of the New York-based singer and songwriter. Held from 8 to 10 p.m. at The Pines, located at 56 Baltimore Ave. Tickets can be purchased online.Sept. 17: DJ Greggo will host an evening of music and excitement at Diego’s Bar & Nightclub, located at 37298 Rehoboth Ave, from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Sept. 24: Riddic, a local DJ, will be performing at a night of fun in Diego’s from 9:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. Sept. 30: ‘90s Night at The Pines brings Mike Flanagan and Lisa Bello to the stage for a live performance and stroll down memory lane. Tickets can be purchased

As falling temperatures and colorful leaves signal the end of another exciting Rehoboth summer, residents and visitors alike still have much to look forward to in a fall packed with events ranging from performances to parties and more. The Blade has compiled a list of key events in the beach resort this fall to help continue the summer fun into a new season.

Oct. 14 to Oct. 30: Little Shop of Horrors is presented by Clear Space Theatre Company. Performances take place Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons, and tickets can be purchased online for $20 to $32.Oct.

Fridays: The Spotlight Show at Blue Moon combines good food with spectacular performances from local drag stars. Shows will be held at 7 and 9 p.m.

Oct. 21: “Tucking Myself In,” a hilarious comedy show headlined by drag artist Ptown’s Paige Turner, will be the latest addition to the Rehoboth comedy scene. Doors open at 7 p.m., and tickets can be purchased online

online for $20.

Nov. 25 to Dec. 18: Elf: The Musical will ring in the holiday season in this end-of-year musical performance at Clear Space Theatre. Tickets can be purchased online for $20 to $32.

Clear Space announces new season

Dogﬁsh Head brewery founder Sam Calagione and his wife Mariah were on hand at Sunday’s gala to accept an award for their support. The new Clear Space season kicks off in January with a production of Stephen King’s “Misery.”

NOVEMBER

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SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • 45 AN SPRINGSWITHEVENINGKANDACE Lift Up LGBTQ Youth + SMYAL KANDACE! OCT 11, 2022 CITY MUSICWINERYBENEFITTICKETSJUSTICEAID.ORG

Garden will welcome the fall season with Oktoberfest on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 12 p.m. at Dacha Shaw. The Bavarian revelry will continue at 2 p.m. at Dacha Navy Yard with costumes, contests, and a live concert featuring Oktoberfest Queen and Yodeling Superstar Manuela Horn, Capital Chill Band, and Dacha’s own Polka band. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite Virginia Pride is slated for Sept. 23-25 in Richmond. Big Freedia and stars of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” will perform. Visit vapride.org for information.

SMYAL’s 25th Annual Fall Brunch will be on Saturday, Sept. 24 at the Marriott Marquis in D.C. This event includes a cocktail reception featuring a fabulous silent auction, a three-course brunch, and a chance to hear from some of our community’s most inspiring leaders. Tickets start at $175 and can be purchased on SMYAL’s website

EVENTS 46 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

Author Kevin Mallinson will discuss “Alarm in the Firehouse: a Memoir of America’s First Openly Gay Fireﬁghter” on Monday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. at the Patrick Henry Library. Mallinson’s book highlights the importance of personal values and a sense of humor when facing adversity. Registration is required for this event and more details are available on the library’s website

Team Rayceen Productions will host Art All Night on Saturday, Sept. 24 at the DC Housing Finance Agency. There will be live music, dance contests and visual artists will sell and create art. This event is free and open to the public, and more details are available on Team Rayceen’s website

District of the Dead delivers a fright-ﬁlled Halloween Weekend at three D.C. venues: BLISS Nightclub, Ivy City Smokehouse, and SAX. Three events over three days. Visit Kinetic’s website for ticket information.

The inaugural Laurel Pride will be held 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8 at Granville Gude Park in Laurel, Md.

Harrisonburg Pride is set for Saturday, Oct. 8, 1-5 p.m. in Court Square in Harrisonburg, Va.

After a two-year hiatus, Human Rights Campaign’s National Dinner will return on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 5 p.m. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. This fundraising dinner will help fuel the work for equality that HRC does. For more information, visit HRC’s website

Live Tour: Under the Rainbow + High Heel Race will be on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 5:30 p.m. at 748 Jackson Place, N.W. This event is a queer history walking tour exploring the gay community from war heroes to modern day human rights activists. Individual tickets are $35 and can be purchased via capitalpride.org. The annual High Heel Race will begin after the tour.

