CONTENTS

OCTOBER 4, 2018 Volume 25 Issue 22

12 COMEDY FIRSTS
Sampson McCormick headlines an unprecedentedly queer
event at the African American History & Culture Museum.

By Doug Rule

IN TODRICK WE TRUST
Todrick Hall opens up about searching for love, conquering
setbacks, and embracing success.

Interview by André Hereford

26
33 GOING GAGA
Bradley Cooper’s remake of A Star Is Born is a gritty, heartfelt
showbiz fable driven by the force of its two stars.

By André Hereford

SPOTLIGHT: LEGAL SEA FOODS p.7 OUT ON THE TOWN p.10

COMEDY FIRSTS: SAMPSON MCCORMICK p.12 HEARING A WHO: BETTY WHO p.14
THE FEED p.19 SCENE: DC FAMILY COMMUNICATORS p.21 COMMUNITY: BREAKING THE SILENCE p.22
SCENE: HISPANIC LGBTQ HERITAGE AWARDS p.25 COVER STORY: TODRICK HALL p.26
FILM: A STAR IS BORN p.33 FILM: TEA WITH THE DAMES p.34
STAGE: BORN YESTERDAY p.36 MUSIC: TALL HEIGHTS p.37 NIGHTLIFE p.39
SCENE: PITCHERS/A LEAGUE OF HER OWN p.39 LISTINGS p.40 NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS p.41
PLAYLIST: DJ JASON ROYCE p.43 LAST WORD p.46

Real LGBTQ News and Entertainment since 1994

Editorial Editor-in-Chief Randy Shulman Art Director Todd Franson Online Editor at metroweekly.com Rhuaridh Marr Senior Editor John Riley
Contributing Editors André Hereford, Doug Rule Senior Photographers Ward Morrison, Julian Vankim Contributing Illustrator Scott G. Brooks
Contributing Writers Sean Maunier, Troy Petenbrink, Bailey Vogt, 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
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4 OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Spotlight
PHOTO COURTESY LEGAL SEAFOODS

Legal Sea Foods: Oysterfest

T
HE MASSACHUSETTS-BASED SEAFOOD CHAIN
celebrates all things bivalves. Fried oysters are avail-
able in the following styles: Buffalo with blue cheese,
celery hearts, and radish; BBQ with coleslaw and BBQ mayo;
Sriracha Lime with roasted corn salsa and crispy shallots; or
as an “Oyster BLT” with chipotle mayo. Baked Oysters are
prepared as a Lobster Spinach Oyster bake with cheese and
herbed crumbs; Oyster Scampi with shrimp, garlic butter, and
white wine; Crab & Cheese Oyster with Jonah crab, horserad-
ish, cheddar, and cream cheese; or Roasted Oyster with smoked
chorizo, butter, and fresh herbs.
A variety of oysters will also be available raw, served on the
half shell, with selections and prices changing daily depending
on what’s available. Wash it all down with this year’s official fes-
tival drink, the Deadrise, a concoction of Tito’s vodka, muddled
cucumber, lime, and grapefruit bitters.
Available at lunch and dinner daily now through Oct. 10.
All three area locations: 704 7th St. NW, 2301 Jefferson Davis
Highway, Arlington, and 2001 International Drive in Tysons
Galleria, McLean. Visit legalseafoods.com.

OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 7

 Spotlight

KRISH MOHAN
A Native American comic, who hosts the weekly web show
“Fork Full of Noodles” and the podcast “Taboo Table Talk,”
Mohan explores “bubble culture” among Americans and the
current divide in today’s political climate through storytell-
ing, satire, and comedy. His hour of “socially conscious com-
edy” was the Audience Choice Award winner at the 2018
Pittsburgh Fringe Festival. Opening set by Franqi French.
Friday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m. Reliable Tavern, 3655 Georgia Ave.
NW. Tickets are $5 online, or $10 at the door. Call 202-800-
ALBERT CESARE

0441 or visit reliable-tavern.com.

ADAMS MORGAN
PORCHFEST
A eclectic and eccentric festival
showcasing the rhythms that make
the city’s legendary, multicultural
neighborhood move. Launched in
2013, PorchFest features more than
30 local musicians and musical acts
in mix of ages and expertise, per-
forming everything from brass to
R&B, folk to rock, and Latin to reg-
gae in pop-up venues on porches and
patios of historic homes and local
businesses throughout the neighbor-
hood’s leafy residential streets. Each

ADAMS MORGAN PARTNERSHIP

location hosts three 45-minute sets.
Saturday, Oct. 6, from 1:30 to 6 p.m.
Starting point is SunTrust Plaza,
18th Street and Columbia Road NW.
Free. Call 202-997-0783 or visit
admoporchfest.com.

SUMMERLAND
The Washington Stage Guild presents Arlitia
Jones’ drama relaying the mysterious but true
tale of William H. Mumler, a spirit photog-
rapher with a talent for capturing haunting
images from the world beyond the veil. Set
in the years after the Civil War, Summerland
focuses on Mumler’s booming business of con-
tacting the dead for mourners, and the city
marshal who wants to prove the photographer
is a fraud. Starring Yury Lomakin, Rachel
Felstein, and Steven Carpenter. Kasi Campbell
directs. To Oct. 21. Undercroft Theatre of
Mount Vernon United Methodist Church, 900
Massachusetts Ave. NW. Tickets are $30 to
$60. Call 240-582-0050 or visit stageguild.org.

8 OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Spotlight
VENOM
We last saw Venom in 2007’s Spider-Man 3, and
after ten years of rumors and development, the char-
acter finally has his own film. Tom Hardy steps into
the role as journalist Eddie Brock, who becomes the
host of an alien symbiote that transforms him into
the horrific Venom and grants superhuman abilities.
Sony intends this film to start an adjacent Marvel
universe to the MCU we all know and love, and
Venom will apparently be darker, scarier, and more
violent than the usual Marvel fare. Don’t expect to
see Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, though — director
Ruben Fleischer said there’s no cameo planned.
Now playing at area theaters. (RM)

MEASURE FOR
MEASURE
Shakespeare’s classic becomes a
mirror of modern society in a dex-
terously crafted adaptation by U.K.
theater company Cheek By Jowl and
the Pushkin Theatre Moscow. The
production offers a fresh take on
Shakespeare’s dissection of the nature
of justice, mercy, and virtue. Director
Declan Donnellan and designer Nick
Ormerod originally developed the
work for the Moscow stage. Part of
the Kennedy Center’s World Stages
series. In Russian with projected
English titles. Opens Wednesday,
Oct. 10. To Oct. 13. Kennedy Center
Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $19
to $75. Call 202-467-4600 or visit

JOHAN PERSSON
kennedy-center.org.

SHEMEKIA COPELAND
Continuing the legacy of blues divas Etta James and Bessie Smith, to say nothing of
her late father, Texas bluesman Johnny Copeland, Shemekia Copeland is far from
just a powerhouse brassy blues singer-songwriter. The stirring, genre-bending
music featured on the 39-year-old’s eighth release, America’s Child, is a bluesy, soul-
fired blend of Americana, folk, and rock. Recorded in Nashville, the set, with guest
turns by John Prine, Emmylou Harris, Rhiannon Giddens, and lesbian folk-rocker
Mary Gauthier, “celebrates our collective diversity in all its forms and colors.”
Friday, Oct. 5. Doors at 6:30 p.m. The Hamilton, 600 14th St. NW. Tickets are $15.75
to $35.75. Call 202-787-1000 or visit thehamiltondc.com.
MIKE WHITE

OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 9

© CHRISTY BOWE 2017

Out On The Town

TASTE OF BETHESDA
This 29th annual festival brings nearly 50 restaurants and five stages of entertainment to Bethesda’s Woodmont Triangle.
Produced by the Bethesda Urban Partnership, this year sees participation from new area restaurants including the Big
Greek Café, CherCher Ethiopian Cuisine, Dog Haus Biergarten, Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant, The Red Bandana Bakery, and
True Food Kitchen. Returning favorites include Georgetown Cupcake, Jaleo Bethesda, Mussel Bar, Olazzo, and Ruth’s
Chris. Live performances will come from the 19th Street Band, Aztec Sun, Elikeh, Jay Byrd & the Musical Trust, Joker’s
Wild, Rochelle Rice, Sara Jones, and Sweet Saludos, plus Ancient Rhythms Dance Company, Coyaba Dance Theater, the
Culkin School of Traditional Irish Dance, Urban Artistry, and Wong Chinese Lion Dancers. Saturday, Oct. 6, from 11 a.m.
to 4 p.m. Woodmont Triangle, Bethesda. Free admission, or $5 for four “taste” tickets. Call 301-215-6660 or visit bethesda.
org for more information.

Compiled by Doug Rule
FILM
THE HATE U GIVE
This couldn’t be timelier. Starr
Carter (Amandla Stenberg) is
a black teen from a poor neigh-
borhood who attends a rich, pre-
dominantly white prep school. Her
world is upended after she watch-
es a white police officer shoot her
childhood best friend, and the care-
ful walls she’s built quickly crum-
ble as she’s drawn into activism.
Based on Angie Thomas’ bestselling
2017 novel, which was banned by a
school district in Texas because one
parent objected to the frank por-
trayal of its subject matter, George
Tillman Jr.’s film blends coming-
of-age drama with the Black Lives
Matter movement — and critics are
loving it. Now playing at area the-
aters. (RM)
THE ROCKY HORROR
PICTURE SHOW
Every October, Landmark’s E Street
Cinema presents not just one but
two weekends with screenings of
Richard O’Brien’s camp classic,
billed as the longest-running mid-
night movie in history. Landmark’s
showings come with a live shadow
cast from the Sonic Transducers,
meaning it’s as interactive as can
be — particularly the last weekend
of the month and a special spooky
Halloween run. But you can get your
next weekend with E Street’s tradi-
tional second-weekend run. Friday,
Oct. 12, and Saturday, Oct. 13, at mid-
night. Landmark’s E Street Cinema,
555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672
or visit landmarktheatres.com.
STAGE
CORALINE
Focused on a young heroine who
unlocks a door in her new house
and reveals an alternate world with
a dangerous secret, Neil Gaiman’s
2002 children’s book has inspired
adaptations across a range of media,
from a stop-motion animated fea-
ture to an opera. A decade ago,
David Greenspan adapted the fan-
tasy horror for the stage in collab-
oration with Stephin Merritt of the
Magnetic Fields. And that is the
version the quirky and adventur-
ous Landless Theatre is producing.
Melissa Baughman directs. To Oct.
28. Best Medicine Rep Theatre,
Second Floor, Lakeforest Mall, 701
Russell Ave., in Gaithersburg, Md.
Tickets are $10 to $20. Visit land-
lesstheatre.com.
HEISENBERG
A chance encounter at a London
train stop changes the course of
life for two people in this tender,
funny, intimate comedy from Tony
Award-winner Simon Stephens
(The Curious Incident of the Dog in
the Night Time). Michael Russotto
and Rachel Zampelli star. Joe
Calarco directs. To Nov. 11. Ark
Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave.,
Arlington. Call 703-820-9771 or visit
sigtheatre.org.
HOW TO WIN A RACE WAR
A parody of white supremacist
“race war” fiction, Ian Allen’s play
spans more than three centuries
of civilization for an epic journey
that is part-satire, part-exposé,
and part horror show — depicting
slave rebellions, skinheads, and a
liberal dystopian future, and even
featuring song-and-dance numbers.
Presented by the D.C. theater col-
lective The Klunch, the world-pre-
miere production has a large 12-per-
son cast including Kevin Boudreau,
Kim Curtis, Tony Greenberg,
Connor Padilla, and Ned Read, with
voice work by Christopher Henley
and B. Stanley. Weekends to Oct.
20. District of Columbia Arts Center
(DCAC), 2438 18th St. NW. Tickets
are $25 to $40. Call 866-811-4111 or
visit theklunch.com.

10 OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 IF I FORGET
A modern Jewish family is frac-
turing in this political and deeply
personal play — and also a hyper-lo-
cal one, written by Tony-winning
Bethesda-native Steven Levenson,
who wrote the book for Dear Evan
Hansen. Set in Tenleytown, a piece
of 14th Street real estate owned by
the family becomes a sticking point
— should they keep or sell the prop-
erty? Matt Torney directs Richard
Fancy, Susan Rome, Jonathan
Goldstein, Robin Abramson, Julie-
Ann Elliott, Paul Morella, and
Joshua Otten. To Oct. 14. Studio
Theatre, 14th & P Streets NW. Call
202-332-3300 or visit studiotheatre.
org.

LABOUR OF LOVE
A clever mashup of the political
gamesmanship of The West Wing
PHOTO COURTESY OF SAMPSON

with a war-of-the-sexes saga akin

to Shakespeare’s Much Ado About
Nothing, James Graham’s Olivier
Award-winning comedy is set in
a member of Parliament’s district
office and pokes witty fun at the ups
and downs of left-wing British pol-
itics. Leora Morris directs Olney’s
production, which features M. Scott
McLean and Julia Coffey. To Oct.

COMEDY FIRSTS
28. Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab,
2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road,
Olney, Md. Call 301-924-3400 or
visit olneytheatre.org.

