Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Andersson Dance
Artistic Director, Örjan Andersson
in collaboration with
Kennedy Center debut
Scottish Ensemble
Artistic Director, Jonathan Morton
Johann Sebastian Bach’s sparkling masterpiece comes to stunning life through a whirlwind of movement
and sound in this entrancing collaboration.
Tickets also available at the Box Office. Groups call (202) 416-8400.
For all other ticket-related customer service inquiries, call the Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540.
CONTENTS
APRIL 12, 2018 Volume 24 Issue 48
By Doug Rule
MEDIUM AT LARGE
Tyler Henry has turned his psychic abilities into a
hit TV show. But all the gay “Hollywood Medium”
really wants is to leave every person he meets
“better than I found them.”
By André Hereford
SPOTLIGHT: CHERRY 2018 p.9 OUT ON THE TOWN p.13 STRING FLING: WELL-STRUNG p.16
TURNING THE TABLES: TOM STEPHAN p.20 THE FEED p.23 COMMUNITY: HAVING A ROW p.27
SCENE: ASK RAYCEEN MINIBALL p.29 COVER STORY: MEDIUM AT LARGE p.30
STAGE: ROZ AND RAY / PAPER DOLLS p.35
STAGE: TWO TRAINS / UNDERGROUND RAILROAD GAME p.37
NIGHTLIFE p.39 SCENE: FREDDIE’S 17TH ANNIVERSARY p.39 LISTINGS p.40
SCENE: TOWN CELEBRATES KYLIE p.45 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 André 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 Miss Cleo Cover Photography Sharon Mor Yosef
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.
HERAN MANE
available by reservation only. Call 202-
518-3609 or visit thebirddc.com
POTTED POTTER
Co-written and co-performed by Daniel Clarkson
and Jefferson Turner, this “Unauthorized Harry
Experience” is a loving parody of Hogwarts. “What
we attempt to do is condense all seven Harry Potter
books into 70 minutes,” Clarkson told Metro Weekly
during a previous tour of the show. With Turner
in the titular role, Clarkson is left to assume all the
360 other characters, plus they even throw in “a
PHOTO COURTESY OF POTTED POTTER
AMERICAN COLLEGE
THEATER FESTIVAL
All week long, the Kennedy Center has been hosting
outstanding theater students from universities across
the nation as part of this annual national festival,
which offers master classes and visits to leading
D.C. theater companies. The festival concludes with
a public performance of the finalists in the Irene
Ryan Acting Scholarships. Eighteen students from
eight regions of the U.S. audition before a panel of
theater experts, who will determine the winners of
$3,000 in scholarships. “You really get blown away
by these kids,” marvels Gregg Henry, a former Irene
Ryan finalist from 1979 who now runs the festival for
the Kennedy Center. The first half of the evening is
straight plays, while the second is dedicated to musi-
cal theater. Friday, April 13, at 7 p.m. Kennedy Center
Terrace Theater. Tickets are $25. Call 202-467-4600
or visit kennedy-center.org.
Compiled by Doug Rule A STAR IS BORN her patient’s obsession instead. (It endary Swedish artist, considered
Judy Garland plays a young singer currently has just 22 percent on one of the most accomplished
who saves a famous star — an alco- Rotten Tomatoes, so you may want and influential auteurs of all time.
FILM holic whose career is on the wane to obsess over something else.) Opens Thursday, April 19, at 8
— from making a fool of himself Opens Friday, April 13. Area the- p.m. To April 22. Kennedy Center
13TH ANNUAL HUMP! on stage. The irony is rich in this aters, including the Angelika Pop- Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are
FILM FESTIVAL classic directed by George Cukor Up at Union Market, 550 Penn St. $29 to $59. Call 202-467-4600 or
Sex advice columnist Dan Savage starring the gay icon who would NE, Unit E. Call 800-680-9095 or visit kennedy-center.org.
offers up a sex-positive, rough- go on to make a fool of herself visit angelikapopup.com.
around-the-edges assortment on stage. A Star Is Born screens FLY BY NIGHT
of homemade pornography —
gay, straight, fetish, you name it.
as part of Landmark’s West End
Cinema Capital Classics weekly STAGE Kim Rosenstock conceived of this
darkly comic rock fable, developed
“Hump!” is less erotic than it is series. Wednesday, April 18, at 1:30, with Will Connolly and Michael
avant garde. While definitely not 4:30, and 7:30 p.m., 2301 M St. NW. AFTER THE REHEARSAL Mitnick, set during a New York
soft-core, it’s less about titillation Happy hour from 4 to 6:30 p.m. AND PERSONA City blackout in 1965 and focused
than breaking down sexual barri- Tickets are $10 to $12.50. Call 202- Celebrated Belgian director Ivo on a man who becomes enchant-
ers. Savage has curated the annual 534-1907 or visit landmarktheatres. van Hove (the recent, stunning ed with two sisters. Kathryn Chase
festival since 2005, with each year com. Broadway revival of A View From Bryer directs a local production of
bringing a new batch of shorts, each The Bridge) has brilliantly reimag- the bittersweet romance, a sweep-
clocking in at less than five min- AARDVARK ined for the stage two Ingmar ing ode to young love, featuring
utes, featuring amateurs revelling in Brian Shoaf’s drama stars Zachary Bergman screenplays for a theat- Aaron Bliden, Tiziano D’Affuso,
sexual expression. Thursday, April Quinto — also a producer of the film rical double-bill delving into the Ryan Manning, Sasha Olinick,
19. Doors at 7 p.m. Also Friday, — as a troubled man who has lived messy lives of stage artists. The Farrell Parker, Jamie Smithson, and
April 20, and Saturday, April 21. in the shadow of his brother (Jon Kennedy Center presents van Caroline Wolfson. Walter “Bobby”
Doors at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Black Hamm) for so long, he starts see- Hove and his acclaimed ensemble McCoy serves as musical director.
