Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By Doug Rule
BORN TO BE WILDE
It took ten years for Rupert Everett to bring his magnificent
Oscar Wilde opus, The Happy Prince, to the screen.
It was worth the wait.
By Kate Wingfield
SPOTLIGHT: NSO POPS p.7 OUT ON THE TOWN p.10 PERFECTLY BLENDED: TIMOTHY NELSON p.12
PROGRESSIVE PROVOCATEUR: LILY ALLEN p.18 SCENE: CHEFS FOR EQUALITY p.23
COMMUNITY: LAID TO REST p.25 SCENE: SMYAL FALL BRUNCH p.28
COVER STORY: RUPERT EVERETT p.30 FILM: HALLOWEEN p.37 STAGE: SLEEPY HOLLOW p.39
STAGE: AIDA p.41 OPERA: LA TRAVIATA p.43 NIGHTLIFE p.45 SCENE: TRADE p.45
LISTINGS p.46 NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS p.47 PLAYLIST: ADAM KOUSSARI-AMIN p.49
LAST WORD p.54
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The NSO Pops performs alongside a screening of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Tuesday, Oct. 23 to Thursday, Oct. 25 in
the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets are $34 to $149. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.
ROOMS:
A ROCK ROMANCE
MetroStage offers a 10th
anniversary production of
Paul Scott Goodman’s musi-
cal, with a book co-written
by Miriam Gordon, focused
on an ambitious singer-song-
writer who meets a reclusive
rocker. Together, they aim
for stardom in the London
and New York punk scenes
of the ’70s. Directed by Tom
Jones. To Nov. 11. 1201 North
Royal St., Alexandria. Tickets
are $55. Call 703-548-9044
or visit metrostage.org.
CHRIS BANKS
Far Right:
Beverly Hills John.
2012. Rubell Family
Collection, Miami.
© John Waters, Courtesy
Marianne Boesky Gallery
GARBAGE
Shirley Manson tours with her brooding, grungy alt-
rock band as part of a 20th anniversary celebration
of Version 2.0. Nominated for Album of the Year
and Best Rock Album at the 1999 Grammy Awards,
Garbage’s sophomore set also features one of its big-
gest hits, the Grammy-nominated “Special.” Sunday,
Oct. 21, and Monday, Oct. 22. Doors at 6:30 p.m.
Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW. Tickets, remaining
only for the Monday show, are $55. Call 202-888-
0050 or visit thelincolndc.com.
PERFECTLY BLENDED
queen and “two women performing
masculinity,” according to Hébert,
who is directing a production that
opens WSC Avant Bard’s new sea-
son. Illyria is set in an anything
The new Artistic Director of the In Series, Timothy Nelson is taking goes Manhattan dive bar in the
exciting new risks with bold mash-ups. post-disco early ’80s, as imagined
by set designer Jos. B. Musumeci
A
Jr., plus original era-evoking
N UPCOMING IN SERIES PERFORMANCE OF MOZART’S THE MARRIAGE music by Aaron Bliden. The large
cast includes Frank Britton, Katie
of Figaro will have an exciting addition: artistic director Timothy Nelson will Gallagher, Jenna Rossman, Dani
wed his partner Jeffrey. Stoller, Ezra Tozian, and the com-
“We’ve been waiting for the right time,” says Nelson. “My parents are going to pany’s former head Christopher
be here. We’ll have a lot of friends at the performance. So it just made sense to do it Henley. In previews. Opens
Tuesday, Oct. 23. Runs to Nov. 18.
there.” Gunston Theater Two, 2700 South
The unconventional ceremony will happen in context of Nelson’s unconventional Lang St. Arlington. Tickets are $40.
production of Figaro in Four Quartets, a marriage of the Austrian composer’s music Call 703-418-4808 or visit avant-
bard.org.
with writing from American poet T.S. Eliot. “It sort of imagines the four couples of
the classic opera as actually the same couple at different ages and stages of life and LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
love,” he says. The quirky, enduring, cult-favorite
It’s the same type of cross-genre mashup that kicked off the In Series season last musical by Howard Ashman and
Alan Menken is the latest to get
month — Viva V.E.R.D.I.: The Promised End blended music from Verdi’s Requiem with a semi-staged production as part
dialogue from Shakespeare’s King Lear. “I’m very interested in exploring what other of the Kennedy Center’s amazing
forms opera can take,” Nelson says. “Deconstructing the canon and then trying to find Broadway Center Stage series.
With Megan Hilty as Audrey,
a way to reconstruct it [to] make it more immediate and closer to how we consume Josh Radnor as Seymour, James
culture as a society today.” Monroe Iglehart as the man-eating
Barely a month into his tenure at In Series, Nelson has been heartened by the plant Audrey II, and Amber Iman,
warm reception to his “risky” Verdi opener, which veered from the typical In Series Amma Osei, and Allison Semmes as
the show’s indelible greek chorus.
cabaret-style revue. The show, Nelson says, garnered “the best reviews we’ve ever had Directed by Mark Brokaw. Opens
[and] we were sold out.” Wednesday, Oct. 24. To Oct. 28.
Other upcoming productions also “point to a new direction, and something that Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are
$89 to $215. Call 202-467-4600 or
only we’re doing as far as I know,” he says. And it goes well beyond the merging of visit kennedy-center.org.
spoken dialogue with song text in opera. In March, the “Opera & More” company will
stage the popular zarzuela La Verbena de la Paloma. “We’re resetting it at the border SING TO ME NOW
of Tijuana and San Diego,” Nelson says. “We’re building ourselves a border wall and Iris Dauterman weaves sardonic
humor, poetry, and a deeply con-
having local youth tag the wall and make the piece about border politics. It’s trying to temporary voice to create a comedy
find a way to take those old Latin-American forms and make them have contemporary about Calliope, the Greek Muse of
relevance, just the way that’s become commonplace with Shakespeare [and] with Epic Poetry, and the value in fighting
for beauty while the world is falling
classic opera.” —Doug Rule apart. Directed by Jenny McConnell
Frederick, the Rorschach Theatre
production features Ian Armstrong,
Figaro in Four Quartets opens Saturday, Oct. 20, and runs to Oct. 28 at GALA Theatre,
Tori Boutin, Desiree Chappelle,
3333 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20 to $45. Call 202-204-7763 or visit inseries.org.
