CONTENTS

OCTOBER 25, 2018 Volume 25 Issue 25

21 A GUIDE TO THE
LOCAL ELECTIONS
The DMV region has several LGBTQ candidates
seeking office this November, part of a nationwide
“Rainbow Wave.”

28
By John Riley

OUTSPOKEN
Whether it’s on quitting Roseanne, Louis C.K.,
or boycotting the NFL, Wanda Sykes
has an opinion on just about everything.

Interview by André Hereford

35 FORGE AHEAD
Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant star as a
devious pair of con artists in the entertaining
Can You Ever Forgive Me?

By André Hereford

SPOTLIGHT: JOHNNY ENGLISH STRIKES AGAIN p.9

MATCH POINTE: THE WASHINGTON BALLET p.14 QUEER LIBERATION: SKETCHTASY p.16
THE FEED: AN LGBTQ ELECTION GUIDE p.21 COMMUNITY: ONE-STOP HEALTHCARE p.25
COVER STORY: WANDA SYKES p.28 FILM: CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? p.35
FILM: STUDIO 54 p.36 NIGHTLIFE p.37 SCENE: GMCW’S ROPEBURN p.37 LISTINGS p.37
PLAYLIST: DJ STEVE HENDERSON p.39 NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS: HALLOWEEK HAPPENINGS 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 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Spotlight
Johnny English Strikes Again
J
OHNNY ENGLISH, ONE OF CINEMA’S MOST
bungling secret agents, was borne from a credit
card advertisement. “I did some commercials for
Barclaycard in the early ’90s,” says Rowan Atkinson, the
British comic who devised the role, “and we had a conceit
where there was a British secret agent...who was just a
very smug, self-satisfied, self-serving man who thought he
was a brilliant agent. He wasn’t. He fell short in a number
of areas. The jokes were always about the degree to which
he falls short.”
Atkinson, who had already seen tremendous interna-
tional success with the id-driven Mr. Bean, ushered Johnny
English to the big screen in 2003. A sequel, Johnny English
Reborn, was released some eight years later. The latest,
Johnny English Strikes Again, hits theaters this weekend
and finds the hilariously arrogant, self-serving superspy
trying to foil a plot for world domination via the internet.
Much of the new movie’s comedy springs from sequenc-
es that revel in absurdity, such as a chase involving English
stuck in a suit of ridiculously heavy armor. “When you’re
writing a comedy movie,” says the 63-year-old comic,
Johnny English Strikes Again is Rated PG and opens Friday, Oct. 26, in theatres nationwide. Visit Fandango.com.
“you’re always trying to find the conceit that exposes the
joke of some kind. Generally speaking, it’s quite difficult to
make action sequences funny unless you root it in a conceit
from the very beginning. You can’t just make it ridiculously
actiony. It’s much better to have a character-based attitude
which you can exploit for the comedy.”
A gifted physical comic, Atkinson notes that Jacques
Tati, the legendary French filmmaker, whose masterpiece
Playtime is at the Hill Center this weekend (see page 10),
had a direct influence on him. “I love Tati’s ability just to
let it play, as they say,” he says. “I love that slow developing
comedy.”
He continues, “What makes me laugh is characters. The
simpler and the more ordinary the situation, the more I
enjoy them.... If you can see what happens next, sometimes
that’s a very good thing. Sometimes the jokes can work very
well when they don’t surprise you, when you can hear the
calvary trundling toward the horizon before they appear.
When they do appear, it’s as joyful as if it was a surprise.
That’s because you can predict how human beings are if
you’ve lived on the planet long enough.” —Randy Shulman
OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 9
 Spotlight
PLAYTIME
Philip Kennicott, the Pulitzer Prize-winning
Washington Post art and architecture critic, presents a
Sunday cinema series in which the built environment
is the star. The three-film Reel Architecture series at
the Hill Center continues with the fanciful 1967 French
film from comic genius Jacques Tati, whose trench-
coat-wearing persona, Mr. Hulot, never utters a word.
Tati constructed his own “city” within Paris, complete
with a power plant, something that kept him in debt
for years. The ability to watch this remarkable comedy
on the big screen is rare and should not be missed.
Sunday, Oct. 28, Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania
Ave. SE. Free, but registration required due to limited
space. Call 202-549-4172 or visit HillCenterDC.org.

JOSÉ ANDRÉS:
WE FED AN ISLAND
BOOK SIGNING,
DISCUSSION
In his latest book, the star D.C. chef/restau-
rateur documents how he, his team, and a
group of chefs fed hundreds of thousands
of starving, homeless people in Hurricane
Maria-ravaged Puerto Rico. Andrés offers
another local discussion and book sign-
ing, this time a full-store event at the
new Busboys & Poets across the street
from the original Mount Vernon Triangle area
location. Books will be available for purchase as
will a food and drink from the venue’s full menu.
Tuesday, Oct. 30, at 6 p.m. 450 K St. NW. Call
202-789-2227 or visit busboysandpoets.com.

RYAN FORBES

MARIA BAMFORD
An incredibly funny lady whose specialty is self-deprecat-
ing humor about the serious personal issues of depression
and anxiety, Bamford was the star of the unfortunate-
ly cancelled Netflix series Lady Dynamite, which was
loosely based on her life. Bamford headlines a special
stand-up show at Frederick’s Weinberg Center for the
Arts with comedians from the area performing for the
Safe Ride Foundation, working to fight drunk driving in
Maryland’s Frederick County. Saturday, Oct. 27, at 8 p.m.,
with a pre-show party featuring refreshments, tastings,
NATALIE BRASINGTON

and giveaways, at 7 p.m. Weinberg Center for the Arts, 20

W. Patrick St. Frederick, Md. Tickets are $$39 to $59. Call
301-600-2828 or visit weinbergcenter.org.

10 OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Spotlight

ILLYRIA, OR WHAT YOU WILL

The freedom to be who you truly are and love
whomever you want is the focus of this fresh
adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth
Night by Jonelle Walker and Mitchell Hébert.
Illyria is set in an anything goes Manhattan dive
bar in the post-disco early ’80s. The cast includes
Frank Britton, Katie Gallagher, Jenna Rossman,
C. STANLEY PHOTOGRAPHY.

and Christopher Henley. At Avant Bard, Gunston

Theater Two, 2700 South Lang St. Arlington, to
Nov. 18. Tickets are $40. Call 703-418-4808 or
visit avantbard.org.

17TH STREET HIGH HEEL RACE

What started just for fun and a little neighborhood bonding
three decades ago by a couple of JR.’s employees has now
become one of the city’s most popular annual events — and
as of this year, has even been co-opted by the city as an
official “Mayor Muriel Bowser presents” affair. Spectators
start assembling in the blocks between Cobalt and JR.’s,
or R Street to P Street, as early as the late afternoon, so
get there early and stake out a spot if you want to see the
high-heeled sprinters and the pre-race “parade.” The 32nd
Annual event, set for Tuesday, Oct. 30, begins with the
“Parade” at 7 p.m. The race starts promptly at 9 p.m. Visit
facebook.com/17thStreetHighHeelRace.

TODD FRANSON

KANDACE SPRINGS
A Nashville-based jazz/soul artist with a smoky voice and
expressive mastery on the piano tours in support of Indigo,
Springs was guided in making her new album with a ques-
tion connecting past to present: “What would Nina Simone
do if she had the technology of today?” The result? Songs
mixing classical composition with quiet-storm R&B, lilt-
ing jazz with earthen grooves, and a kind of neo-soul that
deserves wider attention and acclaim. Tuesday, Oct. 30, at
7:30 p.m. The Hamilton, 600 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20
to $35. Call 202-787-1000 or visit thehamiltondc.com.

OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 11

 Out On The Town

DANA TAI SOON BURGESS COMPANY: SILHOUETTES

The Smithsonian’s first choreographer-in-residence at the National Portrait Gallery through 2022, Dana Tai Soon Burgess
presents a new work inspired by the special exhibition Black Out: Silhouettes Then and Now — the first major museum exhi-
bition to explore the art form of cut-paper profiles in terms of their historical roots and contemporary presence. Silhouettes
examines the light and dark aspects of the self through a suite of seven dances, each inspired by a silhouette from the
exhibition. The emotionally poignant, 30-minute work features eight dancers from Burgess’ company plus video work by
designer Kelly Colburn. Saturday, Oct. 27, and Tuesday, Oct. 30, at 6:30 p.m., with post-performance discussions between
Burgess and exhibition curator Asma Naeem on Oct. 27 and museum director Kim Sajet on Oct. 30. McEvoy Auditorium,
8th and F Streets. NW. Call 202-633-8300 or visit npg.si.edu.

