CONTENTS

JULY 27, 2017 Volume 24 Issue 13

13 HIGH-FLYING EQUALITY
Sweet Spot Aerial Productions takes the circus
to new LGBTQ heights

By Doug Rule

ARI SHAPIROS
SOLO ACT
The host of NPRs storied All Things Considered
brings his new, multilingual one-man cabaret
to Amp by Strathmore.
22
Interview by Randy Shulman

31 PLATINUM BOND
Charlize Theron kicks butt and takes names
in Atomic Blonde, an action-packed fever dream
of Cold War pulp fiction

By Andr Hereford

SPOTLIGHT: SEX AND THE CABARET p.7 OUT ON THE TOWN p.10
FASHION FORWARD: CHECK IT p.10 HIGH-FLYING EQUALITY: SWEET SPOT AERIAL p.13
QUEER LIT: OUTWRITE p.15 THE FEED p.17 COMMUNITY: DC LAMBDA SQUARES p.19
FEATURE p.22 GALLERY: RESIST AT ZENITH p.29 FILM: ATOMIC BLONDE p.31
STAGE: THE KING AND I p.32 NIGHTLIFE p.35 SCENE: FREDDIES BEACH BAR p.35
LISTINGS p.36 SCENE: JR.S p.42 SCENE: BEAR HAPPY HOUR AT TOWN p.44
LAST WORD p.46
Real LGBTQ News and Entertainment since 1994
Editorial Editor-in-Chief Randy Shulman Art Director Todd Franson Managing Editor Rhuaridh Marr Senior Editor John Riley Contributing Editor Doug Rule
Senior Photographers Ward Morrison, Julian Vankim Contributing Illustrator Scott G. Brooks Contributing Writers Andr Hereford,
Sean Maunier, Troy Petenbrink, Kate Wingfield Webmaster David Uy Production Assistant Julian Vankim
Sales & Marketing Publisher Randy Shulman National Advertising Representative Rivendell Media Co. 212-242-6863 Distribution Manager Dennis Havrilla
Patron Saint David Gilkey Cover Photography Richard Gerst

Metro Weekly 1775 I St. NW, Suite 1150 Washington, DC 20006 202-638-6830
All material appearing in Metro Weekly is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publishers. Metro Weekly assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials submitted for publication. All such submissions are subject to
editing and will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Metro Weekly is supported by many fine advertisers, but we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers, nor can we accept responsibility for materials provided by advertisers or their
agents. Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles or advertising in Metro Weekly is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such person or organization.
2017 Jansi LLC.

4 JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY

 Spotlight
JOAN MARCUS

Sex and the Cabaret

The current tour of the iconic musical has kink to spare and reinstates
a vital narrative cut from the movie

J
ON PETERSON HAS SOME CHOICE WORDS FOR
those who dont return after intermission to the searing,
sexualized touring production of Kander and Ebbs clas-
sic Cabaret. Id say to them, Grow the fuck up, laughs the
55-year-old British actor who brings the shows iconic emcee to
vivid, lascivious life. Dont you think its time to be a little bit
more honest with yourself? Sex exists. People do it. You do it. So
come on, get real.
This is not your standard-issue Cabaret not by a long shot.
Based on the 1998 Broadway revival, directed by Sam Mendes
and co-directed Rob Marshall, the narrative cleaves closer to
that of the 1966 original Broadway production, rather than Bob
Fosses overly-familiar 1972 film. The ill-fated romance between
Herr Schultz, a Jewish fruit merchant, and his landlady, Frau
Schneider, has been fully restored, bringing added moral depth
and political resonance to the underlying story of the downfall of
the Weimar Republic in 1930s Germany.
They sing four songs, says Mary Gordon Murray, who
as Schneider, hits it out of the park nightly with the intensely
charged showstopper, What Would You Do? And all those
songs are cut in the movie.... Its really kind of a revelation for
people that theres this whole other storyline thats such a big
part of the evening.
Its such a beautiful, tragic story within the story, adds
Peterson. Its just perfectly set up. Cabaret is like a little Russian
doll, isnt it? Theres a doll within a doll within a doll. Its just
gorgeous.
Murray isnt put off by the productions overtly erotic tones,
though her choice of words are gentler than her co-stars.
I certainly dont want people to walk out, she says. Thats
not the point of doing theater. On the other hand, Im not dis-
mayed that something like this is risky enough, and political
enough, and has a strong enough opinion, that maybe some
people arent gonna go for it. Thats pretty ballsy for a musical
to do. I dont think it should be something gratuitous you cer-
tainly dont want to alienate people. Thats not the point, but on
the other hand, this is a strong cup of tea. Perhaps some people
wont care for it. Well, so be it. Randy Shulman

Cabaret runs to August 6, at Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theatre, Tickets are $59 to $149.
Call 202-467-4600, or visit kennedy-center.org.

JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY 7

 Spotlight
THURGOOD
George Stevens, Jr. wrote this play
about the first African-American
Supreme Court Justice, portrayed by
Brian Anthony Wilson. Walter Dallas
directs Brian Anthony Wilson in a one-
man show that explores the long jour-
ney toward justice that began with
Brown v. Board of Education. To Aug.
20. Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab at
Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-
Sandy Spring Road, Olney, Md. Call
STAN BAROUH

301-924-3400 or visit olneytheatre.org.

QUEEN +
ADAM LAMBERT
Its not every week you have
the chance to see both Blondie
and Queen in concert. Adam
Lambert returns to front the
legendary band in a reprise
tour presented by Live Nation,
with original members Brian
May and Roger Taylor power-
ing through all of Queens big-
gest hits. They will rock you for
sure. Monday, July 31. Doors
at 7 p.m. Verizon Center, 601
F St. NW. Tickets are $40 to
$685.80. Call 202-628-3200 or
visit verizoncenter.com.

XAVIE VILA
195 LEWIS
Yuri and Camille are a black, queer and poly-
amorous couple living in Brooklyn, but Yuris
new lover and old college friend complicates
the situation. Rae Leone Allen and Yaani
Supremes dramedy, directed by Chanelle
Aponte Pearson, is presented as part of Reel
Affirmations monthly screening series RA Xtra.
Pearson and members of the cast are scheduled
to appear for a talkback with catered recep-
tion after the screening, hosted by Rayceen
Pendarvis of The Ask Rayceen Show. Friday,
July 28, at 7:30 p.m. HRC Equality Center, 1640
Rhode Island Ave. NW. Tickets are $12, or $25
for VIP seating as well as one complimentary
cocktail, beer or wine and popcorn. Call 202-
682-2245 or visit thedccenter.org.

8 JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY

 Spotlight

BLONDIE & GARBAGE

Debbie Harry and Shirley Manson will
lead their respective punk-inspired rock
bands in a special double-bill concert
under the stars, in a pairing thats almost
too good to be true. Deap Vally opens the
show. Thursday, Aug. 3., at 7:30 p.m. The
Filene Center at Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap
Road, Vienna. Tickets are $35 to $85. Call
877-WOLFTRAP or visit wolftrap.org.

ANNE & EMMETT

MetroStage presents a return engage-
ment of Janet Langhart Cohens play
that imagines a conversation between
two famous teenage victims of racial
intolerance and hatred, Anne Frank
and Emmett Till. Styled as an uplift-
ing tribute, Anne & Emmett, which the
Alexandria theater offered in 2015 and
has since been performed around the
country, is a reminder and a call to action
to repair the world, or tikkun olam in
Hebrew. Opens Friday, July 28. Runs to
July 30. MetroStage, 1201 North Royal
St., Alexandria. Tickets are $35. Call 703-
548-9044 or visit metrostage.org.

CHRIS BANKS
DAKSHINA
DANCE COMPANY
Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh returns to
Dance Place for another summer program
featuring works by the late pioneering cho-
reographer Anna Sokolow. The production
includes Frida, Sokolows tribute to her friend-
ship with Frida Kahlo and love of Mexico
and Mexican culture, and Homenaje a David
Alfaro Siqueiros, her sculptural interpretation
of artwork by the Mexican muralist incor-
porating projections of his paintings as well
as spoken text. Saturday, July 29, at 8 p.m.,
STEPHEN BARANOVICS

and Sunday, July 30, at 7 p.m. Dance Place,

3225 8th St. NE. Tickets are $25 in advance,
or $30 at the door. Call 202-269-1600 or visit
danceplace.org.

JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY 9

 Out On The Town

FASHION FORWARD
Compiled by Doug Rule

FILM
The documentary Check It is a a unique, charismatic, cinematic slice of FANTASTIC BEASTS AND
D.C.s African-American LGBTQ youth WHERE TO FIND THEM
Though J.K. Rowling penned all
seven Harry Potter novels, the

W
2016 blockbuster was the first
HEN IT WAS FOUNDED, A DECADE AGO, THE CHECK IT WAS A SUPPORT GROUP film in her wizarding universe
for LGBTQ youths fed up with being bullied and mistreated. It quickly evolved into a that Rowling actually wrote.
gay street gang, whose members became notorious for viciously attacking their enemies. Fantastic Beasts also serves as
They became the predators instead of the preyed-upon, says gang counselor Ron Mo Moten. the first in a new prequel series
to the Potter timeline, follow-
Hoping to steer the kids clear of trouble, Moten introduced them to documentary filmmak-
ing Newt Scamander (Eddie
ers Dana Flor and Toby Oppenheimer (The Nine Lives of Marion Barry). We met with the kids Redmayne), author of a novel
at Dennys, and it was an immediate thing, the D.C.-based Flor says. Theyre cinematic. And on dangerous creatures, who
theyve got incredible, unique, never-before-told kind of stories. unwittingly unleashes a number
Flor and Oppenheimer spent the next four years chronicling the groups struggles for their of beasts on Americas wizard-
ing and muggle community in
powerfully intimate documentary Check It. And their connection with the youth only deepened the 1920s. Its the final offering
over the course of shooting. I live in the city, and have kids who go to school with some of the in the summer screenings pre-
Check It, Flor says. Im very attached to them. Im very worried for them, and very involved in sented by the Golden Triangle
their lives. BID. Friday, Aug. 4, starting at
The film depicts the Check Its resilience and humor, as well as their pain and distress in deal- sunset around 9 p.m. 912 17th
St. NW, between K Street and
ing with numerous disadvantages. But it was a city-run summer fashion industry workshop that Connecticut Avenue. Call 202-
provided a catalyst for real change, unlocking hidden passions for design and creativity in the kids. 463-3400 or visit goldentrian-
That happened nearly a year after we had started filming, says Flor. It was really serendip- gledc.com.
itous because it gave us the spine of the story.
After touring internationally, Check It returns to Southeast, D.C., where the journey began, LA LA LAND
Damien Chazelles movie musi-
with a pair of simultaneous screenings presented by the Smithsonian Anacostia Community cal has already become some-
Museum. Celebrating not only the success of the film, but the organizations continuing evolution thing of a summer screening
in servicing at-risk LGBT youth, the screening arrives on the heels of opening of the first fashion sensation. The Oscar-winning
boutique by Check It Enterprises. work, featuring an infectious
score and strong performanc-
The Anacostia-based store, which features clothes and accessories designed by the group, es by Emma Stone and Ryan
stands as a brick-and-mortar testament to the power of perseverance. Flor is glad the film played Gosling, will be screened twice
a part. next week: First at a free screen-
The Check It are doing great, she says. They have their own store. Theyve been trained as ing Thursday, Aug. 3, at approx-
outreach workers to work with kids on the street. [The experience] has radically changed their imately 8:30 p.m. in Canal Park,
2nd and I Streets SE. Visit cap-
lives. Andr Hereford itolriverfront.org. Thats fol-
lowed on Friday, Aug. 4, with
Check It screens at the Anacostia Arts Center, 1231 Good Hope Rd. and at We Act Radio, 1918 Emil de Cou conducting the
Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., both in Southeast, on Friday, July 28, at 6:30 p.m. A reception follows National Symphony Orchestra
as it performs La La Lands orig-
at Check It Enterprises, 1920 MLK Jr. Ave. SE. Visit anacostia.si.edu/events.
inal score while the movie is

10 JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY

 unmoored when their 17-year-
old daughter decides to become a
Christian. Presented by Unexpected
Stage, the play challenges assump-
tions about parenting, religion and
the nature of spirituality. Zach
Brewster-Geisz, Jonathan Frye,
Ruthie Rado and Mindy Shaw star.
To Aug. 6. The Fireside Room in the
River Road Unitarian Universalist
Congregation, 6301 River Road in
Bethesda. Tickets are $10 to $27.50.
Call 301-337-8290 or visit unex-
pectedstage.org.