KIERAN MCCARTHY:
FABERGÉ IN LONDON
A London-based Fabergé expert
DC DESIGN WEEK and adviser to collectors and insti-
tutions crosses the pond to offer
Every year, the local chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts, organizes an event the fourth and final lecture in
showcasing D.C.’s creative community. The 2018 edition kicks off with a Local Makers an October in conjunction with
Panel of artists showcasing their work and discussing how the DMV has impacted their the current exhibition Fabergé
Rediscovered. McCarthy will focus
work and how they’ve worked to impact their community on Saturday, Oct. 20, from 1 his talk on the glittering history of
to 4 p.m., at Pyramid Atlantic, 4318 Gallatin St., Hyattsville. Another key highlight is the the only branch located outside of
Pop-Up Shop Block Party, at which goods made by local makers and designers will be for Russia by the imperial Russian gold-
smith, which was in operation from
sale — in addition to beer and ice cream from Milk Cult — on Wednesday, Oct. 24, from 1903 to 1917. Tuesday, Oct. 23, from
6 to 10 p.m., at Cherry Blossom Creative, 2128 8th St. NW. Throughout the week, various 5:30 to 8 p.m. 4155 Linnean Ave.
companies and design firms will host Creative Lunch sessions, including Booz Allen NW. Tickets are $20. Call 202-686-
Hamilton, OpenBox9, RedPeg Marketing, NASA, Image Factory DC, the Pew Research 5807 or visit HillwoodMuseum.org.
Center, and PBS. Additional event highlights include the Experienced Leaders Panel PETE SOUZA - SHADE:
at Solid State Books, 600 H St. NE, on Sunday, Oct. 21; DC Mural Run, a 3.5-mile, early A TALE OF TWO PRESIDENTS
morning jaunt through the city’s mural-filled streets starting in Shaw’s Blagden Alley, and A follow-up to Obama: An Intimate
History, Shade includes hundreds
“Designing Conversations,” about voice-enabled technology with representatives from more groundbreaking snapshots
area companies including the Washington Post, NPR, and Capital One, at architecture with incisive captions contrasting
firm Gensler, 20, both on Wednesday, Oct. 24; and a Drink & Draw session celebrating the 44th President to the 45th,
designers and their sketchbooks, where all skill levels can also engage in pencil drawings, all from the official Obama White
House photographer. The new book
at Right Proper Brookland Production House, 920 Girard St. NE, on Friday, Oct. 26. DC is intended to serve as a reminder
Design Week runs to Sunday, Oct. 28. Visit dcdesignweek.org. of shared American values. Politics
and Prose co-presents this book
discussion. Wednesday, Oct. 24,
at 7 p.m. GW Lisner, The George
DANCE tive ballet adaptation of the ulti-
mate vampire story, Bram Stoker’s
COMEDY Washington University, 730 21st
St. NW. Tickets are $27.50 to $40.
Dracula. Merchant Hall becomes Call 202-994-6851 or visit lisner.
ABADA-CAPOEIRA DC FOUND FOOTAGE FESTIVAL:
Transylvania after dark, where just gwu.edu.
& BATALÁ WASHINGTON AFTER DARK
one taste of blood guarantees eter-
Local capoeira leaders join forc- Comedy writers Joe Pickett and
nal youth in a tale performed with
es with the all-women samba/
reggae percussion band for a pro-
live accompaniment by the Kim
Nick Prueher, whose credits
include The Colbert Report and The
FOOD & DRINK
Reynolds Band. Friday, Oct. 19, and
gram of dynamic martial art and Onion, return with another collec- HANK’S DUPONT: BUBBLES &
Saturday, Oct. 20, at 7:30 p.m., and
dance movements and syncopated tion of found videos drawn from BIVALVES
Sunday, Oct. 20, at 3 p.m. 10960
rhythms celebrating the culture of garage sales, thrift stores, ware- HANK’S OLD TOWN:
George Mason Circle, Manassas, Va.
Brazil. Saturday, Oct. 20, at 6 p.m. houses, and dumpsters — includ- OYSTERFEST XI
Tickets are $25 to $65. Call 703-
Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. ing curiously produced industrial Bivalves are naturally the star attrac-
993-7759 or visit hyltoncenter.org.
Free. Call 202-467-4600 or visit training videos and cheesy exercise tion everyday at the four Oyster
kennedy-center.org. videos. The theme is “a celebration Bars part of the JL Restaurant
of sexy and disturbing found VHS Group, Jamie Leeds’ growing local
MANASSAS BALLET THEATRE: gems.” Friday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m., empire. Yet two events this week
DRACULA and Saturday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. make oysters, and seafood in gener-
Just in time for Halloween, the Arlington Cinema N’ Drafthouse, al, even more of a draw than usual.
resident company of the Hylton 2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington. At the original location in Dupont
Performing Arts Center opens its Tickets are $14. Call 703-486-2345 Circle, there’s a midweek, multi-
season with a theatrical and seduc- or visit arlingtondrafthouse.com. course seafood-centric dinner to be
PROGRESSIVE PROVOCATEUR
the country’s holiday Day of the
Dead. Aside from the sugar skulls
and human skeletons paraded out to
represent the dead, the holiday, at
its heart, is meant to toast the dead
Lily Allen is as ready as ever to protest and kiss-off with their favorite foods and drinks.
This year’s patron saint at Oyamel,
homophobes — just not on social media. named for the Mexican fir trees
S
that provide shelter to monarch
HE MAY HAVE JUMP-STARTED HER POP CAREER 13 YEARS AGO ON butterflies in the winter, is Roberto
Gómez Bolaños, better known as
MySpace, but Lily Allen isn’t exactly a fan of today’s social media — at least not for “Chespirito,” widely regarded
advocacy or activism. as the most important Spanish-
“I don’t care to talk about politics very much on there anymore,” says the British pop language humorist of all time. The
restaurant, under Head Chef Omar
star says. “I think it plays into the hands of [anti-progressive politicians] rather than doing Rodriguez, will showcase Bolaños
anything positive. The Internet is an incredibly corrupt place, and it’s not conducive to in a kick-off party featuring bites
any cause really, bleating on about something. and cocktails “to die for,” plus live
“I feel like the war’s not being won on the Internet. It doesn’t seem like tweeting about music, a photobooth, face painting
and more. Monday, Oct. 20, from
things or posting things on your Instagram is really working. Donald Trump and the peo- 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $49. 401 7th
ple that are running things around the world, they’re just like, ‘Okay, cool. You guys have St. NW. Call 202-628-1005 or visit
a discussion about it on Facebook while we go and get on with ruining everybody’s lives.’ oyamel.com.