Compiled by Doug Rule
HALLOWEEN 2018
ALL CHEERLEADERS DIE
Caitlin Stasey stars as a cheerlead-
er fighting against the supernatural
in a 2013 horror comedy written
and directed by Lucky McKee and
Chris Sivertson for Modernciné.
Five years after its premiere at
the Toronto International Film
Festival, All Cheerleaders Die is
screened in D.C. at the Halloween
Edition of Queer Girls Movie Night,
the free, inclusive event offered at
the Black Cat. Tuesday, Oct. 30.
Doors at 7 p.m. Mainstage, 1811 14th
St. NW. Free. Call 202-667-4490 or
visit blackcatdc.com.
BACK TO THE ’90S: THE
ULTIMATE ’90S HALLOWEEN
Jammin Java offers a Halloween
costume party and contest all
soundtracked with music from the
1990s as played by a DJ plus live
performances by four cover bands
tributing 311 (Evolution), Incubus
(Enjoy Incubus), Red Hot Chili
Peppers (The Good Time Boys),
and Cake (Cupcake). Also featur-
ing decade-centric trivia and raffle
prizes. Friday, Oct. 26. Doors at 7
p.m. 227 Maple Ave. E., Vienna.
Tickets are $15. Call 703-255-3747
or visit jamminjava.com.
CONGRESSIONAL CEMETERY:
SOUL STROLLS
J. Edgar Hoover, buried alongside
his “deputy” Clyde Tolson, sure-
ly rests as the most sinister of all
67,000 permanent residents at this
35-acre historic graveyard. It’s an
eerie proposition any time of year,
taking a nighttime stroll past the
graves of Hoover and Tolson, for-
mer Presidents John Quincy Adams
and Zachary Taylor, composer John
Philip Sousa, and the many Civil
War-era Congressional leaders
interred here. The nonprofit-run,
Christ Church-owned landmark
offers guided, hour-long tours with
docents and costumed interpreters.
Beer, wine, and cider are available
for purchase in the Chapel. But
note: if you want to go, you’ll need
to arrive early in hopes of snag-
ging “limited number” same-night,
on-site tickets offered on a first-
come, first-served basis; advanced
tickets are sold out online. Tours
depart every 15 minutes from 7 to
10 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 26, and from
6 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27.
1801 E St. SE. Tickets are $30. Call
202-543-0539 or visit congressio-
nalcemetery.org.
FRANKENSTEIN, HALLOWEEN,
NOSFERATU
The AFI Silver Theatre offers an
annual week-long “Halloween on
Screen” series. Highlights including
Frankenstein (1931), free screenings
with live musical accompaniment
by the U.S. Navy Band, Friday,
Oct. 26, at 8:30 p.m., and Saturday,
Oct. 27, at 2 p.m.; John Carpenter’s
Halloween (1978), which ushered
in a golden age of American slasher
cinema and screens in a 40th anni-
versary presentation that includes
Count Gore De Vol, Saturday, Oct.
27, at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday,
Oct. 31, 6:30 p.m.; and Nosferatu: A
Symphony of Horror (1922), German
silent film master F. W. Murnau’s
appropriation of Bram Stoker’s
Dracula that set the standard for
all vampire flicks to come, present-
ed with live accompaniment by the
Silent Orchestra, Saturday, Oct. 27,
at 5:30 and 10:30 p.m., and Sunday,
Oct. 28, at 6:30 p.m. AFI Silver,
8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring.
Tickets are $13 general admission,
or $10 for matinee screenings.
Call 301-495-6720 or visit afi.com/
Silver.
MURDER MYSTERY COMEDY
SHOW: HALLOWEEN WHODUNIT
Another comedy-focused
Halloween event, this one from Die
Laughing Productions in which the
audience is asked to solve a murder.
The setup: Shooting for the horror
flick The Friday the 13th After Next
turns deadly, and the set becomes
a crime scene. The likely suspects
are the featured performers, includ-
ing Rob Maher, Sean Gabbert,
and Tommy Sinbazo — and per-
haps an audience member or two.
Wednesday, Oct. 31, at 7:30 p.m.
DC Improv, 1140 Connecticut Ave.
NW. Tickets are $19, plus a two-
item minimum. Call 202-296-7008
or visit dcimprov.com.
POE IN THE VAULT
Every year actors from Guillotine
Theatre, formerly known as the
Georgetown Theatre Company,

12 OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 gather to “communicate with the
spirits and read a witches’ brew
of poems and short stories,” all by
“America’s 19th Century Master of
Horror.” This year’s Tales of Mystery
and Imagination selections, present-
ed in a cemetery vault in Alexandria,
are centered around a theme high-
lighting Edgar Allan Poe’s incredi-
ble bad luck with women, including
Ligeia, Berenice, Eleonora, Annabel
Lee, and The Raven. Saturday, Oct.
27, and Sunday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. The
Receiving Vault, Ivy Hill Cemetery,
2823 King St. Alexandria. Requested
donation of $10. Call 703-549-7413
x1112 or visit georgetowntheatre.org.

RAVEN’S NIGHT:
MEMENTO MORI
DEAN ALEXANDER

Local married couple Belladonna

and drag king extraordinaire Ken
Vegas co-produce a wide-ranging
show, rooted in Bella’s primary
Duets work as a “tribal fusion bellydance”
performer and teacher, as well
as her background as a medieval

MATCH POINTE
reenactor. In many ways, Raven’s
Night, which doubles as a masquer-
ade ball, is the sort of event you’re
only going to experience around
this time of year — not least for
Julie Kent and Victor Barbee move forward with their mission its name, an homage to Baltimore’s
of expanding the Washington Ballet. master of macabre, Edgar Allan Poe.

C
Bella hosts the 7th Annual cabaret,
ONTEMPORARY MASTERS IS AN EVENING OF THREE AMERICAN MODERN DANCE concert, and carnival event with a
Day of the Dead-esque theme about
geniuses: Mark Morris, Merce Cunningham, and Paul Taylor,” says the Washington Ballet’s Julie celebrating and affirming life — “as
Kent. “These three dance innovators really changed the trajectory of 20th-century dance, [and] death is a reminder to seize the
we’re really excited to introduce this choreography to our company and to our audiences.” day.” Saturday, Nov. 3, starting at
Until now, the company had never presented any work by Cunningham, a towering figure in 5 p.m. with an alt-World’s Fair-
style exposition and sideshow,
modern dance, or by Taylor (only Morris’ Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes had previously been including Tarot readings, magic,
performed), in large part because modern dance and ballet are two very different fields of movement. and belly dancing, followed by a
“These three men are all modern dance choreographers,” Kent says. “The bulk of their work is dinner concert at 6:30 p.m., and the
Cabaret Melancholia at 7:30 p.m.
not really accessible to ballet dancers.” Still, she points out that the works in this program “can be The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon
realized with authenticity and with correct style and dynamics by artists that are classically trained.” Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $25.
Victor Barbee, the ballet’s associate artistic director and also Kent’s husband, further notes Call 703-549-7500 or visit raven-
that each choreographer’s individual style shines through, no matter how traditionally unballetic snight.com.
it may be. SMITHSONIAN HALLOWEEN
“In Cunningham’s piece, Duets, the dancers are barefoot, which is a standard modern dance FILM FESTIVAL
company idiom. [Morris’s piece] is done in pointe shoes, which is obviously very specific to ballet. The Smithsonian’s National
Museum of American History
And Paul Taylor’s Company B is in soft dance shoes — a soft shoe with a heel on it that looks a bit plays host to screenings of an
more like a shoe that a normal person would wear walking down the street. You have three quite eclectic mix of Halloween classics
distinct representations.” and cult favorites the last week-
He adds that all three of the ballets “are great masterpieces,” while cautioning against referring end of October. The festival kicks
off Thursday, Oct. 25, with Bette
to them as ultimate representations. “It would be difficult, for instance, to say which is the best Midler in Hocus Pocus at 6:30 p.m.,
painting that Monet or van Gogh did. [These dances] are just among a number of great works that followed by Practical Magic at 8:15
these choreographers did.” p.m. The next evening, Friday, Oct.
26, brings 28 Days Later at 6 p.m.
Barbee makes another analogy to fine art to drive home the point of the program. “Rather than and Shaun of the Dead at 8:05 p.m.
having to go to the Hermitage in St. Petersburg to see [a masterpiece], occasionally they take the Saturday, Oct. 27, sees The Mummy
work on tour” — by partnering with other museums around the world for greater exposure and (1932) at 2 p.m., Frankenstein (1931)
appreciation. “It’s similar with ballets like this,” he says. “You want Washington, D.C. audiences at 3:30 p.m., and Dracula (1931) at
5:45 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28, brings
[to have] the chance to see these great ballets.” out the frighteningly funny flicks,
Kent and Barbee — both former celebrated principal dancers at New York’s American Ballet with Young Frankenstein (1974) at
Theater, where they worked together for three decades — are relishing their move to D.C. and 2 p.m., Beetlejuice at 4 p.m., and
The Addams Family at 5:45 p.m.
the Washington Ballet. “Washington is a great city, and we think a great city needs a great bal- All screenings in the Warner Bros.
let company,” Barbee says. “A ballet company the nation’s capital can be proud of: That’s a very Theater, 1300 Constitution Ave.
worthwhile and fulfilling goal.” — Doug Rule NW. Tickets are $10 each or $50 for
a festival pass. Call 202-633-1000 or
visit si.edu.
Contemporary Masters premieres Wednesday, Oct. 31, and runs to Nov. 4, at Harman Hall, 610 F
St. NW. Tickets are $25 to $125. Call 202-547-1122 or visit washingtonballet.org.