Sampson McCormick headlines an unprecedentedly queer event at the African LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE
American History & Culture Museum.
Love, sorrow, and longing are

I
folded into the plot and into
WAS ONE OF THE FIRST BLACK QUEER STANDUPS IN THE COUNTRY,” SAMPSON each delectable dish described in
McCormick says. When the 33-year-old started in the business a dozen years ago, “you could Mexican author Laura Esquivel’s
beloved 1989 novel Como Agua para
be walking down the street and get a bottle thrown at you for being gay. You definitely couldn’t
Chocolate. That bittersweet recipe
walk down the street and hold hands.” produced an equally popular film,
Born in North Carolina but raised in D.C., McCormick appreciates how the comedy scene has directed by Esquivel’s ex-husband
changed. Still, he notes, “At [comedy] clubs on the weekends you still don’t see a lot of queer men Alfonso Arau, and now begets a the-
atrical adaptation, care of Spanish
headliners. And you definitely don’t see a lot of queer men of color.” playwright Garbi Losada. Making
McCormick continues to push for greater representation — as well as greater career opportu- its U.S. premiere at GALA Hispanic
nities in general, facilitated by his move to California in 2013 and a developing passion for film- Theatre under the assured direction
of Olga Sánchez, Como Agua para
making, with multiple film projects in development. “There aren’t that many gay comedies — like
Chocolate captures the poetry and
laugh-out-loud gay [movies],” he says. “Where is the gay black Bridesmaids? Or the gay version of magical realism that have stirred
Girl Trip?” fans of the story’s previous incarna-
Next week, McCormick returns to D.C. for a National Coming Out Day event at the National tions. In Spanish with English sur-
titles. Closes Sunday, Oct. 7. GALA
Museum of African American History & Culture. “I will be the first queer comic that they’ve ever Theatre at Tivoli Square, 3333 14th
had headline there,” he notes. The newest Smithsonian on the Mall is “the most inclusive of queer St. NW. Tickets are $25 to $48. Call
history that I’ve ever seen,” he says, noting that other black history museums he’s worked with 202-234-7174 or visit galatheatre.
org. (Andre Hereford)
“might say a little bit of something about James Baldwin. Or they might briefly, in one sentence,
mention Bayard Rustin. But this museum spells it out and says, ‘Bayard Rustin was a black gay man LYSISTRATA
who organized the March on Washington. Give him his respect.’” Sarah Ruden’s adaptation of the
McCormick will be joined by Charlene A. Carruthers, a black queer feminist activist and Greek farce by Aristophanes focus-
es on the titular heroine’s ploy to
author of Unapologetic, and 2Deep, a spoken word artist and poet committed to the cause of social end a never-ending cycle of war by
justice. The event is intended to celebrate “the contributions of black, queer art of the Harlem convincing the women of Greece
Renaissance.” It will also focus on youth coming together. to withhold sex until the men
agree to a truce. Michael Blum and
“It’s not just comedy — it’s love, and it’s healing,” McCormick says of his routine. “It’s church
Darlene Harris co-direct a cast of
minus the bullshit. It’s what church should be.... We get up in there and we testify. And we cuss at local amateurs led by Amy Heller
our church.” —Doug Rule as Lysistrata. Weekends to Oct.
14. Spotlighters, 817 St. Paul St.,
Baltimore. Tickets are $21 to $24, or
A Speak Easy Evening is Thursday, Oct. 11, from 7 to 11 p.m., in NMAAHC’s Heritage Hall, just $10 for “Ten Spot Thursday” on
14th St. & Constitution Ave. NW. Free passes are required; available starting Friday, Oct. 5, Sept. 27. Call 410-752-1225 or visit
at midnight. Call 844-750-3012 or visit nmaahc.si.edu. spotlighters.org.

12 OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

SOUTH PACIFIC
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s
South Pacific has its dated aspects,
in form as well as content, but it
is also brimming with early pop
hits-cum-American Songbook stan-
dards (“Some Enchanted Evening,”
“Bali Ha’i”). And then there’s the
show’s anti-racist messaging, which
remains satisfying and notable,
particularly in light of the con-
trast of how provocatively ahead-
of-their-time they were back in
the day — a key reason the show
won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
in 1950. It was the second of only
nine musicals to be so honored to
date. Closes Sunday, Oct. 7. Olney
Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy
Spring Road, Olney, Md. Call 301-
924-3400 or visit olneytheatre.org.
STEEL MAGNOLIAS
Port Tobacco Players kicks off its
70th season as a community the-
ater in southern Maryland’s Charles
County with Robert Harling’s com-
edy about six Southern friends who
harangue, needle, and ultimately
support each other in times of cri-
sis. Brimming with sweetness and
sass, heart and compassion, Steel
Magnolias really takes the cake
— a giant Armadillo cake, in fact.
Weekends to Oct. 7. 508 Charles
St., La Plata, Md. Tickets are $15
to $18. Call 301-932-6819 or visit
ptplayers.com.
THE COMEDY OF ERRORS
Shakespeare’s early comedy of mis-
taken identities involves two sets
of twins and an ocean of confusion.
Veanne Cox, Nancy Robinette, Tom
Story, Ted van Griethuysen, Sarah
Marshall, and Eleasha Gamble head
a large, gifted cast. Directed by
Alan Paul. To Oct. 28. Lansburgh
Theatre, 450 7th St. NW. Call 202-
547-1122 or visit shakespearethe-
atre.org.
THE LARAMIE PROJECT
The LGBTQ-focused Richmond
Triangle Players marks the 20th
anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s
death with a production of Moisés
Kaufman’s groundbreaking examina-
tion into the Wyoming murder and its
aftermath. Lucian Restivo directs. To
Oct. 19. The Robert B. Moss Theatre,
1300 Altamont Ave. Richmond.
Tickets are $10 to $35. Call 804-346-
8113 or visit rtriangle.org.
MUSIC
TROUBLE IN TAHITI
The Capital City Symphony opens
its 51st season with a toast to the
centennial of Leonard Bernstein.
Artistic Director Victoria Gau, who
is also associate conductor of the
National Philharmonic, leads an
all-Bernstein concert including the
Arias and Barcarolles song cycle
featuring vocalists Delores Ziegler
and Kevin Short of the University
of Maryland. But the centerpiece
JOHN AC
NSO: MENDELSSOHN’S VIOLIN CONCERTO
National Symphony Orchestra Conductor Laureate Christoph Eschenbach returns for
a program featuring rising star violinist Ray Chen, whose talent, sense of humor, and
savviness with both social media savvy and pop culture — with appearances on Amazon’s
Mozart in the Jungle and a partnership with Giorgio Armani — are said to be “redefining
what it means to be a classical musician.” In addition to one of the most treasured concer-
tos in the repertoire, the program also includes Mendelssohn’s Calm Sea and Prosperous
Voyage and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral.” Thursday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m., and
Friday, Oct. 12, and Saturday, Oct. 13, at 8 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets are
$15 to $89. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.
of the program is a semi-staged
presentation of the one-act opera
SE. Tickets are $25 to $42. Call 202-
544-7077 or visit folger.edu.
DANCE
Trouble in Tahiti, the only work for
ERICA RAE SMITH-GOODEN
which Bernstein wrote the words PINK MARTINI
The legacy and vitality of Caribbean
as well as the music. Sunday, Oct. WITH ARI SHAPIRO
dancehall is celebrated in a world
7, at 4 p.m. Lang Theatre, Atlas Everyone’s favorite quirky cock-
premiere part of the Kennedy
Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. tail orchestra, led by Thomas
Center’s 2018 Local Dance
NE. Tickets are $15 to $25. Call 202- Lauderdale, makes its debut on the
Commissioning Project. Smith-
399-7993 or visit atlasarts.org. Southwest Waterfront in a concert
Gooden, a D.C.-based Philadelphia
featuring a regular guest vocalist
native, choreographed and per-
FOLGER CONSORT: whose musical career it launched
forms the work, which incorporates
OKTOBERFEST — Ari Shapiro, best known as the
modern fusion dance, features a live
There won’t be beer steins at this co-host of NPR’s quintessential
“selecta” (DJ), and encourages the
twist on the German tradition. afternoon news program All Things
crowd to be active in carrying out
Instead, the Folger Library’s early Considered. Sunday, Oct. 7. Doors at
the kind of call-and-response for-
music ensemble puts the focus on 6:30 p.m. The Anthem, 901 Wharf St.
mat integral to dancehall. Friday,
music from German-speaking lands SW. Tickets are $35 to $95. Call 202-
Oct. 5, and Saturday, Oct. 6, at 6
in the centuries before the classical 888-0020 or visit theanthemdc.com.
p.m. Kennedy Center Millennium
era of Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms.
Stage. Free. Call 202-467-4600 or
The Consort’s founding directors SHEN YUN
visit kennedy-center.org.
Robert Eisenstein and Christopher SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Kendall are joined by other string Through all-original music, this
HELANIUS J. WILKINS:
and wind instrumentalists, plus symphony seeks to rekindle world-
A BON COEUR
tenor Mark Bleeke, for a program wide interest in China’s 5,000
The celebrated gay African-
that includes colorful songs by year-old culture and civilization.
American choreographer performs
14th-century Tyrolean knight and The result is a blending of the spir-
an evening-length, mixed-media
musician Oswald von Wolkenstein, it, beauty, and distinctiveness of
solo piece named after a Cajun term
quirky instrumental pieces from the Chinese music with the precision,
that means to do something whole-
15th-century Glogauer Liederbuch, power, and grandeur of the Western
heartedly. Billed as a celebration
and opulent early 16th centu- symphony orchestra. Wednesday,
of heritage, heart and soul, A Bon
ry music by Heinrich Isaac and Oct. 10, at 8 p.m. Music Center at
Coeur draws on Wilkins’ Creole
Ludwig Senfi. Friday, Oct. 12, at 8 Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane,
roots and experiences growing up
p.m., Saturday, Oct. 13, 4 and 8 p.m., North Bethesda. Tickets are $35
in Lafayette, Louisiana, as told in a
and Sunday, Oct. 14, at 2 and 5 p.m. to $105. Call 301-493-9283 or visit
presentation interwoven with text,
Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. nationalphilharmonic.org.
OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 13
 an original sound score, and pro-
jection. The work is also the sec-
ond installment of a contemporary
dance trilogy that has grown out
of a multi-year creative research
effort by Wilkins. Saturday, Oct. 6,
at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 7, 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.

COMEDY
COLIN MOCHRIE & BRAD
SHERWOOD: SCARED
SCRIPTLESS
Two of the stars from the hit TV
improv show Whose Line Is It
Anyway? take the show on the road,
with hilarious sketches of scenes
and songs made up on the fly based
on audience suggestions. Friday,
Oct. 5, at 8 p.m. Music Center at
Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane,
North Bethesda. Tickets are $34
to $64. Call 301-581-5100 or visit
strathmore.org.

COLIN QUINN:
ONE IN EVERY CROWD
ZAK CASSAR.

Number 56 on Comedy Central’s

list of 100 greatest stand-ups of all
time, the New York comic is known
from his various cable specials as

HEARING A WHO
well as for playing Amy Schumer’s
father in Trainwreck. Mere days
after suffering a heart attack last
February, the 59-year-old took to
Twitter to say he was doing well,
Betty Who is one of a handful of women empowering this year’s joking that if he had dropped dead,
“you would see a funeral like Al
All Things Go Fall Classic. Capone!” Kennedy Center Terrace

I
Theater. Saturday, Oct. 6, at 7 and
9 p.m. Terrace Theater. Tickets are
DON’T KNOW A SINGLE ARTIST PERSONALLY WHO THEIR LABEL IS MAKING $35 to $45. Call 202-467-4600 or
their decisions for them, and I think that’s really different — especially for women — than visit kennedy-center.org.
how it has been.” Betty Who is discussing the energy she’ll bring to her performance this
Sunday at Washington’s fifth annual All Things Go Fall Classic.
“It really does feel like these women are artists,” the Australian singer says. “They’re READINGS
determining who they want to be, they’re determining the stories that they want to tell to
people. The kind of fans that they bring in come in because they are drawn to them, because
& LECTURES
it’s honest.” JOANNE B. FREEMAN: VIOLENCE
A loud and proud supporter of the LGBTQ community, Who believes the country is wit- IN CONGRESS
The long-lost story of physical
nessing a shifting landscape for women in pop music. violence on the floor of the U.S.
“You’re not just a pretty face with an okay voice,” she says. “They used to give you sounds, Congress is explored in this talk
and they put you in a studio and they dress you and they do your music videos — it doesn’t feel with an author of books on that
like that anymore. I think this is for the women who are in my same space. theme, including The Field of Blood
and Road to Civil War. Freeman
“I’m not talking about the biggest stars in the world, because I think it’s hard to define a elaborates on the period of his-
community when you are that successful. There is still this thing of like, all of us — every single tory before the Civil War, when
one of us — has dedicated our entire lives to doing this one crazy thing that may or may not the Capitol was rife with conflict
and legislative sessions were often
work out.” punctuated with threats, canings,
Who is looking forward to her return to Washington. “The energy in the city is incredible,” fist-fights, beatings, intimidation,
she says. “It’s such a beautiful music city. I have probably never been sweatier in my entire drawn knives and pistols, mostly
life than I was at my first ‘All Things Go Fall Classic’ show. I am hoping to bring just as much over the issue of slavery. Friday,
October 5, at noon. William G.
energy but maybe a little less sweat.” —Brogan McGowan McGowan Theater, National
Archives Museum, Constitution
Avenue between 7th and 9th Streets
The All Things Go Fall Classic is Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 6 and 7 at Union Market. General NW. Free, with reservations rec-
Admission tickets are $65 for 1-Day or $95 for 2-Day, while VIP tickets are $139 for Sunday or ommended; first-come, first-seated.
$229 for 2-Day (Saturday-only VIP is sold out) and include fast-entry express lane, access to a Call 202-357-5000 or visit archives-
foundation.org.
VIP Viewing Area and Lounge with complimentary food, dedicated cash bar and specialty food
vendors viewing areas. Call 888-512-7469 or visit allthingsgofallclassic.com.

14 OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Italian dancer Giulia Leonardi by
Swiss painter Ferdinand Hodler,
complemented by a selection of
works from the gallery’s collec-
tion featuring American dancers,
notably Isadora Duncan, Martha
Graham, Doris Humphrey, Ted
Shawn, and Ruth St. Denis. To Nov.
12. 8th and F Streets. NW. Call 202-
633-8300 or visit npg.si.edu.