And that seems to be working really well for them. So I think everybody should put their
phones down and take to the streets.” HALLOWEEN
Allen is currently on the road promoting her latest album No Shame, as well as memoir
My Thoughts Exactly, to be published in the states in December. Her tour includes a stop HIGHLIGHTS
at the Fillmore Silver Spring this Sunday, and will feature songs from her fourth and most
personal album yet, as well as her biggest hits, including “Smile” and “No Fear.” And let’s HAUNTED VIRGINIA!
Historians and storytellers Terry
not forget “Fuck You,” the 2009 quasi-gay anthem featuring bubbly music and barbed Gish and Wayne Kehoe share true
lyrics for homophobes everywhere. stories of horror from around Old
“A lot of my mum’s and dad’s friends were gay or bisexual,” says the 33-year-old, who Dominion — and the oldest state
in the union is also said to have the
grew up immersed in London’s performing arts scene. “So that’s always been normal for most ghost stories. These haunted
me.... And people that look down on people for any reason should be called out — that’s tales will be shared, suitably enough,
always been my approach.” in an Alexandria cemetery. “Not
“Fuck You” is better suited as a kiss-off to the current U.S. president than it was to the recommended for children under
12.” Saturday, Oct. 20, at 6:30 and
one who helped inspire the song, George W. Bush. “So you say, it’s not okay to be gay,” 8 p.m. Ivy Hill Cemetery,2823 King
Allen sings on the song. “Well, I think you’re just evil; You’re just some racist, who can’t St., Alexandria. Suggested dona-
tie my laces; Your point of view is medieval.” tion of $20, benefiting the Ivy Hill
Cemetery Historical Preservation
“It’s scary how you can apply that song to the majority of rich, powerful, middle-aged Society. Call 703-549-7413 or visit
white men,” she says. “It kind of works for all of them.” —Doug Rule ivyhillcemetery.net.
SMITHSONIAN HALLOWEEN
FILM FESTIVAL
The Smithsonian’s National
Museum of American History
plays host to screenings of an
eclectic mix of Halloween classics
and cult favorites the last week-
end of October. The festival kicks
off Thursday, Oct. 25, with Bette
Midler in Hocus Pocus at 6:30 p.m.,
followed by Practical Magic at 8:15
p.m. The next evening, Friday, Oct.
26, brings 28 Days Later at 6 p.m.
and Shaun of the Dead at 8:05 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 27, sees The Mummy
JANETTE BECKMAN
FORD’S THEATRE’S
HISTORY ON FOOT
A local actor offers the guided tour
Investigation: Detective McDevitt,
portraying Detective James
McDevitt, a D.C. police officer
patrolling a half-block from Ford’s
YOGA & THE AMERICAN POPS Theatre the night President Lincoln
Borne out of personal frustration with the bland, incidental music he often heard while was shot. Written by Richard
Hellesen and directed by Mark
practicing yoga, Luke Frazier came up with the Music & Mindfulness series of his Ramont, the 1.6-mile walking tour
American Pops Orchestra, developed in collaboration with yogi Michael Peterson. This revisits and reexamines the sites
weekend ushers in the first of three yoga sessions during the 2018-2019 season in the and clues from the investigation into
the assassination. Tours are offered
Dupont Underground featuring music purposefully coordinated for the experience of every Saturday in October at 10:15
yoga and meditation and performed live by Frazier on piano, four cellists from the Pops a.m. 511 10th St. NW. Tickets are $18.
Chamber Ensemble, and APO’s principal percussionist Jeremy Yaddaw. Yaddaw co-wrote Call 202-397-7328 or visit fords.org.
with Frazier the interwoven soundscape of classic Broadway melodies arranged in an
TASTE OF DC, ROCK THE CORE
eastern contemplative style that will fuel the first session. The session is open to all, from This year, Events DC has moved
those participating in yoga for the first time to those simply enjoying the music and medi- what is billed as “the largest culi-
tation without physical engagement. Water, tea, juice, and other snacks will be available for nary festival in the Mid Atlantic”
to Audi Field. And the city’s spar-
purchase; participants should bring their own mats and towels. Sunday, Oct. 21, at 6 p.m. kling new soccer stadium in Buzzard
Dupont Underground, 1500 19th St. NW. Tickets are $15. Visit dupontunderground.org. Point is also the new home of Drink
The District’s annual Rock the Core
cider fest, which this year coincides
with the second day of Taste of DC,
Oct. 28, at 4 p.m. Sprenger Theatre, es. Friday, Oct. 26, and Saturday, WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS Saturday, Oct. 27. Opening the eve-
1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $14 to Oct. 27. Doors at 7 p.m. The State Jemaine Clement and Taika ning of Friday, Oct. 26, Taste of DC
$20. Call 202-399-7993 or visit atla- Theatre, 220 N. Washington St., Waititi’s comedy, subtitled A features more than 50 restaurants
sarts.org. Falls Church. Tickets are $18. Call Vampire Mockumentary for and food trucks serving food, with
703-237-0300 or visit thestatethe- Halloween, focuses on an endear- a number of chefs expected to lead
THE LEGWARMERS: atre.com. ingly unhip quartet of vampires demonstrations at the Culinary
HALLOWEEN BASH squabbling over household chores, Stage — although a list of the actual
It’s been 17 years since Gordon THE ROCKY HORROR trying to stay trendy, antagonizing restaurants and chefs participating
Gartrell and Cru Jones started what PICTURE SHOW the local werewolves, and deal- has not yet been announced. Also on
has long been heralded as D.C.’s Every October, Landmark’s E Street ing with the pressures of living tap is the area’s largest Beer Garden,
“premier ’80s tribute band,” per- Cinema presents not just one but on a strict diet. The 2015 film is an Artisan Market featuring local
forming the many guilty pleasure two weekends with screenings of screened a week before Halloween craftsmakers and businesses, plus
hits of the decade. The group has Richard O’Brien’s camp classic, as a “special event” presentation live entertainment on multiple stages
performed at concert halls through- billed as the longest-running mid- from Keepin It Weird Wednesdays. — with performances from Cantani
out the region and beyond, Yet its night movie in history. Landmark’s Wednesday, Oct. 24, at 7:30 p.m. Singing Ensemble, the Experience
primary base has been Virginia’s showings come with a live shadow Arlington Cinema N’ Drafthouse, Band, 1 Identity, DC Rawhides, DJ
State Theatre. The band returns to cast from the Sonic Transducers, 2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington. Julien Rivera, the Evolution Orange
the restored Art Deco building for meaning it’s as interactive as can be Tickets are $10. Call 703-486-2345 Band, Twisted Flags, Chute, Polar
two nights during the last weekend — particularly the last weekend of or visit arlingtondrafthouse.com. Opposites, Kromanauts, and L.I.T.
in October, when the usual audience the month with a special Halloween Friday, Oct. 26, from 6 to 10 p.m., and
participation of dressing the part run. Friday, Oct. 26, and Saturday, Saturday, Oct. 27, from 1 to 10 p.m.