THE ORIGINALIST
Two years after its world pre-
miere and a year after its sub-
ject died Arena Stage revives
John Strands play about one of
the biggest enemies to the LGBTQ
cause and civil rights in general:
MARGOT SCHULMAN

Supreme Court Justice Antonin

Scalia. Helen Hayes Award-winner
Edward Gero reprises his critical-
ly-acclaimed role. Closes Sunday,
July 30. Kreeger Theater, 1101 6th
St. SW. Call 202-488-3300 or visit
arenastage.org.
NATIONAL DANCE DAY
Once again the Kennedy Center plays host to National Dance Day, launched in 2010 by WIG OUT!
Playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney,
Nigel Lythgoe, best known from TVs So You Think You Can Dance. WUSA 9 anchor who wrote the work on which
Andrea Roane emcees this years free, 10-hour-long celebration featuring performers the Oscar-winning Moonlight was
including dance fitness group Kazaxe, the Howard University Step Team, renowned con- based, updates an earlier work
inspired by African-American drag
temporary dance company Bowen McCauley Dance, the Dance Institute of Washington,
ball culture and its competitive
the Fairfax Chinese Dance Troupe, Open Circle Theatre, Abada Capoeira DC, D.C. hip- dance-offs. Kent Gash directs the
hop crew Culture Shock, and the all-female Afro-Brazilian group Batala Washington. Studio X production, staged as an
So You Think You Can Dance contestant Tony Bellissimo will lead patrons in this years underground pageant complete
with catwalk, created couture, and
National Dance Day routine, and Broadway choreographer/director Adam Shankman a cash bar. Jaysen Wright, Michael
(Hairspray, Step Up) will also participate in the D.C. festivities. Saturday, July 29, from 2 Kevin Darnall and Alex Mills lead
to 8 p.m. Kennedy Center. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org. the 11-person cast. Now extended
to August 20. Studio Theatre, 14th
& P Streets NW. Tickets are $45
to $55. Call 202-332-3300 or visit
studiotheatre.org.
projected on screens in-house and
on the lawn in the Filene Center,
STAGE down bar in South Philadelphia a
few months before Holidays death.
1551 Trap Rd., Vienna. Tickets are
BONNIE & CLYDE
Tom Flatt directs star Anya Nebel MUSIC
$40 to $60. Call 877-WOLFTRAP and a live jazz combo with addition-
The fledgling, millennial-focused
or visit wolftrap.org. al accompaniment by LeVar Betts. ARETHA FRANKLIN
Monumental Theatre offers a run
To Aug. 6. Anacostia Playhouse, The Queen of Soul returns to Wolf
of Frank Wildhorn, Don Black
THE IDES OF MARCH 2020 Shannon Place SE. Tickets are Trap for a performance drawing
and Ivan Menchells musical that
George Clooney co-wrote, directed $30 to $40. Call 202-241-2539 or from her rich repertoire and
relates the love-fueled crime spree
and starred in this 2011 political visit anacostiaplayhouse.com. maybe, just maybe, her rich hat col-
of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow,
drama that screens as part of the lection. Saturday, July 29, at 8 p.m.
which was a national fascination
NoMa BIDs outdoor series just a MY FAIR LADY The Filene Center at Wolf Trap,
during the Great Depression.
few blocks from the Capitol, this The Lerner and Loewe classic, adapt- 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are
The show was a flop, lasting only
year revolving around a quintes- ed from Georges Bernard Shaw and $40 to $135. Call 877-WOLFTRAP
four weeks on Broadway in 2011,
sential Washington theme: Power, Gabriel Pascals film Pygmalion. Alan or visit wolftrap.org.
but it still managed to snag two
Politics & Popcorn. Ryan Gosling Souza directs a massive cast including
Tony nominations, including one
plays an idealistic campaign press Danny Bernardy, Brittany Campbell, FEMINA
for Wildhorn and Black for Best
secretary who tries to get Clooneys Ian Anthony Coleman, Warren The world music trio from
Original Score. Ryan Maxwell
character, Governor Mike Morris, Freeman, Chris Genebach, Christina Patagonia blends reggae, Latin and
helms the Monumental produc-
into the White House, but throws Kidd, Alex Kidder, Julia Klavans, hip-hop influences into original
tion, with music direction by Paige
a few wrenches in the works, Ashleigh King, Valerie Leonard, world music compositions, charac-
Rammelkamp and choreography by
including a dalliance with an intern, Benjamin Lurye, Jimmy Mavrikes, terized by the womens sharp three-
Melrose Pyne. Closes Sunday, July
played by Evan Rachel Wood. Christopher Mueller and Todd part harmony. Theyre also known
30. Ainslie Arts Center in Episcopal
The screening starts at sunset on Scofield. Extended to Aug. 6. Olney for their on-stage chemistry and
High School, 3900 W. Braddock Rd.
Wednesday, Aug. 2. Grounds open Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy theatrical live performances, which
Call 703-933-3000 or visit monu-
at 7 p.m. NoMa Junction at Storey Spring Road, Olney, Md. Call 301-924- will be on display in a local concert
mentaltheatre.org.
Park, 1005 1st St. NE. Visit noma- 3400 or visit olneytheatre.org. as part of Strathmores free Live
bid.org. from the Lawn series. Wednesday,
LADY DAY AT
OBLIVION Aug. 2, at 7 p.m. Gudelsky Gazebo
EMERSONS BAR AND GRILL
A wry look at the nature of belief in at Strathmore, 10701 Rockville Pike,
Lanie Robertsons play with music
our current changing times, Carly North Bethesda. Tickets are free.
focuses on the life of jazz legend
Menschs comedy focuses on a sec- Call 301-581-5100 or visit strath-
Billie Holiday, taking place at a run-
ular Brooklyn couple who become more.org.

12 JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY

HIGH-FLYING EQUALITY
Sweet Spot Aerial Productions takes the circus
to new LGBTQ heights

A
FEW YEARS AGO, ELLIOT PROEBSTEL AND LAURA
Wooster were watching a professional trapeze show when
they realized something was amiss. Why werent there any
expressions of same-sex affection or love? Two of the male perform-
ers were real-life partners, after all.
They said theyve never been a part of a show where they were
allowed to be a couple together on stage, Proebstel recalls. All of of
their mentors and coaches had advised them that their duo trap act
should always appear very technical and not romantic or sexual in
nature.... They were told they would never get professional gigs if it
looked like they were a couple on stage. And we were really unsatis-
fied with that answer.
Proebstel and Wooster, both trapeze instructors at TSNY
Washington DC, decided to offer an alternative to their very het-
eronormative and very cisgender-role mentality. So they launched
a professional circus arts company that hires and highlights LGBTQ
artists and themes. Not yet three years old, Sweet Spot Aerial
Productions is already turning heads in its field. Earlier this summer,
the company was featured as part of the Circus Arts programming of
the 2017 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
Next up is the companys premiere of Smoky Mirrors, its fourth
full-length production combining aerial feats and circus stunts, and
its second with an LGBTQ-themed narrative. I would describe it as
a story of the principal character trying to find what best expresses
her gender in terms of both physical expression, which circus arts is a
great vehicle for, says Proebstel. Shes guided through the show by a
character who is much more comfortable in her own presentation and
seems to know her place really well as well as two characters who
represent polar extensions of masculinity and femininity.
Smoky Mirrors weaves together elements of real-life stories from

RICH RIGGINS
its 12-member cast and creative team. The company co-founders even
play a part: Proebstel as part of a duo trap act, and Wooster on a triple
trapeze with three others.
In December, Sweet Spot will offer its third holiday-themed show
at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. Although comparatively light in LGBTQ content, they do always involve at least one character
or a couple who is visibly queer. This year, the lead character is a drag queen.
Says Proebstel, [Its] important to us to make sure that we are not always hitting people over the head, but always representing
a diversity of lived experiences. Doug Rule

Smoky Mirrors will be performed on Saturday, Aug. 5, at 5 and 8:30 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 6, at 5 p.m., in the
Lang Theatre at the Atlas, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $25. Call 202-399-7993 or visit atlasarts.org.

NSO@WOLF TRAP:
CARMINA BURANA
Wolf Traps amphitheater will ring
with the sounds of Carl Orffs epic
masterwork, performed by the
National Symphony and conduct-
ed by Joann Falletta. Joining them
will be three soloists and a stage full
of choral groups, including two of
D.C.s biggest and best, the Choral
Arts Society of Washington and the
Washington Chorus. The Childrens
Chorus of Washington, the Capitol
Hill Chorale, the Fairfax Choral
Society, the George Mason University
Heritage Signature Chorale, and
the Reston Chorale will augment
COMEDY blue states to our orange head of
state. To Aug. 13. Kennedy Center
the vocal firepower. The evening Theater Lab. Tickets are $49 to $69.
THE SECOND CITY:
starts with another dramatic classic, Call 202-467-4600 or visit kenne-
...DIVIDED WE STAND
Beethovens Piano Concerto No. 5 in dy-center.org.
The Kennedy Center welcomes back
E-flat Major, otherwise known as
famed comedy troupe The Second
the Emperor Concerto, performed WASHINGTON IMPROV
City for an update to last years
by Seong-Jin Cho, the 2015 Chopin THEATER: SUMMER SCHOOL
popular Almost Accurate Guide to
Competition winner. Friday, July 28, No two performances are alike
America. The comedians Angela
at 8:15 p.m. Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap when performed by the Washington
Alise, Ryan Asher, Tyler Davis,
Road, Vienna. Tickets are $20 to $58. Improv Theater, D.C.s answer to
Katie Kershaw, Chucho Perez and
Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit wolf- comedy star-making groups such
Ross Taylor have cooked up a
trap.org. as Chicagos Second City and L.A.s
new irreverent, mocking look at
Groundlings. Over the next month,
America, from the red states to the
the organization offers a run of sum-

JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY 13

 Alexander and interdisciplinary art-
ist/organizer Jaimes Mayhew with
Chase Brexton Health Cares LGBT
Health Resource Center. Queer
Interiors features a larger-than-life
bed and furnishings, personal arti-
facts and a multimedia wall display
known as the Baltimore LGBTQI+
Home Movie Quilt, which pays
homage to Baltimore album quilts
and the AIDS Memorial Quilt
by presenting a growing, crowd-
sourced portrait of the citys queer
communities. Through Aug. 31. The
Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art
Museum Dr. Baltimore. Call 443-
573-1700 or visit artbma.org.

SAYA BEHNAM:
SAFFRON AND TEA
Mixed-media paintings with colors
derived from dried saffron, hibis-
cus, borage tea, henna, and coffee
is the focus of this exhibition orga-
nized through the Bethesda Urban
Partnership, Inc. Born in Tehran,
Iran, the visual artist Behnam cur-
rently lives and works in her studio
Fantasia in Northern Virginia. On display to
SUMMER SPIRIT FESTIVAL Aug. 5. Gallery B, 7700 Wisconsin
Billed as a one-stop shop for a soulful good time, this years Summer Spirit Festival is Ave., Suite E, Bethesda. Call 301-
215-7990 or visit bethesda.org/
once again a two-day affair, with R&B veteran Kenny Babyface Edmonds headlining bethesda/gallery-b.
Day One, Saturday, Aug. 5, and Bell Biv Devoe on Day Two, Sunday, Aug. 6. Fantasia, De
La Soul, Common, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Ro James, EU featuring Sugar VINCENT BROWN:
CITY UNDER SIEGE
Bear, Moonchild, and Wisdom Speeks are also part of the Saturday lineup, with SWV, In his first ever solo exhibition, this
the Internet, Jazmine Sullivan, En Vogue, DJ Kool, Trouble Funk, and Tish Hyman on D.C.-based photographer/videog-
Sunday. Performances begin at 2 p.m. both days. Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little rapher, currently an assistant pro-
Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, Md. Tickets are $97 to $1,170. Call 800-551-SEAT or visit ducer at UDC-TV, shares images
captured over the past two years
merriweathermusic.com. focused on the citys less fortunate.
As the cost of the living has sky-
rocketed in D.C., so too has the
rate of homelessness and through
mer school-themed shows featuring Kramerbooks, 1517 Connecticut Ross, and Lindsay Mullen. To Aug. Browns images, you can see some
a different mix of WIT improvising Ave. NW. Call 202-387-1400 or visit 5. Susan Calloway Fine Arts, 1643 of the individuals whove gotten the
ensembles, including Bottom Shelf, kramers.com. Wisconsin Ave. NW. Call 202-965- short end of the stick. Now to Aug.
Man Feelings and Jive Turkey, plus 4601 or visit callowayart.com. 5, with an East of the River Panel
a cast of performers known as the SPARKLE QUEER OPEN MIC Discussion set for July 13, from 6 to
Stovetron in Rainy Day Smores The first Sunday of every month LOGAN FRINGE ARTS SPACE: 9 p.m. Vivid Solutions Gallery in the
on the Stove. To Aug. 6. Source, the 14th and V location of Busboys HOME Anacostia Arts Center, 1231 Good
1835 14th St. NW. Tickets are $12 & Poets hosts a reading series fea- Works from regional, national Hope Road SE. Call 202-631-6291
in advance, or $15 at the door. Call turing LGBTQ-identified poets. and international artists explor- or visit vividsolutionsgallery.com.
202-204-7770 or visit witdc.org. Sparkle is yet another local show- ing the making of and search for
case created by Regie Cabico, the the concept of home and the YVES SAINT LAURENT: THE
slam poet responsible for Capturing need to preserve space for those PERFECTION OF STYLE
READINGS AND Fire, the annual LGBTQ spoken less fortunate or otherwise dis- Virginias leading art museum plays
word and poetry festival presented placed. Sheldon Scott curated this host to a traveling exhibition of one
LECTURES by the DC Center, as well as the reg- exhibition featuring video, paint- of historys most radical and influ-
ular cabaret/comedy/poetry variety ing, sculpture and performance ential fashion designers. Drawn
DAN ZAK, DENISE KIERNAN: OUR show La-Ti-Do. He hosts Sparkle works from artists Madison Bolls, from the archives of the Fondation
NUCLEAR FIXATION with fellow poet Danielle Evennou. Anne Bouie, Anne-Sophie Coiffet, Pierre Berg - Yves Saint Laurent
In Almighty, the Washington Post Sunday, Aug. 6, at 8 p.m. Langston Kyrae Cowan, Jacqueline Hoysted, and other private collections, the
reporter reexamines Americas Room, 2021 14th St. NW. Cover is Ashley Janae, Tsedaye Makonnen, exhibition features 100 examples
love-hate relationship with the $5. Call 202-387-POET or visit bus- Helina Metaferia, Britt Sankofa and of haute couture and ready-to-
nuclear bomb, from the race to beat boysandpoets.com. Stephanie Williams. Through July wear garments, plus accessories,
the Nazis, to the solemn 70th anni- 30. Logan Fringe Arts Space, 1358 photographs, drawings, film and
EXHIBITS
versary of Hiroshima, to renewed Florida Ave. NE. Tickets are $20 video, showcasing Saint Laurents
desire in todays political realm to $25. Call 202-737-7230 or visit artistic genius, process and sourc-
for greater nuclear weaponry. Zak capitalfringe.org. es of inspiration. The Paper Doll
CONTEMPORARY URBAN LIFE
will discuss his book, written as Couture House, which launched
Susan Calloway Fine Arts pres- QUEER INTERIORS
a historical adventure, courtroom Saint Laurents career as a teenager
ents a group show featuring artists Through an initiative commis-
drama and moral thriller, as well in 1953, is among the artifacts on
whose works try to reconcile the sioning installations and pub-
as the prospects of nuclear war and display for the first time in the U.S.
dichotomy between intimacy and lic programs related to its broad
world peace with a fellow journal- In the ensuing decades the designer,
isolation that city life encompasses. Imagining Home exhibit, the
ist and best-selling author whose first at the House of Dior and later
Featuring works in a range of media Baltimore Museum of Art brings
titles include The Girls of Atomic via his own label, is credited with
by Rogers Naylor, Steven S. Walker, together video and film artist Rahne
City. Tuesday, Aug. 1, at 6:30 p.m. helping advance womens wear
Leslie Nolan, John Sandy, Charles