FOOD & DINING

CHINA CHILCANO: PASSPORT TO
PERU WEEKLY MENUS
Carlos Delgado, head chef at the
Peruvian-focused Latin-Asian
fusion restaurant in José Andrés’
small-plates empire, is overseeing a
month-long promotion celebrating
the regions of Peru with a vari-
ety of weekly special menus. The
ZACKERY MICHAEL

first week runs to Sunday, Oct. 7,

and focuses on the Pacific Coast,
with offerings including beef heart
with potatoes and corn in rocoto
sauce ($9) and Arroz con Mariscos,
a medley of crab, octopus, shrimp,
and conch with jasmine rice and
BOB MOSES red onion ($17), plus the cocktail
This Canadian electronic/pop act is named after the prominent New York City planner La Playa, made with Ron Cartavio,
and consists of Jimmy Valiance and Tom Howie, whose languid yet varied vocal delivery pineapple pisco, guanábana, lemon,
and prickly pear ($12). Week two
is stunning in a subtle, hypnotic way. Bob Moses makes smooth and moody electronica starts Monday, Oct. 8, with a focus
with dramatic and moving graces in a style similar to that of Australia’s Rufus du Sol. Call on the country’s central highland
it the next generation of chillout dance music: a tasteful, sophisticated blend of progres- area, showcasing the complex stew
Adobo Aquequipeño, made with
sive house and reflective pop that works both at a low hum in the background as well as pork shoulder and lamb chops, root
turned up and tuned in, with close attention paid to the finer details. Mansionair opens. vegetables and Andean herbs ($17),
Thursday, Oct. 11. Doors at 7 p.m. 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $28.50. Call 202- which you can wash down with
265-0930 or visit 930.com. Chicha de Guindas, a mixed drink
of cherry pisco and corn beer ($13).
The last half of the month spot-
lights the Amazon and the capital
CAROLINE DE GUITAUT: RUSSIA: Estate, nestled in a leafy section of MICRO-MONUMENTS II: of Lima. To encourage people to try
ROYALTY AND THE ROMANOVS Upper Northwest a few blocks from UNDERGROUND each week’s menu, the restaurant
The decorative arts curator of the Van Ness, unveils new discoveries An exhibition featuring 15 local and is offering a stamp per visit that
U.K.’s Royal Collection Trust relating to the collection of about eight German artists, who were can be redeemed for cocktails on
explores the long and complex his- 90 Fabergé works, including two brought together to focus a contem- a future visit. To Oct. 28. 418 7th
tory shared by the British royals and imperial Easter eggs. To Jan. 13. porary lens on topics including the St. NW. Call 202-783-0941 or visit
the Russian imperials, from ene- 4155 Linnean Ave. NW. Suggested cosmos, nature, and deep time, with chinachilcano.com.
mies to allies, diplomatic impasse donation is $18. Call 202-686-5807 the intention of serving as a catalyst
to dynastic marriage, with a partic- or visit HillwoodMuseum.org. for exploration into enduring ques- LOGAN TAVERN:
ular focus on their grand state gifts tions about our history and place LOGANFEST HAPPY HOUR
and intimate personal mementos. DRAWN TO PURPOSE in the world. A co-presentation of The pioneering eatery that helped
And their shared patronage was at Culling from its rich collections, the Washington Sculptors Group pave the way for Logan Circle’s
its modern peak with the House the Library of Congress exhibition and IA&A at Hillyer, featured art- restaurant boom puts a happy hour
of Fabergé, the chief focus of the brings to light remarkable but lit- ists include Ursula Achternkamp, spin on its Oktoberfest promotion.
lecture, which is the second in an tle-known contributions made by Alan Binstock, Janet Brome, Mark The LoganFest 2018 “Bier Festival”
October series at the estate found- North American women to the art Fromm, Caroline Hatfield, Linda features local Oktoberfest beers,
ed by prolific Fabergé collector forms of illustration and cartooning. Hesh, Jacqueline Maggi, Alim a Berlin Mule, plus appetizers of
Marjorie Merriweather Post and Spanning the late-1800s to the pres- Pasht-Han, Judith Pratt, and Steve Pretzel Bites, Beer & Cheddar Dip,
in conjunction with the current ent, Drawn To Purpose highlights Wanna. Through Oct. 28 at 9 and German Sausages — with all
exhibition, Fabergé Rediscovered. the gradual broadening in both the Hillyer Court NW. Call 202-338- items priced at $7. Everyday from
Wednesday, Oct. 10, from 5:30 to 8 private and public spheres of wom- 0325 or visit athillyer.org. 4 to 7 p.m. through Oct. 7. 1423 P
p.m. 4155 Linnean Ave. NW. Tickets en’s roles and interests, demon- St. NW. Call 202-332-3710 or visit
are $20. Call 202-686-5807 or visit strating that women, once con- PORTRAITS OF THE WORLD: logantavern.com.
HillwoodMuseum.org. strained by social conditions and SWITZERLAND
convention, have gained immense
new opportunities for self-expres-
Once a year, the Smithsonian’s
NIGHTLIFE
ART & EXHIBITS sion and discovery. To Oct. 10. The
National Portrait Gallery plans
to showcase one portrait created
Graphic Arts Galleries, Ground UPROAR: MIDNIGHT BLACK
by a foreign artist in an exhibi-
FABERGE REDISCOVERED Floor, Thomas Jefferson Building, LIGHT HAPPY HOUR & DANCE
tion designed around that work,
The late heiress Marjorie 10 First St. SE. Call 202-707-8000 PARTY
via a series intended to highlight
Merriweather Post has a renowned or visit loc.gov/exhibitions. On the first and third Saturdays
the global context of American
collection of pieces from the firm of of every month, DJ Mike Babbitt
portraiture. The inaugural exhibi-
Carl Fabergé, the legendary jeweler tion focuses on “Femme en Extase
to the last court of Russia. A spe- (Woman in Ecstasy),” a portrait of
cial exhibition at Post’s Hillwood

16 OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY


THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS
A rarity from early the Roman Polanski canon, this
giddy, blood-soaked 1967 parody of the vampire genre
fell between two of the director’s most intense thrillers,
Repulsion and the profoundly unsettling Rosemary’s
Baby (1968). For all its deliberate whimsey — the
comedy is mostly physical and of the bumbling sort
— Fearless Vampire Killers has a striking visual style,
influenced in part by the paintings of Marc Chagall.
The film is historically notable for the inclusion Sharon
Tate, who later married Polanski and was, in 1969,
murdered in couple’s home by the Manson family. Part
of the Capital Classics series at Landmark’s West End
Cinema. Wednesday, Oct. 10, at 1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 p.m.,
2301 M St. NW. Happy hour from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Tickets
are $10 to $12.50. Call 202-534-1907 or visit landmark-
theatres.com.
turns off the regular lights, puts
on the black lights and turns up
ABOVE & BEYOND
the house beats on the second floor
FORD’S THEATRE’S
of Shaw’s bear-popular venue. All
HISTORY ON FOOT
that, plus drinks are 2-for-1. Next
A local actor offers the guided tour
Midnight party is Saturday, Oct. 6
Investigation: Detective McDevitt,
— or technically, Monday, Oct. 7,
portraying Detective
when it ends at 3 a.m. 639 Florida
McDevitt, a D.C. police officer
Ave NW. Free. Visit facebook.com/
patrolling a half-block from Ford’s
uproarloungedc.
Theatre the night President Lincoln
was shot. Written by Richard
Hellesen and directed by Mark
Ramont, the 1.6-mile walking tour
revisits and reexamines the sites
18 OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
and clues from the investigation
into the assassination. Tours are
offered every Saturday in October at
10:15 a.m. 511 10th St. NW. Tickets
are $18. Call 202-397-7328 or visit
fords.org.
MARYLAND RENAISSANCE
FESTIVAL
In the year 1529, King Henry VIII
flaunted his love for Mistress Anne
Boleyn by bringing her in tow —
and not his wife Queen Katherine
of Aragon — as part of the royal
court’s annual trek to the village of
Revel Grove for its Harvest Festival.
“Of all the storylines we do with
Henry VIII,” says Carolyn Spedden,
artistic director of this annual fes-
tival, now in its 42nd year, “Boleyn
tends to be the most popular.”
Guided by an overarching historical
storyline that changes each year,
RennFest offers a little something
for everyone in what Spedden calls
“a very inclusive, welcoming event.
Everybody should feel comfortable
coming through the gates.” That’s
true whether your primary motive
is to take in the performances —
over 200 professionals engaged in
everything from jousting to come-
dic sword-fighting to reenactments
to parodies of Shakespeare — or to
shop for early holiday gifts from
“the amazing artisans here with
their handmade wares.” Or simply
to eat a turkey leg, steak on a stake,
or cheesecake on a stick. And there
is also special programming on
Saturday, Oct. 6, and Sunday, Oct. 7,
the annual Shakespeare Celebration
including a one-hour production of
Henry VIII, wacky parodies from
Shakespeare’s Skum, including a tag
team Romeo + Juliet, a Monologue
Mash Up with actors performing
their favorite speeches, plus the fes-
tival’s regular Streetspeare program
with short scenes from the Bard
and other Tudor writers performed
by roaming actors around the site.
RennFest runs weekends to Oct. 21.
1821 Crownsville Road, Annapolis,
Md. Tickets are $19 to $26 for a sin-
gle-day adult ticket, with multi-day
passes also available, or a Season
Pass for $150. Call 800-296-7304 or
visit rennfest.com.
MINEFAIRE: THE ULTIMATE
MINECRAFT FAN EXPERIENCE
Billed as Comic-Con for Minecraft
fans, enthusiasts of one of the
world’s most popular video games
ever will arrive all decked out to
compete for best costume as well
as join gaming tournaments, learn
from the world’s top Minecraft
experts, meet and greet their favor-
ite Minecraft YouTube stars, and
enjoy hands-on attractions for
James
families and people of all ages —
but, to be frank, this one is most-
ly for the kids. Saturday, Oct. 6,
and Sunday, Oct. 7, from 10 a.m. to
5 p.m. Dulles Expo Center, 4320
Chantilly Shopping Center Drive,
Chantilly, Va. All-inclusive tickets
start at $49. Call 703-378-0910 or
visit minefaire.com.
OPUS MERRIWEATHER
Columbia’s recently renovated
Merriweather Park at Symphony
Woods gets transformed once again
as the second in a three-year proj-
ect celebrating technology and art.
Presented by the Howard Hughes
Corporation, the developers of
downtown Columbia, this free,
multi-sensory festival features
immersive art installations, mes-
merizing music performances and
projection mapping, as well as arti-
sanal culinary offerings all intended
to offer a surreal sensory journey.
Among the highlights of the sec-
ond year, with the theme “Enter
The Kaleidoscope” are a multi-lay-
ered performance of MYRIAD by
Oneohtrix Point Never, photogra-
pher Marilyn Minter’s film Green
Pink Caviar, and the Mexican-
born multimedia artist Alejandro
Almanza’s kinetic installation
“Ahead and beyond of everyone’s
time, space and rhythm,” which
suggests a rupture in space-time
between two divergent events,
namely a fancy dinner and a dance
party. Saturday, Oct. 13, from 4:30
to 11 p.m. 10475 Little Patuxent
Parkway, Columbia, Md. Tickets
are $10. Visit opusmerriweather.
com.
SMITHSONIAN’S
CRAFT2WEAR SHOW
Now in its 12th year, this “show
and sale of wearable art” features
masters of American handicrafts —
more than 60 — selected by the
Smithsonian Women’s Committee,
as well as leaders from notable
design schools. Having raised over
$12 million in its first 11 years for the
Smithsonian’s museums, research
facilities and traveling exhibits, the
focus of Craft2Wear is on purchas-
able, one-of-a-kind clothing, jew-
elry and accessories. This year’s
festival debuts “Pepper,” a robot
guide to the many individually
designed pieces for sale. It opens
with a cocktail reception featuring
hors d’oeuvres, sweets, an informal
fashion show, and a first chance to
see and buy designs on Thursday,
Oct. 4, from 6 to 9 p.m. Festival
runs Friday, Oct. 5, and Saturday,
Oct. 6, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
National Building Museum, 401 F
St. NW. Tickets are $13 per day
in advance or $15 at the door, or
$50 for Opening Night with one-day
return, by advance purchase only.
Call 202-272-2448 or visit smithso-
niancraft2wear.org. l
 theFeed
POINTLESS POLICY
Trump has stopped issuing visas to same-sex partners of foreign diplomats. By Rhuaridh Marr
T
HE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS STOPPED
issuing visas to the same-sex partners of foreign
diplomats, officials, and United Nations employees.
Effective as of Monday, Oct. 1, the new policy dictates that
only those who are married to their same-sex partner will be
issued visas — regardless of whether the official or employee
is from a country that has legalized same-sex marriage —
Foreign Policy magazine reports.
In a memo circulated at U.N. headquarters in New
York, same-sex partners were effectively told they had until
the end of 2018 to get married or get out of the country.
Currently, only 27 countries around the world have legalized
same-sex marriage.
The United States said the change in policy was intended
to reflect current practices for U.S. diplomats, where spousal
visas are only granted to married spouses following the legal-
ization of marriage equality nationwide in 2015.
It revoked a policy introduced by then-Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton in 2009 to extend visas to domestic partners
to accommodate same-sex diplomats and officials.
Samantha Power, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
under President Barack Obama, called the move by the
Trump administration “needlessly cruel and bigoted” in a
tweet, and added that “only 12% of UN member states allow
same-sex marriage.”
Foreign Policy estimated that at least 10 U.N. employees
would be affected by the change. Fabrice Houdart, Human
Rights Officer at the United Nations, noted one particular
example in a Facebook post after the policy change was
announced in July.
TIPPED OFF
D.C. Council approves initial vote to repeal tipped hourly wage increase. By John Riley
O
N TUESDAY, THE D.C. COUNCIL APPROVED A
preliminary measure to repeal Initiative 77, a vot-
er-backed measure that sought to raise tipped work-
ers’ wages to $15 an hour. The Council voted 8-5 to repeal
the referendum, which passed with 56% of the vote in June.
Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, an ardent opponent of
Initiative 77, and Mayor Muriel Bowser had both gone on
record as favoring a repeal.
Opponents of the measure had argued that increasing
hourly wages for tipped workers would reduce the amount of
take-home pay they get under the current system, where they
are paid $3.89 an hour but can supplement the difference with
minimum wage through tips. Many longtime bartenders and
servers said they can make a good living through tips, which
tend to be generous, particularly at higher-end bars or restau-
rants, meaning their take-home pay exceeds the amount they
would earn with the minimum hourly wage of $13.25.
“An example of who the policy change could affect is an
Italian lesbian economist, working for the United Nations here
in NYC, her partner and her biological child,” Houdart wrote.
“Since 2009, at the initiative of then Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton…the partner and her child could obtain G-4 visas from
the State department to join the mother in NYC provided they
registered their domestic partnership with the UN (or the
World Bank or the IMF). This would not be the case any lon-
ger and coming December 2018, the lesbian partner and child
would be expected to return to Italy within 30 days.”
Houdart said that the couple could get married in America,
but that would not automatically guarantee that the spouse
would be allowed to remain in the country, noting that the
policy requires that documentation of marriage come from
the “sending State,” not the U.S.
“Indeed, under the public policy exception, if one’s US
marriage violates the public policy of one’s home coun-
try, then the marriage would not automatically be valid,”
Houdart wrote.
However, UN-GLOBE, an advocacy group for LGBTQ
U.N. workers, said in a tweet that “it’s up to the UN to decide
what location qualifies as a marriage issuer for a visa, not the
state dept.”
In a statement, UN-GLOBE called the policy move “an
unfortunate change in rules, since same-sex couples, unlike
opposite-sex couples, have limited choices when it comes to
marriage.”
“If you are already in New York City, consider getting
married in City Hall, but make sure you fulfill all require-
ments,” it added. l
But supporters of Initiative 77 argued that tipping was an
outdated system with racist roots in the post-Reconstruction
era, and allowed for huge fluctuations in take-home pay
based on factors outside of a server or bartender’s control.
They also argued that the initiative would not eliminate tip-
ping, but would allow workers to earn a stable wage while
still being able to earn tips as a reward for exemplary service.
Diana Ramirez, of Restaurant Opportunities Centers
United, the pro-union group that successfully pushed for
passage of Initiative 77, expressed her disappointment at the
council’s preliminary vote.
“The final vote isn’t over yet, but that’s the direction that
they’re heading, and they’re setting a very scary precedent by
overturning the will of the voters on such a popular ballot mea-
sure,” Ramirez told Metro Weekly. “The public is watching, and
the public saw that the councilmembers who voted for repeal
don’t care about their vote. That was a clear signal, and the
OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 19
 theFeed
Council sent a signal that some voters matter more than others,
and that campaign donors matter more, in the District.”
Ramirez also noted that several studies, including one from
the Economic Policy Institute released last month, have shown
that tipped workers fare better in cities that have passed “one
fair wage” initiatives, and that restaurant industries continued
to thrive.
“Every study that’s been done...[has] come to the same con-
clusion: It is beneficial to both workers and business,” she said.
“In the age of ‘alternative facts,’ it’s unfortunate that our mayor
and elected officials aren’t looking at the real facts to make real
policy decisions.”
But even if Initiative 77 is repealed, both sides say the larger
issues affecting people in the industry aren’t going away, which
means that this — or a similar fight — could be renewed in the
future.
Trans United Fund, a national transgender organization that
had partnered with One Fair Wage DC to pass Initiative 77, is
worried about the effect that a repeal would have on the most
marginalized workers, particularly transgender people of color,
queer-identifying people, and poor and working-class people.
“We were successful in helping I-77 pass by a wide margin,”
the organization said in a statement. “We’re disappointed that
the D.C. Council is working to undo the will of the people and
overturn I-77, and we’re going to keep working hard to make
sure tipped workers in D.C. — and all of us — have what we
need to thrive.”
Trupti Patel, a bartender who supported Initiative 77, called
the initial repeal vote “deeply disappointing.”
“D.C. voters went to the ballot box, and voiced their opinion,
20 OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
which was that they wanted to give tipped workers a raise,”
Patel said. “To have a supposedly ‘progressive’ Council, in the
nation’s capital, the bedrock of democracy, to say, ‘Your vote
doesn’t matter’ is very disheartening.”
Patel added: “The public clearly knew what they were vot-
ing on.... D.C. residents do not want to be told that their votes
and their voices don’t matter.”
Patel also said that the only recourse left for voters who
supported Initiative 77 may be to vote out the councilmembers
who supported the repeal.
“At the end of the day, politicians work for the people,” she
said. “And the people can say, ‘You don’t work for the National
Restaurant Association, you work for me. I’m your constituent,
and you’re supposed to represent me.”
However, Dusty Martinez, a bartender at Trade and a vocal
opponent of Initiative 77, says ROC failed to consult with serv-
ers and bartenders who might be affected by a change in the
wage system prior to launching Initiative 77 — which was why
a number of industry workers testified in support of repeal at a
Council hearing in mid-September.
“Hopefully, the repeal happens, then we can sit down and
have a conversation about more things that make more sense
for our industry, not just $15 and hour,” he says.
“Initiative 77 brought up a lot of valid issues, that our indus-
try needs to work on, but I don’t think 77 was the right step
forward. It would help some people, but it would hurt the vast
majority of people in the industry,” Martinez added. “If the
repeal goes through, we’ll have a better chance to come togeth-
er as an industry, as a whole, and really address issues that are
important to all of us.”l
Scene DC Family Communicators Networking Event at Mission Dupont
Tuesday, September 25 - Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 21