— think shellacked big hair, lacy Oct. 27, at midnight, and Sunday, Audi Field, 100 Potomac Ave. SW.
ankle socks, stirrup and parachute Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. Landmark’s E Tickets are $14.99 to $49.99 plus fees
pants — will be amped up to 11, as Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call for Taste of DC, or $59.99 to $75 for
both nights feature a Halloween 202-452-7672 or visit landmarkthe- both Taste of DC and Rock The Core
Costume Contest with cash prizes, atres.com. on Saturday. Call 202-587-5000 or
along with other spooky surpris- visit thetasteofdc.org or drinkthe-
district.com for more information. l
Weekly Events
ANDROMEDA
TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH
offers free HIV testing and HIV
services (by appointment). 9
a.m.-5 p.m. Decatur Center,
1400 Decatur St. NW. To
arrange an appointment, call
202-291-4707, or visit androm-
LAID TO REST
edatransculturalhealth.org.
T
DC FRONT RUNNERS run-
WENTY YEARS AGO, THE WORLD WAS HORRIFIED WHEN IT HEARD THE ning/walking/social club
story of Matthew Shepard, a gay man who died after being beaten and tied to a fence welcomes runners of all ability
levels for exercise in a fun and
in a remote part of Wyoming. “In some ways, Matthew’s death may have been even supportive environment, with
more important to our straight allies than our community itself, in the sense that it shows socializing afterward. Route
what happens when ‘Good people remain silent in the face of injustice,’” says Bishop Gene distance is 3-6 miles. Meet at
7 p.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW.
V. Robinson. “It serves as a symbol of the kind of senseless violence committed against our For more information, visit
community simply because of who we are.” dcfrontrunners.org.
Robinson, the first openly gay priest to be consecrated as a bishop in the Episcopal
Church, praises Shepard’s parents, Dennis and Judy, for channeling their grief into advoca- DC LAMBDA SQUARES, D.C.’s
gay and lesbian square-dancing
cy, choosing to travel around the world urging tolerance, compassion, and respect for those group, features mainstream
who are different. By raising awareness of the LGBTQ community’s challenges, Robinson through advanced square
says they helped pave the way for later LGBTQ rights victories — from the end of the mili- dancing at the National City
Christian Church. Please dress
tary’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy to the legalization of same-sex marriage. casually. 7-9:30 p.m. 5 Thomas
After his death, Shepard’s parents declined to bury their son’s ashes at a public site, Circle NW. 202-930-1058,
for fear that any grave might be desecrated by anti-LGBTQ individuals or groups. But this dclambdasquares.org.
month, his ashes will find a final resting place in the crypt of the National Cathedral in
DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds
Washington, D.C. practice. The team is always
“We’ve given much thought to Matt’s final resting place, and we found the Washington looking for new members.
National Cathedral is an ideal choice, as Matt loved the Episcopal church and felt welcomed All welcome. 7-9 p.m. Harry
Thomas Recreation Center,
by his church in Wyoming,” Judy Shepard, Matthew’s mother, said in a statement. “For the 1743 Lincoln Rd. NE. For more
past 20 years, we have shared Matt’s story with the world. It’s reassuring to know he now information, visit scandalsrfc.
will rest in a sacred spot where folks can come to reflect on creating a safer, kinder world.” org or dcscandals@gmail.com.
More than 200 historical figures have been interred in the cathedral’s crypt, including
THE DULLES TRIANGLES
President Woodrow Wilson, U.S. Navy Admiral George Dewey, and Helen Keller and her Northern Virginia social
teacher Anne Sullivan. group meets for happy hour at
Robinson will co-preside with the Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, the Episcopal Sheraton in Reston. All wel-
come. 7-9 p.m. 11810 Sunrise
bishop of Washington, over a public service on Oct. 26. He says Shepard’s interment at the Valley Drive, second-floor bar.
Cathedral sends an important message to the LGBTQ community. For more information, visit
“Historically, the church has been one of the sources of our greatest pain,” he says. dullestriangles.com.
“Matthew’s interment at the National Cathedral points to the kind of remarkable progress
HIV TESTING at Whitman-
that some mainline Christian denominations, as well as several branches of Judaism, have Walker Health. 9 a.m.-12:30
made not just towards tolerance of LGBT people, but celebration of them.” —John Riley p.m. and from 2-5 p.m. at 1525
14th St. NW, and 9 a.m-12
p.m. and 2-5 p.m. at the Max
A Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving for Matthew Shepard will be held on Friday, Robinson Center, 2301 MLK Jr.
Oct. 26 at 10 a.m. at the Washington National Cathedral, 3101 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Ave. SE. For an appointment
The service is open to the public. Private interment follows. call 202-745-7000 or visit whit-
For more information, visit cathedral.org. man-walker.org.
R
UPERT EVERETT IS A PERFECT GENTLEMAN. because Robbie Ross adored Wilde unconditionally,” Everett
Whether offering his interviewer a freshly poured says. “Actually, in the end, Wilde adored Robbie and wanted to
glass of sparkling water, or politely deflecting be with him. He only realized too late.”
questions about a notorious costar — “I don’t talk Robbie’s dedication ensured that Wilde’s work would see a
about Madonna, honestly. Sorry.” — he’s never less second act. And reflecting the truth of their relationship largely
than warm and gracious. underscored Everett’s second act behind the camera.