Mix & Mingle with the Maryland Black Chamber and Maryland LGBT Chamber, Oct. 20, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at EKO House, 150 Gibbs St., Rockville, MD.

“Crossroads, Detours, & Exits” is a personal interrogation from JR “Nexus” Russ of his identities, particularly being Black, Filipino American and Queer, Sunday, Oct. 2 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H St., N.E.) at 3:30 p.m.

The Washington Blade will host the 2022 Best of LGBTQ DC Awards Party on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. at Wild Days at Eaton DC. This event is sponsored by ABSOLUT, PEPCO, The Eaton DC, and the Washington Regional Transplant Community. Attendees should be at least 21 years old. Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased via washingtonblade.com.

Sparkle, a queer-friendly open-mic poetry night at Busboys & Poets is slated for Oct. 2 at 7 p.m., 2021 14th St., N.W.

The Reel Afﬁrmations LGBTQ Film Festival is scheduled for Oct. 21-24. More information is available at the DC Center for the LGBT Community website.

Post-pandemic fall events will keep you busy in D.C.

By TINASHE CHINGARANDEBIGFREEDIA

out.Dacha

Safe Place International will host Coming Out Celebration on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. at Moxy DC. This event will connect the D.C. community with global leaders and spotlight stories of inspiration and explore what made D.C.’s LGBTQ refugee community resilient, compassionate, and ready to change the world. Tickets start at $50 and can be purchased on Safe Place’s website

SMYAL Brunch, HRC Nat’l Dinner return along with regional Prides

Fall means cooler temperatures make it more bearable to go out to town and enjoy all that D.C. has to offer. Below is a list of select fall events you should check

headlines Virginia Pride later this month. (Photo via BigStock)

HoCo Pride celebrates the LGBTQ community in Howard County, Md., on Sunday, Oct. 9 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. at Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods, 10431 Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia.

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • 47 ORDER TODAY ShakespeareTheatre.org 202.547.1122 THE NOTEBOOKS OF LEONARDO DA VINCI WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY MARY BEGINSZIMMERMANSEP29 MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE DIRECTED BY SIMON GODWIN BEGINS NOV 10 JANE ANGER BY TALENE MONAHON DIRECTED BY JESS CHAYES BEGINS DEC 13 Photo of Adeoye in the 2022 Goodman Theatre production of The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci by Liz Lauren.

48 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

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In addition to these, there’s A TRIO OF SHOWS from Netﬂix with TBD Premiere Dates: EAST-BAKE BATTLE - Season 1 of a new culinary competition show hosted by “Queer Eye” heartthrob Antoni Porowski.

DEAD END: PARANORMAL PARK - The delightful animated adventure based on Hamish Steele’s graphic novels about a transgender boy named Barney and his friends, who secretly work as the “demon cleanup crew” at a haunted theme park returns for a second season. Real-life trans actor Zach Barach provides the voice of Barney.

For those with a taste for the provocative, there’s this promising docuseries, in which model-turned-actress Cara Delevingne goes for a deep dive into some of the biggest questions about sexuality. According to publicity materials, the show is an “immersive journey” in which the star “puts her mind and body on the line in search of answers regarding human sexuality, its joys, mysteries, and constantly changing nature.” Delevingne, who appeared in a recurring role on the second season of Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” opposite friend Selena Gomez, came out as pansexual in 2020, telling Variety, “Growing up, I didn’t really see many people like me, so I’m just really grateful to be one of those people representing.” We can get behind that, and we’ll be watching when the show drops later this fall.

For the many devoted followers of author Anne Rice, who sadly passed away at 80 last December, this one is huge. Ever since it was first published in 1976, Rice’s gothic tale of a New Orleans vampire revealing his 200-year history as a denizen of the night has been embraced by queer fans, who saw their own outsider experience reflected in its sensual and sensitive cast of undead protagonists. The novel spawned an entire series of books – “The Vampire Chronicles” –that enriched and expanded the stories of her beloved characters and spread them across a vast historical landscape, and branched off into other sagas populated by more of Rice’s supernatural creations; a 1994 film adaptation starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, though successful, felt straight-washed to many of Rice’s readers (and the less said about 2002’s “Queen of the Damned,” the better), but series creator Rollin Jones has already promised his new adaptation –modernized from the original’s mid-70s setting – will be true to the queer subtext of the author’s original work. The involvement of Christopher Rice (the author’s son) as an executive producer bodes well that such promises will be honored. Starring “Game of Thrones” favorite Jacob Reid as Louis and Australian actor Sam Reid as Lestat, the 8-episode first season will also feature Bailey Bass, Assad Zaman, Eric Bogosian, Chris Stack, Maura Grace Athari, and Kalyne Coleman.