14 JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY


beyond the dress to include jackets
and pantsuits. Garments from when
he officially retired via his final
runway collection in 2002 are also
on display. Now to Aug. 27. Altria
Group and New Market Galleries,
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200
North Boulevard. Richmond, Va.
Tickets are $10 to $22. Call 804-
340-1405 or visit vmfa.museum.
FOOD & DRINK
HANKS: TIKI ON THE HILL
The regular menu at Hanks Oyster
Bar is a celebration of the cuisine
and culture of Maine. But some-
times you need to shake things up,
and nothing screams fun and frivol-
ity like the tiki culture of Hawaii,
which Hanks toasts with an all-af-
ternoon party. Themed food spe-
cials, fresh and fruity boozy bever-
ages, snow cones, and kitschy trop-
ical decor think flamingos are
on tap, as is a slew of surprises.
Saturday, July 29, from 3 p.m. to
midnight. Hanks on the Hill, 633
Pennsylvania Ave SE. Call 202-733-
1971 or visit hanksoysterbar.com.
TAQUERIA DEL BARRIO:
DRAG BRUNCH
Petworths new Mexican eatery
from the DC Empanadas crew pres-
ents another round of its last-Sat-
urday-of-the-month drag brunch.
Desiree Dik hosts a show featuring
queens Shaunda Leer and Whitney
GucciGoo, who perform while
guests enjoy French toast, chilaq-
uiles and Taquerias signature tacos,
among other dishes, all washed
down with mimosas, Bloody Marys
and Absolut vodka cocktails. Two
seatings Saturday, July 29, at 10
a.m. and 1 p.m. 821 Upshur St. NW.
Tickets are $25 and include one
brunch entree or three tacos and
one brunch cocktail. Call 202-723-
0200 or visit taqueriadelbarrio.com.
ABOVE & BEYOND
FOUND FOOTAGE FESTIVAL:
CHERISHED GEMS
Comedy writers Joe Pickett
and Nick Prueher, whose cred-
its include Late Show with David
Letterman, The Colbert Report and
The Onion, return for another round
of a festival that features found vid-
eos and live comedy drawn from
garage sales, thrift stores, ware-
houses, and dumpsters around the
country including curiously pro-
duced industrial training videos and
cheesy exercise tapes. Friday, July
28, at 8 p.m. Arlington Cinema N
Drafthouse, 2903 Columbia Pike,
Arlington. Tickets are $13. Call 703-
486-2345 or visit arlingtondraft-
house.com.
PRIDE SPLASH AND RIDE
Now in its fifth year, Splash & Ride
offers LGBTQ attendees reduced
price admission and access to all
QUEER LIT
OutWrite celebrates LGBTQ literature in all its guises,
from politics to fantasy to eroticism
O
NE OF THE THINGS THAT IM EXCITED ABOUT IS THE CONVERSATIONS
around what queer writing means and what role it can play given the current
political climate, says Dave Ring. Ring is the co-chair of OutWrite, an annual
LGBTQ literary festival presented by the DC Center and unsurprisingly the current state
of politics is a main topic for discussion at the event. A couple of meetings, including
our keynote, are talking explicitly about how the personal is political and how writing is
personal, and how writing about diverse, queer [people] is part of what resistance looks
like on a daily basis, he says.
But its not all politics and protests at the weekend-long festival, which features more
than 60 authors and is expected to attract more than 400 participants. The event has
broadened its scope a bit to include newer, more provocative areas of the literary arts,
such as erotic storytelling. It kicks off Friday, Aug. 4, with a cabaret featuring smutty
storytelling, nerdy burlesque, and literary euphemisms, presented in collaboration with
DC Smut Slam. Eroticism is also the theme of a writing workshop, set for Sunday, Aug. 6.
Writing Desire is specifically about writing sex scenes or scenes of intimacy, says Ring.
How to do that across genres and how to create movements in your fiction by writing
those scenes.
A 2013 Lambda Literary Fellow, Ring himself has focused on writing short stories,
although recently began work on a novel. I write mostly science fiction-fantasy stuff, he
says. Which is maybe partly why this years focus has kind of that speculative fiction.
OutWrite 2017 also touts the craft of playwriting through the new Queer One Page Play
Competition, with the five winning plays performed by Theatre Prometheus, co-sponsor
of the competition.
Ive heard from authors and attendees that theres a sense of excitement and relief and
surprise that this space exists and that the festival feels the way it does, Ring says. Its
an entirely queer and LGBTQ focus base, and that affects the way you feel when youre in
the space. Doug Rule
OutWrite 2017 is Friday, Aug. 4, through Sunday, Aug. 6, at The DC Center for the LGBT
Community, 2000 14th St. NW. Call 202-682-2245 or visit thedccenter.org/outwrite for a
full schedule of readings and events.
theme park and water park rides Birch & Barley, Declaration Pizza,
TASTE OF STUDIO
at Six Flags America from one La Tomate Italian Bistro, Peregrine
of the areas premiere coasters, For the third year in a row, The Espresso, Rice, and Sudhouse.
Superman (now with an option- Studio Theatre, which helped to Saturday, Aug. 5, from 12 to 8 p.m.
al VR component), to the Vortex/ spark the 14th Street renaissance Studio Theatre, 14th Street NW.
Riptide water slide, which plunges opens its doors for an open house Tickets are $3 per a la carte item
riders into 360-degree whirlpools. celebration. The full slate of activ- or $100 for an all-access pass. Call
Theres also a Happy Hour from ities in the complex includes art 202-332-3300 or visit studiotheatre.
6 to 8 p.m. exclusively for Pride installations, live music, faculty org/taste.
Splash & Ride ticket holders, with workshops, tours of the in-house
local drag queens performing, fol- production shops, sneak peeks of THE ASK RAYCEEN SHOW:
lowed by an exclusive dance party Studios summer show Wig Out! POETRY SLAM COMPETITION
with D.C.-area DJs that lasts until as well as shows from the 2017- Rayceen Pendarvis offers a preview
midnight. Those not in a dancing 2018 season and other new plays of the annual OutWrite festival
mood are guaranteed extended in development, plus programming through interviews with partici-
access to the waterslides, whirl- from community partners including pants as well as his monthly variety
pools and lazy river. Saturday, July Black Broadway on U: A Transmedia shows annual poetry slam compe-
29, from 10:30 a.m. to midnight. Project, Reel Affirmations, and the tition, where DCHomos will award
Two shuttles will depart Nellies New Millennium Howard Players. a $100 cash prize to the winner.
Sports Bar at 12:15 p.m. and 2 p.m. It all culminates in a community Also on tap is live music by sing-
for return later that night. Six Flags focused panel discussion mod- er Quineice and guest DJ Kryptk,
America and Hurricane Harbor, erated by the Washington Post. plus burlesque by GiGi Holliday.
13710 Central Ave, Upper Marlboro, Although the main event is free and Wednesday, Aug. 2, at 6 p.m.
Md. Tickets, with proceeds ben- open to all, tickets are required to Wednesday, Aug. 2, from 6 to 9 p.m.
efiting the Capital Pride Alliance, sample the wares of many of D.C.s HRC Equality Center, 1640 Rhode
NOVA Pride and Baltimore Pride, best venues for food and drink, a Island Ave. NW. Free. Call 202-505-
are $42 in advance or $54 day of. roster that includes 3 Stars Brewing 4548 or visit AskRayceen.com. l
Visit pridesplash.org. (John Riley) Company, Bantam King, B Too,
JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY 15
 theFeed
IRPGF / TWITTER
RESISTANCE FIGHTERS
Rainbow-toting LGBTQ fighters are battling ISIS in Syria By Rhuaridh Marr
A
FTER YEARS OF WATCHING ISIS slaughter inno-
cent gay men by stoning them, throwing them from
rooftops, or shooting them, LGBTQ people are fight-
ing back. A new military unit comprised of international
LGBTQ volunteers has joined the battlefield in Syria to help
Kurdish fighters and others in the ongoing battle against the
so-called Islamic State.
Dubbed The Queer Insurrection and Liberation Army,
or TQILA (pronounced tequila) for short, the group is part of
the left-wing International Revolutionary Peoples Guerrilla
Forces (IRPGF).
The announcement came in a statement posted to IRPGFs
Twitter: We, the International Revolutionary Peoples
Guerrilla Forces (IRPGF) formally announce the formation
of The Queer Insurrection and Liberation Army (TQILA), a
subgroup of the IRPGF comprised of LGBT*QI+ comrades
as well as others who seek to smash the gender binary and
advance the womens revolution as well as the broader gen-
der and sexual revolution.
The statement noted that those who chose to join TQILA
SAFER SEX
Study finds having undetectable HIV levels effectively prevents transmission
among gay couples By Rhuaridh Marr
A
NEW STUDY INTO HIV TRANSMISSION
between serodiscordant gay couples has found HIV-
positive men with undetectable levels of the virus do
not transmit HIV to their partners.
have watched in horror as fascists and extremist forces
around the world have attacked the Queer community and
murdered countless of our community members citing that
they are ill, sick, and unnatural. The images of gay men
being thrown of roofs and stoned to death by Daesh [ISIS]
was something we could not idly watch. Under ISISs penal
code, being gay is punishable by death.
The group also equated ISISs attempted erasure of
LGBTQ people with the efforts of Christian conservatives
in the global northwest, who IRPGF accuse of attacking
LGBTQ people in an attempt to silence and erase their
existence.
Speaking to Newsweek, TQILA wouldnt confirm how
many of the groups fighters are actually LGBTQ, citing secu-
rity concerns.
Many of our comrades are within the LGBT*QI+ commu-
nity, a spokesperson said. We are already fighting in Raqqa.
On Twitter, IRPGF put it a little more succinctly: These
Faggots Kill Fascists! We shoot back! The Black & Pink and
Rainbow flag fly in Raqqa. l
In the Opposites Attract study, the largest of its kind, 358
gay couples where one partner had HIV and the other did not
were monitored.
The University of New South Wales Kirby Institute doc-
JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY 17
 theFeed
umented over 17,000 instances of anal sex without condoms tive partner is under regular medical care and does not miss
between the couples, and found that none resulted in HIV any of their anti-retroviral medication in order to ensure
transmission. they maintain an undetectable viral load.
Undetectable virus level effectively prevents HIV Our data add to previous studies which show that there
transmission among gay has never been a recorded
couples, said the Kirby case of HIV transmission
Institutes Professor from an HIV-positive per-

EVA RINALDI / FLICKR (CREATIVE COMMONS)

Andrew Grulich. son to their HIV-negative
Opposites Attract is the sexual partner when the
first study to show that HIV-positive partner had
these results apply in both undetectable viral load,
high and middle income he continued.
countries. Kevin Robert Frost,
Our research adds to CEO of the Foundation for
the evidence from a small AIDS Research (amfAR),
number of other interna- called the results of the
tional studies of heterosex- study extremely encour-
ual and homosexual cou- aging, adding that they
ples and means that we can underscore the need to
say, with confidence, that get people tested and onto
effectively treated HIV blocks transmission in couples of treatment immediately if they are HIV positive.
differing HIV status. Dr. Nittaya Phanuphak, Chief of the Prevention
HIV medication currently works by suppressing the lev- Department at the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre,
els of the virus in the persons body. Instances of the virus one of the partners in the study, said that the study demon-
will eventually become so low that it is undetectable in blood strated that condomless sex with undetectable viral load
tests. And, according to Opposites Attract, that means the is a form of safe sex. She noted that it not only proves the
risk of transmission becomes negligible. concept of treatment as prevention, but also heavily destig-
This is life-changing news for couples of differing HIV matises gay men living with HIV, as well as their seronega-
status, Grulich said. But it is important that the HIV posi- tive partners. l