In person, Everett measures up most favorably to his public “I think in one sense, the film is definitely about what is real
persona as the dashing leading man from films like Another love and what isn’t,” he says. “Because Wilde deals so much
Country, My Best Friend’s Wedding, and the acclaimed Oscar about love, it’s curious that his idea of the great love really wasn’t
Wilde adaptation The Ideal Husband. A hale, handsome 59-year it, and he was unconscious of what his own great love might have
old, Everett is a stark contrast to the dilapidated version of Wilde been.”
that he portrays in The Happy Prince, his impressive debut as a
feature film director and screenwriter. METRO WEEKLY: In many ways, Oscar Wilde’s journey in the
Living up to his lofty reputation, or living down his precipi- movie seems comparable to a post-scandal comeback that we
tous fall from grace, becomes a life-or-death struggle for Wilde in might see today. How deliberate was that?
the film, a bittersweet account of the British writer’s post-prison RUPERT EVERETT: Well, when I wrote the script, none of those
life after serving a two-year sentence for the “gross indecency” scandals had happened, so it’s totally by chance.
of committing homosexual acts. Everett, who brought to the MW: As far as his comeback was concerned, his reputation was
role a strong familiarity with Wilde’s work and life and his own ruined by his conviction for gross indecency. But more than a cen-
decades of celebrity as a gay iconoclast, is captivating as the tury after his death, Wilde was pardoned along with thousands of
absinthe-soaked exile. others who’d been convicted for gross indecency crimes. What good
The film relates the artist’s attempt at a second act with is a posthumous pardon?
an empathy that begs the question of just how much the EVERETT: I think none, because the word pardon is as rude as the
actor-turned-filmmaker sees of himself in Oscar Wilde. Everett crime, because we’ve agreed that it’s not a crime to be homosex-
admits he and Wilde do share similarities. ual, so a pardon is absolutely not what’s needed. An apology is
“Well, up to a point,” he says. “I don’t have quite as sophis- maybe good enough for us, but not a pardon.
ticated a self-destruct button as he does, but I think we do have MW: We saw in Canada that there was an apology from the Prime
lots of things in common. Not in terms of his genius, because I Minister for past discrimination against LGBTQ people.
don’t feel on any par with that, and also not really in terms of EVERETT: And in Ireland, too.
his flamboyance, either. I’ve looked at him really because he’s MW: Do you imagine anything like that in the UK?
an inspiration to me and I think in my long and tangled career EVERETT: In the UK? They’re in too much trouble at the moment
in negotiating a bid for world denomination, which is what all to be able to think of that kind of thing. No, I suggested it to
young actors do — you always look at other characters in history Theresa May, as a matter of fact. I thought it’d be rather a good
and see how they’ve done. He’s always been an inspiration to me, thing for her, with her present problems, to deflect and she could
rather than an identification.” have done a little sideline apologizing to all the people. I made
A major point of inspiration for Everett’s telling of the story is a documentary last year [50 Shades of Gay], because we’ve had
the film’s depiction of the many loves of Wilde. The Happy Prince 50 years of gay legality as of last year, the year before last. I met
includes both Wilde’s beloved but estranged wife, Constance, tons of people who’d been penalized under that law. It’s just
portrayed by Emily Watson, and his arrogant young lover Lord amazingly shocking to see how many lives were just torn apart
Alfred “Bosie” Douglas, who was at the center of the scandal that by this law.
led to Wilde’s ruin. Bosie, played by erstwhile Merlin star Colin MW: And the things that they can’t recover.
Morgan, is famously remembered as the inamorato who inspired EVERETT: Well, one guy I had met had been cajoled by his
Wilde’s prison love letter De Profundis. Commanding Officer in the Navy to give names of people.
But Everett’s film brings into heartrending focus another They said to him, “If you give the names, everything will be
great love whom Wilde never immortalized with passionate fine.” He gave the name of this other soldier who was married,
SONY PICTURES CLASSICS
prose: Robbie Ross. A name that’s been mostly forgotten to who then shot himself straight after he’d been called to see his
history, Ross, portrayed by Edwin Thomas, labored tirelessly as Commanding Officer. So there’s a lot of tragedy around it, real
Wilde’s friend and literary executor to preserve the legacy of the tragedy. So the pardon is peculiar. Typically English, though.
disgraced genius. MW: Wilde’s acts today would not be considered criminal. Does
“The real love affair is between Robbie Ross and Wilde, that make him a martyr for the gay rights movement?
E
else did have fun, more or less. And just to
enjoy each other, to run a set where everyone
“[OSCAR WILDE] REALIZED THAT
enjoys each other is probably the most pro- HE WAS GOING TO BE THE MARTYR
ductive.
MW: Speaking of fun on the set, Emily Watson as FOR THE GAY MOVEMENT. He said at
Constance Wilde has probably not a single happy one point, ‘The road is going to be long and
scene. But she’s so wonderful in this film. How
did you cast her? smeared with the blood of martyrs.’ It has
EVERETT: I’d been doing a film with her when I been, and it still will be, but it’s remarkable
started writing the script. So when I wrote the
script, I was thinking, “Oh god, I want Emily to how far we’ve come.”
be my wife.” And I adore her. So right from the
beginning, I wanted her to be in the film. Her
son is also one of our sons in the film too, so I managed to get her derful gift if it comes along. It’s really fun and you get to learn
even more motivated to be in it. She was amazing to work with. so many things all the way through it. It’s difficult to relinquish.
MW: She’s one of those can-do-no-wrong kind of actors. MW: Do you think you’ll direct again?
EVERETT: I think so too. She’s never done anything bad, really. EVERETT: I’d like to, yeah.
MW: So, about Robbie and Bosie, the film stresses this bitter dichot- MW: Do you have something in mind?
omy between the two. How much of that is fact or fiction? EVERETT: I’ve got something up my sleeve.
EVERETT: It’s all facts, even down to their row at Wilde’s grave MW: Another script that you would write?
site. I don’t know what happened in the row because no one has EVERETT: I’ve written, yeah. I’ve done it already.
ever said, except for the fact that Bosie, rather like in Absolutely MW: I want to ask you more, but I feel like you don’t want to say.
Fabulous, nearly fell into the grave. It just seemed like a wonder- EVERETT: It’s about disco in the 1970s in Paris. It’s a disco love
ful opportunity. Because the film is about the two of them, in a affair.
way, and their battle for supremacy over Oscar. It’s all, more or MW: Would you act in it?
less, true. EVERETT: I’d go back to a small part, but obviously I’m not going
MW: You talked about the film taking 10 years to make from when to be on the disco floor.
you wrote the script. How did it eventually come to be made? MW: It depends how your disco moves are holding up. Back to a
EVERETT: I think tenacity in the end. I do think now tenacity’s question about reputation, I had the pleasure last year of inter-
the only thing that really counts, tenacity and luck. I think if you viewing James Ivory. Before speaking to him, I was warned that
continue with something long enough, something will happen. he had just torn another interviewer apart. So it was, “Be really
My tragedy, I think, has been being flaky all the way through my prepared and anticipate the worst.” Then I got on the phone and —
life until this, for some reason. I don’t know what made me so EVERETT: He was lovely.
tenacious. Perhaps because it happened to me as I was entering MW: He was a teddy bear. Have you met or worked with anyone
the deep winter of middle age and I was in between careers, whose reputation preceded them, but they turned out to be abso-
young man or old man, and not getting it together suddenly felt lutely lovely?