SAM REID and KACOB ANDERSON star in an updated ‘Interview with the Vampire.’

critically acclaimed and popular series based on Margaret Atwood’s chillingly prescient dystopian novel just dropped the first episode of its fifth season, in which now-escaped refugee June (Emmy-winner Elisabeth Moss, “Mad Men,” “Top of the Lake,” “The Invisible Man”) works from afar to be reunited with her daughter, while her co-conspirators in theocratic Gilead find an unlikely ally in Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd). Meanwhile, Serena Waterford (Yvonne Strahovski), now a widow in Toronto after the violent end met by her husband at the end of season four, attempts to raise her profile as her homeland’s influence spreads into Canada. The ominous tooclose-to-home quality that made this series tough-but-essential viewing during the Trump years has taken on a renewed power with the fall of Roe v. Wade, which means its latest (and possibly final) installment will likely be a must-watch for more audiences than ever. Also starring Max Minghella, Bradley Whitford, O-T Fagbenle, Samira Wiley, Madeline Brewer, Amanda Brugel, and Sam Jaeger.

From “Modern Family” creator Steven Levitan comes this good-naturedly irreverent (and queer-inclusive) send-up of the Hollywood entertainment machine featuring “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” star Rachel Bloom as a TV writer who gets greenlighted on her pitch for a revival of a beloved sitcom from the early 2000s – a dream come true, until her hopes for a more “woke” update of the outdated classic are threatened by the involvement of the show’s original creator (Paul Reiser, “Mad About You”). Making things even more unpredictable is the original cast (Keegan-Michael Key, Judy Greer, Johnny Knoxville, and Calum Worthy), whose complicated history of offscreen relationships and personal dysfunctions is part of the package deal that comes with reuniting them to reprise their roles. Fast, funny, and full of the rapid-fire comic zingers Levitan’s shows are famous for, it’s a shrewd and deliciously “meta” satire that pokes fun of all the usual Hollywood flaws and foibles – not to mention currently raging generational conflict of attitudes and values – while making sure its gallery of goofy-but-lovable characters are always the main attraction. This one is a definite gem.

THE HANDMAID’S TALE (Hulu, Sept. 14)The

WENDELL & WILD - Animated denizens of the underworld also inhabit this new stop-motion series from collaborators Henry Selick (“The Nightmare Before Christmas”) and Jordan Peele (“Get Out”) about a scheming pair demon brothers trying to be summoned into the Land of the Living by a guilt-ridden 13-year-old. Voice talent includes Peele, Keegan-Michael Key, Lyric Ross, Angela Bassett, James Jong, Ving Rhames, and trans actor Sam Zelaya.

The popular Swedish teen drama about the inconvenient romance between young Prince Wilhelm and his classmate Simon (Edvin Ryding and Omar Rudberg, respectively) returns for a second season that sees its protagonist embarking on a plan of revenge meant to win back Simon’s trust, giving rise to complications that threaten the entire monarchy.

Fall TV offers vampires, royals, and return to Gilead

TV 50 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

Once upon a time, TV premieres were the province of fall, and there was something exciting about seeing all the new titles unveiled. In the streaming era, of course, new shows debut all year long – but we think there’s still a special excitement surrounding the ones that come out at this time of year. Call us old-fashioned. Here’s our list of the shows we think you’ll ﬁnd watch-worthy:

THE YOUNG ROYALS (Netﬂix, Nov. 2)