 Community
THURSDAY, October 4
The DC Center holds a meet-
ing of its ASIAN PACIFIC
ISLANDER QUEER SUPPORT
GROUP. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th St.
NW, Suite 105. For more infor-
mation, visit thedccenter.org.

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
PHOTOP COURTESY OF WHITE

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-
White mation, visit swimdcac.org.

BREAKING THE SILENCE

DC FRONT RUNNERS run-
ning/walking/social club
welcomes runners of all ability
levels for exercise in a fun and
supportive environment, with
Advocates hope to highlight domestic violence within the LGBTQ socializing afterward. Route
distance is 3-6 miles. Meet at
community at an upcoming town hall. 7 p.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW.

W
For more information, visit
HEN BEVERLY WHITE WAS FIRST STRUCK BY HER EX-PARTNER, SHE dcfrontrunners.org.
went to D.C. Superior Court the very next day. There, in the domestic violence
DC LAMBDA SQUARES, D.C.’s
section, she saw a number of women in various stages of physical abuse. But per- gay and lesbian square-dancing
haps most shocking, and most haunting, was a small play area in the corner for the children group, features mainstream
of the victims. “To this day, I tear up just thinking about that play area,” she says. through advanced square
dancing at the National City
What remains disconcerting to White, as a survivor of intimate partner violence, is the Christian Church. Please dress
hopelessness that victims may feel, particularly if they have no way to escape their situa- casually. 7-9:30 p.m. 5 Thomas
tion. She says it’s common for survivors to not be believed when they come forward, and Circle NW. 202-930-1058,
dclambdasquares.org.
some, including family members and spiritual advisors, even attempt to justify an abuser’s
actions. DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds
“It doesn’t matter the reason,” she says. “As a child, I saw my mother get beaten because practice. The team is always
she put too much salt in the soup. I got beaten because the young woman I was involved looking for new members.
All welcome. 7-9 p.m. Harry
with told me I betrayed her by telling someone she had gotten a DUI the night before.” Thomas Recreation Center,
White says LGBTQ people exeperience domestic violence at the same rates as their 1743 Lincoln Rd. NE. For more
heterosexual peers, but those incidents often go unreported. information, visit scandalsrfc.
org or dcscandals@gmail.com.
“After I told my story, I kept on hearing all of these stories about how this type of vio-
lence was going on, and yet no one was telling anybody,” she says. “It’s important to break THE DULLES TRIANGLES
the silence. If we all know, we should say something.” Northern Virginia social
To increase awareness, White’s organization, One Woman, Many Voices, is partnering group meets for happy hour at
Sheraton in Reston. All wel-
with the DC Anti-Violence Project, Community Action for Safe Spaces, and Team Rayceen come. 7-9 p.m. 11810 Sunrise
for a special town hall focusing on domestic violence within the LGBTQ community on Valley Drive, second-floor bar.
Thursday, Oct. 11. Many organizers say that such a discussion is long overdue. For more information, visit
dullestriangles.com.
“I was hosting a dating event, and someone brought up domestic violence, and everyone
in the room had something to say about being a victim but never really having talked about HIV TESTING at Whitman-
it,” says Rayceen Pendarvis, who will moderate a panel discussion and field questions from Walker Health. 9 a.m.-12:30
the audience. “There’s a stigma attached to this idea of being a survivor of domestic vio- p.m. and from 2-5 p.m. at 1525
14th St. NW, and 9 a.m-12
lence. But people need to know they’re not alone, and to realize there’s strength in numbers, p.m. and 2-5 p.m. at the Max
and talking about it helps you to heal.” —John Riley Robinson Center, 2301 MLK Jr.
Ave. SE. For an appointment
call 202-745-7000 or visit whit-
The LGBTQ Domestic Violence Town Hall is Thursday, Oct. 11, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., in the
man-walker.org.
upstairs community room of the Reeves Municipal Center, 2000 14th St. NW. Admission is
free. Doors open at 6 p.m. Visit teamrayceen.eventbrite.com for more information.

22 OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

IDENTITY offers free and confi-
dential 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 informa-
tion, call Gaithersburg, 301-300-
9978, or Takoma Park, 301-422-
2398.
METROHEALTH CENTER
offers free, rapid HIV testing.
Appointment needed. 1012 14th
St. NW, Suite 700. To arrange an
appointment, call 202-638-0750.
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.
STI TESTING at Whitman-Walker
Health. 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 2-3
p.m. at both 1525 14th St. NW and
the Max Robinson Center, 2301
Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. SE.
Testing is intended for those with-
out symptoms. For an appointment
call 202-745-7000 or visit whit-
man-walker.org.
US HELPING US hosts a Narcotics
Anonymous Meeting. The group
is independent of UHU. 6:30-7:30
p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. For
more information, call 202-446-
1100.
WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP
INSTITUTE for young LBTQ
women, 13-21, interested in lead-
ership development. 5-6:30 p.m.
SMYAL Youth Center, 410 7th St.
SE. For more information, call 202-
567-3163, or email catherine.chu@
smyal.org.
FRIDAY, October 5
AGLA and Professionals in the
City partner to hold a GAY MEN’S
SPEED DATING EVENT in Old
Town Alexandria. Tickets are $30,
or $25 if purchased online using
promo code “AGLA.” 6:30 p.m.
Event starts promptly at 7 p.m.
Hilton Garden Inn, 1620 Prince St.,
Alexandria, Va. For more informa-
tion, email dc@prosinthecity.com
or call 202-686-5990.
GAY DISTRICT, a group for
GBTQQI men between the ages of
18-35, meets on the first and third
Fridays of each month. 8:30-9:30
p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105.
For more information, visit gaydis-
trict.org.
Join LGBTQ people from all over
the D.C. area for its monthly FIRST
FRIDAY HAPPY HOUR SOCIAL
at Pinzimini Lounge in the Westin
Arlington Gateway. Everyone
welcome. No cover. 6:30-8:30 p.m.
801 N. Glebe Rd., Arlington, Va.
Ballston Metro is two blocks away.
For more information, visit meet-
up.com/GoGayDC.
The DC Center’s TRANS
SUPPORT GROUP provides a
space to talk for transgender people
and those who identify outside of
the gender binary. 7-8:30 p.m. 2000
14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more
information, visit thedccenter.org.
Weekly Events
BET MISHPACHAH, founded by
members of the LGBT community,
holds Friday evening Shabbat ser-
vices in the DC Jewish Community
Center’s 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.
HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker
Health. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at 1525
14th St. NW. For an appointment
call 202-745-7000 or visit whit-
man-walker.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.
SMYAL’S 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, October 6
ADVENTURING outdoors group
hikes 8.4 moderately strenuous
miles with 1370 feet of elevation
gain on Catoctin Mountain, near
Thurmont, Md. Bring beverages,
lunch, sturdy boots, bug spray,
sunscreen, and about $12 for fees.
Carpool at 9 a.m. from Grosvenor-
Strathmore Metro Station. Contact
Jef, 301-775-9660 or visit adven-
turing.org.
CENTER GLOBAL, a group that
advocates for LGBTIQ rights and
fights against anti-LGBTIQ laws
in more than 80 countries, holds
its monthly meeting on the first
Saturday of every month. 12-1:30
p.m. The DC Center, 2000 14th St.
NW, Suite 105. For more informa-
tion, visit thedccenter.org.
CHRYSALIS arts & culture group
visits Hillwood Estate and Gardens
to view its exhibition “Faberge
Rediscovered.” Admission is $18
for adults, $15 for seniors. Meet
inside the Visitor Center by the
ticket office at 11 a.m. at 4155
OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 23
 Linnean Ave. NW, about a 20-min-
ute walk from Van Ness Metro.
Contact Craig, 202-462-0535 or
craighowell1@verizon.net.
SUNDAY, October 7
ADVENTURING outdoors group
hosts evening walking tour of
Washington’s iconic memorials
and monuments along the National
Mall and Tidal Basin, led by a
licensed D.C. tour guide. Bring
beverages, snacks, $2 trip fee. Hike
begins at 6:30 p.m. at Mall entrance
of Smithsonian Metro, ends by
9 p.m. at Foggy Bottom Metro
Station. For more information,
contact Craig, 202-462-0535 or
craighowell1@verizon.net.
CHRYSALIS arts & culture group
attends early afternoon screening
of Tea With Dames at E Street
Theater. Time TBA. Refreshments
in neighborhood follow. For more
information, contact Craig, 202-
462-0535 or craighowell1@verizon.
net.
MONDAY, October 8
ADVENTURING outdoors group
marks Columbus Day holiday with
an easy 5-mile stroll through the
northern section of Rock Creek
Park. Lunch in Silver Spring fol-
lows. Bring beverages, snacks, bug
spray, $2 trip fee. Gather at 10 a.m.
at main entrance of Silver Spring
Metro Station on Colesville Road.
For more info, contact Peter, 202-
352-4796, or visit adventuring.org.
TUESDAY, October 9
The DC Center’s TRANS
SUPPORT GROUP provides a
space to talk for transgender people
and those who identify outside of
the gender binary. 7-8:30 p.m. 2000
14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more
information, visit thedccenter.org.
Weekly Events
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.
7-9 p.m. Harry Thomas Recreation
Center, 1743 Lincoln Rd. NE. For
more information, visit scandalsrfc.
org or dcscandals@gmail.com.
24 OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
THE GAY MEN’S 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.
OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS
holds an LGBT-focused meet-
ing every Tuesday, 7 p.m. at St.
George’s 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.
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 catherine.chu@
smyal.org.
Whitman-Walker Health holds its
weekly GAY MEN’S 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. 1525
14th St. NW. For more information,
visit whitman-walker.org.
WEDNESDAY, October 10
BIG GAY BOOK GROUP meets at
Trio Bistro to discuss Christodora
by Timothy Murphy, a novel fol-
lowing a diverse set of characters
in Manhattan’s East Village and
the overarching story of the AIDS
crisis. All are welcome. Newcomers
encouraged to attend. 1537 17th
St. NW, at corner of 17th and Q
Streets. Metro Station: Dupont
Circle on Red Line. for more infor-
mation and to RSVP, email biggay-
bookgroup@hotmail.com.
Join other LGBTQ and D.C. area
activists to celebrate the WANDA
ALSTON FOUNDATION’S
10TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY
CELEBRATION. Come celebrate
more than a decade of work serv-
ing as the District’s top housing
provider and resource center for
homeless LGBTQ youth. Tickets
are $200 each. 6:30-10 p.m. AJAX
DC, 1011 4th St. NW. For more
information or to purchase tickets,
email June Crenshaw, jcrenshaw@
wandaalstonfoundation.org, or visit
eventbrite.com.
The LAMBDA BRIDGE CLUB meets
at the Dignity Center, across from
the Marine Barracks, for Duplicate
Bridge. No reservations needed.
Newcomers welcome. 7:30 p.m. 721
8th St. SE. Call 202-841-0279 if you
need a partner. l
Scene Latino GLBT History Project’s 13th Annual Hispanic LGBTQ Heritage Awards at HRC
Thursday, September 20 - Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 25