14 OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 THE EXORCIST:
EXTENDED DIRECTOR’S CUT
At the time, William Friedkin’s film
blew the socks off all other horror
films, providing a relentless, shock-
ing account of a young girl who
is possessed by demons and must
be exorcised. It was the first of its
kind and it still remains one of the
most horrific and intense, thanks
to Friedkin’s masterful direction
and a stunning performances by
Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow,
and Linda Blair. Part of the Capital
Classics series at Landmark’s West
End Cinema. Wednesday, Oct. 31,
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 landmarkthe-
atres.com.

STAGE
JESSE MANN

ANASTASIA
From the Tony-winning creators
of Ragtime comes a dazzling musi-

QUEER LIBERATION
cal taking audiences on a journey
from the twilight of the Russian
Empire to the euphoria of Paris in
the 1920s. Darko Tresnjak directs
Sketchtasy author Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore shares her views the touring production of this show
from the composer/lyricist team of
on what radical queer politics look like. Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens

I
with a book by Terrence McNally.
Performances start Tuesday, Oct.
N GAY AND QUEER POLITICS, THERE’S ALWAYS A TENSION BETWEEN THE 30. Runs to Nov. 25. Kennedy
liberationist politic and the assimilationist one,” says Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore. “In Center Opera House. Tickets are
a liberationist one, it says, ‘We want to end traditional institutions of oppression.’ End $49 to $175. Call 202-467-4600 or
the church, end the state, end police control over queer bodies and lives. The assimilationist visit kennedy-center.org.
trajectory says, ‘Actually, we want to be a part of that.’ The 1990s mark the moment when that BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY
assimilationist ideology triumphed, and so all marginalized queer lives were pushed to the GALA Theatre’s GALita Young
side, pushed under the table. Audiences series presents the
world premiere of a bilingual play
“Military inclusion, marriage, and hate crimes legislation are all intensely conservative for children based on the life of
issues and they’re the only things the mainstream gay movement cares about,” Sycamore, an Mexican-American botanist Ynés
author and activist, adds. “Sure, they throw tokens here and there. They might have a benefit Mexia. Written by Cecilia Cackley
for whatever nonprofit is allegedly helping marginalized queers, but they’re not actually going and directed by Elena Velasco,
Entre la tierra y el cielo follows a
to change the power structure.” curious girl as she explores the
It’s that conflict between assimilation and liberation that the 2014 Lambda Literary magical world of plants and stars,
Award-winner explores in her third novel Sketchtasy ($17.95, arsenalpulp.com). The book and breaks with family and societal
expectations. Closes Saturday, Oct.
follows protagonist Alexa as she and her young adult friends navigate their way through 27. GALA Theatre at Tivoli Square,
the drug-fueled underground club culture of mid-1990s Boston. For Sycamore, who lived in 3333 14th St. NW. Tickets are $10
Boston during that time, writing the novel brought back the trauma of struggling to live in a to $12. Call 202-234-7174 or visit
society rife with racism, misogyny, internalized homophobia, and transphobia — all while the galatheatre.org.
scourge of the AIDS epidemic posed its own threat to queer people’s lives. BLUEBERRIES FOR SAL
“The world that appeals to Alexa the most is the pageantry of late-night gay club culture,” she Adventure Theatre presents a
says. “In a way, Alexa is trying to actualize the potential of radical queer politics in a world that world-premiere adaptation of the
classic book by Robert McCloskey,
is not in any way radical, except in that possibility of living outside of the conventional world.” in recognition of its 70th anniversa-
Sycamore, who stops at Politics & Prose Union Market on Oct. 28, says true radical queer pol- ry of publication. A co-commission
itics eschews adherence to societal norms and allegiance to institutions as ways of getting ahead. with New York City’s Children’s
“We have to create our own alternative,” she says. “We also have to go back to talking Theatre, the work was written
by Sandra Eskin and Adventure’s
about basic needs: housing, health care, the right to stay in this country or leave if you want Michael J. Bobbitt and features
to, a sex life that matters, food on the table, comprehensive sex education for everyone. These music and lyrics by William Yanesh.
are the things that actual queer politics should be essentially about. Radical queer movements Directed by Jess Jung. Extended to
Oct. 28. Adventure Theatre MTC,
are connected with causes like prison abolition, anti-capitalist organizing, decriminalization 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo.
of sex work, abolishing ICE. These are the things we need to be talking about from a queer Tickets are $20. Call 301-634-2270
perspective, because these are the things that matter to most people.” —John Riley or visit adventuretheatre-mtc.org.

HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE

Mattilda Berstein Sycamore will appear at D.C.’s Politics & Prose Union Market, An astonishing chronicle of one
1270 5th St. NE, on Sunday, Oct. 28 at 5 p.m. Visit politics-prose.com. woman’s journey to break the cycle