Self-described as “a Texas-sized, multi-generational musical drama about America’s leading family of country music” and starring Oscar-winner Susan Sarandon “Dead Man Walking,” Thelma & Louise,” “Feud”) as a “tough-as-nails” country music legend, this ambitious new offering from creator/writer/executive producer Melissa London Hilfers features a lesbian couple among its principal characters and looks to be cut from the same guilty-pleasure cloth as all the classic primetime soaps the queer community has always loved. The saga of a ﬁctional country music dynasty with superstars Dottie and Albie Roman at its center, it promises plenty of scandal, sex, bad behavior, and music (both original songs and covers) as it unwinds the secrets and lies at the heart of their success and forces them to protect the family legacy – from both rivals and each other. Featuring multi-Platinum country music star and three-time ACM winner Trace Adkins as Sarandon’s other half, the series also stars Anna Friel, Joshua Sasse, Beth Ditto, Meagan Holder, Inigo Pascual, Martha Higareda, and Emma Milani.

By JOHN PAUL KING

PLANET SEX WITH CARA DELVINGNE (Hulu, Nov. 18)

REBOOT (Hulu, Sept. 20)

MONARCH (Fox, Sept. 20)

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (AMC, Oct. 2)

‘Handmaid’s Tale’ even more essential after fall of Roe

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Clive Barker’s 1987 classic horror ﬁlm (based on his 1986 novella, “The Hellbound Heart”) gets a few new twists in this remake by director David Bruckner, which will premiere on Hulu as part of the streaming platform’s “Huluween” celebration. In this re-imagined and updated version, the story follows a drug-addicted young woman who comes into possession of an ancient puzzle box, learning too late that its purpose is to summon a group of sadistic supernatural beings called the Cenobites from the hellish dimension they call home. Inherently queer from the start (Barker himself, who serves as one of the

THE DREAMLIFE OF GEORGIE STONE (Sept. 22)

HELLRAISER (Hulu, Oct. 7)

BLONDE (Sept. 16)

executive producers on the new ﬁlm, has long been openly gay), this iteration doubles down with its casting of trans actress Jamie Clayton (“Sense8”) as its sinister main antagonist – affectionately known as “Pinhead” by fans. She’s joined by a cast that includes Odessa A’zion, Adam Faison, Brandon Flynn, Aoife Hinds, Jason Liles, Yinka Olorunnife, Goran Visnjic, and Hiam Abbass.

This has been a year with an unprecedented number of big titles featuring LGBTQ characters and stories, and given the amount of regressive backlash our community continues to receive from the socially conservative (i.e. bigoted homophobic) crowd, that’s a comforting thing. As we push closer to the year’s close, there are admittedly fewer stand-out offerings on deck for queer viewers – but the ones that are on their way give us plenty to look forward to, anyway. Our list of titles to look for is below:

After months of hype, ‘Bros,’ ‘My Policeman’ ready to debut Fall ﬁlm season offers big-budget rom-com, a trans Pinhead, and more

By JOHN PAUL KING

Trans actress JAMIE CLAYTON stars as Pinhead in Hulu’s remake of ‘Hellraiser.’

DAVID DAWSON, EMMA CORRIN, and HARRY STYLES star in ‘My Policeman.’

Certainly the buzziest LGBTQ title of the year, the ferociously funny Billy Eichner’s romcom about two commitment-challenged men and their attempt to have a relationship has already gotten us excited for its debut by way of a teaser trailer full of laugh-out-loud moments. Written by Eichner, who also stars (opposite rom-com veteran Luke Macfarlane), it’s the first time an openly gay man has been able to co-write and star in his own major studio film; not one to be content with that milestone, he went a step further by casting every principal role – even the heterosexual ones – with queer actors. Apart from these notable points, it will be interesting to see how a queer-themed romance will succeed with mainstream audiences; but there are many purely entertaining reasons to look forward to this Nicholas Stoller-directed romp, which also features TS Madison, Monica Raymund, Guillermo Diaz, Guy Branum, Amanda Bearse, Bowen Yang, Benito Skinner, Matthew Wilkas, Jai Rodriguez, Dot-Marie Jones, and a host of other familiar queer faces. It’s worth mentioning that veteran comedy filmmaker Judd Apatow was co-executive producer (alongside Stoller and Eichner), but though his pedigree is appreciated as a part of the joint effort it took to get this history-making Hollywood romance to the screen, it’s bursting with

Directed by Maya Donna Newell (“Gayby Baby”) as an effort to push back against Australian conservative voices who pointed at children like herself, who grew up with queer and trans parents, as an argument against the country’s movement for marriage equality, it’s the result of a six-year collaborative process (with Georgie and her mom, Rebekah Robertson) that only lasts for 29 minutes – but it’s 29 minutes of inspirational, queer-afﬁrming content you’ll want to experience.

so much talent already that his involvement is only icing on the cake.