 IN
TODRICK
WE TRUST
Todrick Hall opens up about searching for love, conquering setbacks,
and embracing success.
Exclusive Interview by André Hereford
M
ORE THAN ONCE EVERY SINGLE DAY, I
look around and think how crazy and insane
it is that I grew up in this small town in Texas
where I had never flown on a plane, and never
thought I’d get to go to Disney World,” says
Todrick Hall. “I thought someone was making it in the world if
they had a CD burner and a trampoline.”
That was before the Arlington, Texas native vaulted to fame
on season nine of American Idol. Hall charmed Idol audiences,
if not always judge Simon Cowell, and, although eliminated in
that season’s semi-finals, the industrious performer kept the
train rolling, soon releasing his first studio album, Somebody’s
Christmas, and establishing his brand on Youtube via his elabo-
rately costumed and choreographed music videos.
He hasn’t slowed down since, hitting the boards on Broadway
for starring roles in Chicago and Kinky Boots, touring interna-
tionally in support of his visual albums Straight Outta Oz and
Forbidden, and joining Rupaul’s Drag Race for the past three
seasons as a guest judge and choreographer.
“Now I live in a world where it’s not uncommon to have
Taylor Swift call my phone, or to go backstage at a Beyoncé
concert, or that I’d be hanging out at a party at Ariana Grande’s
house, like that would be a normal day,” he says. “Sometimes I
look up and it’s insane to me, but it’s also like a true testament
that if you work really hard, and if you’re persistent, and if you
devote your life to doing something, that it’s possible, because by
every other standard...it should’ve been, in theory, impossible for
this to happen for me.”
26 OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
Beyond merely acknowledging career blessings like choreo-
graphing for Beyoncé or selling out the London Palladium with
his Forbidden tour, Hall reveals he’s also learning to appreciate
the lessons that come from sometimes stumbling. The realities
of show business are that an artist can play to 2,500 screaming
fans at the Palladium one night, and on another night face a com-
pletely different reception.
“I did a show in Berlin this year, and I was like this was the
most unsuccessful show I’ve done — there was only 250 people
there,” says Hall. “And I was really disappointed and it was dif-
ficult for me. I was having to pep-talk myself to get myself to go
onstage and not cut numbers, and not be embarrassed of the fact
that the show wasn’t sold out. And my friend had to come slap
some sense into me and be like, ‘Bitch I couldn’t sell 250 tickets
in L.A., where I’m from, where I was raised. You have to get up
there and perform that show like it’s Madison Square Garden.’”
Hall, who shares many aspects of his personal and profes-
sional journey with fans on social media, admits that the Berlin
show was “something I never thought I would tell anybody, I
would never have posted the pictures. To me it seemed like a
failure. And now I’m so proud.... The fact that I sold 250 tickets
there should not be something that I look at as not an accom-
plishment. And so I’ve just started to look at life through a com-
pletely different lens and just be so grateful, and thankful, and
flattered that I am able to work with these people, [like] Ariana,
who I just love and think of as such a champion for the LGBTQ
JON SAMS
community.”
Hall is himself a vocal champion for the LGBTQ community,
OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 27
and he’ll raise his voice in D.C. on Monday, Oct. 8, headlining the
Capital Pride Alliance’s Broadway musical revue, “Music in the
Night,” Hall plans “a more chill, private, intimate type of per-
formance” for the event, which will be emceed by Helen Hayes-
winner Frank Britton and also boast performances by Joanna
Chilcoat-Fellows, Steven Cuts, Larry Grey, Christopher David
Harris, Danielle Harrow, Cory Hibbetts, Hien Li, Tiffany Lyn,
Don Michael Mendoza, JJ Vera, Rick Westerkamp, and Charlie
Wright. “I think I’m going to sing some original songs and some
of my favorite songs,” says Hall, hinting that he might include
his new single, the confessional “Warning.”
Says the youthful veteran of stage, studio, and screen, “I actu-
ally am mortified to sing in front of people without dancers and
without a character and stuff — it’s a huge fear of mine. But...I am
choosing to face that fear.” No doubt he’ll embrace it as he has
every other opportunity along his extraordinary journey.
METRO WEEKLY: You posted a video on YouTube while on your
way to the premiere of A Star is Born. What did you think of the
movie?
TODRICK HALL: I loved it! I mean, the title couldn’t be more
fitting — A Star is Born. As if Lady Gaga weren’t already such a
star, she blossoms into a full-blown star during this movie — the
acting was so real, so raw, so authentic. And it’s really difficult
for somebody who’s a star at that level for you to not think about
who they are and who you know them to be the entire movie.
And I completely forgot she was Lady Gaga multiple times
during the movie, so I was really proud of her.
MW: That’s some endorsement. Had you seen any of the prior ver-
sions of A Star is Born?
HALL: I had not seen them, and I was really excited about the
potential of Beyoncé doing it because I know that she, at one
point, agreed to do it, apparently from what I read, and then
was not able to. But, even being a huge Beyoncé fan, I wasn’t
upset watching Lady Gaga do it. I was really excited about it and
they would have definitely had to go in a different direction had
Beyoncé done the role.
MW: I take it you love movie musicals?
HALL: Love them.
MW: Do you have a favorite?
HALL: This is not an answer that you’re probably going to think
is legit, but the first musical that I ever watched was Disney’s
Cinderella with Whitney Houston and Brandy in it. That doesn’t
really count, but that’s my answer.
MW: That counts. You write and direct your own visual albums,
and choreograph, act, sing, and dance in the videos. It’s very much
in the mold of Gene Kelly, who directed, choreographed, acted,
sang and danced in a lot of his films. Do you think you’ll ever create
a full-on musical?
HALL: That’s definitely at the top of my bucket list of things to do,
so unless God has other plans for me — by other plans, I mean if
I am living and breathing for long enough to make it happen — I
would love for it to happen, not just once but multiple times.
MW: Let’s talk Drag Race for a moment. You’re going to be at
Rupaul’s DragCon NYC this weekend, which seems like ground
zero for how much Drag Race has grown in recent years. From
your point of view, how much has the show changed?
HALL: Well, the crazy thing is I was a huge fan of the show first,
it was my favorite show. I always tell people, in my completely
unbiased opinion, that it’s the best reality competition show
on television. The fact that these queens have to be able to be
comedians, have to be able to do improv, have to be able to sing
and dance and do their own make-up, their own hair, their own
28 OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
wig, and also be so open and vulnerable about things that have
happened to them in their personal lives, and share their sexual-
ity, their HIV status, and the things that they share with people
like the deepest, darkest secrets of their life. It just, to me, is the
epitome of what a reality show competition could be. [Even] the
fact that there are so many taglines. It’s responsible for so many
things in pop culture right now.
But to say how much the show has changed, it’s really crazy
because I don’t feel like the show has changed. It’s a very similar
format every single year, it’s the same crew of people. I always
say that you can tell how great someone is by the people that
they surround themselves with and how long they stay around
them. And RuPaul’s had the same people, and the same team for
the most part, around him for the past 30 years. And so the show
hasn’t really changed that much. I think the world is just finally
catching up, and I’m just really proud of the world for changing,
more than I’m proud of the show for changing.
MW: You’ve been on the other side, being judged on a show like this.
How does that affect your approach to judging?
HALL: Well, I’m really hard on the queens when I’m teaching
them the choreography and I know that sometimes people think
that the approach that I take is a little bit too harsh. But I grew
up in a theater community and in a ballet school that was just
like a no B.S. policy. And I know that if I was in the competition
I would want someone to be hard on me. I make them rehearse
full out with their lyrics, with their costumes, with the shoes that
they’re going to be in because I’m always having these terrible
flashback nightmares of Simon Cowell in a white t-shirt that was
too small for him, looking and telling me I needed to go home.
And I just don’t want that to happen for anybody. Luckily for the
past few seasons that I’ve been on the show, they haven’t elim-
inated anybody on the last episode. They’ve been letting four
people into the finale, which I’m really proud of, and I like to feel
like I am playing even the smallest of parts in that decision-mak-
ing process, because the girls have been so great that it’s been
really difficult to even with a fine-tooth comb find a reason to
send someone home.
But when I’m judging them, I always try to tell them things
that are not only going to help them the competition, because at
the end of the day, while it is a cool thing to have the crown and
the title, it’s not really the people who win who necessarily win
— and that’s not just RuPaul’s Drag Race specific, it’s on any of
these shows. It’s how well you brand yourself, how well you put
your work out, how polished it is, how you treat other people.
Those are the things that I think are really important and that
I try to teach them and the advice I try to give them when I’m
working with them and when I’m behind a judging panel.
MW: Which of the queens that you’ve worked with particularly
stood out?
HALL: The people that, to me, are the most professional are
Trinity Taylor, Trixie Mattel, Shangela, Monet X Change, Bob
the Drag Queen — they’re all such a pleasure to work with,
always. They come in and they’re just so focused. Sasha Velour.
I’m trying to think of all the people. Peppermint was great to
work with. I mean there’s so many of them that come in and
they’re very focused, and oftentimes I do two episodes per sea-
son and in the middle of the season I work with certain people
and you can always tell who’s going to make it to the end by how
focused they are when they’re rehearsing, and you can tell who
has been through it and done those things before. But there are
certain people that I just absolutely love to work with because
they’re just dreams. Eureka is also one of those people. She
was great to work with. She never sat down, she never stopped