16 OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 of sexual abuse by Baltimore-native
Paula Vogel. The great Helen Hayes
Award-winning actress Alyssa
Wilmoth Keegan (Cat on a Hot Tin
Roof) plays the adult survivor Li’l
Bit, whose “education” at the hands
of her Uncle Peck (Peter O’Connor)
began when she was a mere eleven.
The cast is rounded out by Daven
Ralston, Emily Townley, and Craig
Wallace. To Nov. 4. 4545 East-West
Highway, Bethesda. Tickets are $50
to $60. Call 240-644-1100 or visit
roundhousetheatre.org.
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
The quirky, enduring, cult-favorite
musical by Howard Ashman and
Alan Menken is the latest to get
a semi-staged production as part
of the Kennedy Center’s astound-
ing Broadway Center Stage series.
With Megan Hilty as Audrey,
Josh Radnor as Seymour, James
Monroe Iglehart as the man-eating
plant Audrey II, and Amber Iman,
Amma Osei, and Allison Semmes as
the show’s indelible greek chorus.
Directed by Mark Brokaw. To Oct.
28. Eisenhower Theater. Tickets
are $89 to $215. Call 202-467-4600
or visit kennedy-center.org.
LONG WAY DOWN
A stage adaptation of D.C.-area
native Jason Reynolds’ best-sell-
ing book, told entirely in free-form
poetry, about a teenage boy’s desire
to avenge the shooting of his broth-
er. A world premiere Kennedy
Center commission, adapted by
Martine Kei Green-Rogers, directed
by Timothy Douglas, and starring
Justin Weaks. Intended for audi-
ences age 12 and up. Performances
begin Saturday, Oct. 27. Weekends
to Nov. 4. Kennedy Center Family
Theater. Tickets are $25 to $35.
Call 202-467-4600 or visit kenne-
dy-center.org.
SLEEPY HOLLOW
HHHHH
Erie, sophisticated, physically
astounding, and quite beautiful,
Synetic Theater’s Sleepy Hollow is
dance-theater at its magical best.
Director Paata Tsikurishvili may
have based the production on
Washington Irving’s iconic tale
of supernatural goings-on in rural
Westchester County, but in his
hands, it is a flight of storytelling
fancy. As with Synetic’s Wordless
Shakespeare series, the story here
is told through dance, mime, and
the extraordinary live and record-
ed music of composer Konstantine
Lortkipanidze. Here, the driver is
music, the vision and the “voice”
those of Paata Tsikurishvili and
choreographer Irina Tsikurishvili.
And in keeping with their roots, the
ghosts of America’s Revolutionary
War may haunt these shadows,
but so do some stranger myster-
ies that feel far more European,
where Irving was known to have
travelled. The Synetic team seems
able to do it all: classically inspired
18 OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
dance, extraordinarily expressive
movement, death-defying acro-
batics and, on this occasion, some
positively transcendent puppetry.
There is just nowhere else in this
town for such otherworldly enter-
tainment. So gather your friends,
enjoy the Georgian wine, and let
Synetic tell you a Halloween tale.
To November 4. Theater at Crystal
City, 1800 South Bell St., Arlington.
Tickets are $15 to $60. Call 866-
811-4111 or visit synetictheater.org.
(Kate Wingfield)
THE AGITATORS
A look at the 45-year friendship
and occasional rivalry between
two great, rebellious, and flawed
American icons: Susan B. Anthony
and Frederick Douglass. KenYatta
Rogers directs Marni Penning as
the pioneering women’s suffragist
and Ro Boddie as the famed ora-
tor and abolitionist in Mat Smart’s
play that shows how the two met
as young activists in the 1840s and
went on to help shape the course
of American history. Produced by
Mosaic Theatre. Previews begin
Thursday, Oct. 25. Runs to Nov.
24. Lang Theatre in the Atlas
Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St.
NE. Tickets are $50 to $65. Call
202-399-7993 or visit atlasarts.org.
MUSIC
BALLYHOO!
An easy-to-love reggae/ska-
steeped alt-rock band from
Baltimore comes to D.C. to head-
line a Halloween-themed concert.
To enhance the cool party vibe,
Ballyhoo! has enlisted fellow reg-
gae-inspired Maryland-based bands
Higher Education and Edjacated
Phools as special guests. Friday,
Oct. 26. Doors at 7 p.m. Union Stage,
740 Water St. SW. Tickets are $20
to $35. Call 877-987-6487 or visit
unionstage.com.
ELLE KING
As an 11-year-old, Elle King made
her acting debut in father Rob
Schneider’s movie Deuce Bigalow:
Male Gigolo. But King’s career as
an adult has taken a much different
track, as a hard-living blues-fired
rockstar. Nearly four years after
King’s debut album Love Stuff, fea-
turing the unforgettable 2015 hit
“Ex’s & Oh’s,” the 29-year-old bares
her soul on new set Shake The Spirit,
coming clean about the mental
health and substance abuse issues
she’s struggled with in the face of
her musical fame in recent years.
Friday, Nov. 2. Doors at 6:30 p.m.
Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW.
Tickets are $30. Call 202-888-0050
or visit thelincolndc.com.
GEORGE CLINTON &
PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC
Earlier this year, R&B revolution-
ary George Clinton announced
plans to retire from the business
in 2019. But not until the 77-year-
old completes a tour with his funk/
soul group as part of an ongoing
effort to ensure the post-retirement
continuation of his P-Funk collec-
tive, which includes friends as well
as offspring of Clinton’s and other
original members of Parliament and
Funkadelic. Clinton and compa-
ny tour in support of Parliament’s
first new recording in 38 years,
Medicaid Fraud Dogg. Although it
almost assuredly won’t be the daz-
zling, extravagant live show that the
ensemble once made its stock-in-
trade, the upcoming stop in D.C. on
Halloween night should be enough
of a spectacle to make you momen-
tarily forget about the spooky she-
nanigans outside. Wednesday, Oct.
31, at 8 p.m. The Howard Theatre,
620 T St. NW. Tickets are $55 to
$95, plus $10 minimum per person
for all tables. Call 202-588-5595 or
visit thehowardtheatre.com.
IN DREAMS:
ROY ORBISON IN CONCERT:
THE HOLOGRAM TOUR
The Theater at MGM National
Harbor presents this concert at
which the star attraction is a vir-
tual-reality facsimile of the sing-
er-songwriter who died 30 years
ago this year. When the world’s first
major holographic tour touched
down in London last spring, The
Telegraph critic called the show
“kind of creepy,” adding that it’s
a “discombobulating hi-tech show
[with] awe and amusement mixing
nostalgic pleasure and incredulous
unease.” In other words, consider
it only for the die-hard fans who’ve
been yearning for decades to see
recorded versions of Orbison’s hits
— “Only The Lonely,” “Crying,”
“You Got It” — performed the the
man from beyond the grave. Let’s
hope this doesn’t become a thing.
Monday, Oct. 29, at 8 p.m. 7100
Harborview Ave., Oxon Hill, Md.
Tickets are $45 to $58 plus fees. Call
844-346-4664 or visit mgmnation-
alharbor.com.
LAURA OSNES & SANTINO
FONTANA
Nearly two years after the Tony-
nominated leads of Rodgers and
Hammerstein’s Cinderella were
featured in a National Symphony
Pops concert, the duo returns to the
Kennedy Center for another evening
of musical “pairings,” breathing life
into beloved Broadway standards.
And this time out, Osnes (Grease:
You’re The One That I Want) and
Fontana (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) will
perform classics by Sondheim as
well as newer tunes by Pasek & Paul
in a cabaret that reteams them with
Cinderella’s music director Andy
Einhorn, who will accompany them
on piano. Friday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m.
Terrace Gallery. Tickets are $75 to
$149. Call 202-467-4600 or visit
kennedy-center.org.
LUCY KAPLANSKY
Touted by the Boston Globe as the
“troubadour laureate of modern
city folk,” the New York-based
Kaplansky has collaborated with
Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin, and
Dar Williams, among other con-
temporaries who, for one reason or
another, have had a tad more main-
stream success than she. You might
call her a folkie’s folkie. Kaplansky
drops by Jammin Java as part of
a tour celebrating her first new
album in five years, Everyday Street.
Friday, Nov. 2. Doors at 6 p.m. 227
Maple Ave. E. Vienna. Tickets are
$25. Call 703-255-3747 or visit jam-
minjava.com.
WASHINGTON CONCERT OPERA:
OPERA OUTSIDE
A season that celebrates strong
women and includes a debut
co-production with Wolf Trap
Opera launches this weekend with
the company’s second annual free
concert in Meridian Hill/Malcolm
X Park. In partnership with
Washington Parks & People, the
program includes works from the
upcoming WCO season along with
other favorites performed by tenor
Joshua Blue, a Domingo-Cafritz
Young Artist with Washington
National Opera, and soprano Maria
Valdes, a recent Adler Fellow at San
Francisco Opera, with accompani-
ment from pianist David Hanlon.
Saturday, Oct. 27, at 11 a.m. Near the
Joan of Arc statue on the top field
near Kalorama Rd. between 15th
and 16th Streets NW. Free, with
kids and pets welcome; those who
register in advance are eligible to
win free WCO tickets. Visit concer-
topera.org/outside.
YOUSSOU N’DOUR
A giant of world music, this
Senegalese singer, percussionist,
and humanitarian performs a spe-
cial night in the Kennedy Center’s
grand hall presented as part of Renee
Fleming’s Voices series. Known as
the King of Mbalax, the popular
music of his native land, N’Dour is
known to American audiences from
his featured work on the ’80s albums
Graceland by Paul Simon and So
by Peter Gabriel. Tuesday, Oct. 30,
Concert Hall. Tickets are $29 to $89.
Call 202-467-4600 or visit kenne-
dy-center.org.
DANCE
OMINOUS BY DEREK BROWN
Derek Brown’s high-energy, hip-
hop X-Faction Dance troupe was a
staple at Velvet Nation and Town
Danceboutique. More recently
Brown has been making his mark as
artistic director at Penn Quarter’s
Sax Lounge and as an instructor at
the Joy of Motion Dance Center.
That organization presents a more
formal showcase of Brown’s work
in a one-night-only, immersive per-
formance of Ominous, billed as “a
spectacular dansical of terror, ideal
for the Hallo-weekend.” Saturday,
 tal electronic band M83. Performed
in repertory to Oct. 28. Kennedy
Center Opera House. Tickets are
$29 to $129. Call 202-467-4600 or
visit kennedy-center.org.
VINCENT E. THOMAS DANCE:
WHAT’S GOING ON
Originally co-commissioned by
Dance Place and the National
Performance Network, the full-
length production is a reflection of