18 JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY


THURSDAY, July 27
The DC ANTI-VIOLENCE
PROJECT, a group dedicated
to combating anti-LGBT hate
crimes, holds its monthly meet-
ing at The DC Center. 7-8:30
p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite
105. For more information, visit
thedccenter.org.
The DC Center hosts a reunion
of the LATINX LGBTQI
COALITION, to discuss issues
affecting queer Latinos. 7-8:30
p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite
105. For more information, visit
thedccenter.org.
DC LAMBDA SQUARES
Weekly Events
ANDROMEDA
TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH
offers free HIV testing and HIV
services (by appointment). 9
a.m.-5 p.m. Decatur Center,
1400 Decatur St. NW. To
arrange an appointment, call
202-291-4707, or visit androm-
edatransculturalhealth.org.
DC AQUATICS CLUB practice
session at Takoma Aquatic
Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 300 Van
Buren St. NW. For more infor-
mation, visit swimdcac.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS run-
ning/walking/social club
welcomes runners of all ability
levels for exercise in a fun and
supportive environment, with
socializing afterward. Route
distance is 3-6 miles. Meet at
7 p.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW.
For more information, visit
dcfrontrunners.org.
DC LAMBDA SQUARES gay
and lesbian square-dancing
group features mainstream
through advanced square
dancing at the National City
Christian Church, 5 Thomas
Circle NW, 7-9:30 p.m. Casual
dress. 301-257-0517, dclamb-
dasquares.org.
DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds
practice. The team is always
looking for new members. All
welcome. 7:30-9:30 p.m. King
Greenleaf Recreation Center,
201 N St. SW. For more infor-
mation, visit scandalsrfc.org or
dcscandals@gmail.com.
The DULLES TRIANGLES
Northern Virginia social
group meets for happy hour at
Sheraton in Reston. All wel-
come. 7-9 p.m. 11810 Sunrise
Valley Drive, second-floor bar.
For more information, visit
dullestriangles.com.
HIV TESTING at Whitman-
Walker Health. 8 a.m.-8 p.m. at
Community
1525 14th St. NW, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
at the Elizabeth Taylor Medical
Center, 1701 14th St. NW, and 8
a.m-5 p.m. at the Max Robinson
Center, 2301 MLK Jr. Ave.
SE. For an appointment call
202-745-7000 or visit whit-
man-walker.org.
IDENTITY offers free and
confidential HIV testing at
two separate locations. Walk-
ins accepted from 2-6 p.m.,
by appointment for all other
hours. 414 East Diamond Ave.,
Gaithersburg, Md. or 7676
New Hampshire Ave., Suite
411, Takoma Park, Md. To set
up an appointment or for more
information, call Gaithersburg,
301-300-9978, or Takoma Park,
301-422-2398.
METROHEALTH CENTER
offers free, rapid HIV testing.
QUEER DOSEY-DO
Appointment needed. 1012 14th
St. NW, Suite 700. To arrange
an appointment, call 202-638-
0750.
DC Lambda Squares can teach you the right SMYAL offers free HIV Testing,
square dancing moves to impress on the 3-5 p.m., by appointment and
walk-in, for youth 21 and
dancefloor younger. Youth Center, 410 7th
A
St. SE. 202-567-3155 or test-
LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE THE MISCONCEPTION ing@smyal.org.
that square dancing is to set to country Western
or fiddle music, says Joe Branch, president of Us Helping Us hosts a
NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS
DC Lambda Squares. But what we do is much more MEETING. The group is inde-
modern. We dance to all kinds of music from top 40 pendent of UHU. 6:30-7:30
to country to rap. p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave. NW.
For more information, call 202-
Every Thursday, D.C.s LGBTQ square dance club holds 446-1100.
a club night at National City Christian Church, where even
city slickers can learn how to master the ins and outs of WOMENS LEADERSHIP
modern Western square dancing. The dancing officially INSTITUTE for young LBTQ
women, 13-21, interested in
kicks off at 7:30 p.m., but at 6:30, the club offers a workshop leadership development. 5-6:30
where participants can practice certain dance moves or p.m. SMYAL Youth Center, 410
skills that they can use on the dancefloor later that night. 7th St. SE. For more informa-
tion, call 202-567-3163, or email
We always try to make sure theres an educational aspect catherine.chu@smyal.org.
to it, says Branch.
The basics of square dancing are simple: participants FRIDAY, July 28
separate into pairs, and are part of a square with three
other couples. A caller at the front of the room gives direc- LGBTQ people suffering from
social anxiety can attend an
tion, and each couple does their choreographed part of the educational SOCIAL ANXIETY
dance, moving their bodies around the square. Later, the WORKSHOP to learn about
caller tells the dancers to resolve the square, or return to social anxiety, its causes, and
how to overcome it. No one is
their original positions. required to speak or interact at
DC Lambda Squares membership costs $50 annually, the workshop. Pre-registration
with the option of prepaying door fees for all club nights. is required to participate.
Door fees are $8 per club night for members, and $10 for Workshop will take place in an
office near Tenleytown. To reg-
non-members, who are welcome to attend. ister or for more details, visit
The best way to explain the club is were just a fun socialanxietyhelp.com or call
group of people who enjoy square dancing, says Branch. licensed social worker Larry
Cohen at 202-244-0903.
We socialize, we bring food. Its just a chance to get away
from everyday life and have a good time. John Riley The DC Center holds its
CENTER AGING MONTHLY
DC Lambda Squares holds its weekly club nights from 7:30 to LUNCH social for members of
D.C.s senior community. 12-2
9:30 p.m. at National City Christian Church, 5 Thomas Circle p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite
NW. Call 301-257-0517 or visit dclambdasquares.org. 105. For more information,
JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY 19
 visit thedccenter.org or call 202-
682-2245.
The DC Center and the George
Washington University Cancer
Center partner to hold an LBT
BREAST CANCER PREVENTION
& AWARENESS event. 8-9:30 p.m.
2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For
more information or to register,
visit thedccenter.org.
WOMEN IN THEIR TWENTIES
(AND THIRTIES), a social discus-
sion and activity group for queer
women, meets at The DC Center
on the second and fourth Friday of
each month. Group social activity
to follow the meeting. 8-9:30 p.m.
2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For
more information, visit thedccen-
ter.org.
Weekly Events
BET MISHPACHAH, founded by
members of the LGBT community,
holds Friday evening Shabbat ser-
vices in the DC Jewish Community
Centers Community Room. 8 p.m.
1529 16th St. NW. For more infor-
mation, visit betmish.org.
DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a prac-
tice session at Howard University.
6:30-8 p.m. Burr Gymnasium, 2400
6th St. NW. For more information,
visit swimdcac.org.
PROJECT STRIPES hosts LGBT-
affirming social group for ages
11-24. 4-6 p.m. 1419 Columbia Road
NW. Contact Tamara, 202-319-
0422, layc-dc.org.
SMYALS REC NIGHT provides a
social atmosphere for LGBT and
questioning youth, featuring dance
parties, vogue nights, movies and
games. For more info, email cather-
ine.chu@smyal.org.
SATURDAY, July 29
ADVENTURING outdoors group
undertake very strenuous 13-mile
hike with 3600 feet of elevation
gain in Shenandoah National
Park. Experienced hikers only.
Bring plenty of beverages, lunch,
bug spray, sunscreen, about $20
for fees, and money for dinner on
the way home. Return after dark.
Carpool at 8:30 a.m. from East Falls
Church Metro Kiss & Ride lot.
More info, Jackson, 410-422-9257.
Visit adventuring.org.
CHRYSALIS arts & culture group
visits Winterthur, the DuPont
family estate near Wilmington, Del.
Carpool at 9:30 a.m. from Forest
Glen Metro Kiss & Ride lot. For
more info, Kevin, 571-338-1433,
kgiles27@gmail.com.
Join the local LGBTQ community
for YOGA AT THE DC CENTER.
10-11 a.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite
20 JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY
105. For more information, visit
thedccenter.org.
Weekly Events
BRAZILIAN GLBT GROUP, includ-
ing others interested in Brazilian cul-
ture, meets. For location/time, email
braziliangaygroup@yahoo.com.
DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a prac-
tice session at Montgomery College
Aquatics Club. 8:30-10 a.m. 7600
Takoma Ave., Takoma, Md. For more
information, visit swimdcac.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/
walking/social club welcomes run-
ners of all ability levels for exercise
in a fun and supportive environ-
ment, with socializing afterward.
Route distance will be 3-6 miles.
Walker meet at 9:30 a.m. and run-
ners at 10 a.m. at 23rd & P Streets
NW. For more information, visit
dcfrontrunners.org.
DIGNITYUSA sponsors Mass for
LGBT community, family and
friends. 6:30 p.m., Immanuel
Church-on-the-Hill, 3606 Seminary
Road, Alexandria. All welcome. For
more info, visit dignitynova.org.
GAY LANGUAGE CLUB discusses
critical languages and foreign lan-
guages. 7 p.m. Nellies, 900 U St.
NW. RSVP preferred. Email bren-
dandarcy@gmail.com.
SUNDAY, July 30
ADVENTURING outdoors group
hikes 7 moderately strenuous
miles with 1200 feet of elevation
gain in Shenandoah National
Park. Blackberry ice cream, other
refreshments follow. Bring plenty
of beverages, lunch, bug spray,
sunscreen, about $20 for fees and
money for refreshments. Carpool
at 9:30 a.m. from East Falls Church
Metro Kiss & Ride lot. Contact
Craig, 202-462-0535. Visit adven-
turing.org.
Weekly Events
LGBT-inclusive ALL SOULS
MEMORIAL EPISCOPAL CHURCH
celebrates Low Mass at 8:30
a.m., High Mass at 11 a.m. 2300
Cathedral Ave. NW. 202-232-4244,
allsoulsdc.org.
BETHEL CHURCH-DC progressive
and radically inclusive church
holds services at 11:30 a.m. 2217
Minnesota Ave. SE. 202-248-1895,
betheldc.org.
DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a
practice session at Wilson Aquatic
Center. 9:30-11 a.m. 4551 Fort Dr.
NW. For more information, visit
swimdcac.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/
walking/social club welcomes run-
ners of all ability levels for exercise
in a fun and supportive environ-
ment, with socializing afterward.
Route will be a distance run of 8, 10
or 12 miles. Meet at 9 a.m. at 23rd
& P Streets NW. For more informa-
tion, visit dcfrontrunners.org.
FAIRLINGTON UNITED
METHODIST CHURCH is an open,
inclusive church. All welcome,
including the LGBTQ commu-
nity. Member of the Reconciling
Ministries Network. Services at
9:30 and 11:00 a.m. 3900 King
Street, Alexandria, Va. 703-671-
8557. For more info, visit fairling-
tonumc.org.
FRIENDS MEETING OF
WASHINGTON meets for worship,
10:30 a.m., 2111 Florida Ave. NW,
Quaker House Living Room (next
to Meeting House on Decatur
Place), 2nd floor. Special welcome
to lesbians and gays. Handicapped
accessible from Phelps Place gate.
Hearing assistance. quakersdc.org.
HSV-2 SOCIAL AND SUPPORT
GROUP for gay men living in the
DC metro area. This group will be
meeting once a month. For infor-
mation on location and time, visit
H2gether.com.
INSTITUTE FOR SPIRITUAL
DEVELOPMENT, God-centered
new age church & learning center.
Sunday Services and Workshops
event. 5419 Sherier Place NW. isd-
dc.org.
LUTHERAN CHURCH OF
REFORMATION invites all to
Sunday worship at 8:30 or 11 a.m.
Childcare is available at both ser-
vices. Welcoming LGBT people for
25 years. 212 East Capitol St. NE.
reformationdc.org.
METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY
CHURCH OF WASHINGTON, D.C.
services at 9 a.m. (ASL interpret-
ed) and 11 a.m. Childrens Sunday
School at 11 a.m. 474 Ridge St. NW.
202-638-7373, mccdc.com.
RIVERSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH,
a Christ-centered, interracial,
welcoming-and-affirming church,
offers service at 10 a.m. 680 I St.
SW. 202-554-4330, riversidedc.org.
UNITARIAN CHURCH OF
ARLINGTON, an LGBTQ welcom-
ing-and-affirming congregation,
offers services at 10 a.m. Virginia
Rainbow UU Ministry. 4444
Arlington Blvd. uucava.org.
UNIVERSALIST NATIONAL
MEMORIAL CHURCH, a welcom-
ing and inclusive church. GLBT
Interweave social/service group
meets monthly. Services at 11 a.m.,
Romanesque sanctuary. 1810 16th St.
NW. 202-387-3411, universalist.org.
MONDAY, July 31
Weekly Events
ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL
HEALTH offers free HIV testing
and HIV services (by appointment).
9 a.m.-5 p.m. Decatur Center, 1400
Decatur St. NW. To arrange an
appointment, call 202-291-4707,
or visit andromedatranscultural-
health.org.
DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a
practice session at Dunbar Aquatic
Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 101 N St. NW.
For more information, visit swim-
dcac.org.
GETEQUAL meets 6:30-8 p.m. at
Quaker House, 2111 Florida Ave.
NW. For more information, email
getequal.wdc@gmail.com.
NOVASALUD offers free HIV test-
ing. 5-7 p.m. 2049 N. 15th St., Suite
200, Arlington. Appointments: 703-
789-4467.
The DC Center hosts COFFEE
DROP-IN FOR THE SENIOR LGBT
COMMUNITY. 10 a.m.-noon. 2000
14th St. NW. For more information,
call 202-682-2245 or visit thedc-
center.org.
US HELPING US hosts a black gay
mens evening affinity group for
GBT black men. Light refreshments
provided. 7-9 p.m. 3636 Georgia
Ave. NW. 202-446-1100.
WASHINGTON WETSKINS
WATER POLO TEAM practices 7-9
p.m. Newcomers with at least basic
swimming ability always welcome.
Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van
Buren St. NW. For more informa-
tion, contact Tom, 703-299-0504
or secretary@wetskins.org, or visit
wetskins.org.
WHITMAN-WALKER HEALTH
HIV/AIDS Support Group for
newly diagnosed individuals,
meets 7 p.m. Registration required.
202-939-7671, hivsupport@whit-
man-walker.org.
TUESDAY, August 1
THE HIV WORKING GROUP of
THE DC CENTER hosts a Packing
Party, where volunteers assemble
safe-sex kits of condoms and lube.
7-9 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite
105. Visit thedccenter.org.
Weekly Events
ASIANS AND FRIENDS weekly
dinner in Dupont/Logan Circle
area, 6:30 p.m. For more informa-
tion, email afwash@aol.com, or
visit afwashington.net.
DC AQUATICS CLUB practice
session at Takoma Aquatic Center.
7:30-9 p.m. 300 Van Buren St. NW.
For more information, visit swim-
dcac.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/
walking/social club welcomes run-
ners of all ability levels for exercise
in a fun and supportive environment,
with socializing afterward. Route
distance is 3-6 miles. Meet at 7 p.m.
at Union Station. For more informa-
tion, visit dcfrontrunners.org.
DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds prac-
tice. The team is always looking
for new members. All welcome.
7:30-9:30 p.m. King Greenleaf
Recreation Center, 201 N St. SW.
For more information, visit scan-
dalsrfc.org or dcscandals@gmail.
com.
THE GAY MENS HEALTH
COLLABORATIVE offers free
HIV testing and STI screening
and treatment every Tuesday.
5-6:30 p.m. Rainbow Tuesday
LGBT Clinic, Alexandria Health
Department, 4480 King St. 703-
746-4986 or text 571-214-9617.
james.leslie@inova.org.
KARING WITH INDIVIDUALITY
(K.I.) SERVICES, at 3333 Duke St.,
Alexandria, offers free rapid HIV
testing and counseling, 9 a.m.-4
p.m. 703-823-4401.
OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS
LGBT focused meeting every
Tuesday, 7 p.m. St. Georges
Episcopal Church, 915 Oakland
Ave., Arlington, just steps from
Virginia Square Metro. For
more info. call Dick, 703-521-
1999. Handicapped accessible.
Newcomers welcome. liveandletli-
veoa@gmail.com.
SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5
p.m., by appointment and walk-in,
for youth 21 and younger. Youth
Center, 410 7th St. SE. 202-567-
3155 or testing@smyal.org.
SUPPORT GROUP FOR LGBTQ
YOUTH ages 13-21 meets at
SMYAL. 5-6:30 p.m. 410 7th St.
SE. For more information, contact
Cathy Chu, 202-567-3163, or cath-
erine.chu@smyal.org.
US HELPING US hosts a support
group for black gay men 40 and
older. 7-9 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave.
NW. 202-446-1100.
Whitman-Walker Health holds its
weekly GAY MENS HEALTH AND
WELLNESS/STD CLINIC. Patients
are seen on walk-in basis. No-cost
screening for HIV, syphilis, gon-
orrhea and chlamydia. Hepatitis
and herpes testing available for fee.
Testing starts at 6 p.m, but should
arrive early to ensure a spot. 1701
14th St. NW. For more information,
visit whitman-walker.org.
WEDNESDAY, August 2
THE ASK RAYCEEN SHOW host
the annual poetry slam with
$100 cash prizes, interviews with
OutWrite 2017 participants, live
music by singer Quineice, and
burlesque by GiGi Holliday. Doors
open at 6pm. Free. 6 p.m. HRC
Equality Center, 1640 Rhode Island
Ave. NW. askrayceen.com.
BOOKMEN DC, an informal mens
gay-literature group, discusses
Donald Brittons poetry collection,
In the Empire of the Air Reginald