Cat Mainstage, 1811 14th St. NW. ing that shadow everywhere. Enter Toneelgroep Amsterdam perform- Opens in previews Thursday, April
Tickets are $20. Call 202-667-4490 Jenny Slate as a young therapist ing in Dutch with projected English 12. Weekends to May 6. 1st Stage,
or visit humpfilmfest.com. charged with caring for Quinto’s titles as part of the “Bergman 100 1524 Spring Hill Rd. Tysons, Va.
character, who gets entangled in Celebration” honoring the leg- Tickets are $38. Call 703-854-1856
or visit 1ststage.org.
MANSIONAIR,
MIKKY EKKO, NOMBE
PHOTO COURTESY OF WELL STRUNG
STRING FLING
the Tantrums and X Ambassadors
in June at Wolf Trap. Just one spin
through Ekko’s dramatic, melodi-
cally rich hip-pop tunes and you’ll
Well-Strung is bringing its unique take on classical music to this year’s wonder why it took you so long
to come around. Finally there’s
Cherry Blossom Festival Parade. NoMBe, Chaka Khan’s godson
who has just released his impres-
C
sive tribute to women and femi-
HRIS MARCHANT AND TREVOR WADLEIGH FINISHED SEVENTH ON THE nism, They Might’ve Even Loved Me.
most recent season of The Amazing Race. While disappointed they didn’t win, Friday, April 13. Doors at 6:30 p.m.
Union Stage, 740 Water St. SW.
Wadleigh notes they had the “time of our lives, literally.” Tickets are $13 to $23. Call 877-987-
The pair, who work and live together, seem as close as two people can possibly be, but, 6487 or visit unionstage.com.
as Marchant points outs, “We’re not a couple.”
What they are is two members of Well-Strung, the gay classical crossover group. And NEW ORCHESTRA
OF WASHINGTON
their next outing will be significantly more sedate compared to the CBS reality show: the The small chamber ensemble, led by
string quartet will be part of this Saturday’s National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade on the husband-and-wife team of artis-
Constitution Avenue. tic director Alejandro Hernandez-
Valdez and executive director and
Marchant attributes the group’s success to its ability to look beyond the customary pianist Grace Cho, presents its res-
classical realm. “We just get more and more exploratory,” says second violinist Marchant. ident company the Aeolus Quartet
“We’ve married the world of pop and classical, and really give people a solid taste of both. performing Antonín Dvořák’s
Hopefully [we] give them some ear candy that will inspire them to continue listening to String Quartet No. 12, nicknamed
the “American Quartet.” And that’s
both.” Unlike a traditional classical quartet, all four members sing. the kickoff to a program of three
“In other realms we’ve worked — in classical music or in musical/Broadway-type works celebrating the sounds of
productions — there’s such a standard for how you pursue and move through a career,” America, at least early America, as
it was heard by two towering com-
says Wadleigh, who plays viola. “We really were lucky to have been able to invent that for posers from the last two centuries:
ourselves.” Dvořák and George Gershwin. In
Both credit Provincetown for — well, essentially everything. a new arrangement for chamber
“We actually owe quite a lot of our continued success to Provincetown,” Marchant orchestra, Iain Farrington puts a
modern twist on one of the most
says, noting the group will be coming up on its sixth summer at the Massachusetts resort. iconic American folk operas with
“They were so supportive in the beginning while we were trying to figure out what the his Fantasy on Gershwin’s Porgy
hell it is we were aiming to do.... And that’s how we started touring in the first place: and Bess. Finally, a second Dvořák
work — heard via another new
People who saw us in Provincetown on vacation would then bring us to their hometowns arrangement by Farrington — is
for benefits or concerts.” the centerpiece of the program,
Before setting sail for Cape Cod, though, Well-Strung will release its third album. Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9. One of
Wadleigh singles out one classical/pop mashup as a particular highlight. “We just put the most popular of all symphonies,
the Czech composer’s work, known
together Bach and Ed Sheeran,” he says. “A little get-together of those two spanning 333 as the “New World Symphony,” is
years.” —Doug Rule notable for incorporating American
folk elements, such as melodies
drawn from African-American
Well-Strung appears in the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade on Saturday, spirituals and rhythms and har-
April 14, from 10 a.m. to noon, on Constitution Avenue between 7th and 17th Streets NW. monies evoking Native-American
Visit nationalcherryblossomfestival.org.
TUE, APR 24
A BENEFIT FOR CIVIL RIGHTS CORPS
AND ESSIE JUSTICE GROUP INDIGO GIRLS
THE WAR & TREATY
HALSEY
JESSIE REYEZ
JUSTICEAID JUL 10 HOPELESS FOUNTAIN KINGDOM
JUL 15
FEAT. CECILE McLORIN SALVANT, ALL GOOD PRESENTS
PAULA COLE & DOM FLEMONS, An evening with
KELLER
MARSHALL CRENSHAW, AND KANDACE SPRINGS
WED, APR 25
HAYLEY ORRANTIA WILLIAMS
W/ BRENNLEY BROWN FRIDAY APR 13
JUL 18
SAT, APR 28
DWEEZIL ZAPPA
THE CHOICE CUTS TOUR RED NILE RODGERS & CHIC
CHAKA KHAN
JUN 5
SAT, MAY 12
NEWMYER FLYER PRESENTS AN EVENING WITH
THE BEST OF JANIS JOPLIN
& JIMI HENDRIX
VOICEPLAY
APR 20
FRIDAY CASINO ROYALE LICENSED BY MGM. CASINO ROYALE © 2006 DANJAQ,
UNITED ARTISTS. AND RELATED JAMES BOND TRADEMARKS, TM
DANJAQ. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
FREE LATE-NIGHT MUSIC IN THE LOFT EVERY FRI & SAT
music. Sunday, April 15, at 5 p.m. for her power — from vocal pipes to are $25 for each main concert. Call in covering the beauty of the cher-
National Presbyterian Church, 4101 melodic hooks to dramatic lyrics. In 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-cen- ry blossoms and vibrant festival
Nebraska Ave. NW. Tickets are $15 addition to DJ Kid Cut Up, the main ter.org. displays last year. The exhibition
to $30. Call 240-745-6587 or visit opening act for P!NK is Bleachers, originates from an open call for
neworchestraofwashington.org. the band fronted by fun. and Ally SOFI TUKKER submissions organized and judged
Coalition co-founder Jack Antonoff One year after putting on a rau- by engaged members of IGDC, the
NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC: that stirred up the crowd at last cous sold-out show at U Street Washington Instagram community.