Marilyn Monroe is a Hollywood icon who always held a special place in the hearts of the LGBTQ community; maybe it has something to do with being exploited for her talent and beauty while still being marginalized in a hetero-masculine world. Whatever the reason, queer film buffs should be keen to see this screen adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ classic bestselling novel, which boldly fictionalizes Monroe’s life and re-imagines it as a parable about the fate of women in a culture that treats their bodies as a commodity. Following Monroe from her volatile childhood, it blurs fact and fiction as it charts her rise to stardom, emphasizing the ever-widening split between her public and private personas that led to her tragic end. Written and directed by Andrew Dominik, the film stars Cuban actress Ana de Armas as Marilyn, with Bobby Cannavale, Adrien Brody, Julianne Nicholson, Xavier Samuel, and Evan Williams; it premieres in theaters on the 16th, followed by a debut on Netflix – which produced it – on Sept. 28.

We don’t often include short films in our preview lists – an oversight we frequently find ourselves regretting – but this one deserves your attention. Spanning 19 years, it tells the story of Georgie, an Australian transgender teen, and follows her on her journey to adulthood as she helps to change laws, affirms her gender, and finds her voice along the way.

PETER VON KANT (Sept. 21)

Last up (but definitely not least) is this hotly anticipated adaptation of Bethan Roberts novel about forbidden love and changing social conventions, which stars “It-Boy” of the day Harry Styles as Tom, a policeman in 1950s Britain at the center of a romantic triangle in which he splits his conflicted love between teacher Marion (Emma Corrin) and museum curator Patrick (David Dawson). The story spans four decades, fast-forwarding to the 1990s to give the now-older trio (Linus Roache, Gina McKee, and Rupert Everett) a last chance to repair the emotional damage of the past. Directed by Michael Grandage, this visually elegant, heart-stopping portrait of three people caught in the shifting tides of history might be the most “prestigious” title on our list. Whether or not it’s worthy of the hype that accompanies its pop-singer star, whose perceived sexual fluidity (he’s never labeled his sexuality, and continues to avoid doing so even two years into a relationship with actor-turned-filmmaker Olivia Wilde) continues to tantalize queer fans, is something we’ll have to wait until Oct. 21 –or Nov. 4, when producer Amazon makes it available for streaming on Prime – to find out.

FILM 54 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

MY POLICEMAN (Oct. 21)

BROS (Sept. 30)

Already given a limited theatrical release on Sept. 2, this French romantic drama from writer/director François Ozon was the opening film at February’s Berlin Film Festival and has been eagerly awaited by hardcore film geeks ever since. The reason? It’s a reinterpretation of the play by Rainier Werner Fassbinder, “The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant,” which the legendary queer filmmaker himself originally adapted for the screen in 1972 to create a revered classic of European cinema that broke ground for its depiction of same-sex relationships. Now, Ozon has re-imagined the story by swapping the gender of its protagonist – which changes everything yet nothing in this S&M-tinged tale of narcissistic hedonism and obsessive desire. It stars Denis Ménochet in the title role, with an ensemble of players that features Isabelle Adjani, Khalil Gharbia, Stéfan Crépon, and Aminthe Audiard – as well as Hanna Schygulla, the German film legend who also appeared in Fassbinder’s original movie. You might still be able to find a big screen showing somewhere near you, if you’re lucky. Otherwise, don’t worry; you’ll be able to find it streaming VOD from starting on Sept. 22.

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • 55

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Who doesn’t love gossip? You, of course, so look for “Keeping Family Secrets: Shame and Silence in Memoirs in the 1950s” by Margaret K. Nelson ($30.00, NYU Press). In this book, the author reveals how secrets kept some seven decades ago can resonate with individuals and families today. It’s a compelling book, like sneaking a peek in a diary, or eavesdropping on your favorite elderly aunt. Irresistible.

Jann Wenner’s “Like a Rolling Stone” memoir is already out and creating buzz for the gay editor’s name dropping and celebrity tea-spilling.