“If you have to change who you are, or hide
who you are from people who have told
you that they love you, and fear that they
might not actually love you after you tell this
information, then THOSE PEOPLE NEVER
REALLY LOVED YOU TO BEGIN WITH.”
JON SAMS
rehearsing, and that was really refreshing and I really appreciat-
ed her for that. Aquaria was really nice to work with as well, so
was Asia, the top four of last season were actually all really great.
Kameron Michaels had some of the most difficult choreography
and he worked, and worked, and worked on it really, really hard.
MW: Speaking of working with people who work really, really hard,
we need to discuss choreographing for Beyoncé.
HALL: It was the “Blow” video, and I got a call from [Beyoncé’s
production company] Parkwood Entertainment saying that
Beyoncé would love for me to choreograph one of her new songs.
I signed a massive stack of NDAs, and then they sent the song.
It was really awesome to get to work for her. There’s a famous
saying that I’m going to butcher that says, don’t meet your idols
because they will disappoint you. But
I feel more in love with her. And she
was very hands on about how the
makeup needed to look, and what the
lighting needed to look like, and what
the hair looks like. We shot just one
scene for like 12 hours. And it was
great and it was a completely great
setup, she looked awesome in it. The
outfit was great. The choreography
was awesome.
The next day she decided that she
didn’t like it, and I was like, “I don’t
know if this is the greatest decision
that you ever made. Beyoncé, you
might want to rethink this.” But she
had a really clear vision of what she
wanted and why what we had done
was not right. And there are a lot of
people who say they don’t like some-
thing, but it takes a specific type of
artist to be able to put their eye on
exactly what it is they didn’t like and
also give a very strong suggestion of
how to fix it. And so she gave the sug-
gestions and it was like an undeniable
thing once we reshot those scenes
that it was totally worth it, and that
her vision was not properly executed
on the first day. And I think a lot of
artists after spending that much time
would be like we’ve already spent
so much time and money. But she
is such a perfectionist and she has a
really clear vision of what her brand
is, and what she’s trying to bring to
life.
It was awesome to work with her,
and it was really, really crazy to teach
the dancers. I taught all the dancers
the choreography and then they said,
“Now Beyoncé will come in and she’s
going to learn it separately.” And in
my mind I’m thinking, “Okay, these
are professional dancers that work,
and audition, and take class, and train
all the time. And this is Beyoncé and
she’s doing a double shift as a mom
right now.” She was in between takes
making sure she was giving Blue Ivy
all her attention, which I thought was also equally as inspiration-
al and also with her mom, and Solange was there, and Jay-Z was
there being the sweetest person in the world. When I brought
Beyoncé out to teach her the choreography, she had such smart
questions, she said, “What leg is my weight on, which way is my
head during this point? What angle do you want my head at?”
She had such specific questions and she learned the dance in
a third of the amount of time it took for me to teach the others
because she was that focused. It was really cool to just get to
watch her do that and watch how hard she was working, and
how quickly she learned it, that was really surprising to me. I had
no idea she was such a good dancer. If she ever decided to just
backup dance for someone and you didn’t know who she was,
OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 29
she could literally walk into an audition and just book dancing mal lives and it doesn’t really necessarily affect them. Or, I could
gigs, which is very gaggy to me. So it made me become even more try to flip the script and tell a story in a way that they might
of a fan of her. actually look at it differently — even for a moment, because all it
MW: Regarding your own visual albums, Straight Outta Oz and takes is a few moments for someone to second-guess something,
Forbidden, the concepts are so big. Where do you start in putting or to question something, or to really fully understand the privi-
it all together? lege that they have, and then it makes them want to take a stand,
HALL: It just depends. I’m motivated by so many different things. or make a change, or play some small part in helping people who
When I started with Straight Outta Oz, I wrote one song that don’t realize that they’re privileged.
was supposed to be a trail-
er to promote my upcom-
ing tour. And because I
loved that song so much, “As a person who has friends who are
I started toying with the
idea of writing other songs
straight or not a minority, it is difficult
that could tell the story when I want to talk about things I face
of The Wizard of Oz, but
also tell people a little bit on a daily basis. Because of the privilege
about my life. I think that
sometimes an insecurity
they’ve been allotted in their life, THEY
of mine is I hide behind DON’T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHERE
characters and things on
YouTube, as opposed to I’M COMING FROM.”
giving people a real inside
look into my life. And so
for me, my safety net in
the way I felt like I could
easily show people some-
thing about my life was
to cover it underneath the
whimsical world of The
Wizard of Oz, which is my
favorite story since I was
a child. And once I started
doing it, I just kept being
motivated to write more
music in that realm.
With Forbidden, I was
just so frustrated at things
that were happening polit-
ically. And sometimes as
a person who is African-
American and openly
gay but who has a lot of
friends who are straight
or who are not a minority,
it becomes a difficult topic
of conversation when I
want to talk about serious
issues and things that I
face on a daily basis that,
because of the privilege
they’ve been allotted in
their life, they don’t real-
ly understand where I’m
coming from.
I felt like I had two
options. I could sit around
and continue harping on
things that they wouldn’t
really be able to under-
stand. They might be able
to appease me, but then
JON SAMS

they go back to their nor-

30 OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 A lot of people think that the discrimination stuff is some-
thing that’s over, and it’s a throwback Thursday, and it’s not
something that people are constantly living with and having
to deal with. It’s nice to be able to create art that is explaining
to people what other people are going through and for them to
actually accept it, digest it, and receive it.
MW: And how do you translate that audio-visual experience into
your live show?
HALL: It’s an easy transition for me because when I’m writing
the songs I’m already imagining what we’re going to be wearing
for the videos, what the set’s going to look like, what the light-
ing is going to look like, and then how it will be translated onto
the stage and what pieces of that I will dance in. In the case of
Forbidden specifically, I was planning the tour and the album at
the same time. In a much similar fashion as what we did with
Straight Outta Oz. There’s a whole documentary on Netflix that
follows that whole thing and it gives a really accurate depiction
of what we go through, as a self-made YouTuber trying to create
this brand in a show and also put it on tour.
MW: Which is more grueling, touring your own show or playing on
Broadway eight times a week, especially if you’re doing it in high
heels?
HALL: Doing my own show is a lot more difficult. When I’m
doing Kinky Boots, or Chicago, or Memphis, or The Color Purple,
I’m just an employee. I don’t have any other responsibilities. I
get to have my whole day and I show up to work and do a job
and when it’s done I leave. And being a producer, and the chore-
ographer, and the director of your own show, and starring in it,
and also being everyone’s boss, and their friend, and paying all of
your employees — it’s just such a stressful thing that starts from
the moment you crack your eyes open every morning. Being on
Broadway, while some people are like, “That is the hardest work
I’ve ever done,” when I want a vacation from my crazy life I go
do a Broadway show and it’s such a completely pleasant experi-
ence. It’s definitely difficult and really, really hard, but it doesn’t
have the same mental exhaustion that comes with running an
entire company, and having so many employees, and writing
your own music, and doing an entire show that only relies on
you. That’s a lot of pressure.
MW: Is your new single “Warning” inspired by any specific person
or relationship?
HALL: Yes, it is.
MW: Did the person heed the warning?
HALL: Well, I like the idea that warning seems like an aggressive
word and it seems like something that you should be nervous
about, but in the song I’m actually saying, “I’m warning you that
if you fuck around and let me really love you or let me really trust
you that it’s going to be the best love that you’ve ever had in your
entire life.” So it’s actually a very sweet warning. I lived a very
normal life until I was about 24, 25. I had always grown up in a
town where we didn’t lock our doors. We would let people bor-
row anything. I would give someone my credit card number. I
was a very trusting person and because my life started to change
— people would always say that people change with fame, and
I don’t think that’s necessarily untrue. But the crazy part is the
way that people treat you is a lot different. It’s just the whole
world is so infatuated with this idea of fame that really is not all
it’s cracked up to be, and it’s a scary thing.
Especially when you are trying to find love. I am on Tinder
and I’ve been on Tinder for a long time, long before I started
being on television or anything. And I used to get a decent
amount of swipes, I’ve always been at some level of cuteness,
so good. But now, I get so many right swipes and matches and I
don’t think that’s because I am now any better or worse looking
than I was before, I think that it’s because people are swiping
on me for different reasons. And so it just makes me very cau-
tious, and very nervous, and I have these walls built up and so
that song was basically to say not just to this person specifically,
but to anybody who was ever interested in dating me, or dating
someone like me. I just think you have to really be able to trust
someone.
I feel like up until this year I was always looking for some-
body to date that would be somebody I would imagine being
naked with me, or us being in a picture together, or somebody
that I would be like if I went to buildaboy.com. I would build
a person to be this aesthetic on the outside and cosmetically
appealing by America’s standards. But now I’ve realized that
what I really want is somebody who is my best friend and some-
body that I can watch Disney movies with, somebody that I can
go to Disneyland with. Somebody who I can make Rice Krispie
Treats with and cookies in the middle of the night, or eat raw
cookie dough with in the morning. Somebody who I can go and
tell my deepest, darkest secrets to and know without a shadow
of a doubt that it will never be leaked or told under any circum-
stance. That’s the type of person I want to find. And if we end up
falling in love on top of that, then that to me is like the perfect
idea of a boyfriend/husband. I hope that whoever I end up fall-
ing in love with feels as strongly about truth, and honesty, and
loyalty as I do, and that’s why I wrote that song.
MW: Since you’ll be in D.C. to headline Capital Pride’s “Music in
the Night,” commemorating National Coming Out Day, do you
have any words of advice for anyone who might be wrestling with
the idea of coming out as LGBTQ?
HALL: I would say that fear is such a powerful thing. It’s so pow-
erful that it can make you live your life as someone else in order
to fit in. And if you have to change who you are, or not be truthful
with who you are, or hide who you are from people who have
told you that they love you, and fear that they might not actually
love you after you tell this information, then those people never
really loved you to begin with. And it’s better for you to get them
out of your life now and go on the journey to find the people who
really truly do love you, even if it’s half the amount of people,
even if it’s a quarter of the amount of people. It would be bet-
ter to have three people who really love you and are your real
friends than 30 people who are disguised as friends who don’t
really care about you, and that’s a really hard lesson for people to
learn. So I would encourage anybody to just literally jump head-
deep into the water, tell the people that you love. Don’t apologize
for it, don’t say you’re sorry because there’s nothing to be sorry
about, that’s who you are, it’s who you choose to love.
And the people who leave, mourn them, be sad about it,
because it builds character and it also will teach you how to
move forward and how to be your own friend and be okay with
being alone, because that’s a beautiful thing as well. And for you
to come out, and be brave, and say what it is that you’re truly
feeling is only going to help other people who are in the same
situation as you.
In my experience, almost 100 percent of the time people are
so much happier the moment they say those words. It’s just a few
words that you have to say, and once you say them your whole
life opens up. And it’s like you’ve just walked into Narnia, or Oz,
or Wonderland, and your whole life begins at that moment. l
Music in the Night is Monday, Oct. 8, at The Hamilton Live, 600
14th St. NW. Doors at 6:30, show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $19.75
to $39.75. Call 202-787-1000, or visit capitalpride.org.
OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 31
NEAL PRESTON
Movies

calls for it.

Going Gaga
The script, by Oscar-winner Eric Roth,
Will Fetters, and Cooper, based on the
original 1937 film, attempts to develop
the siblings’ road-worn love/hate rivalry,
Bradley Cooper’s remake of A Star Is Born is a gritty, heartfelt show- but their conflict registers more for pro-
biz fable driven by the force of its two stars. By André Hereford viding Cooper and Elliott ample opportu-
nities to out-gruff one another. Let it be

S
known that, outside of a Thanos sound
OME VIEWERS MIGHT EMERGE FROM BRADLEY COOPER’S A STAR IS effects booth, there is none gruffer than
Born (HHHHH) still teary-eyed over the film’s tragic romance, and feeling gob- Sam Elliott. The screen vet’s manly growl
smacked by the vocal talent and star power of its leading lady. Just as likely, some and visage add heartland authenticity,
will watch the film in Mommie Dearest mode, eager to soak up the theatrical camp as he digs into Bobby’s resentment over
and glamour that star Lady Gaga can’t help exuding, even when she’s stripped of her carrying his brother, and his guilt about
Mother Monster affectations. enabling him.
The movie’s earnest depiction of the star-crossed love story that propels a talented Bobby, like Jackson and Ally, wears
young singer’s rise to fame does invite at least a smidgen of snarky side-eye. But, for the his heart on his sleeve. As was the case
most part, Cooper, making his debut as a feature director, plays this material not at all in William Wellman’s 1937 version star-
tongue-in-cheek, but totally straight. Well, not totally straight, as the film spends sever- ring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March,
al early scenes in the company of drag divas Shangela and Willam Belli inside a gay bar. and George Cukor’s 1954 musical with
It’s at that bar that superstar singer-songwriter Jackson Maine (Cooper), who wan- Judy Garland and James Mason, and
ders in one night looking for a swig of hooch, first hears waitress Ally (Lady Gaga) sing Frank Pierson’s 1976 take starring Barbra
like an angel. Of course, she’s singing “La Vie en Rose” while wearing full-on Édith Piaf Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, Cooper’s
makeup, so check that one off the list if you had “Gaga in drag” on your camp Olympics film also swings for big emotions with
scorecard. Ally instantly wins Jackson’s respect as an artist, and, after a long night of melodrama of the highest order. Jackson,
flirting and opening up about their dreams and fears, she wins his heart as well. who spirals downward as Ally’s star rises,
At that point, Jackson, a jangly, boozing, pill-popping rock star of a vaguely doesn’t just crash-and-burn, he does so
Kristofferson-Mellencamp persuasion, is still famous enough to fill arenas and be in spectacularly public fashion, at the
hounded by fans in the street. But his hearing’s going, which impairs his ability to Grammys, on a night Ally is up for major
perform onstage, and, addled by various substances, his voice just isn’t sounding the awards with the world watching.
same — something noted by his older brother Bobby (Sam Elliott), who also serves as As public meltdowns go, it’s painful
Jackson’s tour manager, babysitter, and gravelly voice of reason whenever the situation — although not as heartbreaking as the

OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 33

corresponding scene in the ’54 version, in which Mason’s
Norman Maine drunkenly, and violently, interrupted the Oscar
acceptance speech of Garland’s Vicky Lester. As comparisons go,
for the many Garland fans who will approach this film still hum-
ming “The Man That Got Away,” Lady Gaga delivers a movie
musical performance that’s fresh, funny, and at times powerful.
She belts, she coos, she bares her rarely heard falsetto on the
track “Heal Me.”
The songs, most of which Gaga or Cooper co-wrote, fit the
rawer, confessional style of the pop icon’s most recent album,
Joanne. These tunes might not endure like “The Man That Got
Away,” or Streisand’s “Evergreen,” but they sound like songs
written from Ally’s soul, which is the point.
As she climbs the show business ladder, Ally’s songwriting
loses some of that soul, or so the audience is meant to think, in
agreement with Jackson. After generously affirming and encour-
aging her talents as a sincere artist, he’s disappointed when her
record label turns her into a sexed-up product. Here, the plot
forces the filmmakers to come up with a facsimile of a viable,
of-the-moment mainstream pop-star career, and the neo-Taylor
Dayne effect that Ally conjures while gyrating through her hit
single “Why Did You Do That?” doesn’t quite cut it.
The film seems just off the mark in its portrayal of what might
pass for popular. But it accurately pinpoints credible truths
about artists and musicians who channel their feelings through
lyrics and melody. Jackson and Ally are kindred spirits, and that
first spark of the affinity they share is beautifully acted by both
Cooper and Gaga. Their performances are burnished by tight,
roving closeups on their bodies and faces, the camera caressing
every glint of light reflected in his baby blues, or off her regal
nose. The director appears as enamored with both of his lead
actors as Jackson and Ally are with each other.
Like any romance, Jack and Ally come down from the high of
newly blossomed love, and in turn, so does the movie fall back
to earth after the thrill of their first-act courtship. The march
towards Jackson’s inevitable downfall feels rote by comparison.
Along the way, Dave Chappelle shows up as Jackson’s child-
hood friend named, apparently, Noodles, and Gaga performs a
Whitney-style ballad for the film’s big finish.
There’s plenty of fun for those who would revel in the sappy
self-seriousness of interludes like Jackson’s heart-to-heart with
Noodles. For anyone moved by Cooper’s sentimental re-telling
of an old chestnut, they might just leave the theater wistfully
wiping away tears. l