SCHOOL FOR LOVERS year’s All Things Go Fall Classic Music Hall, Sophie Hawley-Weld Hours are Wednesdays from 5 to
Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte is per- with its own power anthems as well and Tucker Halpern now return 8 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays
formed in a concert opera pro- as its own spectacle of a show. All of as bona fide hitmakers in the U.S., from 12 to 5 p.m. Through April 29.
duction by Strathmore’s resident which is to say, this is one stadium with a song that also served as the Blind Whino, 700 Delaware Ave.
orchestra led by Piotr Gajewski. show not to be missed. Monday, soundtrack to last fall’s iPhone X SW. Free. Call 202-554-0103 or visit
Rising Washington-area native April 16, and Tuesday, April 17, at launch. The jerky, playful popper swartsclub.org.
soprano Danielle Talamantes leads 7:30 p.m. Capital One Arena (for- “Best Friend” is a tribute to friend-
ABOVE
AND BEYOND
LIGHT CITY BALTIMORE
Also called “A Festival of Light,
Music and Innovation,” Light City
returns for a third year to illuminate
Charm City as the first, free, large-
scale international light festival in
the U.S. The main part of the festival
takes place on a winding, 1.5-mile
stretch of the Inner Harbor and
Harbor East and featuring 21 large-
scale, temporary light installations
brand new to Light City developed
by national and international artists,
including 10 from Baltimore. One
such display is truly mobile and will
be seen all around: Chinese artist
Cai Guo-Qiang’s Fireflies, with 900
handcrafted lanterns attached to
the top of 27 pedicabs transport-
ing festivalgoers around the BGE
Light Art Walk, which can also be
explored this year on self-guid-
ed audio tours offering detailed
descriptions of the light installa-
tions by Live Baltimore. The festival
kicks off with an Opening Night
Parade featuring various commu-
nity and school marching bands
Saturday, April 14, at 7:30 p.m.
Highlights among free performanc-
es this year include Grandmaster
Flash on Saturday, April 14, G. Love
& Special Sauce on Friday, April 20,
and Kimbra on the festival’s clos-
ing day Saturday, April 21. Display
hours are 7 to 11 p.m. weeknights,
7 p.m. to midnight on Fridays and
Saturdays. The final four days of
the festival also includes the Labs@
LightCity series of social innova-
SHAWN SHORT
H
Woodbridge, Va.; and mediums
E JUST CAME TO HEAR ME THAT ONE TIME,” SAYS TOM STEPHAN. “I THINK Terri Rodabaugh, Sharon Galloway,
because he must have known it would be such a dream for me to say, ‘Oh yes, I took John and Rhonda Russo giving collec-
Waters to my DJ gig.’” Hanging out with Waters ranks high among what turns out to be tive “The Haunted View” readings.
Sunday, April 22, from 9 a.m. to 5
many little-known and interesting asides in the life and times of Tom Stephan, who also dated Pet p.m. Bowie Elks Lodge No. 2309,
Shop Boys lead singer Neil Tennant for a while. 1506 Defense Highway, Gambrills,
“I was a psycho fan of his,” says Stephan, who grew up in New York but has called London Md. Tickets are $5 plus $1.22 in
service fees bought in advance, or
home since the early ’90s. His first record, “Filthy Hetero,” featured vocal samples from Waters’s $10 in cash only at the door. Call
film Female Trouble, and the spare house track eventually became his calling card with Baltimore’s 301-261-3260 or visit maryland-psy-
“Pope of Trash.” “I get very Cindy Brady around him,” he says, recalling a time when he had dinner chic-fair.eventbrite.com.