Young readers (or young-at-heart) will enjoy reading “The Killing Code” by Ellie Marney ($17.99, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers). It’s a mystery set in Virginia in 1943, and a young code-breaker is asked to help with the War effort. But things happen that they don’t expect, and the hunted killer is on the hunt, too.

OCTOBER

Alas, summer is over, ﬁnis, done. You had some good times to remember, you saw a few shows you liked and read a few good books. And the latter, well, it’s not over. This fall is absolutely loaded with good books to read, so read on.

Novel lovers will want to ﬁnd “Lavender House” by Lev AC Rosen ($26.99, Forge), a suspense novel set in a wonderful old estate; or “Nothing Sung and Nothing Spoken” by Nita Tyndall ($17.99, HarperTeen), a coming-of-age novel set in the years prior to World War II.

Curl up and dive into season’s best new books

NOVEMBER

Another memoir to ﬁnd is “Life in Lashes: The Story of a Drag Superstar” by Kita Mean ($18.99, Harper Collins). The title says it all, and it starts in a small town in New Zealand, takes a U-turn in Australia and lands onstage with RuPaul. This is a fun, fabulous book but with a good deal of Ifinspiration.you’rea sports fan, look for “Pride of a Nation: A Celebration of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team” by Gwendolyn Oxenham, David Hirshey, Rob Fleder, Roger Director, and Julie Foudy ($35, Ten Speed Press). Filled with photos and information spanning almost four decades, this book also takes a good look at some of your favorite players, including Mia Hamm, Megan Rapinoe, Hope Solo, and others. Soccer fans, you just can’t miss this book.

Fans of memoirs will want to ﬁnd “The Black Period: On Personhood, Race, and Origin” by Haﬁzah Augustus Geter ($27.00, Random House). As the queer child of a Muslim immigrant from Nigeria, Geter has endured a lot in her life, from the loss of her mother to her observances of the Black Lives Matter movement and plenty in between. It’s a book full of pride and love.

BOOKS 58 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

Dog lovers will absolutely howl over “Forever Home: How We Turned Our House into a Haven for Abandoned, Abused, and Misunderstood Dogs – and Each Other” by Ron Danta, Danny Robertshaw, and Larry Lindner ($27.99, HarperOne). This is a biography by the stars of the Netﬂix documentary you loved, it’s a sweet tale.

By TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER

Here’s a unique memoir: “Plain: A Memoir of Mennonite Girlhood” by Mary Alice Hostetter ($26.95, University of Wisconsin Press) is a book about the author’s childhood and her dawning realization that she needs to leave the comfortable confines of her religious life in order to be her true self. You don’t often find memoirs like this, but you should.Asfor novels, don’t miss “At Certain Points We Touch” by Lauren John Joseph ($26.00, Bloomsbury), the story of first love and unburied memories. Also look for “Secrets Typed in Blood: A Pentecost and Parker Mystery” by Stephen Spotswood ($27.00, Doubleday), which is the third in a mystery series, but that you can read as a standalone.Ifthesebooks don’t quite pique your interest, then be sure to ask your favorite bookseller or librarian for help. They know what’s coming out in the book world. They’ll know what you want, what you want to give as a gift (the time’s coming!) and what you want to read now.

‘Life in Lashes: The Story of a Drag Superstar’by Kita Meanis a fun, fabulous book.

From drag to dogs to women’s soccer, something for everyone

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FORD EXPEDITION

NISSAN PATHFINDER FORD EXPEDITION

Mpg: 17 city/23 highway

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For 2022, the Expedition gets a midlife makeover, with some styling cues that echo a ritzy Range Rover: less exterior chrome, streamlined grille and thin wraparound head lights. Luxe amenities include a tech-laden dashboard, tri-zone automatic climate con trol, massaging front seats, power-folding second and third seats, and running boards that automatically deploy whenever getting in or out of the vehicle. While a 12-inch touchscreen for the infotainment system comes standard, you can opt for the stunning 15.5-inch vertical display found in the all-electric Mustang Mach-E. Other notable good ies: Wi-Fi hotspot, rear-seat entertainment system, 22-speaker Bang & Olufsen stereo and even hands-free driving. Best of all are two new trim levels: the rugged Timberline, with better off-road capability, and the supersonic Stealth, which rockets from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.9 seconds—faster than a high-performance tuner car.