Shepherd and Philip Clark, editors.
7:30 p.m. Tenleytown Library,
4450 Wisconsin Ave. NW. All wel-
come. bookmendc.blogspot.com
THE TOM DAVOREN SOCIAL
BRIDGE CLUB will meet for Social
Bridge. 7:30 p.m. Dignity Center,
721 8th St. SE (across from Marine
Barracks). No partner needed. Call
301-345-1571 for more information.
Weekly Events
AD LIB, a group for freestyle con-
versation, meets about 6-6:30 p.m.,
Steam, 17th and R NW. All wel-
come. For more information, call
Fausto Fernandez, 703-732-5174.
DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC)
holds a practice session at Dunbar
Aquatic Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 101 N
St. NW. For more information, visit
swimdcac.org.
FREEDOM FROM SMOKING, a
group for LGBT people looking
to quit cigarettes and tobacco use,
holds a weekly support meeting at
The DC Center. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th
St. NW, Suite 105. For more infor-
mation, visit thedccenter.org.
HISTORIC CHRIST CHURCH
offers Wednesday worship 7:15 a.m.
and 12:05 p.m. All welcome. 118 N.
Washington St., Alexandria. 703-
549-1450, historicchristchurch.org.
JOB CLUB, a weekly support pro-
gram for job entrants and seekers,
meets at The DC Center. 6-7:30
p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105.
For more info, centercareers.org.
WASHINGTON WETSKINS
WATER POLO TEAM practices 7-9
p.m. Newcomers with at least basic
swimming ability always welcome.
Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van
Buren St. NW. For more informa-
tion, contact Tom, 703-299-0504
or secretary@wetskins.org, or visit
wetskins.org. l
Submit your community event for
consideration at least 10 days prior
to the Thursday publication you
would like it to appear. Email to cal-
endar@metroweekly.com.
JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY 21
Ari Shapiros
The host of NPRs storied All Things Considered brings his
new, multilingual one-man cabaret to Amp by Strathmore.
Interview by R andy Shulman
Photography by Cassidy DuHon
Cover Photograph by R ichard Gerst
I
REMEMBER GOING TO THE BARS ON 17TH STREET
to make friends. Ari Shapiro is recalling his early days
in Washington, D.C., when he interned for National
Public Radios legendary Nina Totenberg. I fell in
with this group one Saturday night who invited me to
someones house for drinks. And then they said, Were
all going out. I said, Great, where are we going? And they said,
Remingtons, a country western bar. Were going two-stepping.
I said, Youre joking, right? I was like, who are these people?
It didnt take long to make a two-stepping convert out of
Shapiro.
It was such a great bar, the 38-year-old says. It was the
only place Ive been to in D.C. where it didnt matter if you were
young or old, black or white, fat or thin, if you knew how to
dance and somebody asked you to dance, the answer was yes.
You would dance with the person, and at the end give a little
thank you kiss, and move on. I ended up going to Remingtons
pretty often.
When Shapiros boyfriend and now husband, with whom
22 JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY
hes spent the past 19 years moved to town, he taught him how
to two-step as well.
That was the first dance at our wedding, says Shapiro. A
two-step.
A lot has changed for Shapiro since those early days in D.C.
He rapidly became a rising star and fixture on NPR and, in 2008,
launched into a side-gig as a guest singer with the world-music
influenced, mini-orchestra Pink Martini, which fuses jazz, pop,
and classical into a wondrous, wholly unique concoction.
In 2015, Shapiro, who had for several years served as NPRs
London correspondent, was called back to D.C., and made one
of four rotating hosts of the networks signature news program,
All Things Considered.
In the 40 year history of All Things Considered there have
been, I think, about a dozen hosts, he says. To be one of them
feels like such an honor, and such an opportunity, and such a
responsibility, its pretty extraordinary.
In fact, Shapiro listened to All Things Considered touted by
NPR as the most listened-to, afternoon drive-time, news radio
Solo Act
program in the country as a young boy, growing up in North
Dakota.
I have memories of being in my parents living room in
Fargo, sitting in front of speakers that were probably as tall as I
was, hearing the All Things Considered theme as my mother was
making dinner, he says. Susan Stamberg was hosting the show
back then. And now I get to work with Susan Stamberg. Shes a
mentor and a friend. To inherit that privilege, that role, is some-
thing that I could never have imagined.
He pauses to reflect. People say, Was this always your goal?
But it was too unreal to be a goal. It never seemed like something
that I could do.
Shapiro is not one to shy away from challenges, however, and
his work with Pink Martini gave rise to a solo show, Homeward,
which he brings to Amp by Strathmore on Saturday, August 5.
The evening is a one-man cabaret of songs performed in their
native languages and based on the stories Shapiro has covered as
a broadcast journalist. Throughout the evening, he performs in
seven different languages everything from Ukrainian to Scots
Gaelic to Kurdish.
Performing with Pink Martini gave me the confidence to do
this, he says. I dont have to hand out a lyric sheet so every-
body understands what every word means. The melody and the
instruments can convey meaning, and if I know what Im sing-
ing, and I can convey that in a language that people dont speak,
they can understand whats happening.
I explain the songs in broad terms, but hearing, This is a
song that people sang in Ukraine as they buried the protesters
who were killed in the Maidan, and then hearing that song in
the language in which it was sung, is a different experience from
hearing an English song. We hear English songs every day, all
the time. This hopefully takes people somewhere in the same
way that hearing an NPR story takes people to a different place.
METRO WEEKLY: Two years ago, you were scheduled to be on the
cover of Metro Weekly. Then something happened, something sig-
nificant and remarkable the landmark Supreme Court decision
on gay marriage.
ARI SHAPIRO: I remember it well. It happened while we were on
the phone, as I recall.
MW: Your cover was swapped with the Supreme Court.
SHAPIRO: And I totally agreed with and supported that editorial
decision.
MW: You were very gracious about it. So now heres our makegood.
In the two years since that decision, how has life changed for you
and for the LGBTQ community at large?
SHAPIRO: For me, life has changed in ways having nothing to do
with that decision. I got married in 2004 my husband and I
have been together since we were in college and yet in those
two years my own life has changed dramatically. Ive gone from
living in London as a foreign correspondent to being back in
Washington, D.C. hosting All Things Considered, which is a huge
change.
For gay people in the U.S. generally, the marriage decision
obviously extended rights to people who had been fighting for
them for a long time. The marriage decision allowed people in
the U.S. to say, Okay, thats taken care of, whats next? Now SHAPIRO: There were actually two synagogues. There was a
the focus can shift to some of the people whose needs still need
to be met, whose needs were not addressed by the question of
marriage. For example, I am deeply involved with SMYAL, an
LGBTQ youth organization in Washington, D.C. The sorts of
young people SMYAL serves are people who have real needs
that were not addressed by the marriage decision. Despite all the
24 JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY
advances in LGBTQ rights over the years, the suicide rate, the
bullying rate, the homelessness rate for LGBTQ young people,
remains shockingly high.
MW: Why do you think that is?
SHAPIRO: One of the unique aspects of being gay is that, unlike
other minority groups, gay people are raised by parents who
are not gay. For the most part, black people are raised by black
parents, Latino people are raised by Latino parents, Jews are
raised by Jewish parents. Gay people, generally speaking, are
raised by straight parents. If youre Jewish, as I am, you were
raised by parents who, day to day, year to year, are telling you
what it means to be Jewish from the time youre very young. If
youre gay, thats a process you have to do on your own. At some
point, maybe you bring your parents into the process. Maybe
your parents are eager to become part of the process, or maybe
they reject you outright. I think the division of not being imbued
with a sense of what it means to be gay at birth, not being given
that from generations that raise you, makes life more difficult for
people when they do come out, especially in communities that
are not supportive.
I also think this points to one reason why popular culture is
so important. When youre a teenager coming to terms with the
fact that you might be gay in a family of people who are straight,
you turn on the TV and see shows that represent LGBTQ people
in a wide variety of ways. Whether its Master of None, Modern
Family, or Orange is the New Black, you see examples of a range
of people living lives in different communities, in different cul-
tures, who are LGBTQ. Even if theres nobody in your immediate
real life whos queer, it gives you a sense of the potential of what
being gay could mean.
MW: One thing the marriage decision did give rise to and I dont
know if any of us could have expected it was the concept of using
religious freedom as a means of discrimination.
SHAPIRO: When I was a kid in Oregon, there were gay rights
measures on the ballot, and there were also measures on the
ballot that would have allowed teachers to be fired for being gay.
So theres always a push-pull in American life, always a debate,
always a fight. Frankly, I think thats a good thing. Im not say-
ing its good that anyone is trying to deprive anyone of anyones
rights, but I do think its good that the conversation happens,
that the debate happens, that there are fights in court. Thats a
democracy. Thats the way it works.
MW: Do you think there will ever come a time when the fight ends?
SHAPIRO: I think the fight changes. Right now there are fights
over trans issues that nobody was having ten years ago, because
they were having different fights ten years ago. I think the nature
of a democracy is that everyone is always fighting over things.
Thats the way the system is supposed to work.
MW: Lets move to your personal life. You were born in North
Dakota.
SHAPIRO: Yes, indeed. My family was there for ten years. We
moved away when I was eight. I have limited memories of my
childhood there because I was so young, but the memories I
have are all really positive. Fargo was a great place to be a little
kid.
MW: Was there much of a Jewish community there?
Reform synagogue my family would go to on Friday nights, and
there was an Orthodox synagogue we would go to on Saturday
mornings. We kept Kosher, which meant that once a month
we would get our meats frozen on a truck that came in from
Chicago. It would pull into the synagogue parking lot. We had a
freezer in our garage where we would put all of the Kosher meat.
Every Friday night my mother would make challah from scratch. SHAPIRO: Thats a really hard question to answer. Being a teen-
There was a real Jewish community there. ager is a process of figuring out who you are in any number of
MW: Im curious, why did you attend both Reform and Orthodox? ways, and figuring out who youre attracted to is part of that. It
SHAPIRO: My family has always been ecumenical, and my par- wasnt that I kissed a boy and then I kissed a girl and I decided
ents, especially my father, have always cast a wide net, and sort I liked the boy better than a girl. It was just a matter of figuring
of embraced a wide range of religious practices. So I think it was out that this was who I was.
a matter of inclusivity. At the time there were so few role models for gay people, I
MW: You then moved to Oregon. What was that like? remember thinking to myself, This probably means that Im
SHAPIRO: Portland of the 90s was not as self-aware as the going to have to be either a florist or a flight attendant, because,
Portland of today. I love Portland, but it was still sort of a well- literally, in the mid-nineties there werent many examples of gay
kept secret back then. My family would go hiking on the week- people beyond that. That is meant in no way to disparage florists
ends, we would go skiing on Mount Hood, or visit the Oregon and flight attendants I do enjoy arranging flowers from time
coast. All of these were just a to time but one would like to
couple hours away. When I was I remember thinking to myself, think that you have a range of
a kid, I didnt appreciate that THIS PROBABLY MEANS THAT IM options, those two being among
most people dont grow up with many more.
spectacular waterfalls within GOING TO HAVE TO BE EITHER A MW: You found your way to jour-
an hours drive of where they FLORIST OR A FLIGHT ATTENDANT, nalism. How did that happen?
live. My mother became inter- because, literally, in the mid-nineties SHAPIRO: Very randomly, to be
ested in wild flowers, I became honest. I was an English major
interested in identifying birds, there werent many examples at Yale, and when I finished col-
my father would take us wild of gay people beyond that. lege I had no idea what I wanted
mushroom hunting. I realize this to do, and so a friend and I sat
sounds very Lewis and Clark, down and brainstormed a list of
but in retrospect, it was a pretty all the possible things we might
extraordinary way to grow up. do. NPR was on her list, and
And, of course, like all kids, as I I said, Thats a great idea. I
was growing up, I didnt realize want to put it on my list, too. I
that it was extraordinary. It just applied for the things that were
seemed like childhood. on our lists, and got rejected
The other thing about Oregon for all of them, including the
is that in the 90s, Portland was, NPR internship. Then I got a
I think, the only city in America fellowship teaching English in
to have an underage gay night- Greece for a year, and was pre-
club. It was called The City. I paring to go to Athens when I
came out when I was 16 and found out that Nina Totenberg,
immediately there were these NPRs legendary legal affairs
queer youth groups that I started correspondent, hires her own
going to. And my friends and I interns. So I applied to Nina, and
would go to The City nightclub Nina offered me an internship. I
on Saturday nights. It was cer- told her I was scheduled to go to
tainly not some kind of idealized Greece. She said, Go to Greece.
gay utopia, but as a 16-year-old Come work for me next year. I
in the 90s, to be able to go to a peer youth group, to be able to said, No, if youre offering me this, Im taking it.
go to a gay nightclub before the age of 21, was pretty amazing. I moved to Washington, D.C., into a one-room apartment
MW: What prompted you to come out at such an early age? with a lesbian who I found on Craigslist, sleeping on her pullout
SHAPIRO: I came out to myself when I was about 15, and after sofa. I did this underpaid internship, and then, at the end of
I had told a friend, my friend said, When are you going to tell the internship, landed a temp job working on Morning Edition,
your parents? I said, Not until Im really old, like in my 20s. which turned into a permanent job. I never left.
Then, as I thought about it, I realized that the sooner I got it over Until that point, Id never written a story for my school paper,
with, the sooner it could be a non-issue. It was never going to be Id never taken a journalism class. It was almost a fluke that I
easy, and so I might as well just get it out of the way. So I did it. wound up where I am. But it is such a perfect fit for my interests
This was before I had ever had a boyfriend, before I had ever and skills, and I enjoy it so much, that I feel very, very lucky to
gone to any gay party or club or group or anything. So my parents have fallen into this.
and I really kind of started on the journey at the same time. At the same time, its a lesson that when young people are
MW: How did they take it? trying to figure out where they should go and what they should
SHAPIRO: On a scale of parental reaction they took it very well. do and who they should be, its often impossible to know. If you
Compared to the ideal fantasy parent that may not exist in real- cast a wide net, you never know what will come back in that net.
ity, it left a little bit to be desired, but given that I sprung it on Being megalomaniacally focused on a single goal can sometimes
them unexpectedly and that they were improvising on the fly, I block the possibility of really extraordinary things that you
would give their reaction very high marks. might not know are out there and would be even more satisfying
MW: What made you realise, Im more attracted to men than than whatever that goal is.
women? MW: Thats great advice.

JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY 25

SHAPIRO: Its also a lesson in failure, and the value of just failing multitasking with one ear on the radio. What will pull them in?
repeatedly until finally you succeed at something. When we hear MW: Do you have a story in particular, over your years at NPR,
the stories of people who are successful, we never hear about all that stands out as your favorite?
the things they failed at before they succeeded. We only hear the SHAPIRO: Honestly, I dont. Part of this job is constant discov-
story of their success. Then people get this false narrative that ery and surprise. If six months go by and there isnt at least one
successful people have never ever failed, when in fact the oppo- thing hopefully more that I am moved and compelled and
site is true. Successful people have just failed again and again and excited about, somethings wrong. If I think back and say, That
again until finally failure gave way to success. thing I did five years ago was really the best, and I havent done
MW: You wound up on the radio, which is a very, very specific anything as good since then, Im not doing the job right. Also,
kind of journalism, different from what we how do you compare the visceral experience
do in terms of print, and different from tele- of covering a war to the sort of poetic expe-
vision. Im not going to disparage television
Trumps attacks on the rience of talking to a 92-year-old man about
journalism, although I think unless youre 60 media are not helpful, the story of his life in rural Tennessee? Both
Minutes, it sometimes doesnt deal with the but they dont exist in of them are memorable, gripping experiences
kind of depth and analysis of radio journalism. in completely different ways.
SHAPIRO: There is a lot of great television
a vacuum. THERE WAS MW: You now have a side-career as a singer.
journalism out there. It just happens to be in ALREADY DIMINISHING Had you not gone into journalism, do you think
short supply in America right now. CONFIDENCE AMONG you would have gone into singing full-time?
MW: Where is it in good supply? SHAPIRO: I did a lot of theater when I was in
SHAPIRO: The BBC does great work. If youre
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE high school and college. I was in a lot of musi-
overseas, and you turn on CNN International, IN U.S. INSTITUTIONS. cals, and I really loved singing and I loved
they do consistently compelling journalism. That is what Donald acting and I loved performing. It crossed my
Unfortunately, a lot of TV news today is mind to try to be an actor, but journalism was
either one story relentless harped upon for
Trump took advantage such a good fit. Journalism checked so many
hours with a panel of ten people, some of of, and that is what he is of the boxes that performing checked, where
whom may be qualified to talk about it, some speaking to. you connect with an audience, you make
of whom just engaged in shouting matches. somebody see the world in a different way,
Or its viral videos and celebrity gossip, and you tell a story. I felt very satisfied with my
not doing a great public service. life, and occasionally had sing-alongs around
MW: What are the challenges and difficulties of creating a story the piano and that was fine.
entirely out of sound. Then Pink Martini came to D.C. once, and I threw a party
SHAPIRO: Ive only ever worked in radio my whole life, so its for them that turned into a late night singalong with my D.C.
a bit like asking a fish to describe the water he swims in, but I friends and all the members of Pink Martini. The next day Pink
think the advantage to telling stories through audio is that it Martinis bandleader, Thomas Lauderdale, said, Why dont you
bypasses the preconceived notions people might have about sing a song on our next album? I had been a fan of Pink Martini
somebody who they are looking at. You see somebody on TV, since I was a kid they were a Portland band that started when I
and you immediately jump to the conclusions about their class, was in middle school. For me, this was some kind of crazy dream
their personality, their age, their political leanings. When you come true that I thought would never actually happen.
hear someone on the radio, somehow you can, I think, set that I flew to Portland and recorded a song for the album. That
aside, and connect with someone on a more intimate level. It was 2008. And then Thomas said, Why dont you perform live
engages the listeners brain a little more, and makes them do with us? Were going to be at the Hollywood Bowl in September,
some work that forces them to connect with a story on a deeper so come to the Hollywood Bowl. So my first time ever singing
level. Its less passive. with a band was in front of 18,000 people at the Hollywood
At NPR we often say the pictures are better on the radio. Bowl. Backstage there are all these big black and white photos
Because theres something more vivid about hearing a descrip- of people whove performed at the Bowl over the years Jimi
tion and the sound of a place and letting your mind do the rest Hendrix, Judy Garland, The Beatles and I walked out on that
than just seeing a picture of it on your TV screen. Theres some- stage and I sang a song.
thing very powerful about the human voice. When youre broad- Then Thomas said, If youre going to keep singing with us
casting on television, often youre orating to an unseen audience we need to find some more songs for you. Ive been recording
of thousands. When youre speaking on the radio, its just me and performing with them ever since.
speaking to you. No matter how many other yous are out there, MW: And now youre going solo. What can we expect from your
Im just speaking to one person when Im speaking through the show?
radio. That is a very intimate connection. The way people talk SHAPIRO: Ive only ever done it once, which was just to see if I
about their relationship to NPR, and their experience of listen- could do it, and it went really well. The audience seemed to react
ing to NPR, affirms for me that this is something that connects very strongly to it. There were a lot of tears, people asked when I
with people on a deeper level than just providing information. would be doing it again. So Im bringing it to Amp by Strathmore
MW: Whats incredible about NPR is the formation of atmosphere on August 5, and then am taking it to Joes Pub in New York on
in the stories, with audio creating a sense of place. NPR nails it in August 13, which is so intimidating, because as legendary as the
terms of creating a sense of environment. Hollywood Bowl is with its 18,000 people, Joes Pub which
SHAPIRO: Definitely something that we think about as we are out holds about 200 is legendary as a cabaret venue.
reporting is what kinds of details, what kinds of sounds, what The show itself is very personal for me. I took stories that I
kinds of texture will bring a place to life for somebody who is have covered as a journalist and started thinking about the fact
in their car driving to work, or in the kitchen making dinner, or that there has been a soundtrack in each of these places at all of

26 JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY

these times. I started thinking about perspective and resilience
and how people get through the difficult things that we all have
to try to get through. I reached out to people I had met who were
protesting in Ukraine, or Syrian refugees I met who had crossed
the Mediterranean from Turkey to Europe in search of a better
life, and I said to these people, What were people singing? What
was in your earbuds? What was the music? I assembled these
stories and these songs, and strung them together in a way that,
to me, felt useful, that felt like it said something about keeping
perspective and overcoming difficult things in life. There are
songs in half a dozen different languages, and it ends with an
American moment. Hopefully people will be entertained, but
also hopefully people will get something out of it that they can
take with them.
MW: How many languages do you sing in?
SHAPIRO: [Laughs.] Shall I count? Setting aside Pink Martini, in
my solo show there is French, Kurdish, Ukrainian, Scots Gaelic,
German, Arabic, and English. Then with Pink Martini, I also
have Greek, Italian, Spanish, Armenian, Hebrew. There may be
others that Im forgetting, but lets say roughly a dozen.
MW: Are you fluent in them?
SHAPIRO: [Laughs.] Oh, absolutely not, but I do try to learn a
song in a different language from somebody who is a native
speaker. I have a friend who is Ukrainian. I found somebody in
Scotland who speaks Scots Gaelic. I had to use social media to
track down somebody who could help me learn Kurdish.
I always learn what the lyrics to the song mean and then try
to practice them with a native speaker of that language. Because
you need to know what the words are that youre singing. And,
of course, I want to pronounce them correctly. This is not all
that different from what opera singers do. Any opera singer will
do operas in a variety of languages. They dont necessarily speak
those languages, but they know what the lyrics are that theyre
singing, and they know how to pronounce those words.
MW: There must be something transporting about entering into
another culture through another language and finding the emotion
of a song.
SHAPIRO: Journalism is partly about the ability to see the world
from other perspectives, and singing a song in another language
gives you another perspective on the world, on what the song is
saying. Its a way of showing respect to people who are different
from ourselves. The trait I think is most valuable in journalism is
curiosity, and learning a song in another language is another way
of expressing that curiosity. Its challenging, and its fun, and it
helps me see the world in a different way.
MW: Moving back to the news, lets talk about how Trump has
impacted the way things are reported.
SHAPIRO: For me the biggest change is that a story that, in the
past, would have carried the news cycle for a week or more,
is now eclipsed the next day. There is so much happening, so
fast that even for somebody like me, whose job it is to follow
the news, it is hard to remember what happened as recently as
one week ago, because so much has happened just in the seven
days since. As you see new rules being written every single day
by this administration, its hard to maintain an appreciation for
how unusual whats happening is. Because its just a relentless
onslaught of things to be aware of.
Now, I dont think that our fundamental tools of journalism
have changed I think theyve become more important than
ever, but I also think theres more need now than there has been
in the recent past for perspective, stepping back and taking the
10,000 foot view on whats happening, and how its different
from the American norms and standards that weve become
accustomed to in modern history.
MW: Does President Trumps constant attempt to discredit legiti-
mate journalism the drumbeat of fake news, fake news, failing
New York Times, failing CNN, fake, fake, fake bother you?
SHAPIRO: I think hes taking advantage of something that was
already in the ether. It reminds me of when I was in eastern
Ukraine as Russia-backed separatists were taking over cities
like Donetsk and Lugansk. They had the support of the Russian
government, but they were only able to do it because people in
those parts were deeply dissatisfied with their own government.
Russia was only able to make the gains that it did in that area
because the pump was primed.
Trumps attacks on the media are not helpful, but they dont
exist in a vacuum. There was already diminishing confidence
among the American people in U.S. institutions, including the
media and the government, and churches, and unions. That, I
think, is what Donald Trump took advantage of, and that is what
he is speaking to. If we only view Trumps attacks on the media
as a problem in isolation, then were missing the point, which is
that the larger problem, to me, is declining confidence in institu-
tions, including the media.
MW: How do we combat that?
SHAPIRO: Part of it is doing better work. Part of it is educating
news consumers. Part of it is working with the places people
now find news, like Facebook, in order to fight the actual fake
news that is out there. But its not only a problem with the media.
Its a problem of every American institution. I dont know how
you reverse declining confidence in American institutions gen-
erally. Im just not sure.
MW: Do you worry about the state of NPR?
SHAPIRO: Yes, and no. I think public broadcasting is a national
treasure, and I know I would feel that way even if I didnt work
at NPR. The world is better for its existence, and I think that it
provides a public service. It is valuable. All of that said, I reassure
myself that there are people whose job it is to worry about the
state of public broadcasting, and my job is to report the news,
and so Im able to kind of push that out of my mind. None of us
has guaranteed job security forever, and I hope that NPR will
exist until Im long dead and gone. If it doesnt, then Ill find
something else to do.
MW: You sound very content, very happy with life.
SHAPIRO: I feel incredibly fortunate. Yesterday I left this band
that Ive loved since I was a kid, that I now get to sing with. I
flew back to the United States to my house and my husband. We
went out, had dinner. I fell asleep in an early jet-lagged stupor,
and then woke up early this morning and went to the farmers
market. And now Im going to make gazpacho. Tomorrow I get
to go into the office and host a news program that Ive listened to
my entire life. Even though the solo show that Im doing is about
adversity and getting through difficult things, and we all have to
get through difficult things in our lives, at this moment in my life
I feel incredibly fortunate, and I feel a lot of gratitude.
MW: Is there something that you havent done yet that youd like
to add to the list?
SHAPIRO: [Laughs.] Wouldnt that be greedy of me? l
Ari Shapiro performs Homeward on Saturday, August 5, at 8 p.m.,
at Amp by Strathmore, 11810 Grand Park Avenue in Bethesda.
Tickets are $30 to $50. Call 301-581-5100 or visit ampbystrath-
more.com or call (301) 581-5100.
Listen to Ari Shapiro on All Things Considered on NPR. Visit npr.
org for details or to stream past episodes.
JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY 27
 Gallery