with a friend in Waters’ Baltimore home. “The whole night I couldn’t speak. [My friend] had to
TALES FROM THE ROUND
talk. I just sat there drooling.” WORLD: I HEARD THE MUSE
Stephan was very nearly a filmmaker himself. Instead of music production he studied film in TODAY, OH BOY
college, and the course culminated in a 10-minute documentary entitled 21st Century Nuns, about Sprung nearly three years ago from
the zany mind of Chris Griffin
the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in Britain. aka Lucrezia Blozia, the live pod-
“The school hated it,” he laughs. “[They] thought that I was making fun of the Sisters.” Smarting cast/radio show Tales From The
from the experience, he decided, “I’m running off to be a DJ.” The film, however, hasn’t been for- Round World incorporates circus,
gotten, and is due to screen at a British LGBTQ film festival in the near future. sideshow, and burlesque into its
scripted productions. Griffin and
“The reason that it’s surfaced now is because I interviewed Derek Jarman in it, and he died a ragtag group of writers and per-
shortly after from complications of AIDS,” he says. “I understand the value in the short film is formers return with another char-
really about him and the sisters. It certainly isn’t my documentary [skills], that’s for sure.” ity-benefiting storytelling podcast
performed live, this time focused
Stephan currently ranks as one of the best DJs on the international house music circuit. And, on “stories behind the number one
this Friday, April 13, the man also known by the alias Superchumbo returns to D.C. to spin for his hits you’ve never heard by world-fa-
third Cherry event, in a starry double-bill with New York’s legendary Victor Calderone. mous musicians you’ve never heard
“It’s a really exciting idea for something maybe a little bit different for a circuit weekend,” of” — artists with names such as
bitchcraft, Anne Bonny from the
Stephan says of the pairing. “Victor’s gone a lot more in the techno direction since we last played Big Bootyed Buccaneer Bitches,
together, and I’ve gone more in the circuit direction. I’m kind of straddling the divides — I think and Sassy Summers of Sweet Sassy
that’s why it’ll work with the two of us playing together.” Stephan hints he may premiere his remix and the Molassees. Interstitial
burlesque will come from Delilah
of “Beat for the Gods” by Orange Is The New Black’s Laverne Cox, and he’s almost certain to trot Dentata, Miss Fanny Tittington, and
out his sassy, fierce remix of Beyonce’s “Partition.” Chris Mess Jacobs, with music by
“I just feel lucky to still be doing what I love doing,” Stephan says. “I realize that there are new Sarah Azzara. Saturday, April 14,
people coming up all the time, and they’re going to bump me out of the way at some point. As long at 9:30 p.m. Black Cat Backstage,
1811 14th St. NW. Tickets are $12
as people are listening and dancing, then I’m going to carry on.” in advance or $15 at the door. Call
202-667-4490 or visit facebook.
com/butthecircus. l
Tom Stephan DJs at Cherry’s Synergy party on Friday, April 13, starting at 9 p.m. at Echostage,
2135 Queens Chapel Road NE. Tickets are $35 or included in Cherry Weekend Passes starting at
$185; a round-trip shuttle between Dupont’s Embassy Row Hotel and Echostage is $25.
Visit cherryfund.org for more information.
C
ALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS ARE ADVANCING A groups, are trying to marshal voters against the bill by calling
bill that would call conversion therapy a “fraudu- it “anti-Christian” and a form of government censorship of
lent practice.” If the bill is successful, anyone who free speech — even alleging it may be unconstitutional.
practices conversion therapy will be promising a product — Matt Sharp, a lawyer for ADF, appeared on ABC 7 News
change in sexual orientation or gender identity — that they in San Francisco and claimed that the bill discriminates
knowingly cannot deliver. That means that state can step in against people who disagree with homosexuality.
to effectively shut down the practice by using complaints, “You can’t question it. You can’t explore whether there’s
fines, or other actions to prevent licensed therapists or coun- other options,” he said. “Or even from the perspective of
selors from carrying out the therapy. religious individuals, telling them, ‘You can’t talk about the
Assembly Bill 2943, sponsored by openly gay moral issues implicated with sexual orientation and gender
Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Cupertino), received bipar- identity, unless it’s the government’s approval on it.’”
tisan support as it passed through two Assembly committes. Peter Sprigg, of the Family Research Council, even com-
The bill is expected to receive a floor vote in the coming pared the bill to torture in a blog post for FRC’s regularly
weeks, and will likely pass. occurring “Washington Update,” saying: “Some extremists
“There is nothing wrong with who I am or who any of my like to call this kind of therapy ‘torture.’ But the real torture
brothers and sisters are in the LGBT community,” Low said is telling people who want help they can’t have it.”
in a statement. “It’s time to treat everyone with the human But proponents say conservatives are misrepresenting
dignity that we all deserve, while celebrating our identities.” what the bill does, that it’s really about protecting LGBTQ
California already outlaws the practice of conversion people from being conned into paying for therapy that will
therapy on minors, as do several other states and jurisdic- fail to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.
tions. But no state currently bans the practice on adults, “Even today, both young people and adults are often
who legally can subject themselves to whatever therapies swindled by unscrupulous practitioners who falsely claim
or practices they choose. Supporters of the bill cite a 2009 that they can cure a person from being gay or transgender,”
report from the American Psychological Association which Carolyn Reyes, of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said
found that conversion therapy “poses critical health risks” in a statement. “People who go through conversion therapy,
and contributes to anti-LGBTQ stigma by characterizing whether with a licensed therapist or an unlicensed organiza-
homosexuality as a mental illness. tion, frequently find that they have wasted years of their lives
Several anti-LGBTQ groups, including Alliance and thousands of dollars on these false promises. This legisla-
Defending Freedom, the Family Research Council, and tion confirms what courts have already decided: Practicing or
Liberty Counsel, as well as two pro-conversion therapy advertising conversion therapy is a form of consumer fraud.” l
NORTHERN FIGHTS
Anchorage voters reject a ballot measure seeking to restrict transgender people’s
access to public facilities. By John Riley
V
OTERS IN ANCHORAGE, ALASKA, HAVE DEFEAT- local Anchorage residents who would be negatively affect-
ed a ballot measure that sought to remove non- ed by the rescission of the protections for transgender
discrimination protections for transgender people. people. They particularly stressed the local angle after it
While the results may not be certified for a few weeks, it is was revealed that one of the women in the “Yes on 1” cam-
all but mathematically impossible for the measure, known paign’s advertisements was an anti-transgender activist
as Proposition 1, to succeed, as the “No” campaign leads by from Minnesota.