the world today as viewed through
the lens of Marvin Gaye’s music —
specifically the 1971 classic about
life, love and social justice that gives
the show its title. A work featur-
ing modern, jazz, and West African
dance from choreographers Vincent
E. Thomas, Ralph Glenmore, and
Sylvia Soumah, Thomas spearhead-
ed and continues to tour it national-
ly and present it regionally. Friday,
RAPHAEL CHATELAIN
Nov. 2, and Saturday, Nov. 3, at 8
p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 4, at 4 p.m.
Joe’s Movement Emporium, 3309
Bunker Hill Road, Mount Rainier,
Md. Tickets are $23 to $28. Call
301-699-1819 or visit joesmove-
ment.org.
JAKE SHEARS COMEDY
During his time with Scissor Sisters, Jake Shears became a
master at packaging a chaotic mix of influences into songs JOEL MCHALE
that were incredibly catchy, usually campy, and often McHale is a native of Washington
state known from his 12 years as
overtly, unapologetically queer. His self-titled solo debut the snarky host of the reality-TV
does draw on a lot of familiar energy and camp. Make no round-up The Soup on E! as well
mistake though: Jake Shears is much more than a Scissor as for playing the vain, sardonic
Sisters redux. Going solo gives Shears more room to draw Jeff Winger in the NBC/Yahoo sit-
com Community. These days, the
on personal themes — including love to his adopted home comic actor can be seen on Netflix
of New Orleans, where he moved after his 2015 split from in the National Lampoon-focused
his long-term partner. Next week, Shears returns to the biopic A Futile and Stupid Gesture
— portraying his former Community
9:30 Club for a Halloween night concert complete with an co-star Chevy Chase, no less — as
Annie-themed costume contest, the winner of which earns well as in the streaming network’s
two tickets to every concert at the club through the remain- horror-comedy series Santa Clarita
der of 2018. Opening for Shears are SSION and DJ Sammy Diet. And don’t miss his turn on
Jo. Wednesday, Oct. 31. Doors at 7 p.m. 9:30 Club, 815 V St.
Comedy Central’s Drunk History
in the new episode “Halloween.”
NW. Tickets are $25. Call 202-265-0930 or visit 930.com. McHale comes to the area for four
(Sean Maunier) nights of stand-up over Halloween
weekend — a neat trick and a sweet
treat. Saturday, Oct. 27, at 7 and
9:30 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 28, 6:30
and 9 p.m. Arlington Cinema N’
Oct. 27, at 8 p.m. Atlas Performing age to the choreographer’s grandfa-
Drafthouse, 2903 Columbia Pike,
Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets ther as set to music by singer-song-
Arlington. Tickets are $35. Call 703-
are $35. Call 202-399-7993 or visit writer Chris Garneau; Christopher
486-2345 or visit arlingtondraft-
atlasarts.org. Wheeldon’s Bound To, a reflection
house.com.
of technology in contemporary soci-
SAN FRANCISCO BALLET: ety set to music by Keaton Henson;
THE BENTZEN BALL
UNBOUND FESTIVAL and David Dawson’s Anima Animus,
COMEDY FESTIVAL
HIGHLIGHTS which draws on German philoso-
Tig Notaro curates the 10th annu-
The renowned San Francisco Ballet pher Carl Jung for an exploration
al four-day affair from Brightest
presents the East Coast premieres into the spaces in between polar-
Young Things, kicking off Thursday,
of works by some of today’s most ized opposites. Program B includes
Oct. 25, with Phoebe Robinson, one
in-demand choreographers, all The Infinite Ocean, Edwaard Liang’s
of the 2 Dope Queens from HBO and
originally performed at the com- exploration of the space between
author of Everything Is Trash, But
pany’s groundbreaking festival life and death set to music by
It’s Okay, who will be on stage at
Unbound, which debuted this past Oliver Davis, Snowblind, Cathy
Bentzen HQ the Lincoln Theatre
spring. Presented in two distinct Marston’s narrative piece based
with Notaro as “special guest.”
programs, the week-long run at the on Edith Wharton’s 1911 novella
Other highlights this year include
Kennedy Center, accompanied by Ethan Frome, and Hurry Up, We’re
Off Book: The Improvised Musical
the Kennedy Center Opera House Dreaming, Justin Peck’s reverie on
podcast featuring Jessica Mckenna
Orchestra, features Program A dreaming set to songs by instrumen-
and Zach Reino accompanied by
consisting of Trey McIntyre’s Your
Scott Passarella, on Friday, Oct. 26,
Flesh Shall Be A Great Poem, an hom-
20 OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
at the Kennedy Center Millennium
Stage; Get Curious with Queer Eye
for the Straight Guy’s Jonathan Van
Ness, who is so popular, he long-
ago sold out all three shows on
Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Lincoln; a
show featuring Hollywood lesbian
comedy couple Cameron Esposito
and Rhea Butcher “& Friends” also
on Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Lincoln;
and Marcia Belsky and Melissa
Stokoski’s Handmaid’s Tale: The
Musical, a parody of the Margaret
Atwood novel and Hulu series, set
in the dystopian near-future of
2028 Brooklyn, on Saturday, Oct.
27, at the Kennedy Center Terrace
Theater. Festival runs to Oct. 28.
Visit brightestyoungthings.com/
bentzen-ball.
THE WIT ROAD SHOW
No two performances are alike
when performed by the Washington
Improv Theater — D.C.’s answer to
those comedy star-making groups
such as Chicago’s Second City and
L.A.’s Groundlings — especially
since they’re spurred on by audi-
ence suggestions. Each show fea-
tures a different mix of the impro-
vised ensembles that comprise
WIT, from on-the-spot musical
creations a la iMusical, to the clever
antics of the all-female-identifying
group Hellcat, Love Onion to Nox!
Also featured in this Fall 2018 WIT
Road Show is You Are Afraid of
the Dark, a debut long-form show
directed by Katie Ozog of WIT
ensemble Madeline presented in
four performances this weekend
and next. The Road Show opens
Thursday, Oct. 25. To Nov. 18.
District of Columbia Arts Center,
2438 18th St. NW. Tickets are $15
to $18. Call 202-462-7833 or visit
witdc.org.
ABOVE & BEYOND
LEDROIT PARK HOUSE
AND GARDEN TOUR
Originally designed as one of the
first suburbs of D.C., LeDroit Park
retains a tranquil character com-
pared to the more urban feel of
its neighboring areas U Street and
Shaw. Featuring majestic, fully
detached Victorian houses along-
side classic row-houses and more
contemporary developments — and
long known as home to African-
American intelligentsia associated
with the neighborhood’s Howard
University — LeDroit Park gets
showcased in this inaugural tour
featuring partial interior access of
eight homes, including two hous-
es designed by noted 19th century
architect James McGill. The tour
serves as a fundraiser for the Civic
Association, which dates to the 19th
century and sponsors beautifica-
tion projects, landscaping, clean-
ups, and other community needs.
Sunday, Oct. 25, from 1 to 5 p.m.
Visit ledroitparkhousetour.org. l
 theFeed
A GUIDE TO THE LOCAL ELECTIONS
The DMV region has several LGBTQ candidates seeking office this November, part of a
nationwide “Rainbow Wave.” By John Riley
C
ONTINUING A TREND THAT’S PLAYED OUT FOR
the last three years, President Trump is dominat-
ing headlines when it comes to political coverage.
Staying true to form, Trump has utilized chest-puffing
antics, coarse insults, and showboating at campaign rallies to
overshadow most of the candidates who will actually appear
on the ballot this November.
Given the actions of the Trump administration over
the past few years, it’s understandable that many in the
LGBTQ community feel under attack. The Jeff Sessions-led
Department of Justice has urged federal courts, including
the Supreme Court, to interpret civil rights laws in a way
that excludes LGBTQ people from protection. President
Trump has nominated — and the Republican-led Senate
has confirmed without objection — several judicial nomi-
nees with significant anti-LGBTQ records. The Trump-led
Department of Defense has tried to push ahead with a ban
on transgender troops from serving in the military.
Most recently, Trump’s Department of Health and
Human Services has sought to effectively erase transgender
people from the federal government. A rumored proposal
would define gender as based on biological sex at birth,
which would prohibit the government from recognizing the
status of people who are intersex, non-binary, or transgender.
In light of these developments, many LGBTQ people
see a Democratic-run Congress — or at the very least, a
Democratic House — as the only effective check on the
Trump administration. The idea of a “Big Blue Wave” of
Democratic victories has received much ink in the nation’s
newspapers.
Due to the rosy prospects for Democrats, record numbers
of liberals and progressives — including many women — are
running for elected office. Part of that flood of Democratic
candidates includes record numbers of LGBTQ candidates,
setting up the possibility of what some have referred to as a
Moulton, Sycamore, and Bussey-Reeder
“rainbow wave” should they emerge victorious on Nov. 6.
“Never before in our 27-year history have we seen so
many viable and qualified LGBTQ leaders standing up to run
for office,” Annise Parker, the former mayor of Houston and
the president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, said in a
statement. “While the Rainbow Wave of LGBTQ candidates
is impressive in numbers, we are also running for more
high-level offices than ever before and for positions where
no openly LGBTQ person has served.”
Among LGBTQ candidates making headlines this cycle
are four gubernatorial candidates: incumbent Oregon Gov.
KATE BROWN, who is bisexual; openly gay U.S. Rep. JARED
POLIS in Colorado; out lesbian LUPE VALDEZ, the former
sheriff of Dallas County seeking the governor’s mansion in
Texas; and out transgender candidate CHRISTINE HALLQUIST
in Vermont. Meanwhile, 30 LGBTQ people are seeking seats
in Congress, including two who are running for the U.S.
Senate: incumbent Sen. TAMMY BALDWIN of Wisconsin, and
U.S. Rep. KYRSTEN SINEMA, running in Arizona.
While much of the focus in this year’s midterms is on
Congress, there are at least 213 LGBTQ individuals running
for statewide or state legislative seats, and 143 running for
local offices like city councils or school boards. In the D.C.
area, at least 17 openly gay candidates are seeking office,