to me like a life and death thing. I’d been at it for five or six years EVERETT: [Laughs.] Myself, to start with. Yeah, lots of people
at one point and I thought, “God, if it doesn’t happen now, who have reputations of being absolutely lovely, and end up being
am I?” I think that geared me on somehow. It’s always difficult monsters as well. I think it’s a two-way thing.
getting independent films together because the market’s com- MW: We don’t hear about those so much.
pletely disappeared and raising the money is virtually impos- EVERETT: No, not really. But I’ve never worked with one of those
sible. It’s as random as a sperm hitting an egg, really. I don’t monsters who... Oh, have I? What was that one amazing piece
know how anyone gets it together because everything about it, of video that came out of the actor shouting at the cinematogra-
especially in the UK, there’s only three sources of money. If all of pher? Who was that, the English actor?
them say no to you, which they did to me in the first two years, MW: Christian Bale?
you don’t really know where to go. EVERETT: Christian Bale. I’ve never had that. I love it when other
MW: Was any of that rejection relative to the fact that it’s Oscar people make scenes because it makes you feel like a little saint.
Wilde? MW: Do you just go and sit and watch?
EVERETT: No, I think the rejection was more about me than EVERETT: Well, I would watch, yeah. I feel like you get icy calm
about Oscar Wilde. Oscar Wilde’s probably a good subject, in a when other people get hysterical. It’s a wonderful feeling.
way. He’s a name that, even if you don’t know all about him, you MW: Whose writing, if anyone’s, stimulates you like Oscar Wilde’s?
E
something that, if we saw it within a context,
“It’s always difficult getting we say, “Oh actually, it’s something rather
different.” There’s a current going and we’re
independent films together because on it and things might not be quite what we
the market’s completely disappeared think of them if our historical context is only
a year, or the last administration.
and raising the money is virtually MW: Has there ever been a love letter as pro-
impossible. IT’S AS RANDOM AS A found as Wilde’s De Profundis?
EVERETT: And as far-reaching? Because
SPERM HITTING AN EGG.” I don’t know whether you know how De
Profundis eventually came to light, because
Alfred [“Bosie”] Douglas had no idea it had
because she wrote this huge three-volume book about the rise been written. In fact, one version has him receiving it, reading
and fall of the British Empire. So I’m reading that at the moment. one line, and tearing it up. The other version has him not receiv-
It’s very inspiring. She’s a wonderful, wonderful writer. ing it at all. But when he did receive it, it was only in about 1908,
I mostly like older writers, dead ones. I don’t know why. I nine years after Wilde had died, and he had gone through this
feel that living through today is enough, rather than reading journey. He’d become a homophobe, a denier of his relationship
about it. I’m just fascinated about how people, without what we with Oscar Wilde, very Catholic, married. When this letter came
have, lived. It just seems so impossible. When you think of all the out, he was absolutely furious. Between him and Robbie Ross,
things we have, all the addictions like running water and toilets that fight on the grave site, that went on and on. It goes worse
and endless soap. I’m always fascinated how sex must have been and worse and worse. It really killed Robbie Ross, actually, in the
in the 18th century because you couldn’t have done anything end. He died of a heart attack in 1918, I think it was. But Alfred
like snog because your teeth would probably come out. I’m fas- Douglas took him to court, outed him as a homosexual. All these
cinated by the 19th century, and the 18th century, and the 20th things that had happened to Wilde were done to Robbie Ross by
century, and the wars, the ‘60s, ‘70s. I love the ‘70s. Alfred Douglas because of Robbie Ross bringing out the letter,
MW: For the script that you’re developing now, what’s different De Profundis. It’s quite an extraordinary life that letter’s had.
about the ‘70s that is fascinating to you? MW: My husband was telling me that his mother had a copy of it
EVERETT: Because it was so much more rough and tumble than that she read to him and his siblings, saying, “If you didn’t know
things are now. It was right on the dawn or after the dawn of the this were written from a man to another man, you would have no
sexual revolution and the beginning of act two of the feminist idea. It’s a love story.”
movement, really — burning the bras and all that kind of stuff. EVERETT: Good, that’s amazing. That’s an amazing mother.
There was a raunchiness, and a sense of anything going, and an MW: Did you have amazing parents?
innocence, and an excitement that seems to have been... I don’t EVERETT: I did, but they were kind of pre-Freudian, military,
know, I find that we’ve moved into such an age of Puritanism naval. For me, my mum read me The Happy Prince really not
that it feels less exciting. I like the danger of the 1970s, the dan- understanding anything about Oscar Wilde because she was
ger of New York, all those things. It was exciting. from that military background. She wouldn’t have known. But
MW: To hear you describe it, it sounds like romance is missing. that was, for me, an eye-opening experience at the age of six to
EVERETT: Well, funnily enough, I said that I thought this Oscar hear that story because we didn’t talk, we didn’t live in those
Wilde story was romantic, the idea of a movie star on the skids kind of terms where people say, “I love you” like everyone
landing in the gutter and cadging drinks off everybody and does now all the time. Not that we didn’t like each other, but
scouring the neighborhood for rich people to fleece and smelling that word wasn’t really a word we talked about. This story, The
of piss and sweat and cigarettes. I said to someone this morn- Happy Prince, is all about love and suffering and the price paid
ing, “For me, that’s romance.” Obviously, it’s a different kind of for love and all that kind of stuff. I was thinking, “My god, I’ve
romance, but it’s a shadowy, exciting, kind of epic world, and the been missing something here, with this military family discuss-
1970s was like that too, and in one sense, more innocent than the ing maneuvers after the second World War, something else that
Puritanical world we have now, which is quite plodding, I find. is going on that I’ve kind of caught on to.” And I think that story
MW: On a more positive note, what redeems right now versus 40 gave me the appetite to get out there and find out more, in a way.
years ago? MW: And here we are.
EVERETT: Well, we’ll see what happens in the midterm elections. EVERETT: Here we are. l
At the moment, if no one votes, nothing redeems us, I don’t
think. I think if the Millennials don’t vote in this election, then I The Happy Prince is rated R, and opens October 19 at Landmark’s
don’t know what will happen. E Street Cinemas and Bethesda Row Cinemas. Visit landmarkthe-
But no, we’re living in an amazing time, which is why I’m atres.com.