52.7% to 47.3%, or approximately 4,000 votes, with 100% of “This groundbreaking, first-of-its kind victory could
precincts reporting. never have happened without the hard work and courage
The win for the Fair Anchorage campaign, which led of transgender people and their families in Anchorage who
opposition to the measure, is historic, as it marks the first shared their experiences and stories of how Prop 1 would
time that an American jurisdiction has upheld transgender impact them,” Kati Ward, the campaign manager for Fair
protections as part of a standalone ballot measure. Anchorage, said in a statement. “When we learned last year
Fair Anchorage ran a campaign focusing heavily on that Proposition 1 might be on the ballot, we began to create
PERSECUTION COMPLEX
Australian rugby player Israel Folau won’t be disciplined for saying
all gay people will go to hell. By John Riley
A
N AUSTRALIAN RUGBY PLAYER WHO CAME UNDER tweeted. “Getting backlash for being an idiot isn’t persecu-
fire for making homophobic comments on Instagram tion, it’s justice.”
will not be disciplined, the CEO of Rugby Australia has Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle summoned Folau to
confirmed. Israel Folau, a devout Christian, was harshly criti- a meeting to discuss his comments, but later confirmed that
cized after he said that God’s plan for gay people was “HELL.. he would not be punished for them — and even called him a
Unless they repent of their sins and turn to God.” Facing “strong role model.”
intense backlash over his comments, Folau then tried to play “We’re proud of the fact that he’s a strong believer and
the victim card by comparing himself to a “persecuted proph- he’s prepared to stand up for what he believes in,” Castle said
et,” including quoting a part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. in a statement, adding, “He is a great player, he has delivered
In response to Metro Weekly’s story, LGBTQ rights advo- some great outcomes for us and has been a really strong role
cate and Pennsylvania state representative Brian Sims shut model in the Pacific Islander community and we would like
down Folau’s attempt to paint himself as a victim of a politi- to see he stays in rugby.”
cally correct backlash. Addressing the controversy his comments generated,
“Persecution is when you have less rights, less say, less Castle said, “I think Israel has acknowledged that maybe he
protection from abuse, less representation, less support, could have put a positive spin on that same message and done
and less ability to have wrongs against you corrected,” Sims it in a more respectful way.” l
HAVING A ROW
301-300-9978, or Takoma Park,
Weekly Events 301-422-2398.
ANDROMEDA METROHEALTH CENTER
TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH offers free, rapid HIV testing.
offers free HIV testing and HIV
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welcomes runners of all ability
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W
straints, the celebrity reactions come through loud and clear.
“It’s really fascinating to see the range of reactions, because
some are very emotional, and others will just be very stoic,” says
HEN IT COMES TO TYLER HENRY, YOU HAVE Henry during the course of an hour-long phone conversation.
a choice. You can either choose to believe that he’s able to com- “I’ve found that shock has a lot of different reactions. Some peo-
municate with the so-called spirit world, or you can choose to ple burst into tears, other people just kind of stay silent and sit
believe that it’s all an elaborate trick, one based on cold readings there and process. They really have to think about it.”
and prior research. If Henry has a built-in wariness of the press, it’s not out-
Whatever you believe, there’s no denying the gay clairvoyant, wardly evident. He’s bright, chipper, infinitely personable, and
whose hit series Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry is now instinctively charismatic. He’s also extremely well-rehearsed
in the midst of its third season on E!, fully believes in his own in answering any question lobbed at him — the kind of pre-
abilities. cision that comes with extensive media training. Plus, he’s
Television is littered with shows on the paranormal, and crit- nice. Genuinely so. You instantly see why so many people are
ics are especially quick to point out that mediums, in particular, taken with the reedy, handsome blonde who bears a striking
prey on the vulnerabilities of others. It’s why they’re often called resemblance to a young Macaulay Culkin — “He’s the nicest kid
“grief vampires.” The world of psychics is a huge market, its you’d want to meet,” says Corbett — but it’s impossible, upon
customers often looking for hope, comfort, and signs that there reflection, to not wonder if Henry is being fully genuine with his
is something beyond this mortal coil. answers. It’s one thing to say you’re getting messages from enti-
Unlike other television mediums, 22-year-old Henry has ties in another realm. It’s another thing to offer hard proof. And,
latched onto a profitable niche: celebrities. Even if you don’t apart from noting that the only way a person can truly believe
believe a moment of his readings, it’s hard not to watch with in what he does is to undergo one of his readings, Henry has no
fascination how various stars react to news that a dead brother scientific evidence of his abilities.
may not have committed suicide, a deceased parent is remorseful Still, he seems unfazed over the vitriol and criticism he gets
over gambling transgressions, or a passed loved one just wants to from cynics (Queerty has been especially brutal, labeling him a
say one final goodbye. There’s even a twist: Henry doesn’t know “scam artist”), preferring it to roll off his back.
ahead of time who he’s going to do a reading for, an aspect the “I respect that everybody inherently is allowed to believe
show’s executive producer, Michael Corbett, forcefully backs up. what they want,” he says. “I think if you’re really secure in who
“The one thing we are absolute sticklers on is we are very you are, you don’t waiver when other people are upset at who
secretive,” says Corbett. “We never let Tyler know who he’s you are or what they perceive you as being.
going to read. It’s never written down anywhere. Even though “It’s a very controversial career,” he continues. “But I really
people claim he ‘googled’ the celebrity, it’s not possible because just don’t focus on having to defend myself. I don’t even really
he doesn’t know who he’s going to read until he opens the door. feel like I actively defend myself. I feel like I just share my expe-
That’s the reality.” rience — and what I do and what I know — and that’s that.... I just
Prior to developing the show, Corbett had an encounter with try to be as honest and forthright with my experiences as I can,
Henry that opened his mind. He had met him at a party and, for and people can do with that what they will.”
fun, hired him to do a reading. “I tested him,” says Corbett. “I
gave him some objects of some friends of mine, and one by one
he told me exactly how that person died and exactly what was METRO WEEKLY: In most interviews, I’ll start with, “When did you
going on with them at the time of their death.... I was shocked. I first come out?” But my first question to you instead is when did
mean, I gave him a name — just a first name of someone and an you first realize that you were able to connect with those who have
object — and he just went on and told me every detail. I thought passed away?
to myself, this kid’s the real deal. From there I thought, I want to TYLER HENRY: This all started for me when I was ten years old. I
create a show with this kid.” grew up in a pretty conservative Christian household in a pretty
Celebrities seem eager to buy into the Tyler Henry phenom- small town. One night I went to bed and woke up shortly before
enon, and the show has attracted the stars as varied as RuPaul, midnight and felt this memory of my grandmother’s passing.