A Star Is Born is rated R, and opens in theaters nationwide on Friday, October 5. Visit fandango.com.

one point Plowright alone on her balcony

— and through various topics, from their
early start in theater, to working with their
husbands onscreen, to growing old. Michell
occasionally guides the discussion with a
thrown question or topic, but this is very
much hands-off filmmaking, or the appear-
ance thereof, leaving the foursome to talk
amongst themselves. The editing is relaxed,
and crewmembers drift in and out of scenes
bringing drinks, assisting the women, or, at
one point, offering a laptop with a video of

Great Dames
Dench performing in the early ’50s.
There’s no artifice employed, egregious
effects, or overly emotive music. Instead,
Michell’s only trick is to cut the discussions
Tea with the Dames is a warm, witty, and wonderful glimpse of a group with footage and photos from the four
of legendary friends. By Rhuaridh Marr Dames’ performances over the years, as

I
well as occasional glimpses of their home
T SEEMS RATHER COLD TO CALL TEA WITH THE DAMES (HHHHH) A movies or photo albums. Rather, the focus
documentary. Rather than passively observe, it sits in the midst of its action, as it is predominantly on the words of Atkins,
were, giving the viewers an amusing, engaging, and emotional insight into a group Dench, Plowright, and Smith — and it is
of friends whose bonds span over 50 years. That those friends are also some of the here that Tea with the Dames makes itself
world’s most respected and lauded actresses makes Tea with the Dames feel more like essential viewing. Their recollections, their
an intimate home movie mixed with a gameshow prize-winning opportunity to meet a ruminations, and even their occasional
celebrity. Or, in this case, four of them. sniping all play out with wit, warmth, and
The Dames in question are Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, and Maggie the assured certainty of friends who are
Smith. Collectively, their careers span more than 250 years and awards ranging from deeply devoted to one another.
Oliviers and BAFTAs, to Tonys, Emmys, Golden Globes and Oscars (two, in Smith’s Tea with the Dames is far from the most
case). They have graced screens both silver and small, and stages across the globe. But complex film you will see this year, and
more than any of their vast and varied accomplishments, from delivering Shakespeare it’s by no means the most impactful doc-
to appearing in blockbuster franchises, they are also firm and fast friends, a social group umentary in recent memory. But to spend
that has regularly retired to Plowright’s country cottage to rest and reminisce. And it’s even ten minutes in the company of four
here that Roger Michell (Notting Hill) captures them. of acting’s greats — hearing their thoughts,
Michell keeps an incredibly light touch throughout the movie’s 84-minute runtime. listening to their anecdotes, enjoying their
We alternate through various groupings — all four women, or occasionally in pairs, or at comradery — is a fine thing indeed. l

Tea with the Dames is playing at Landmark’s E Street Theatre, 555 11th St. NW. Visit landmarktheatres.com.

34 OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Stage
CAROL ROSEGG

Billie may never gentrify, she does end up

Too Close
waking to her boyfriend’s shortcomings
and her own value as a voting citizen.
If it all sounds a bit hokey, rest assured
that Kanin isn’t out to give all that much of

for Comfort
a civics lesson. The pace is quick, the irony
high, the jokes fun. If the rhythm suffers
a bit from the physics of Ford’s Theatre
and a couple of Kanin’s more downbeat
Ford’s production of Born Yesterday is an incredibly timely tale — for interludes, one has to remember that live
better or worse. By Kate Wingfield theater is never going to swing quite like

J
an old movie with its tight shots, close-ups
UST AS NO MAN IS AN ISLAND, SO NO PLAY CAN ESCAPE THE TIMES and fast edits.
in which it is mounted. If Garson Kanin was thinking about post-World War II A few of the performances here are
America when he wrote his 1946 comedy Born Yesterday (HHHHH), there is no so clever they defy the limits and bring
way to watch it now without thinking about our current state of affairs. exactly the kind of warmth, humor, and
How it resonates with a D.C. audience — and the tourists who often take in a show wit this kind of entertainment requires.
at Ford’s Theatre — will depend on one’s view of our topsy-turvy world. The sunnily Top of the list is the extraordinarily ver-
disposed will no doubt see it as an especially cute reaffirmation of our national values. satile Eric Hissom as jaded lawyer Ed
The more miserable may find it a tad jarring. Devery. Drinking to dull his self-loathing
The inescapable fact is that Kanin sticks a great, big vulgar tycoon right in the middle at serving his unsavory boss, Devery is
of his play. And not just any old brute — this repulsive alpha has come to Washington point man for the cynical one-liners and
D.C. to bully and buy his way into power. He steamrolls everyone left and right because a modicum of reflection. Hissom captures
D.C.’s cultivated elite never got the manual on how to handle a guy who just doesn’t this vibe with perfect comic timing, a
care. They stand around stunned as he yells and swings his elbows, throwing money at bottomless array of amusing facial expres-
everybody and everything until he gets his way. Sound familiar? sions and the subtlest of craft — he is rea-
There is no doubt this resonance gives the play an uneasy pall. But if you can gird son alone to see the play.
your loins, it’s worth the effort, epecially since director Aaron Posner brings his usual Another standout here is Cody Nickell
wit and acumen to the charming classic, staying true to Born Yesterday’s screwball as Paul Verrall, the savvy reporter brought
roots and ensuring it almost always pays off. A not-quite-Pygmalion storyline, the in to tutor Billie. Verrall could easily have
action centers around scrapyard millionaire Harry Brock’s desire to turn his ex-show- been something of a stuffed shirt, but
girl moll, Billie Dawn, into a more respectable companion for his D.C. adventure. While continues on page 38

36 OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Music

is unexpected and a little jarring at first,

Folky Synthesis
but leads into one of the best songs of the
album. From here, Wright and Harrington
alternate between tempos and styles,
sometimes in a single song and sometimes
abruptly, but always organically, a quality
A pair of former buskers bring expansive electronic elements into which probably owes something to their
their small-hours indie folk sound. By Sean Maunier time as buskers. Another standout track,

I
“The Deep End,” is backed up by a thump-
T HAS TO BE SAID, TALL HEIGHTS IS AN ODD NAME FOR A BAND WHOSE ing synth line, and makes heavier use
sound tends toward the kind of Bon Iver-adjacent indie folk that seems more of electronic sounds without losing that
suited intimate images of valleys, hollows, creek beds, and other low places that easy, free-flowing quality. While the songs
offer refuge or shelter. Comparisons to Justin Vernon have always hung over Tim are clearly meticulously crafted, there is
Harrington and Paul Wright, who together comprise the band, and Pretty Colors for an almost improvisational quality about
Your Actions ( ) won’t do much to change that. them too.
The comparison is most apt when the vocals lean on falsetto, which they do exces- If the goal was to make, as Harrington
sively on some songs. In fact, the first track, “It’s Not Like It Was,” opens like a dead put it, a more “alive and tactile” album,
ringer for a Bon Iver track. Vernon and others use falsetto to lend songs a certain they have succeeded. The duo manages
atmosphere of otherworldliness, but on this album it seems unnecessary. Harrington to avoid both the melodrama and sense
and Wright have been performing together long enough and have enough vocal rapport of ironic detachment that sometimes
that they can and often do achieve the same effect in their natural registers. The songs plague similar acts in their genre. “White
that make heavy use of falsetto are not necessarily worse off for it, but when they break Frost” is a stark track, full of longing, with
away from the habit, the pair sound far more distinct. synths that stay refreshingly minimalis-
After the first track, a distinctive style becomes much more apparent. Tall Heights tic. “Red Bird” explores the experience
has long been characterized by pairing vocal harmonies with minimalist folk instru- of seeing the familiar through fresh eyes
mentation, although a few tracks on their last album made good use of synths. They and grounds them in their home state of
will still be recognizable to those who heard their first two LPs, but the sound is mark- Massachusetts, an optimistic track that
edly different from Neptune. Pretty Colors features more electronic elements blended gives way to the understated yet very real
together with their characteristic guitars and strings. They have mostly nailed the ideal sense of longing in “Gold.” The songs carry
ratio, sacrificing none of the organic feel of their songwriting. an emotional resonance that always feels
The album works best when these electronic elements compliment their pre-exist- authentic, never forced.
ing strengths, as they do on “House on Fire.” The horn intro that opens up this track The two are in somewhat experimen-

OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 37

 tal territory here, and their to their abrupt yet seamless
approach does not always transitions between moods
land perfectly. “Over Now” and styles, there is much
is a slow-paced song that is about the album that hints at
made into a bit of a slog by the the duo’s start as buskers and
buzzing drone that backs it, their current relentless tour-
marking it out as the only song ing schedule. Tall Heights is
that really falls flat on this one of those groups that has
album. However, they find a sound and style best that
their energy again on the pen- works best in person, but at its
ultimate “Fire Escape,” a nos- strongest, Pretty Colors brings
talgic yet joyful song propped together the best aspects of
up by warm ’80s synths. The their live act. Whatever the
album loses its energy a bit album’s shortcomings, it
on “Roanoke,” but this time shows us a musical duo that
it seems more deliberate and works together in near perfect
works better, a slow, brooding synchronization. l
closing track that is somehow
appropriate for this album. Pretty Colors for Your
There is something Actions is available to buy on
profoundly honest in Tall Amazon.com and iTunes, and
Heights’ style. From the seam- on streaming services.
less harmony of their vocals

he doesn’t quite seem com-

fortable in his skin. It feels
ever-so-slightly forced and
that blurs the lines between
the comic and the menacing.
Also close but not quite
on the money is Kimberly
Gilbert’s Billie. Bursting with
warmth and sparkle, Gilbert
plays her with all kinds of
confidence. But she is caught
treading a delicate line: Billie
is writ too large and comic to
play straight, but if she falls
to caricature, she will lose
our sympathy. Gilbert man-
ages the balancing act, but
like Gero’s Brock, she ends
up never being quite funny
or sassy enough — a rarity for
an actor with Gilbert’s innate
CAROL ROSEGG

comic timing. And if Billie

continued from page 36
Nickell utterly gets it, bringing a sardonic warmth to this stand-
up guy and some real personality. If his attraction to Billie is too
condescending for modern times, it’s best viewed as quaint — as
much a relic as the corsets and shoe shines.
And then there is Harry Brock. Caught between a rock and
a hard place in delivering this Trump prototype, Edward Gero
really has no choice but to play it as large as Kanin obviously
intended. If the man keeps veering into a manifestation of our
president, it isn’t anyone’s fault and Gero wisely soldiers on.
But as much skill and charisma as Gero brings to this Brock,
certainly knows how to flash
a shapely ankle, the chemis-
try between her and the men
in her life never quite convinces.
Still, Born Yesterday is also a play for smaller, colorful roles
and Naomi Jacobson makes for a comical maid and a convinc-
ingly uptight Washington matron. As thug-with-a-heart Eddie
Brock, Evan Casey is another master of the silently comical facial
expression. Together, the ensemble makes wonderful use of
Daniel Lee Conway’s wonderful confection of a set.
All in, this is a cute and clever romp with a few things to say
about democracy in politics and relationships alike. If you can
get past the elephant in the room, it’s an evening of genuinely
good, old-fashioned fun. l

Born Yesterday runs to October 21 at Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St. NW. Tickets are $25 to $62. Call 888-616-0270 or visit fords.org.

38 OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

NightLife Photography by
Ward Morrison

OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 39

Scene Pitchers / A League of Her Own - Friday, September 28 - Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

DrinksDragDJsEtc... SHAW’S TAVERN FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR NUMBER NINE ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS

Thursday, NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Beat the Clock Happy Hour
October 4 — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) • $15 Buckets
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN of Beer all night • Sports
Open 5pm-2am • Happy Leagues Night
Hour: $2 off everything
until 9pm • Video Games NUMBER NINE
• Live televised sports Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • PITCHERS
Karaoke, 9pm Open 5pm-2am • Happy
Hour: $2 off everything
GREEN LANTERN until 9pm • Video Games
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Foosball • Live televised
• Shirtless Thursday, sports • Full dining menu
10-11pm • Men in
Underwear Drink Free,
till 9pm • Special Late
Night menu till 11pm •
12-12:30am • DJs Visit pitchersbardc.com
BacK2bACk
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 House Wines, $5 Rail
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
and Select Appetizers • All
You Can Eat Ribs, 5-10pm,
$24.95 • $4 Corona and
Heineken all night • Paint
Nite, Second Floor, 7pm
ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers •
Open Dancers Audition •
Urban House Music by DJ
Tim-e • 9pm • Cover 21+
Friday,
October 5
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
Open 5pm-3am • Happy
Hour: $2 off everything
until 9pm • Video Games
• Live televised sports
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm •
Karaoke, 9pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm •
$3 Rail and Domestic •
Free Pizza, 7-9pm • $5
Svedka, all flavors all night
long • Cuffing Season:
The Tryout Underwear
Party, 10pm-close • GoGo
Dancers, Drink Specials
• $10 all night • Text
“DHEVENTS” to 64600 for
Event Updates
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Open 3pm • Beat the
Clock Happy Hour — $2
(5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4
(7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer,
$15 • Weekend Kickoff
Dance Party, with Nellie’s
DJs spinning bubbly pop
music all night
Open 5pm • Happy Hour:
2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
• No Cover • Friday Night
Piano with Chris, 7:30pm
PITCHERS
Open 5pm-3am • Happy
Hour: $2 off everything
until 9pm • Video Games
• Foosball • Live televised
sports • Full dining menu
till 9pm • Special Late
Night menu till 2am • Visit
pitchersbardc.com
SHAW’S TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 House Wines, $5 Rail
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
and Select Appetizers
Men of Secrets, 9pm •
Guest dancers • Rotating
DJs • Kristina Kelly’s Diva
Fev-ah Drag Show • Doors
at 9pm, Shows at 11:30pm
and 1:45am • DJ Don T. in
Ziegfeld’s • Cover 21+
Saturday,
October 6
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
Open 2pm-3am • Video
Games • Live televised
sports
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Saturday Breakfast Buffet,
10am-3pm • $14.99 with
one glass of champagne
or coffee, soda or juice •
Additional champagne $2
per glass • World Tavern
Poker Tournament, 1-3pm
• Crazy Hour, 4-8pm •
Freddie’s Follies Drag