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0 to 60 mph: 6.7 seconds

Mpg: 21 city/27 highway 0 to 60 mph: 6.7 seconds

The completely redesigned Nissan Pathfinder is a big step up from the previous mod el. Although classified as a midsize SUV, this year’s new Pathfinder is now a lot longer, wider, and taller. The result: a spacious cabin with oodles more storage compartments and enough room for up to eight passengers. Another plus: Accessing the third row is much easier here than in most SUVs. Gone is the slouching profile of the previous Pathfinder, last updated 10 years ago (about twice the time most vehicles receive a re design). The edgier styling is also boxier, but in a good way, with a chiseled front fascia, brawny side panels and strapping rear end—you know, sort of like Luke Evans. Despite having the same capable V6 engine as before, fuel economy is slightly better. An updated transmission improves acceleration, while stiffer springs and other tweaks shore up the steering and overall handing. In other words, there’s no mushy bounciness over potholes and speed bumps. Thicker glass and extra insulation create a more muted cabin. And there’s a modish vibe with high-quality materials, including finely stitched seats, faux brushed-aluminum trim and a sporty flat-bottom steering. Most impressive, though, are the high-tech bells and whistles: smartphone integration, wireless charging pad, voice-command capability, windshield head-up display, 360-degree bird’s-eye camera, ambient interior lighting, 13-speaker Bose stereo and scads of safety options. During a weekend getaway along the East Coast this summer, my husband Robert sat regally in one of the second-row captain’s chairs as he occasionally bellowed, er, gently suggested alternate routes to less congested roads. It may not have been the same as being chauffeured around in a limousine, but it sure felt that way—for both of us.

Smart haulers: Nissan Pathfinder and Ford Expedition

Speaking of limos, President Biden’s ride—nicknamed “the Beast”—shares dimensions with another jaw-dropping vehicle: the Ford Expedition, which is almost 18-feet long. (An extended-wheelbase model—the Expedition Max—stretches, incredibly, about 20 feet.) At 5,500 pounds, the Expedition is lightweight compared with the Beast, which weighs four times as much. Gas mileage in the Expedition is decent for such a large hauler. And acceleration is superb, with an energetic twin-turbo V6 available in three configurations.Slippingbehind the wheel, I expected this hulking SUV to be a challenge driving in city traffic. But the composed handling is more akin to the midsize Nissan Pathfinder, which itself performs like a smooth yet sporty family sedan. And the front parking sen sors, backup camera, surround-view camera and parking-assist feature help you fit this full-size Ford practically anywhere.

While the Expedition may not be built for heads of state like that other Beast, this behemoth is affordable and full of fine features. And it came in handy when I drove to Goodwill to donate boxes of baubles and such that had been gathering dust in the basement. But don’t tell my husband — many of those trinkets were his.

Electric vehicles are charging ahead, with the passage of a landmark clean-energy bill last month and automakers designing innovative new models. But a world of electric-on ly vehicles will take time. In the U.S. the goal is 2035, but until then many drivers—especially those looking for huge haulers—will still need to rely on traditional gas-powered rides. Luckily, there are some smart choices out there, including these two big bruisers.

By JOE PHILLIPS

64 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • BUSINESS AUTOS

NISSAN PATHFINDER $35,000

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • 65

66 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 LEFT PAGE

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is director of Memory Support Services and Programming at Ingleside at Rock Creek.

As the ﬁeld of dementia research evolves, more families are turning toward the programs and support services currently being provided by life plan communities that specialize in the type of comprehensive memory care that their loved one needs.

While the Alzheimer’s Association reports that more than 6 million people across the United States are currently living with some type of dementia, families, health professionals, and caregivers understand that no two situations are alike, and individualized care plans help to preserve the individual’s dignity and health.

During this information gathering process, it may also be important to include a dementia screening. As part of dementia screenings, medical experts often refer to a list of symptoms commonly known as the 8 A’s: anosognosia, agnosia, aphasia, apraxia, altered perception, amnesia, attention deﬁcit, and apathy. Further deﬁnitions of those terms can be found at inglesideonline.org.