while a number of LGBTQ-friendly candidates are also run-
ning for various offices.Ahead of the midterms, we’ve round-
ed up every candidate and race that any LGBTQ or allied
voter in the DMV region should be aware of. Let’s jump in.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
I
N THE DISTRICT, MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER (D),
a longtime supporter of the LGBTQ community, is
favored to win re-election. She is being challenged by
openly gay Libertarian candidate MARTIN MOULTON, who is
OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 21
 theFeed
hoping to corral most of the anti-Bowser vote — particularly
voters who aren’t affiliated with a major party. Also running
are Dustin “DC” Canter, an independent progressive, and
Ann Wilcox, the Statehood-Green Party nominee.
Democrat ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, the District’s
non-voting delegate in Congress, is seeking re-election
and is favored to win in the heavily Democratic-leaning
District. Challenging her are openly gay Libertarian BRUCE
MAJORS, a candidate for mayor in 2014, Republican Nelson
Rimensnyder, Statehood-Green candidate Natale “Lino”
Stracuzzi, and Independent John Cheeks.
Council Chairman PHIL MENDELSON (D) initially
looked to be running unopposed for re-election, but has
drawn openly gay Libertarian candidate ETHAN BISHOP-
HENCHMAN as an opponent. Bishop-Henchman’s husband,
JOE HENCHMAN, is also running for office this year, chal-
lenging incumbent D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine (D).
Restaurateur and community organizer DIONNE BUSSEY-
REEDER, running as an independent, is seeking one of two
at-large seats on the D.C. Council. District law requires that
one of the at-large seats goes to a non-Democrat, meaning
Bussey-Reeder, who has the backing of Mayor Bowser, will
essentially be pitted against incumbent Elissa Silverman, a
member of the Council’s progressive wing. While there is
no rule that prohibits people from voting for both Bussey-
Reeder and Silverman, the District’s partisan leanings all but
assure incumbent ANITA BONDS (D) the first of the two seats.
Also running are independent Rustin Lewis, Republican
Ralph Chittams, Sr., and Statehood Green Party candidate
David Schwartzman.
In Ward 1, incumbent Councilmember and LGBTQ ally
BRIANNE NADEAU (D) faces a spirited challenge from JAMIE
SYCAMORE, an openly gay sign language interpreter who is
running as an independent.
In Ward 3, incumbent Councilmember MARY CHEH (D),
an LGBTQ ally, is being challenged by independent Petar
Dimtchev. In Ward 5, incumbent Councilmember KENYAN
MCDUFFIE (D), another LGBTQ ally, faces Statehood Green
Party candidate and ANC candidate Joyce “Chestnut”
Robinson-Paul, and independent challengers Amone Banks
and Kathy Henderson, an ANC commissioner and activist
from the city’s Trinidad neighborhood.
In the sprawling Ward 6, which covers Navy Yard,
the Southwest Waterfront, Capitol Hill, and parts of the
Shaw/U Street “gayborhood,” incumbent Councilmember
Charles Allen (D) faces a challenge from MICHAEL BEKESHA,
a pro-LGBTQ candidate who has sought to distance him-
self from the GOP’s stances on social issues by marketing
himself as an “urban Republican,” one focused more on
problem-solving and constituent services than ideological
battles.
A number of out LGBTQ candidates — at least 40 —
are seeking positions as ANC commissioners, nonpartisan
elected officials who deal with zoning, parking, permitting,
and other neighborhood or development-related issues, this
cycle.
JASON ANDREAN, a bank manager and community advo-
cate who is openly gay, is seeking the Ward 1 seat on the
D.C. State Board of Education. He is running against Emily
Gasoi, a former classroom teacher, author, and founder of
the Mission Hill School in Boston, and Callie Kozlak, an
22 OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
education advocate and former field organizer for education
policy at Unidos US, a Latino advocacy organization.
In Ward 4, where a special election has been called for
Dec. 4 instead of Nov. 6 (due to the incumbent board mem-
ber’s failure to submit her resignation by a certain deadline),
RYAN TAURIAINEN, the director of early childhood education
at a charter school, is seeking a seat against Elani Lawrence,
Frazier O’Leary, and Rhonda Henderson, the preferred
choice of Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd.
MARYLAND
M
OST OF MARYLAND’S STATE AND LOCAL
offices serve four-year terms, with every office
up for re-election in midterm years. As such,
Maryland LGBTQ voters will find their ballots chock full of
different races.
On the federal level, two-term U.S. Sen. BEN CARDIN
(D) is expected to cruise to re-election against Republican
TONY CAMPBELL, a former Army chaplain and Towson
University lecturer. Given the highly gerrymandered nature
of the state’s 8 congressional districts, no seats are expected
to change hands between the Republican and Democratic
parties.
In the governor’s race, incumbent LARRY HOGAN (R) is
favored for re-election over Democrat BEN JEALOUS, the
former president of the NAACP. Jealous shocked the polit-
ical world in June by emerging from a crowded nine-can-
didate field to upset establishment Democrats’ preferred
candidate by a 10-point margin. He hopes to replicate that
feat by getting dispirited and apathetic Democratic voters to
turn out in higher numbers.
For LGBTQ voters, Hogan is tolerable — or friendly,
depending on your political leanings. He has signed some
pro-LGBTQ pieces of legislation into law, including a ban
on conversion therapy, and allowed others, such as bills
providing insurance parity for same-sex couples undergo-
ing infertility treatments, or allowing transgender people to
obtain new birth certificates reflecting their correct gender,
to go into effect without his signature. However, some lib-
eral-leaning LGBTQ advocates point out that four years ago,
Hogan opposed a bill that expanded nondiscrimination pro-
tections to members of the transgender community.
While Jealous is largely unknown to most voters, he has
earned praise for backing pro-LGBTQ initiatives and sup-
porting efforts to legalize same-sex marriage during his time
heading the NAACP.
Most of Maryland’s LGBTQ candidates are seeking seats
in the General Assembly or at the county level. In the House
of Delegates, incumbents ANNE KAISER (D-Montgomery Co.),
BONNIE CULLISON (D-Montgomery Co.), LUKE CLIPPINGER
(D-Baltimore City) and MAGGIE MCINTOSH (D-Baltimore
City) are up for re-election. GABRIEL ACEVERO, who is seek-
ing to become the first openly gay Afro-Latino elected to the
lower chamber, will compete for one of three seats repre-
senting District 39 in Upper Montgomery County.
Del. MARY WASHINGTON (D-Baltimore City), who ousted
an incumbent Democrat in the primary, is seeking a promo-
tion to the State Senate. Because she faces no major-party
opposition, she’ll become the chamber’s sole LGBTQ mem-
ber following the November elections, due to Sen. Rich
 theFeed
Madaleno’s (D-Montgomery Co.) decision to run for gover-
nor instead of pursuing re-election.
Three other LGBTQ candidates are seeking election this
fall. In Howard County, BYRON MACFARLANE is running for
Register of Wills. In Frederick, LIZ BARRETT is seeking a seat
on the county school board. And in Montgomery County,
EVAN GLASS is seeking an at-large seat on the County
Council.
VIRGINIA
B
ECAUSE MOST OF VIRGINIA’S STATE AND
local races are held in odd-numbered years, the bulk of
LGBTQ voters’ attention is rightly focused at the fed-
eral level. This year, incumbent Sen. TIM KAINE (D), Hillary
Clinton’s vice presidential pick, is running for re-election
against Corey Stewart, the anti-LGBTQ Chairman of the
Prince William County Board of Supervisors.
Stewart is best known for his inflammatory statements,
his opposition to illegal immigration, and his embrace of
President Trump. He has also garnered press attention
for his support and defense of the Confederate battle flag
(despite being a native Minnesotan), as well as emblems and
statues erected in honor of Confederate soldiers.
In June, Stewart was endorsed by Public Advocate of
the United States, a conservative interest group run by
former Loudoun County Commissioner Eugene Delgaudio
(R-Sterling). Stewart was endorsed after indicating his
opposition to allowing transgender people to use restrooms
matching their identity, expressing support for lawsuits to
overturn the Supreme Court’s decision legalizing marriage
equality, and his support for laws granting religious exemp-
tions to business owners who wish to discriminate against
LGBTQ people.
In the race for the U.S. House, the most high-pro-
file contest is occurring in the Loudoun County-based
10th Congressional District, which stretches from parts of
McLean and Manassas to the Shenandoah Valley. There,
State Sen. JENNIFER WEXTON (D-Sterling), the lead sponsor
of a bill to prevent anti-LGBTQ discrimination in housing,
is challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. BARBARA COMSTOCK,
whose record on LGBTQ rights is mixed. Democrats must
flip Comstock’s district if they are to have any chance of
gaining control of Congress.
Another race to watch this cycle is the 2nd Congressional
District, where U.S. Rep. SCOTT TAYLOR (R), the sponsor of
a housing nondiscrimination bill, faces off against former
Naval officer ELAINE LURIA. In Virginia’s 5th Congressional
District, investigative journalist LESLIE COCKBURN (D) faces
distiller Denver Riggleman (R) for an open seat. In Virginia’s
7th Congressional District, former CIA officer ABIGAIL
SPANBERGER, a Democrat, is challenging DAVE BRAT (R), a
former college professor and Tea Party activist best known
for his primary defeat of former House Majority Leader Eric
Cantor. National Democrats see all three as possible pickup
opportunities in their quest for control of Congress.
Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 6. Be sure to get out and vote! l
OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 23
 Community
THURSDAY, Oct. 25
The DC ANTI-VIOLENCE
PROJECT, a group dedicated
to combating anti-LGBT hate
crimes, holds its monthly meet-
ing at The DC Center. 7-8:30
p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite
105. For more information, visit
thedccenter.org.