40 OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 NIGHTIFE HIGHLIGHTS
Show, hosted by Miss NUMBER NINE
Destiny B. Childs, 8-10pm Doors open 2pm • Happy
• Karaoke, 10pm-close Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink,
2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5
GREEN LANTERN Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $5 • Time Machine and
Bacardi, all flavors, all Power Hour, featuring DJ
FLASHY SUNDAYS: FIFTH ANNIVERSARY
night long • REWIND: Jack Rayburn, 9:30pm This Sunday, Oct. 7, DJs Sean Morris and Kurt “TWiN” Graves, two of
Request Line, an ‘80s D.C.’s best gay house mixmasters, celebrate five years of throwing their
and ‘90s Dance Party, PITCHERS
9pm-close • Featuring Open Noon-3am • Video incredibly popular holiday-Sunday party at the hip, sharply designed night-
DJ Darryl Strickland • Games • Foosball • Live club Flash. The party starts at 10 p.m. and runs with an extended bar until
No Cover televised sports • Full
dining menu till 9pm •
at least 4 a.m., since Monday is the national holiday Columbus Day. Flash is
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Special Late Night menu at 645 Florida Ave. NW. Tickets are $20 for access to the main dance floor
Drag Brunch, hosted till 2am • Visit pitchers- and roof deck. Call 202-827-8791 or visit flashdc.com.
by Chanel Devereaux, bardc.com
10:30am-12:30pm and
1-3pm • Tickets on sale SHAW’S TAVERN GREEN LANTERN: REWIND - REQUEST LINE
at nelliessportsbar.com Brunch with $15 Darryl Strickland was one of the most prolific DJs in gay D.C. in the ’90s,
• House Rail Drinks, Zing Bottomless Mimosas,
Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie 10am-3pm • Happy Hour, which makes him eminently qualified to serve as VJ for this party focused
Beer and Mimosas, $4, 5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, on playing the best video hits of the ’80s and ’90s. There’s drink specials
11am-3am • Buckets of $4 Blue Moon, $5 House
Beer, $15 • Guest DJs Wines, $5 Rail Drinks •
on offer and even the ability to make requests all night long — obviously
Half-Priced Pizzas and this isn’t quite a regular night out. Saturday, Oct. 6, starting at 9 p.m. Green
Select Appetizers Lantern, 1335 Green Ct. NW. No cover. Call 202-347-4533 or visit green-
lanterndc.com.

NELLIE’S: LEDERHOSEN REALNESS

There are many excuses to celebrate Oktoberfest and German beer this
time of year, and you’d surely be welcome to wear traditional lederho-
sen wherever you go. But next weekend, Nellie’s offers an “Octoberfest
Extravaganza” presented by DJ Chord Bezerra at which patrons donning
lederhosen are promised “unreal deals” on giant steins of craft beer. Also
on offer are food specials. Saturday, Oct. 6, from 4 to 8 p.m. 900 U St. NW.
Free. Call 202-332-NELL or visit nelliessportsbar.com.

TEN TIGERS PARLOUR: THE COVEN’S 3 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Every second Saturday of the month comes a queer women-centered
“witchy dance party” in the Petworth restaurant/bar/intimate nightclub
venue owned by D.C.’s ubiquitous Hilton Brothers (Brixton, Marvin). Kate
Ross’ The Coven is touted as “open to all genders, orientations, ideologies,
and badasses,” and an event where — no surprise given the name — “dark
couture is encouraged.” Saturday, Oct. 13, starting at 10 p.m. 3813 Georgia
Ave. NW. Call 202-506-2080 or visit tentigersdc.com. l

OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 41

42 OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

TRADE
Doors open 2pm • Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cock-
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
2-10pm • Beer and wine
only $4
ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS
Men of Secrets, 9pm-4am
• Guest dancers • Ladies
of Illusion Drag Show
with host Ella Fitzgerald
• Doors at 9pm, Shows
at 11:30pm and 1:45am
• DJ Don T. in Ziegfeld’s
• DJ Steve Henderson in
Secrets • Cover 21+
Sunday,
October 7
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
Open 2pm-12am • $4
Smirnoff and Domestic
Cans • Video Games •
Live televised sports
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Champagne Brunch Buffet,
10am-3pm • $24.99 with
four glasses of champagne
or mimosas, 1 Bloody
Mary, or coffee, soda
or juice • Crazy Hour,
4-8pm • Freddie’s Zodiac
Contest, hosted by Ophelia
Bottoms, 8pm • Karaoke,
10pm-close
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm •
Karaoke with Kevin
downstairs, 9:30pm-close
• Columbus Day Party,
featuring DJs BaCk2bACk,
9pm-2am
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Drag Brunch, hosted
by Chanel Devereaux,
10:30am-12:30pm and
1-3pm • Tickets on sale
at nelliessportsbar.com
• House Rail Drinks, Zing
Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie
Beer and Mimosas, $4,
11am-1am • Buckets of
Beer, $15 • Guest DJs
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on
any drink, 2-9pm • $5
Absolut and $5 Bulleit
Bourbon, 9pm-close • Pop
Goes the World with Wes
Della Volla at 9:30pm •
No Cover
PITCHERS
Open Noon-2am • $4
Smirnoff, includes flavored,
$4 Coors Light or $4 Miller
Lites, 2-9pm • Video
Games • Foosball • Live
televised sports • Full din-
ing menu till 9pm • Visit
pitchersbardc.com
SHAW’S TAVERN
Brunch with Bottomless
Mimosas, 10am-3pm •
Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 House Wines, $5 Rail
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
and Select Appetizers
• Dinner-n-Drag, with
Miss Kristina Kelly, 8pm
• For reservations, email
shawsdinnerdragshow@
gmail.com
TRADE
Doors open 2pm • Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a
cocktail glass served in a
huge glass for the same
price, 2-10pm • Beer and
wine only $4 • Glam Box:
A Monthly Dress Up Party,
8pm-close • Walk-off
Contest at 10:30pm •
Special guest hosts and
performers • Music by
Joann Fabrixx • Church,
8pm-close • Music by
WesstheDJ, Jesse Jackson
and special guests
Monday,
October 8
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm •
Singles Night • Half-Priced
Pasta Dishes • Poker Night
— 7pm and 9pm games •
Karaoke, 9pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm •
$3 rail cocktails and
domestic beers all night
long • Singing with the
Sisters: Open Mic Karaoke
Night with the Sisters
of Perpetual Indulgence,
9:30pm-close
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Beat the Clock Happy Hour
— $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of
Beer, $15 • Half-Priced
Burgers • Paint Nite, 7pm
• PokerFace Poker, 8pm •
Dart Boards • Ping Pong
Madness, featuring 2 Ping-
Pong Tables
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
Playlist
FLASHBACK
DJ JASON ROYCE
RUNNING WITH THE NIGHT
Lionel Ritchie
DON’T WANNA FALL IN LOVE
Jane Child
YOUNG HEARTS RUN FREE
Candi Staton
GIVE IT UP
KC and the Sunshine Band
GIMMIE, GIMMIE, GIMMIE!
ABBA
CHANGE OF HEART
Cyndi Lauper
SHOW ME LOVE
Robin S
KNOCKED OUT
Paula Abdul
WE DON’T HAVE TO TAKE
OUR CLOTHES OFF
Jermaine Stewart
THE GLAMOROUS LIFE
Sheila E.
Jason Royce currently spins two varieties
of his long-running Flashback party. Every
Tuesday at JR.’s at 9 p.m. is a music video
night featuring a wide variety of music
from 1975 to 1999. Every Thursday at
Pitchers, along with DJ Darryl Strickland,
he spins high-energy extended and dance
versions of music from 1975-2005.
43
SHAW’S TAVERN
Columbus Day Brunch
with Bottomless Mimosas,
11am-3pm • Happy Hour,
4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite,
$4 Blue Moon, $5 House
Wines, $5 Rail Drinks •
Half-Priced Pizzas and
Select Appetizers • Shaw
’Nuff Trivia, with Jeremy,
7:30pm
Tuesday, NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
October 9 drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN PITCHERS
Open 5pm-12am • Happy Open 5pm-12am • Happy
Hour: $2 off everything Hour: $2 off everything
until 9pm • Video Games until 9pm • Video Games
• Live televised sports • Foosball • Live televised
sports • Full dining menu
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR till 9pm • Special Late
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 • Beer and wine
only $4
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4pm-9pm •
Bear Yoga with Greg Leo,
6:30-7:30pm • $10 per
class • $3 rail cocktails
and domestic beers all
night long
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
SmartAss Trivia Night,
8-10pm • Prizes include
PITCHERS
Open 5pm-12am • Happy
Hour: $2 off everything
until 9pm • Video Games
• Foosball • Live televised
sports • Full dining menu
till 9pm • Special Late
Night menu till 11pm •
Visit pitchersbardc.com
SHAW’S TAVERN

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 • Beer and wine
only $4
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Taco
Tuesday • Poker Night —
Night menu till 11pm •
Visit pitchersbardc.com
Wednesday, bar tabs and tickets to
shows at the 9:30 Club •
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
7pm and 9pm games • October 10 $15 Buckets of Beer for $5 House Wines, $5 Rail
Karaoke, 9pm SHAW’S TAVERN SmartAss Teams only • Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Absolutely Snatched Drag and Select Appetizers •
GREEN LANTERN Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, Open 5pm-12am • Happy Show, hosted by Brooklyn Piano Bar and Karaoke
Happy Hour, 4pm-9pm $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Hour: $2 off everything Heights, 9pm • Tickets with Jill, 8pm
• $3 rail cocktails and Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas until 9pm • Video Games available at nelliessports-
domestic beers all night and Select Appetizers • Live televised sports bar.com TRADE
long • Half-Priced Burgers Doors open 5pm • Huge
and Pizzas all night with FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: Any drink
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
$5 House Wines and $5 Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • $6 Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any normally served in a cock-
Beat the Clock Happy Hour
Sam Adams • DC Bocce Burgers • Beach Blanket drink, 5-9pm • No Cover tail glass served in a huge
— $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
League, Indoor Bocce, Drag Bingo Night, hosted glass for the same price,
$4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of
Second Floor, 6:30pm by Ms. Regina Jozet 5-10pm • Beer and wine
Beer $15 • Drag Bingo
Adams, 8pm • Bingo prizes only $4 l
with Sasha Adams and
• Karaoke, 10pm-1am
Brooklyn Heights, 7-9pm •
Karaoke, 9pm-close

44 OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 LastWord.
People say the queerest things

“I can’t take away any of the negativebut

feelings you may have about us as a result of this situation,
I can promise that

it does not represent us in the past,

present or future.”
— CHARLIE RICE, owner of Manhattan Monster Bar in New York City, in a statement on Facebook apologizing after general manager
Italo Lopez allegedly sent racist text messages to DJ Mitch Ferrino regarding a promotion for an upcoming club night. Lopez said
Ferrino’s flyers “look like we are promoting black night” and that people could “get the wrong idea and is not good for businesses
[sic].” Lopez has since resigned.

“I basically told them right away, this isn’t okay.

I was almost in tears, I was furious.”
— CECILIA MCBRIDE, a senior at Austin High School in Texas, speaking to KXAN News after she and girlfriend Story Dornsife con-
vinced school administrators to make the crowning of homecoming court gender neutral. McBride, nominated alongside Dornsife
for homecoming queen, was told she couldn’t switch to king to win alongside Dornsife. “They said ‘we won’t do two queens, we
won’t do two kings, it has to be a king and a queen.’ Because a king has to be male and a queen has to be female, it’s impossible
for a gay couple to win.” Now, the four seniors with the highest vote tally will be crowned, regardless of gender.

“There’s such a fear of losing the child you love,

and what will replace that child.
”
— CHER, speaking to PrideSource about how she felt when her son, Chaz Bono, came out as transgender, a decade after first com-
ing out as a lesbian. Admitting that she “didn’t go through it that easily” either time that Chaz came out, she worried about “who
will the new person be and how will it work and will I have lost somebody?” Thankfully, her fears didn’t translate into reality:
“Chaz is so happy now and we get along better than ever.”

“It sends the powerful message that

homophobia is not an opinion;
as for racism, it’s a violation of the law.
”
— Swiss Councillor MATHIAS REYNARD, speaking to Shortlist after Switzerland’s National Council approved a measure he put
forward that would make homophobic and transphobic acts punishable by up to three years in prison — comparable
with how the country criminalizes racism.

“What does it mean when I’m talking to a guy and connect with him emotionally with intimate energy?
Maybe it’s not just sexual but it could be.”
— Actor JAKE CHOI (Singe Parents), speaking with Very Good Light about his journey to realizing that he is sexually fluid. After
shooting a film in which he played a gay character, he started to question his presumed straightness, asking himself, “Am I really
living my truth? Am I really free?... What does it mean when I’m talking to a guy and connect with him emotionally with intimate
energy? Maybe it’s not just sexual but it could be. Maybe, shit, I’m attracted to everything. Maybe it’s more feminine or more
androgynous. I realized yeah, I’m fluid. It’s not black or white. It’s grey.”

46 OCTOBER 4, 2018 • METROWEEKLY