Joanie Landau, Justice + Equality

Rachael Bohlander, Persist

Billy Forrest, No Spin Zone and Pussy Grabber

Resist
A
N EXHIBITION FEATURING WORKS INTERPRET-
ing and reflecting the state of world affairs, particu-
larly the Resist movements that have been springing
up in protest. Featured works, touching on everything from
threats to democracy, scientific progress, womens issues and
international relations, are on display at the gallery as well
as at six area Busboys and Poets locations. Zenith Gallery
owner Margery Goldberg was one of three jurors for the show,
as well as freelance exhibition expert Carol Rhodes Dyson
and progressive pollster Celinda Lake. They selected works
by artists from around the country, including Doba Afolabi,
Robin Bell, Ivanete Blanco, William Buchanan, Jessica Damen,
Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg, Philip Hazard, Gregory Hein,
Sally Kauffman, Katharine Owens, Andrew Wohl, and Curtis
Woody. On display through September 1 at Zenith Gallery, 1429
Iris St. NW. Call 202-783-2963 or visit zenithgallery.com.

JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY 29

JONATHAN PRIME
Movies

plot exposition. Lorraine attacks entire

buildings full of goons with everything but

Platinum Bond
Charlize Theron kicks butt and takes names in an action-packed
the kitchen sink. Corkscrews, hot plates,
knives, shivs, knees and fists all get thrown
in the bloody, messy business of protecting
her assets.
fever dream of Cold War pulp fiction By Andr Hereford Leitch, a former stuntman and fight
coordinator, handles set pieces with gusto,

C
while he and cinematographer Jonathan
HARLIZE THERONS TRANSFORMATION INTO ACTION-MOVIE STAR Sela (John Wick) dont shy away from
blazes on with Cold War spy thriller Atomic Blonde ( ). Based on gore in the epic fight scenes. The film
Antony Johnston and Sam Harts graphic novel series The Coldest City, its set earns its R-rating, with the camera rov-
in 1989 during the frenzy of geopolitical upheaval before the figurative fall of the Berlin ing and circling stylishly around Lorraine
Wall. The U.S. and the Soviet Union, warming towards peace on the surface, still roil as she beats the pulp out of all com-
with deep-set mistrust, if not all-out enmity. ers, and sustains some vicious beatings
Oscar-winner Theron stars as ruthlessly efficient MI6 agent Lorraine Broughton, a herself. And thats no stand-in throwing
platinum blonde with an impressive set of skills tasked with investigating the murder punches and kicking men through tables.
of an agent in Berlin. She proceeds to roll like a freight train through the citys under- Theron who trained in martial arts
ground network of cunning, backstabbing Allied and Communist spies, as operatives for the role bolsters her action star
from MI6, the CIA, the KGB, the Stasi, and French intelligence chase government status by performing most of her own
secrets and each other over the Wall and back again. Trained to infiltrate, undermine, stunts, and remains confident and impos-
and trust no one, theyre a hard-drinking, hard-partying lot. Theyll smash a fellows ing even when bruised. And lest we forget
face in with a Mercedes just as soon as theyd say hello. that a good spy should maintain tools of
Adapted by first-time feature director David Leitch and screenwriter Kurt Johnstad seduction within their arsenal, she also
(300), Atomic Blonde is a spy-lovers spy movie. From whispered exchanges of coded sizzles in a romp with Delphine Lasalle
messages, to agents sliding envelopes across tables or developing surveillances photos (The Mummys Sofia Boutella), a mystery
in their private darkroom, this thriller revels in putting all the espionage game pieces woman on her tail.
in play. So, of course theres a list cunningly called the List and everyones after Atomic Blonde fulfills many a fantasy
it, because every spy in Berlin is on it. As pointed out by fellow MI6 operative James with its neon-lit, hedonistic take on the
Percival, played with delicious mischievousness by James McAvoy, the spy game is last days of the Cold War. The films mood
what they do best, and its all they know. For some, its a game they dont want to see and palette are sullen, but the visuals are
end. Thats where the List comes in. If it gets out, Lorraine and every operative in the kinetic, and so is the soundtrack, which
network will be exposed to their enemies. is drenched in pounding 80s new wave.
But while Atomic Blonde is all about the List, it doesnt consistently hold as much inter- The songs and the excellent sound design
est as the punishing, bone-crushing, eye-gouging action that surrounds the moments of contribute to the relentless pace, while the
continues on page 33

JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY 31

MATTHEW MURPHY
Stage

Their budding romance, however, is

rendered so chastely that any attraction

Waltz Schmaltz
Gorgeous to behold, and as old-fashioned as they come, The King and I
barely registers. The love story between
Anna and the King doesnt engage dra-
matically so much as it simply plugs
along, because thats what its supposed
dances into the Kennedy Center by Andr Hereford to do. Llana is a convincing king, but
not the most persuasive romantic lead.

F
Instead, he leans into the comedy, which
ROM THE OPENING STRAINS OF ITS LUSH OVERTURE, THE KING AND he plays broadly, though with an assured
I( ) announces its commitment to pomp and pageantry. Currently fill- sense of where to find every joke and
ing the Kennedy Center Opera House, Lincoln Center Theaters Tony-winning innuendo. A veteran of Shers Broadway
revival of Rodgers and Hammersteins beloved musical is cast with greater sensitivity production, Llanas comfort in the Kings
towards verisimilitude than that original 1951 production. But in every other sense, this skin helps soften some of the characters
story of the slaveholding king of Siam and the British governess who steals his heart is harder edges.
still the same old The King and I. Director Bartlett Shers sumptuous rendition is engi- Intent on protecting his kingdom
neered to please both Rodgers & Hammerstein fans and musical theater traditionalists. from colonial powers, the King is deter-
It is not a destination for the artistically adventurous. mined to project to the world an image
However, much of it is quite pleasing, starting with Laura Michelle Kellys perfor- of strength, stability, and enlightenment.
mance as Anna Leonowens. The real-life Leonowens, an Englishwoman claiming to Still, he considers women lesser crea-
be Welsh, traveled in 1862 to Bangkok at the behest of King Mongkut, who sought a tures than men, and accepts from the
Western woman to instruct and raise his many royal children. Leonowens is depicted King of Burma the gift of a slave girl,
as refined yet headstrong, a widowed single mother who brings a bracing air of moder- Tuptim (Manna Nichols), for whom free-
nity along with her precocious young son Louis (Graham Montgomery) to the dom means joining her true love, Lun Tha
kings regimented palace. (Kavin Panmeechao). Nichols positively
Kelly comports her Anna with the poise of an educated, well-mannered lady with- shines as an unwavering, dulcet-voiced
out ever seeming stuffy, and she delivers the shows famous tunes in a warm, supple Tuptim. Unfortunately, as her paramour,
soprano that bears both humor and wisdom. The governess spends much of the story Panmeechaos nasal tone disrupts the har-
at odds with the proud, imperious King (Jose Llana), and with his first wife of a dozen, monies of the lovers duets. His Lun Tha
Lady Thiang (Joan Almedilla), and Kelly shores up Annas warmth and vulnerability seems no match for the steely Tuptim.
with impressive backbone. She and the king bicker and negotiate with conviction. On the other hand, as the Kings eldest

32 JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY

MATTHEW MURPHY

son Crown Prince Chulalongkorn, Anthony Chan projects
massive presence, as does Almedilla, as Lady Thiang, the
kingdoms de facto queen, who must keep organized a royal
household, along with complex emotions and loyalties.
Rodgers and Hammersteins presentation of human rights
and gender dynamics might have seemed at least slightly
progressive in 1951, but the social and cultural messages read
as patronizing today. The piece uses Uncle Toms Cabin
re-imagined as The Small House of Uncle Thomas ballet
to illustrate the inhumanity of enslavement, a move that, at
best, risks appearing a bit trite. At worst, it exemplifies just
how square The King and I can be and sound. The arrange-
ments of the waltz and ballad-heavy score dont dance or
flow with much verve, save for that of the classic Shall We
Dance. Even the Uncle Tom ballet gasps for momentum.
Its better to focus on the period romance and meaning-
ful cultural exchange. Or, if that doesnt work, just soak up
the opulence. Shers staging deploys a few potent visual
reveals, Catherine Zubers costumes are exquisite, and sce-
nic designer Michael Yeargans sets accomplish much with
plush, well-lit curtains and intricately decorated flying col-
umns. The choreography, by Christopher Gattelli, based on
Jerome Robbins dances for the 51 original, beautifully adds
ballet to the mix. If nothing else, this is a production that
will dazzle with splendour, even if the underlying musical
is showing its age. l

The King and I runs to August 20 at the Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets are $59 to $149.
Call 202-467-4600, or visit kennedy-center.org.

continued from page 31

plot preps for a few nifty twists.
However, the actual substance of that plot doesnt always
seem to matter, beyond a vague notion of spies giving their
lives as nothing more than stooges for utterly self-interested
world powers. And while the film really takes off in tight spac-
es, Leitchs staging of large-scale action leaves something to
be desired. A whizzing car chase through the tunnels beneath
the streets of Berlin pales in comparison to the superhero foot-
chase along the same length of road in last summers Captain
America: Civil War.
Lorraines no superhero, but she comes mighty close, with
her extraordinary ability to take a punch and an irrepressible,
take-no-prisoners fighting style literally take no prisoners,
as she almost always shoots to kill. In this deadly spys patent
leather stilettos, Theron strides like a woman born to break both
hearts and necks. McAvoy and agency bosses John Goodman
and Toby Jones provide amusing backup, but Theron lights the
fire that keeps Atomic Blonde burning. l

Atomic Blonde is rated R, and opens in theaters everywhere on Friday, July 28.

JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY 33

NightLife
Photography by
Ward Morrison

JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY 35


DrinksDragDJsEtc...
Thursday,
July 27
9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm Multiple Happy Hour: $6 Top
TVs showing movies,
shows, sports Expanded
craft beer selection
Music videos featuring
DJ Wess
BALTIMORE EAGLE
Happy Hour, 5-9pm,
all liquors, beers and
wines up to 50% off night, hosted by BaNaka &
$3 Well Drinks All Night
Underwear Night, Prize Doors open 10pm,
9pm-2am For men in 21+ $5 Cover or free
underwear, all well drinks
$2, 9pm-12am Best
Underwear Contest at
Midnight Code enforced Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
in Code Bar after 9pm Karaoke, 8pm
House and Top 40 DJ in
the Tavern, 9pm-close
36 JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY
Scene
Freddies Beach Bar - Saturday, July 22
Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene
GREEN LANTERN tail glass served in a huge Dark in the Code Bar NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Happy Hour, 4-9pm glass for the same price, $5 Cover after 9pm Elyx DJ Matt Bailer Videos,
Ladies Drink Free Power 5-10pm Beer and wine Vodka and Any Red Bull Dancing Beat the Clock
Hour, 4-5pm Shirtless only $4 Flavor for $7 all day long Happy Hour $2 (5-6pm),
Beige Hip-Hop Dance Party
in the Nest, featuring DJ
Thursday, 10-11pm thebaltimoreeagle.com $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm)
Waterzz, 10pm-close
Men in Underwear Drink
Free, 12-12:30am DJs
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers COBALT/30 DEGREES
Buckets of Beer $15
thebaltimoreeagle.com
BacK2bACk DJ 9pm Cover 21+ All You Can Drink Happy NUMBER NINE
Hour $15 Rail and Open 5pm Happy Hour:
COBALT/30 DEGREES
NELLIES SPORTS BAR Domestic, $21 Call & 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
Shelf, $3 Rail, $3 Bud
Beat the Clock Happy Hour
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
Friday, Imports, 6-9pm Fancy
Ass Fridays, 10pm $6
No Cover Friday Night
Piano with Chris, 7:30pm
Light, 4-9pm Locker
Room Thursday Nights,
$4 (7-8pm) Buckets of July 28 Grey Goose all night
Beer $15 Drag Bingo Two 30-minute open bars SHAWS TAVERN
10pm-close $3 Rail
9 1/2 featuring Grey Goose, Happy Hour, 4-7pm $3
Drinks, 10pm-midnight, $5
NUMBER NINE Open at 5pm Happy 11-11:30pm and 1-1:30am Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
Red Bull and Frozen Virgin
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, DJ MadScience $5 Rails and House Wines
Drinks DJs Sean Morris
drink, 5-9pm No Cover 5-9pm Friday Night upstairs DJ Keenan Orr & Half-Priced Pizzas
and MadScience Best
Videos, 9:30pm Rotating downstairs $10 cover
Package Contest at mid-
SHAWS TAVERN DJs Expanded craft beer 10pm-close 21+ TOWN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm $3 selection No Cover Patio open 6pm DC Bear
Kristina Kelly $200 Cash
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, FREDDIES BEACH BAR Crue Happy Hour, 6-11pm
$5 Rails and House Wines BALTIMORE EAGLE Crazy Hour, 4-7pm $3 Rail, $3 Draft, $3 Bud
& Half-Priced Pizzas Baltimore Bear Happy Karaoke, 8pm Bottles Free Pizza, 7pm
with college ID
Hour, 5-9pm, all liquors, No cover before 9:30pm
TRADE beers and wines up to 50% GREEN LANTERN 21+ Drag Show starts
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
1410 14th St. NW off Hawaiian Luau Show, Happy Hour, 4-9pm $5 at 10:30pm Hosted by
Doors open 5pm Huge hosted by Abbi Kadabra, Smirnoff, all flavors, all Lena Lett and featuring
Happy Hour: Any drink 10pm Cover $12.50 per night long Miss Tatianna, Shi-
normally served in a cock- person Bad Bears After Queeta-Lee, Riley Knoxx
and BaNaka DJ Wess
upstairs, DJs BacK2bACk
Saturday,
downstairs following the July 29
show GoGo Boys after
11pm Doors open at 9 1/2
10pm For those 21 and Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
over, $12 For those drink, 2-9pm $5 Absolut
18-20, $15 Club: 18+ and $5 Bulleit Bourbon
Patio: 21+ 9pm-close Expanded
craft beer selection
TRADE No Cover
Doors open 5pm Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink BALTIMORE EAGLE
normally served in a cock- $5 Drinks all day Leather
tail glass served in a huge and Fetish Saturdays,
glass for the same price, Code Bar, 8pm-2am
5-10pm Beer and wine Code enforced after 9pm
only $4 in the Code Bar DILF,
10pm-2am thebalti-
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS moreeagle.com
Men of Secrets, 9pm
Guest dancers Ladies COBALT/30 DEGREES
of Illusion Drag Show Drag Yourself to Brunch at
Doors at 9pm, Shows at Level One, 11am-2pm and
11:30pm and 1:30am 2-4pm Featuring Kristina
DJ Don T. in Secrets Kelly and the Ladies of
Cover 21+ Illusion Bottomless
Mimosas and Bloody
Marys Happy Hour:
Tops Down $6 Top Shelf,

JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY 37

 Bottoms Up $3 Rail, $3 Bud SHAWS TAVERN
Light, 4-9pm Arabian Brunch with Bottomless
Nights Dance Party, 10pm Mimosas, 10am-3pm
Doors open 10pm $5 Happy Hour, 5-7pm $3 of Illusion Drag Show
Cover 21+ Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 Rails and House Wines
FREDDIES BEACH BAR & Half-Priced Pizzas
Drag Queen Broadway
Brunch, 10am-3pm TOWN
Starring Freddies DC Rawhides host Town
Broadway Babes Crazy & Country: Two-Step,
Hour, 4-7pm Freddies Line Dancing, Waltz and
Follies Drag Show, hosted
by Miss Destiny B. Childs,
West Coast Swing, $5
Cover to stay all night
8-10pm Karaoke, Doors open 6:30pm,
10pm-close Lessons 7-8pm, Open
dance 8-10:30pm Doors
GREEN LANTERN open 10pm CTRL DC
Happy Hour, 4-9pm $5 Dance Party Featuring
Bacardi, all flavors, all DJs Devon Trotter, Adam
night long Koussari-Amin, and Jeff
Prior Drag Show starts
NELLIES SPORTS BAR at 10:30pm Hosted by
Guest DJs Zing Zang Lena Lett and featuring
Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer, Tatianna, Shi-Queeta-Lee,
House Rail Drinks and Riley Knoxx and BaNaka
Mimosas, $4, 11am-5pm
Buckets of Beer, $15
Cover $15 from 10pm-mid-
night and $12 after mid-
night 21+
NUMBER NINE
Doors open 2pm Happy TRADE
Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, Doors open 12pm Huge
2-9pm $5 Absolut and $5 Happy Hour: Any drink
Bulleit Bourbon 9pm-close normally served in a cock-
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
12-10pm Beer and wine
only $4
38 JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS COBALT/30 DEGREES SHAWS TAVERN BALTIMORE EAGLE
Men of Secrets, 9pm-4am Happy Hour: $6 Top Shelf, Brunch with Bottomless Happy Hour, 5-9pm, all
Guest dancers Ladies $3 Rail, $3 Bud Light, Mimosas, 10am-3pm liquors, beers and wines up
4-9pm $4 Stoli, Stoli Stoli Sundays: $5 Stoli to 50% off Micro Brew
with host Ella Fitzgerald Flavors and Bud Light Specials with DJ, 3:30pm Draft/Bottle Mondays
Doors at 9pm, Shows all night Homowood Happy Hour, 5-7pm $3 $4 all day SIN: Service
at 11:30pm and 1:30am Karaoke, hosted by Robert Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, Industry Night, 11pm-2am
DJ Don T. in Ziegfelds Bise, 10pm-close $5 Rails and House Wines First Well Drink or
DJ Steve Henderson in & Half-Priced Pizzas Domestic Beer Free 10%
Secrets Cover 21+ FREDDIES BEACH BAR off your Food Order all day
Champagne Brunch TRADE thebaltimoreeagle.com
Buffet, 10am-3pm Crazy Doors open 12pm Huge
Sunday, Hour, 4-7pm Karaoke,
8pm-1am
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cock-
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $6 Top Shelf,
July 30 tail glass served in a huge $3 Rail, $3 Bud Light,
GREEN LANTERN glass for the same price, 4-9pm Monday Nights
9 1/2 Happy Hour, 4-9pm Open 12-10pm Beer and wine A Drag, featuring Miss
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any Mic Night Karaoke with only $4 Kristina Kelly Doors open
drink, 2-9pm $5 Absolut Kevin, 9:30pm-close at 10pm Showtime at
and $5 Bulleit Bourbon ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS 11:30pm Doors open at
9pm-close Multiple TVs NELLIES SPORTS BAR All male, nude dancers 10pm No Cover 21+
showing movies, shows, Drag Brunch, hosted by Decades of Dance DJ
sports Expanded craft Shi-Queeta-Lee, 11am-3pm Tim-e in Secrets Doors FREDDIES BEACH BAR
beer selection No Cover $20 Brunch Buffet 9pm Cover 21+ Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
House Rail Drinks, Zing Singles Night Karaoke,
BALTIMORE EAGLE Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie 8pm
T-Dance Sundays, 4-9pm
Buy a cup for $5 and fill
Beer and Mimosas, $4,
11am-close Buckets of
Monday, GREEN LANTERN
it with any Absolut Flavor Beer, $15 July 31 Happy Hour all night
and Mixer for $3 each time long Singing with the
(excluding energy drink NUMBER NINE 9 1/2 Sisters: Open Mic Karaoke
mixers) thebaltimoreea- Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any Night with the Sisters
gle.com any drink, 2-9pm $5 drink, 5-9pm Multiple of Perpetual Indulgence,
Absolut and $5 Bulleit TVs showing movies, 9:30pm-close
Bourbon 9pm-close Pop shows, sports Expanded
Goes the World with Wes craft beer selection
Della Volla at 9:30pm No Cover
No Cover
JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY 39
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Beat the Clock Happy Hour
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) Buckets of
Beer $15 Texas Holdem 9 1/2
Poker, 8pm Dart Boards
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm No Cover
Tuesday, FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
August 1 Karaoke, 8pm
GREEN LANTERN tail glass served in a huge
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any Happy Hour all night long,
drink, 5-9pm Multiple 4pm-close
TVs showing movies,
shows, sports Expanded NELLIES SPORTS BAR
craft beer selection Beat the Clock Happy Hour
TRADE
Doors open 5pm Huge
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $6 Top Shelf,
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
SmartAss Trivia Night, 8pm
Happy Hour: Any drink $3 Rail, $3 Bud Light, and 9pm Prizes include
normally served in a cock- 4-9pm $4 Stoli and Stoli bar tabs and tickets to
Flavors and Miller Lite shows at the 9:30 Club
glass for the same price, all night Wednesday $15 Buckets of Beer for
5-10pm Beer and wine Night Karaoke, hosted SmartAss Teams only
only $4 by India Larelle Houston, Bring a new team member
10pm-close No Cover and each get a free $10
21+ Dinner

SHAWS TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 Rails and House Wines
and Half-Priced Pizzas
Trivia with Jeremy, 7:30pm
TRADE
Doors open 5pm Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cock-
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
5-10pm Patio open until
11pm Beer and wine
only $4
No Cover $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) Buckets of
Wednesday, FREDDIES BEACH BAR NUMBER NINE
BALTIMORE EAGLE Beer $15 Karaoke and August 2 Crazy Hour, 4-7pm $6 Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
Happy Hour, 5-9pm, all Drag Bingo Burgers Drag Bingo drink, 5-9pm No Cover
liquors, beers and wines 9 1/2 Night, hosted by Ms.
up to 50% off Well NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any Regina Jozet Adams, 8pm SHAWS TAVERN
Bomb Shots $4 all Day Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm Multiple Bingo prizes Karaoke, Happy Hour, 4-7pm $3
thebaltimoreeagle.com drink, 5-9pm No Cover TVs showing movies, 10pm-1am Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
shows, sports Expanded $5 Rails and House Wines
COBALT/30 DEGREES SHAWS TAVERN craft beer selection GREEN LANTERN and Half-Priced Pizzas
Happy Hour all night: $6 Half-Priced Burgers and No Cover Happy Hour all night Piano Bar with Jill, 8pm
Top Shelf, $3 Rail, $3 Pizzas, 5-10pm $5 House long, 4pm-close Bear
Bud Light SIN Service Wines and $5 Sam Adams BALTIMORE EAGLE Yoga with Greg Leo, 6:30- TRADE
Industry Night, 10pm-close Happy Hour, 5-9pm, all 7:30pm $10 per class Doors open 5pm Huge
liquors, beers and wines Happy Hour: Any drink
up to 50% off Domestic normally served in a cock-
Bottles are $3 all day tail glass served in a huge
Team Trivia, 8-10pm glass for the same price,
thebaltimoreeagle.com 5-10pm Beer and wine
only $4 l

40 JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY

 Scene
JR.s - Saturday, July 22
Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

42 JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY

JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY 43
 Scene
Bear Happy Hour at Town - Friday, July 14
Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

44 JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY

JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY 45
 LastWord.
People say the queerest things

The United States Government

will not accept or allow transgender individuals
to serve in any capacity
in the U.S. Military.

DONALD TRUMP, in a tweet, stating that he wants to ban transgender people from military service. Our military must be focused
on decisive and overwhelming...victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption
that transgender in the military would entail, he added.

These lawmakers care more about

pursuing cheap political points
than protecting the lives of transgender Texans.

JODEE WINTERHOF, senior vice president of policy and political affairs at the Human Rights Campaign, in a statement responding to
news that the Texas Senate had passed an anti-transgender bathroom bill. She added: It is appalling
that after hearing more than 10 hours of testimony, overwhelmingly from Texans who oppose this legislation,
the Texas Senate still voted to move [the bill] forward.

We dont accept gays and animals.

FILIPPO MONDELLA, owner of Ciufo guest house in Vibo Valentia, Italy, in an email telling a gay couple they
could not stay at the B&B. In my mind I could see the infamous images of Nazi signs outside of shops saying
forbidden entry to dogs and Jews, Gennaro Casalino, one of the men, told Arcigay.

Because this apparently need to be repeated

I am male bodied. I prefer to identify
as non-gendered/non-binary.
I prefer They/Them.

RuPauls Drag Race season 5 winner JINX MONSOON, in a tweet. Monsoon came out as non-binary/non-gendered four years ago and
said that they have identified under the trans umbrella since their teens. They advised others to
look into a persons identity preference before you go spouting off about them, showing your ignorance.

It wasnt somehow kosher for the great national bard to possibly have affectations for his own sex and therefore
that process, to...
whitewash through the sonnets began.
GREGORY DORAN, artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, in an interview with BBC Radio 4 claiming that Victorian aca-
demics attempted to cover up Shakespeares homosexual relationships because it wasnt in keeping with his image as an iconic play-
wright. Doran added: I am just aware of how many times Shakespeare has gay characters, and how sometimes those gay characters
are not played as gay, and I think in the 21st century thats no longer acceptable.

46 JULY 27, 2017 METROWEEKLY