LaToya Jackson, Taye Diggs, Margaret Cho, David and Rosanna It felt like a knowingness, it was as if I was just recollecting
Arquette, Jim Parsons, Selma Blair, Tituss Burgess, and even an event that already happened. But it didn’t make any sense
Olympian Gus Kenworthy. While the readings are edited down because when I had gone to bed, my grandmother was alive.
YU TSAI
from about an hour to 15 minutes, to fit the show’s time con- I went to explain this to my mom — I was very upset — and as
I was explaining, her phone rang. It was the news that my grand- MW: I take it communicating with the dead is frowned upon in
mother had just died. That was really the catalyst that set my life most religions?
on this path. From there, one thing led to another and eventually HENRY: Yeah. There are verses in the Bible, typically not in the
I started doing readings. most positive of lights. But it’s important to understand the
MW: Prior to that, you had not felt anything like this? historical context of the bible, of course. With gay people, the
HENRY: Not anything as evident as that premonition. I had little same thing applies. The terms that they used back then are not
experiences here and there as a child, but that experience really necessarily applicable to our lifestyle in this day and age. What
opened the floodgates and information started coming through, a lot. a medium was in biblical times was very different from what a
As time went on, from the ages of 10 to 13, at school, I would modern day medium is.
walk the P.E. track. And for some reason, when I was walk- MW: Is there a difference between a medium and a psychic?
ing the track, that was always when HENRY: I would say so, but it is kind
I would pick up on information. One of semantics. Being a medium is a
day, I looked over at a kid and said, psychic ability. However, psychics,
“Do you have an uncle named Sal, or and the word psychic, tend to have a
Salvador?” He said, “Yes, I do, how did connotation of being able to tell the
you know that?” It ended up being this future. I just consider a psychic ability
kid’s uncle. It basically just happened to be a spiritual ability. I’m primarily
like that. I would be able to interact a medium, so my job is really more
with people and just recollect infor- focused with connecting people with
mation there was no way I could have loved ones and relaying impressions
possibly known. These little intuitive and feelings from their energy. That’s
hunches would come through, and it the essence of what I do.
just happened increasingly as I got MW: Why don’t we all have this ability?
older. HENRY: I think we do. I think we all
MW: Is it something you actively worked have an intuition. If you look at the
on, like exercised or developed? word intuition — inner-tuition — it
HENRY: Eventually. When I made it means inner knowledge. I think most
a career at the age of 16, I really put people shut their intuition down.
it into practice. I had to really dive in There’s so many times in our lives
and see the capabilities of the ability. where we kick ourselves because we
But from the ages of 10 to 16, it was don’t go with our gut. I think everyone
just more something that would hap- can relate to that in some way. But
pen to me. I think it’s something that requires
MW: When did you come out as gay? practice to refine. In my life, I’ve really
HENRY: I never actually quite had a had to make a conscious decision to be
coming out. I was always gay. My fam- able to tune in and focus and be pres-
ily always had some form of an incli- ent. That’s how I’m able to pick up on
nation one way or another. It was many conversations, and it a lot of these subtleties that come through in readings, because
was something that I always had. It was always a part of me. If I’m just super present and I’m able to put my own thoughts and
anything, I think coming out of the psychic closet was more the feelings and emotions to the side.
dramatic aspect of my life. MW: How do psychics and mediums evaluate one another to distin-
MW: It was more difficult telling people you were psychic? guish between being gifted versus being fake? I’m thinking of the
HENRY: I would say so. Religious opposition from very early on psychic hotlines out there.
was probably the most challenging. And there were other gay HENRY: Validation is really the defining factor. In my readings,
kids in my town, but there weren’t any other mediums, so when I put a heavy emphasis on validation, which means bringing
it came to being ridiculed, I was a target. forward information — specifically, detailed information — that
MW: You were bullied? is private and can be verified from the client as making sense in
HENRY: I was, but it really had more to do with the medium side the context of the person coming through. But I really liken what
of things. Word of mouth spread about what I was able to do, I do to be a practice, much like how a doctor is a practitioner. I
and what I was able to share. While many people embraced it, a really take my work seriously. I think that in the same way you
lot of people were really upset by it from a religious perspective wouldn’t call a 1-800 number to get your heart checked, you
in my little town. They even went so far as having a prayer circle probably shouldn’t call a 1-800 number to get a psychic reading.
done for me when I was 10 years old. When I heard about it, I I’ve had a lot of experiences with psychics, mediums, self-pro-
was absolutely devastated, because at 10 years old, you’re still a claimed and legitimate, and I’ve had over 200 readings personal-
child, you’re still trying to figure out who you are, and you hear ly, and have been able to see when a person is valid and when a
of this group trying to save my soul. person is just guessing, or being general, or being vague, or read-
MW: Were you raised religious? ing from a script. They shouldn’t have to ask a million questions.