Masked Menace
remakes, including the befuddling and
awful Halloween III: Season of the Witch,
which had nothing to do with Michael
Myers and instead centered around a trio
David Gordon Green’s Halloween picks up forty years after the of haunted Halloween masks set to pre-
original, and is only half as scary. By Randy Shulman sumably rid the planet of its children.
More chocolate for the adults, I presume
I
the thinking went.
N 1978, AN UNKNOWN DIRECTOR NAMED JOHN CARPENTER CHANGED Flash forward to 2018 and Halloween
the history of horror films with his low-budget shocker Halloween. While slasher (HHHHH) is back. This time, however,
films were not uncommon — Hitchcock popularized the genre in 1960 with Psycho the filmmakers are in reboot mode, eras-
— the format they followed was more along the lines of a whodunit. Carpenter changed ing everything that came after the original
all that with the creation of Michael Myers, a personification of pure, relentless evil movie and picking up the story forty years
(in a William Shatner Captain Kirk mask, of all things). He paved the way for a deluge later. Laurie (Curtis), forever traumatized
of similar bloodthirsty icons — Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees, Nightmare on Elm by her experience, has failed at two mar-
Street’s Freddy Krueger, Child’s Play’s Chucky — eager to slice and dice their way into riages and is estranged from her daughter
our collective nightmares. For a time, it worked, until the genre lapsed into self-parody, Karen (a shrill, useless Judy Greer) and,
a decline from which it hasn’t really recovered. Still, Carpenter’s original film remains, to some extent, granddaughter Allyson (a
arguably, the most important of the genre — not least because it was one of the few that somewhat effective Andi Matichak). For
was genuinely, truly scary af. years, she has prayed for for the escape of
From the jaw-dropping “one take” opening, in which a young boy dons a clown Michael Myers, she tells Officer Hawkins
mask, picks up a knife and brutally slaughters his sister, to the way in which that same (Will Patton), so she could kill him.
killer, 15 years later, terrorizes a gaggle of teenagers, the film remains a master class in “Stupid thing to pray for,” he says with
how to execute screen terror. The lone survivor among those teens was Laurie Strode a scowl.
(Jamie Lee Curtis, a newcomer at the time who gave a brazen, career-making perfor- Turns out, Laurie’s prayers are finally
mance), and the scene in which she comes upon her multitude of dead friends, one after answered.
the other, is the stuff that fuels the worst dreams imaginable. Michael, who has spent the last 40
What the original Halloween lacked in subtlety — the teens were being punished for years in silence, living out his life sentence
their hyper-sexual ways, while Laurie, in a plaid skirt and knee-high socks, the only in an asylum under observation, is being
chaste one of the bunch, survives — it made up for in intense, effective scares. transferred on this very Halloween night
Halloween is rated R for violence and opens in theaters everywhere, including AMC’s Uptown Cinema, on Friday, Oct. 19.
Spooktacular
movement, death-defying acrobatics and,
on this occasion, some positively tran-
scendent puppetry. But it is more than
just spectacle. The Tsikurishvilis and
If you give yourself one Halloween treat this year, make it an evening Lortkipanidze bring the richness of a care-
with Synetic’s Sleepy Hollow. By Kate Wingfield fully structured, thoughtfully spun yarn
that captures not just the eye, but the
E
mind. This may be full of mesmerizing
RIE, SOPHISTICATED, PHYSICALLY ASTOUNDING AND QUITE BEAUTIFUL, entertainment, but it is also full of alle-
Sleepy Hollow (HHHHH) is dance-theater at its magical best. Director Paata gory.
Tsikurishvili may have based the production on Washington Irving’s iconic tale As for the cast, there are, without doubt,
of supernatural goings-on in rural Westchester County, but in his hands, it is a flight two star turns here. First and foremost is
of storytelling fancy. This is a Headless Horseman with personality — dark, avenging, the extraordinary Scott S. Turner, who
broken-hearted, and quite magnificent. creates a Headless Horseman of extraor-
It’s not just the Horseman who comes to life here. Tsikurishvili creates a vibrant dinary persona and presence. Turner
village of honest folk, living their joys, fears, and romances as they go about life amid moves with the kind of innate confidence
their gloomy wood — and soon a deadly, supernatural threat. Capturing the potent and masculine grace that turns a guy in a
moods, scenic and lighting designers Phil Charlwood and Brian S. Allard suggest — in homemade mask into a menacingly dark
the words of Irving — that a “drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and spectacular spectral figure. Even more
and to pervade the very atmosphere.” amazingly, without ever showing his face,
As with its Wordless Shakespeare series, the story here is told through dance, mime, Turner works the choreography to give
and the extraordinary live and recorded music of composer Konstantine Lortkipanidze. this complex ghost an impressive array of
This is by far Synetic’s strongest suit, one that avoids the pitfalls of gorgeous movers emotions. He is angry, he is sad, he loves
in need of voice training and the dead air needed to hear them. Here, the driver is his horse, and he is even a little sexy. As
music, the vision and the “voice” those of Paata Tsikurishvili and choreographer Irina the mortal soldier, Turner turns human,
Tsikurishvili. And in keeping with their roots, the ghosts of America’s Revolutionary his gorgeously unconventional good looks
War may haunt these shadows, but so do some stranger mysteries that feel far more convincingly Germanic, exuding all the
European, where Irving was known to have travelled. Indeed, the horseman is a last-ditch bravery, fear and trembling res-
Hessian — one of the German mercenaries enlisted by the British to help quell the ignation of his young man. What great
colonial uprising. theater.
Synetic also always brings their art with a powerful sense of fun, entertainment and Matching him for charisma and adding
a mind-boggling inventiveness. The Synetic team seems able to do it all: classically-in- his prodigious physical skill and expres-
Sleepy Hollow runs to November 4 at Synetic Theater’s Theater at Crystal City, 1800 South Bell Street, VA.
Tickets are $15 to $60. Call 866-811-4111 or visit synetictheater.org.
DJ COREY
Stage
Pyramid Scheme
Moody’s charming performance as the
Nubian Mereb.