68 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • BUSINESS

While there is no singular answer with which to fight back against cognitive decline, we have seen firsthand the positive impact of a structured day, and life enrichment teams who offer dynamic curated programs, cultural experiences, art and music therapy, science and nature programs, and increased physical activity. Pet therapy programs, otherwise known as animal-assisted therapy, provide numerous benefits for those living with cognitive decline, encouraging social interaction, and emotional stimulation.

• Have nighttime patterns changed? Is safety a concern?

• Would your loved one beneﬁt from having a more active lifestyle?

While starting the conversation about memory care can be difﬁcult for families, open communication, and asking a variety of questions is a good place to start when considering different care options.

• Would your loved one beneﬁt from a setting that features many opportunities to socialize and make new friends?

Since people experience cognitive decline differently, for families looking into memory care options, ﬁnding a community focused on a personalized approach, which takes an individual’s needs and preferences into consideration, is important. Memory care staff are specially trained, providing each person with an increased level of comfort, social engagement, and intellectual stimulation.

Family, friends, and caregiver support groups, offer emotional support, balance, and resource-sharing, crucial elements throughout this journey. For those living through the earlier stages of cognitive decline, remaining at home may be the best option at ﬁrst. However, cognitive decline is a progressive condition, and the situation may become increasingly difﬁcult over time as the level of specialized care needed ultimately ends up exceeding what is available in the home setting.

• Does your loved one require specialized assistance with the tasks of daily living?

• Does your loved one have access to a nutrition rich diet?

(Ingleside is the supporting organization for three CARF-accredited, SAGECare platinum LGBT cultural competency credentialed, not-for-profit life plan communities and two not-for-profit affiliates in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Ingleside’s family of communities include Ingleside at Rock Creek (Washington, D.C.), Westminster at Lake Ridge (Lake Ridge, VA), and Ingleside at King Farm (Rockville, MD). Affiliates include Ingleside at Home, a home-based care program and Westminster Ingleside Foundation, which supports the communities’ charitable activities.)

Memory care communities offer hope with personalized approach

Individualized plans help to preserve dignity and health

• Is your loved one’s current home fully accessible and age-friendly?

By MARIANNA BLAGBURN & MAUREEN CHARLTON

MAUREEN CHARLTON

is Director of Memory Support Services and Programming at Ingleside at King Farm.

Some of those questions should include:

• In their current setting, is your loved one able to exercise their mind and body?

MARIANNA BLAGBURN

• Do you have any emerging concerns about your loved one living alone at their home?

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Name of Decedent: DENNIS L. BEAUFORT

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NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Name of Decedent: Dorothy Chriscoe Ewbank

Julie Chrisco whose address is 4401 Tournay Road, Bethesda, MD 20816 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Dorothy Chriscoe Ewbank, deceased, by the Register of Wills Court for Montgomery County, State of Maryland, on July 30, 2012. Service of process may be made upon Michael Andrews - 1829 California Street, NW, #101, Washington, DC 20008 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C. The decedent owned the following District of Columbia real property: 500 N Street SW #N206, Washington, DC 20024. The decedent owned District of Columbia personal property. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills for the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, #3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.

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KATHRYN C. RAY, whose address is 4441 Windom Place NW, Washington, DC 20016 was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of DENNIS L. BEAUFORT who died on June 29, 2022 with a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, DC, Building A, 515 5th Street NW, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20001, on or before March 2, 2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before March 2, 2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of Death: June 28, 2012

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A True Test Copy Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION 2022 FEP 000095

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION 2022 ADM 000909

Date of ﬁrst Publication: 9/2/2022 Julie Chrisco, Personal Representative

Date of ﬁrst Publication: 9/2/2022 Kathryn C. Ray, Personal Representative

A True Test Copy Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

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SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • 71 INGLESIDE AT ROCK CREEK 202-999-4496 // www.ircdc.org INGLESIDE AT KING FARM 240-414-8523 // www.ikfmd.org Not-for-profit, CARF-accredited, SAGECare-certified, life plan communities.EXPECT MORE Whether you are looking for a vibrant and spirited Independent Living lifes le, an enriching Assisted Living and Memo Support neighborhood, or the peace of mind and securi that comes with a Life Plan Communi , Ingleside will exceed your expectations . Discover a rich and diverse communi made up of interesting iends and neighbors, living an active and engaging lifes le. EXPECT MORE AT INGLESIDE.