SHARON MOR YOSEF
HENRY: I was. My extended family was more religious than my They should be able to bring forward details and specifics with
immediate, but I did go to church. We were Presbyterian, so some degree of knowingness. My goal as a medium is really just
we were a little bit more open-minded than some of the other to redefine what people think of when they think of a medium,
denominations. But there was definitely some stigma. because it’s really about the validation and getting the specifics.
That maintains the integrity of the experience. in a rural area. So when I am in high concentrations of groups of
MW: Why do you think people use your services? people, it can get very intense. I may not necessarily be having all
HENRY: Everyone comes with a different reason. I have found of these people’s loved ones coming through, but people do carry
through my work that fundamentally everybody is looking for an inherent energy that is unique to them and their personality,
a lot of the same thing. Typically, that revolves around closure, and what they’re going through in that moment. So when I’m
clarity, insights — or some derivative of the three. in a crowd, I do get pulls in certain directions. I’ll get stimulus
MW: Let’s talk about your show, Hollywood Medium. The setup is feelings and it can be very overwhelming.
relatively simple. You go from reading to reading, and yet within MW: How do you cope with that?
the readings themselves, there is variance in terms of the way HENRY: I consciously try to navigate it as best I can. There
people emotionally respond. Some respond with a tremendous out- have been times where I’ve shared impressions that have come
pouring of emotion. Some seem to visibly hold back. Yet all seem through randomly in public. One instance, there was a woman
to get something out of the experience. Now, you’re not a psychol- in a supermarket. I came up to her — I was in my teens — and
ogist, but there’s clearly psychology behind what you do. Do you I had this vision of this older man coming through, and he was
see yourself as someone who helps shepherd people through grief? choking. I kept hearing, “I love you. I love you. I love you.” I
HENRY: I would say readings aren’t a cure for grief, but they can stopped this woman and I explained that I was a medium and
help provide the necessary validation that our loved ones are still that I had a message for her. I said, “For some reason, he’s just
around and connected to us in some way. My hope is that when having me say I love you, and he’s showing me his throat and
I do a reading, it helps initiate a dialogue with the client about that he was choking right before he passed.” She said her father
what they’re going through and how they’re feeling, and that, in died of throat cancer and was trying to get his last words out, but
and of itself, can really help a person go through their path of he wasn’t able to communicate them before he passed. When he
grief, and hopefully be inspired to go to the professional means came through, he validated that he was just trying to tell her that
of seeing a therapist and getting that help and consultation. My he loved her one last time.
goal is really just to make sure that with every person I meet, I This was in a supermarket. And this woman broke down cry-
leave them better than I found them. ing on aisle five, and I was just left thinking about the fact that
MW: Is there a difference between how celebrities on the show react this can have a massive impact on people’s lives, and there’s a
and your everyday, non-celebrity clients? time and a place to do it. I really prefer that people reach out to
HENRY: As far as reactions go, no. I guess celebrities can be a bit me for readings, versus just doing it randomly.
more guarded, understandably, as they’re public figures, and it is MW: Are there spirits or entities that scare you?
a very private thing, and you never know what’s going to come HENRY: No.
out. But one of the beautiful things of the show is that it really MW: No? Most Hollywood horror films are based on spirits that are
shows the universality of human emotion — everybody is looking not friendly. They’re evil. Rarely do you get a super-friendly ghost.
for the same thing. Regardless of a person’s lifestyle or recog- HENRY: There are a lot of misconceptions, ironically from
nizability, we all are going to experience loss. We’re all going to Hollywood, about mediums and spirituality and the afterlife
have the same questions. That’s an all-encompassing thing. It’s and all that. If anything, I’ve found that my experiences with
really interesting to see it first-hand. the other side and everything that’s came through has been
MW: What happens if during a reading for the show nothing comes? comforting and has given me a deeper understanding of my life
HENRY: I’ve never had nothing come. Thankfully. Thankfully, and my life purpose, and all of our purpose. I have not have any
thankfully. I’ve done over 164 readings for the show, and every major, major experiences in recent memory of anything really
single time something has came through. It may not be neces- frightening, evil, or anything along those lines.
sarily what the client was anticipating. It could be someone MW: But there are evil people out there — bad people who do bad
connected to someone the client brought with them and is in the things. They die. Don’t they carry whatever made them bad in this
other room, but something tends to always come through when I world forward?
start tuning into the energy of my surroundings. My job is really HENRY: I believe it gets processed. I’ve done over 1,000 readings,
just to kind of stick to the message and do my job, and deliver it and so I’ve had people of all different lifestyles and behavioral
as eloquently as I can. types come through. A lot of people come through who may
MW: Do messages come to you randomly that you can’t control? have not been the best, or did certain things to hurt other people.
HENRY: I have no control at all. When I do a reading, it really Every single person that’s come through has acknowledged that
is on the terms of whatever’s coming through. I’m not making upon transitioning, they process something called the ego. The
these messages up, they’re coming from a different source, so ego is a belief that I’ve really defined as the belief systems that
I have to basically just be aware of the stream of information. we dictate our lives by — the beliefs that we accept about our-
Sometimes that stream is really strong. Other times that stream selves, our place in the world, our perception of others. When
is not as strong and I have to work with whatever type of a com- we transition, we realize that we are so much more than our
municator I’m working with. beliefs and our opinions and our thoughts. This allows people a
MW: But walking down the street in New York City, for instance, big picture perspective, which can give people a greater under-
with thousands of people around you, would you get bombarded by standing and come forward and take accountability.
stray messages? Do the psychic floodgates burst open? Like with my reading with RuPaul. His father passed away,
HENRY: Definitely. I do try to consciously turn it on and off as and his father never was able in life to take accountability for
best I can, but it is very difficult. I’ve been to New York probably being a gambling addict. But on the other side, his dad knew
over ten times, and it’s still difficult every single time because of the impact that his addiction had on his family, and it was
I’m not used to living in such a high concentrated area. I grew up something he was never able to take accountability for when he
in a very rural, small town, and even where I live now is actually was here. Because he saw that from where he was now at — his
O
the factor VIII supply might be tainted.