The songs, in general, are passably
sung. With the exception of the resound-
Shayla S. Simmons pretty much steals the show as the lead ing Ashley Johnson-Moore as Nubian
in Constellation’s glossy, glitzy Aida. By André Hereford slave Nehebka, the singing rarely strikes
a special chord. Simmons, a powerhouse
B
when enacting the drama of Aida’s cap-
EFORE A NOTE HAS BEEN SUNG IN MICHAEL J. BOBBITT’S BUSTLING tivity and reticent romance, doesn’t offer
new production of Aida at Constellation Theatre, A.J. Guban’s glossy scenery a powerful delivery of the music. Her
has set a ripe tone for the pop-musical tour of ancient Egypt. It’s a great-looking emotions are sure and persuasive, but
set — a neon-lit, three-sided stage evoking a pyramid chamber built inside a ’70s Vegas the songs proceed like beats in the story,
casino. It seems just the right platform for an intimate rendering of Elton John and Tim rather than high-impact moments. The
Rice’s Tony-winning show. few really thrilling musical moments arise
But, despite that initial buzz of visual pizzazz, Aida ( ) gets off to a sleepy out of the chemistry between Simmons
start with two numbers introducing the love story of the Nubian princess Aida and the and Parker on duets like their first act
Egyptian army captain Radames, who captures her in war. Though Aida conceals her ballad “Enchantment Passing Through,”
royal lineage from her captors for her own safety, she cannot hide her unbreakable and later, in the aching “Elaborate Lives.”
spirit. That indomitability resides fully in the confident voice of Shayla S. Simmons, Musical director and bandleader
whose portrayal of the headstrong highness Aida is this production’s most compelling Walter “Bobby” McCoy ably interprets
element. Elton John’s signature banging-pia-
It’s when the princess first speaks, pronouncing her name proudly, that the show no sound, most noticeable in “Elaborate
wakes up. Of course, Radames notices, and, as the lovestruck captain, Jobari Parker- Lives,” and also simmering underneath
Namdar carries off the warrior’s awakening with clarity and subtlety. Moved by Aida’s the gospel realness of “The Gods Love
strength of will, even as she submits to becoming a slave of Egypt, Radames shows her Nubia.” John and Rice’s score, dabbling in
his version of mercy. He saves her from a life toiling in Egypt’s copper mines by gifting different styles — including the reggae-ska
her to his betrothed, the pharaoh’s daughter Amneris, for whom Aida will serve as one of “Another Pyramid,” and the bouncy
of several handmaidens. doo-wop of “My Strongest Suit” — might
Amneris thus becomes the unwitting third face of a love triangle between her fiancé not generate many showstoppers, but the
of nine years, and one of the slaves she bosses around her chambers. As the petulant songs do channel the story fluidly, in con-
Egyptian princess, Chani Wereley captures her naïve but entitled attitude, layered with cert with the show’s uncomplicated book.
a modern, comic appeal. Wereley’s charisma as a performer sells her take on Amneris’ That script adapts the story of Verdi’s
Aida runs until November 18 at Source Theatre, 1835 14th St. NW. Tickets are $25 to $55.
Call 202-204-7741, or visit ConstellationTheatre.org.
Operatic
vincing Violetta in the form of soprano
Venera Gimadieva, very much looking the
part. Offering her without the usual over-
ly mannered fanfare, Gimadieva express-
Expressions
es a woman of warmth, complexity and
personality. With her illness taking hold,
what Gimadieva captures particularly
well is Violetta’s carefully hidden vulnera-
WNO’s La traviata presents Verdi’s classic soberly, subtly, bility — her distrust of the men who have
and with touching clarity. By Kate Wingfield seen her as a diversion and her craving for
a true and enduring love. When the ardent
S
Alfredo Germont makes himself known
UBTLE AND AUSTERE, THE WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA’S CO-PRO- during a soiree and declares that he has
duction (with The Atlanta Opera, among others) of Verdi’s La traviata (HHHHH) loved her from afar, the transformation is
has the mood of a fever on a bleak, autumnal day. There is a dream-like quality, palpable: this is her lifeboat. But as events
the lighting by turns livid and leached with quiet reminders of illness and death appear- with Alfredo unfold, Gimadieva contin-
ing in silent commentary: a scattering of old leaves blown in through an open kitchen ues to capture an even more interesting
door; casino tables wheeled as somberly as hospital beds; windows offering views of nuance — Violetta’s inner battle between
misty funereal days or dark nights. her instinctive independence and the
It’s a messaging that is not only appealingly grim (for those who like their operas demands of a certain strata of 19th cen-
gloomy), but a kind that fits well with Francesca Zambello’s decision to interpret this tury society. It’s a shading that keeps the
oft-staged classic largely in flashback. As fatally consumptive heroine Violetta recalls portrayal away from doe-eyed martyrdom
her one, last chance for true love, she moves from hospital bed to glamorous Parisian and closer to a genuine, grownup pathos.
parties and back again, all colored by her knowledge that death is near. It’s not just a Of course, much is delivered through
newish way to tell the story, it also serves as reminder that we all live with such poten- Gimadieva’s expressive singing, a soprano
tials — that our vigorous lives may suddenly go quiet with illness or death. It’s a theme that, even if it isn’t 100 percent reliable,
that develops even more potently — and poignantly — later, as Violetta realizes in a can deliver some spine-tingling beauty
near-final aria that even greatest love cannot save us or those we love. and power. If she sings a tad too languor-
If the overarching mood and themes are a powerful match with Verdi’s enduringly ously for the requirements of the first
haunting score, not everything else works quite as well. act (though it almost works as a means
But first, more of the good news. Carrying much of the evening is a genuinely con- to show her independence of spirit), she
La traviata runs to October 21 at the Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets are $25 to $300.
Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.
DJ ADAM KOUSSARI-AMIN
Top 10 Britney Songs
GIMME MORE
Paul Oakenfold Remix
Blackout (2007)
“Schools nationwide are hostile environments for a distressing number of LGBTQ students...as a result,
many LGBTQ students avoid school activities or
miss school entirely.”
— GLSEN, the nation’s leading education organization focused on making schools safe for LGBTQ students, in its annual National
School Climate Survey. The organization noted that progress on LGBTQ rights and safety is slowing for the first time in years, and
an “overwhelming majority” of LGBTQ students “ routinely hear anti-LGBTQ language and experience
victimization and discrimination at school.”
— A coalition of more than 100 organizations and businesses, in an advert supporting the United Kingdom’s transgender commu-
nity. The ad, supported by Absolut, Amnesty International, IBM, Procter & Gamble, Vice, and others, was published in the coun-
try’s Metro newspaper in response to an advert from Fair Play For Women that promoted transphobia by questioning whether
“someone with a penis is a woman” and calling trans women “male-bodied people.”
— Grand Mufti Sheikh TAJ EL-DIN HILALY, an Australian Muslim cleric, telling The Australian newspaper that gay people have a
mental illness. He spoke in response to a debate about whether religious schools should be allowed to reject gay teachers, and
said that gay people “are afflicted with abnormal practices that contradict nature” and should not
“impose their lifestyle on the rest of society.”