VER THE COURSE OF A DECADE AND A HALF, TWO ALLIES BECOME Testing for this unfamiliar virus is still
adversaries in the midst of an AIDS crisis that threatens to overtake both them new and unreliable, so Dr. Roz counsels
and the rest of the world. Dr. Roz Kagan and Ray Leon meet in 1977, when the Ray to continue treating his sons with
distraught single father of two brings his twin hemophiliac boys, Ray-Ray and Mikey, factor VIII, despite the enormous risks.
to Roz for care. Ray’s boys, like many hemophiliacs, have been dependent on painful, It’s an ethical, clinical game of Russian
time-consuming infusions of a clotting agent known as cryoprecipitate to stall any roulette, with Ray-Ray’s and Mikey’s
bleeding. lives in the balance.
But Dr. Kagan, an esteemed hematologist and oncologist at San Diego Children’s Karen Hartman’s penetrating, cathar-
Hospital, is excited about the recent innovation of a more concentrated clotting agent, tic drama, Roz and Ray ( ) has
factor VIII. She introduces Ray and the boys (who never appear onstage) to this mirac- a lot of work to do, constructing from
ulous treatment, even pricking herself with a syringe to teach Ray-Ray and Mikey how the performances of just two actors —
to inject the factor VIII themselves. Tom Story and Susan Rome — a complex,
Factor VIII augurs a new independence for Ray’s family, who will no longer need time-shifting narrative steeped in history
to rush to the hospital for a lengthy cryo infusion every time one of the boys skins his and further complicated by an abundance
Paper Dolls runs to April 29 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $20 to $60.
Call 202-399-7993, ext. 2 or visit MosaicTheater.org.
Roz and Ray runs to April 29, at Theater J, 1529 16th St. NW. Tickets are $39 to $69. Call 202-777-3210, or visit theaterj.org.
Trains of Thought
tling, not just for money, but for life. To
the older men, he represents reckless —
perhaps dangerous — youth. To Wolf, he
is rival to his vague interest in Lee’s one
Two Trains Running reflects the complexity of the black experience, and only waitress, the disaffected Risa.
while Underground Railroad Game tries to add Embracing the Malcolm X movement
to the conversation By Kate Wingfield as well as the often-reviled Hambone,
Sterling is a free radical — the question is:
R
will he build or destroy?
ICHLY HONEST AND AUTHENTIC, ARENA AND SEATTLE REPERTORY Thus, Wilson sets his parts into motion
Theatre’s Two Trains Running (HHHHH) brings the evergreen August Wilson and as they turn, ever more is revealed.
powerfully to life. One of Wilson’s many deep-dives into the experience of work- Again, it’s not about the earth-shattering,
ing class black Americans, this is not about grand acts, it’s about the potent realities and it’s about the coping and the small choices
private dreams of day-to-day life. It is funny, angry, stoic and unaccountably hopeful. made in the throes of mundane life. The
Set in a 1960s Pennsylvania diner — depicted in simple, atmospheric brushstrokes joy here is in Wilson’s everyday patter, the
via Misha Kachman’s retro set — Wilson’s characters converge for coffee and company. comfortable routines, the secret souls. But
But as the days unfold, the textures of their lives emerge. They are enduring the physi- it is also about the complexity of the black
cal and emotional perils of poverty and the sometimes subtle, sometimes brutal burdens experience. Characters argue, differ and
of relentless racism. Somewhere, in between these crucibles, they are looking for love, diverge on how best to navigate what it is
stability, purpose and meaning. to be black in America. In that sense, the
Prime mover in this microcosm is Memphis Lee, longtime owner of the diner and its play is positively ageless.
most dedicated employee. Faced with eminent domain as the city buys up the block for It is also very much an ensemble
development, Lee wants a healthy return on a place in which he has invested so much piece and this cast, under the pitch-per-
of himself, for so long. But he’s carrying some other, more private baggage: he’s been fect vision of director Juliette Carrillo, is
robbed by the white establishment before. superb. At the play’s heart is the powerful
But if Lee has courage and conviction, the cards are stacked against him. He’s just quartet of Lee, Holloway, Risa and Wolf,
one small business owner against city hall and, truth be told, he’s not exactly running and the players here couldn’t be stronger.
a roaring trade. His best customers do little more than buy a cup of coffee or a bowl of As Memphis Lee, Eugene Lee delivers
beans. There is the elderly, pontificating Holloway rooted in his favorite seat, the restless Wilson’s language with a kind of gruff
young Wolf not-so-surreptitiously using the diner as a base for his bookie operation, and musicality matching perfectly this deeply
there is the mentally ill, often distraught Hambone, arriving daily to bellow for a ham credible man of quiet but immense forti-
he thinks he’s owed. Lee knows it’s time to quit, he just wants to do it on his own terms. tude. As Holloway, David Emerson Toney
As the pressure builds behind the scenes, change comes in the form of Sterling, offers tremendously wry comic timing,
— U.S. Navy servicemember MATTHEW ALVARADO, thanking the Department of Defense and U.S. Navy for taking
“great strides over the past few years to be accepting and loving” towards Alvarado and his husband Brian. The couple
appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show after Brian Alvarado won Armed Forces Insurance’s Navy Spouse of the Year,
making him the first LGBTQ spouse to be nominated for the award.