The DC Center holds a monthly

meeting of its COMING OUT
DISCUSSION GROUP on the
fourth Thursday of each month
for those navigating issues
associated with coming out and
personal identity. 7-8:30 p.m.
2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105.
For more information, visit
thedccenter.org.

The National LGBTQ Task

Force Action Fund is seeking
volunteers for its LGBTQ
ADVOCATES FOR SECOND
AHF

CHANCES PHONE BANK

Cox-Iyamu to engage LGBTQ voters in
Florida and educate them on

ONE-STOP HEALTHCARE
Amendment 4 and its impor-
tance to our communities.
Bring a phone and laptop. 4
p.m.-8 p.m. 1325 Massachusetts
Ave. NW, 6th floor. For more
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation wants to break the stigma of HIV, information, contact Victoria
and its wellness centers are at the forefront of that fight. Kim, vkim@thetaskforce.org.

S
Weekly Events
TIGMA IS STILL A BIG CONCERN AROUND HIV,” SAYS MICHEL MCVICKER-
Weaver, the D.C.-Maryland regional director for AIDS Healthcare Foundation. ANDROMEDA
“There’s also a lack of information around the effectiveness of treatment. A lot TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH
offers free HIV testing and HIV
of people feel it’s a hopeless diagnosis, so it’s not something they necessarily want to services (by appointment). 9
test for.” a.m.-5 p.m. Decatur Center,
AHF is working hard to combat that stigma, through a series of outreach efforts 1400 Decatur St. NW. To
arrange an appointment, call
designed to get as many people as possible tested and — if necessary — on treatment. 202-291-4707, or visit androm-
“There are individuals who are very involved in the community, who are aware of HIV, edatransculturalhealth.org.
know how testing works, and get tested regularly as part of their wellbeing,” says Dr.
Roxanne Cox-Iyamu, medical director at AHF’s Blair Underwood Wellness Center on K DC AQUATICS CLUB practice
session at Takoma Aquatic
Street. “But there are other people who it’s much tougher to get into care, which is why Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 300 Van
we advertise at bus shelters around town, advertise in local newspapers and magazines, Buren St. NW. For more infor-
and appear at community events like Capital Pride, Black Pride [and] Trans Pride.” mation, visit swimdcac.org.
AHF has two wellness centers in D.C. and another in Temple Hills, Md., and is DC FRONT RUNNERS run-
planning to open a fourth in Baltimore City in early 2019. It offers a range of services, ning/walking/social club
including primary medical care, walk-in HIV and STD testings, pre- and post-exposure welcomes runners of all ability
prophylaxis, and pharmaceutical services. Cox-Iyamu says that having a “one-stop shop levels for exercise in a fun and
supportive environment, with
for everything, from STD services to pharmaceutical needs” is beneficial for patients. socializing afterward. Route
AHF also has a 24-hour hotline where people can speak with a specialist who can distance is 3-6 miles. Meet at
link them with care, and provide them with educational information and emotional 7 p.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW.
For more information, visit
support. “Knowledge is power, and people are the drivers of their own care,” says Cox- dcfrontrunners.org.
Iyamu. “We offer a caring and compassionate environment that will give people the
information to take charge of their own health and make the decisions that are best for DC LAMBDA SQUARES, D.C.’s
them. Simply knowing your status and seeking treatment is a positive, proactive step gay and lesbian square-dancing
group, features mainstream
to take.” —John Riley through advanced square
dancing at the National City
AIDS Healthcare Foundation has three D.C. locations: the Blair Underwood Wellness Christian Church. Please dress
casually. 7-9:30 p.m. 5 Thomas
Center at 2141 K St. NW; the AHF Healthcare Center at 1647 Benning Rd. NE, Circle NW. 202-930-1058,
and the AHF Wellness Center at 4302 St. Barnabas Rd., in Temple Hills, Md. For more dclambdasquares.org.
information, service hours, or to make an appointment for testing or treatment,
visit hivcare.org. DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds

OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 25

 practice. The team is always look-
ing 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.
THE DULLES TRIANGLES
Northern Virginia social group
meets for happy hour at Sheraton
in Reston. All welcome. 7-9 p.m.
11810 Sunrise Valley Drive, sec-
ond-floor bar. For more informa-
tion, visit dullestriangles.com.
HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker
Health. 9 a.m.-12:30 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 Robinson Center, 2301 MLK
Jr. Ave. SE. For an appointment
call 202-745-7000 or visit whit-
man-walker.org.
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 appoint-
ment or for more information, 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, Oct. 26
GAMMA is a confidential, volun-
tary, peer-support group for men
who are gay, bisexual, questioning
and who are now or who have been
26 OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
in a relationship with a woman.
7:30-9:30 p.m. Luther Place
Memorial Church, 1226 Vermont
Ave NW. GAMMA meetings are
also held in Vienna, Va., and in
Frederick, Md. For more informa-
tion, visit gammaindc.org.
Stonewall Kickball team Down to
Field invites you to join them at the
DOWN TO FLOAT DRAG CRUISE
with Boomerang Boat Tours along
the Potomac, featuring beautiful
scenery, drag performances, and a
top-shelf open bar. Proceeds will
benefit The DC Center. Tickets are
$55. For more information or to pur-
chase tickets, visit fareharbor.com.
The DC Center holds its CENTER
AGING MONTHLY LUNCH social
for members of D.C.’s senior com-
munity. Lunch is potluck — bring
your own dish to share. 12-2 p.m.
2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For
more information, visit thedccen-
ter.org or call 202-682-2245.
WOMEN IN THEIR TWENTIES
(AND THIRTIES), a social discus-
sion and activity group for queer
women, meets at The DC Center
on the second and fourth Friday of
each month. Group social activity
to follow the meeting. 8-9:30 p.m.
2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For
more information, visit thedccen-
ter.org.
SATURDAY, Oct. 27
ADVENTURING outdoors group
takes in fall colors on Sugarloaf
Mountain near Frederick, Md.
Moderate circuit hike will be 7.5
miles long with 1400 feet of cumu-
lative elevation gain. Bring bever-
ages, lunch, sturdy boots, and few
bucks for fees. Carpool at 9 a.m.
from the Grosvenor-Strathmore
Metro Station. For more informa-
tion, contact Joe, 202-276-5521, or
visit adventuring.org.
Join The DC Center as it vol-
unteers for FOOD & FRIENDS,
packing meals and groceries for
people living with serious ailments.
10 a.m.-noon. 219 Riggs Rd. NE.
Near the Fort Totten Metro. For a
ride from the Metro, call the Food
& Friends shuttle at 202-669-6437.
For more information, visit thedc-
center.org or foodandfriends.org.
THE GLOSSARY DC, a group to
provide a safe space for masculine
of center, non-binary, or trans-mas-
culine people of color, holds a dis-
cussion and support group session
at The DC Center. 12-2 p.m. 2000
14th St. NW, Suite 105. Visit thed-
ccenter.org.
Weekly Events
DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a prac-
tice session at Montgomery College
Aquatics Club. 8:30-10 a.m. 7600
Takoma Ave., Takoma, Md. For more
information, visit swimdcac.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/
walking/social club welcomes run-
ners of all ability levels for exercise
in a fun and supportive environ-
ment, with socializing afterward.
Route distance will be 3-6 miles.
Walker meet at 9:30 a.m. and run-
ners at 10 a.m. at 23rd & P Streets
NW. For more information, visit
dcfrontrunners.org.
DIGNITYUSA sponsors Mass for
LGBT community, family and
friends. 6:30 p.m., Immanuel
Church-on-the-Hill, 3606 Seminary
Road, Alexandria. All welcome. For
more info, visit dignitynova.org.
SUNDAY, Oct. 28
Weekly Events
LGBT-inclusive ALL SOULS
MEMORIAL EPISCOPAL CHURCH
celebrates Low Mass at 8:30
a.m., High Mass at 11 a.m. 2300
Cathedral Ave. NW. 202-232-4244,
allsoulsdc.org.
DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a
practice session at Wilson Aquatic
Center. 9:30-11 a.m. 4551 Fort Dr.
NW. For more information, visit
swimdcac.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/
walking/social club welcomes run-
ners of all ability levels for exercise
in a fun and supportive environ-
ment, with socializing afterward.
Route will be a distance run of 8, 10
or 12 miles. Meet at 9 a.m. at 23rd
& P Streets NW. For more informa-
tion, visit dcfrontrunners.org.
DIGNITYUSA offers Roman
Catholic Mass for the LGBT
community. All welcome. Sign
interpreted. 6 p.m. St. Margaret’s
Church, 1820 Connecticut Ave.
NW. For more info, visit dignity-
washington.org.
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL
UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
welcomes all to 10:30 a.m. service,
945 G St. NW. firstuccdc.org or
202-628-4317.
HOPE UNITED CHURCH OF
CHRIST welcomes GLBT commu-
nity for worship. 10:30 a.m., 6130
Old Telegraph Road, Alexandria.
hopeucc.org.
HSV-2 SOCIAL AND SUPPORT
GROUP for gay men living in the
DC metro area. This group will be
meeting once a month. For infor-
mation on location and time, visit
H2gether.com.
Join LINCOLN
CONGREGATIONAL TEMPLE –
UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST for
an inclusive, loving and progressive
faith community every Sunday. 11
a.m. 1701 11th Street NW, near R in
Shaw/Logan neighborhood. lincol-
ntemple.org.
METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY
CHURCH OF WASHINGTON, D.C.
services at 9 a.m. (ASL interpret-
ed) and 11 a.m. Children’s Sunday
School at 11 a.m. 474 Ridge St. NW.
202-638-7373, mccdc.com.
RIVERSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH,
a Christ-centered, interracial,
welcoming-and-affirming church,
offers service at 10 a.m. 680 I St.
SW. 202-554-4330, riversidedc.org.
UNITARIAN CHURCH OF
ARLINGTON, an LGBTQ welcom-
ing-and-affirming congregation,
offers services at 10 a.m. Virginia
Rainbow UU Ministry. 4444
Arlington Blvd. uucava.org.
UNIVERSALIST NATIONAL
MEMORIAL CHURCH, a welcom-
ing and inclusive church. GLBT
Interweave social/service group
meets monthly. Services at 11 a.m.,
Romanesque sanctuary. 1810 16th St.
NW. 202-387-3411, universalist.org.
MONDAY, Oct. 29
Weekly Events
DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a
practice session at Dunbar Aquatic
Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 101 N St. NW.
For more information, visit swim-
dcac.org.
NOVASALUD offers free HIV test-
ing. 5-7 p.m. 2049 N. 15th St., Suite
200, Arlington. Appointments: 703-
789-4467.
STI TESTING at Whitman-Walker
Health. 10 a.m.-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 without symptoms. For an
appointment call 202-745-7000 or
visit whitman-walker.org.
The DC Center hosts COFFEE
DROP-IN FOR THE SENIOR LGBT
COMMUNITY. 10 a.m.-noon. 2000
14th St. NW. For more information,
call 202-682-2245 or visit thedc-
center.org.
US HELPING US hosts a black gay
men’s evening affinity group for
GBT black men. Light refreshments
provided. 7-9 p.m. 3636 Georgia
Ave. NW. 202-446-1100.
WASHINGTON WETSKINS
WATER POLO TEAM practices 7-9
p.m. Newcomers with at least basic
swimming ability always welcome.
Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van
Buren St. NW. For more informa-
tion, contact Tom, 703-299-0504
or secretary@wetskins.org, or visit
wetskins.org.
WHITMAN-WALKER HEALTH
HIV/AIDS SUPPORT GROUP
for newly diagnosed individuals,
meets 7 p.m. Registration required.
202-939-7671, hivsupport@whit-
man-walker.org.
TUESDAY, Oct. 30
Join the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ
Affairs, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser,
local organizers, LGBTQ communi-
ty members, and allies from across
the region for the 32ND ANNUAL
17TH STREET HIGH HEEL RACE.
Parade of costumes starts around 7
p.m. Race starts promptly at 9 p.m.
17th Street NW, between R and P
Streets. For more information, visit
facebook.com/17thStreetHigh-
HeelRace.
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 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.
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.
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.-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 without symptoms. For an
appointment call 202-745-7000 or
visit whitman-walker.org.
Support group for LGBTQ youth
ages 13-21 meets at SMYAL. 5-6:30
p.m. 410 7th St. SE. For more
information, contact Cathy Chu,
202-567-3163, or catherine.chu@
smyal.org.
US HELPING US hosts a support
group for black gay men 40 and
older. 7-9 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave.
NW. 202-446-1100.
Whitman-Walker Health holds its
weekly GAY 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, Oct. 31
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.
Weekly Events
AD LIB, a group for freestyle con-
versation, meets about 6-6:30 p.m.,
Steam, 17th and R NW. All wel-
come. For more information, call
Fausto Fernandez, 703-732-5174.
FREEDOM FROM SMOKING, a
group for LGBT people looking
to quit cigarettes and tobacco use,
holds a weekly support meeting at
The DC Center. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th
St. NW, Suite 105. For more infor-
mation, visit thedccenter.org.
HISTORIC CHRIST CHURCH
offers Wednesday worship 7:15 a.m.
and 12:05 p.m. All welcome. 118 N.
Washington St., Alexandria. 703-
549-1450, historicchristchurch.org.
HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker
Health. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. at 1525 14th
St. NW, and 9 a.m-12 p.m. and 1-5
p.m. at the Max Robinson Center,
2301 MLK Jr. Ave. SE. For an
appointment call 202-745-7000 or
visit whitman-walker.org.
JOB CLUB, a weekly support pro-
gram for job entrants and seekers,
meets at The DC Center. 6-7:30
p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105.
For more info, centercareers.org.
WASHINGTON WETSKINS
WATER POLO TEAM practices 7-9
p.m. Newcomers with at least basic
swimming ability always welcome.
Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van
Buren St. NW. For more informa-
tion, contact Tom, 703-299-0504
or secretary@wetskins.org, or visit
wetskins.org. l
OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 27
 Outspoken
W
Whether it’s on quitting Roseanne, Louis C.K., or boycotting the NFL,
Wanda Sykes has an opinion on just about everything.
Interview by André Hereford
WANDA SYKES LIKES TO SAY OF HER STAND-UP SHOWS
that audiences know what they’re going to get. “I’m gonna talk
about stuff,” she says. “I have to talk about things.”
At this point in her illustrious career as a comic, actress,
writer, and producer, fans do indeed expect the Emmy-
winning Sykes, named one of the funniest people in America by
Entertainment Weekly, to deliver her free-wheeling, unapologet-
ic views on everything from current events to her life with wife
Alex Niedbalski and their two children.
But knowing what you’re going to get from Wanda Sykes
doesn’t mean that she is in any way predictable. For one thing,
she might turn up just about anywhere in the entertainment
cosmos to contribute her brand of wit and truth, whether it’s as
Miss Hannigan in a stage production of Annie, co-starring with
28 OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
drag comic Bianca Del Rio in Hurricane Bianca: From Russia
with Hate, or on ABC’s Black-ish in her twice Emmy-nominated
role as brassy ad exec Daphne Lido.
And it’s likely that not many of Sykes’ fans expected to see her
joining last season’s Roseanne reboot as a writer and consulting
producer, especially given the outspoken pro-Trump politics of
the show’s embattled star. In fact, some might not have been
aware of Sykes’ role until Roseanne Barr’s controversial Valerie
Jarrett tweet led Sykes to publicly cut ties with the show —
almost as quickly as the network cut Barr loose.
While Sykes won’t be returning to the fold for this season’s
post-Roseanne spinoff The Conners, the Virginia native is return-
ing to her former stomping grounds in the area with her latest
stand-up tour, performing a fresh set at the Strathmore. She’s
DEREK WOOD
also touting a new Epix network stand-up comedy series called SYKES: Oh, good Lord, I don’t know. I don’t know. Like I said,
Unprotected Sets, a showcase for upstart comics that she will again, I think it’s the audience. If Louis puts out there he’s tour-
executive produce through her production company Push It. ing, and people go buy tickets, well, I guess, you know, it’s about
That’s just one of the TV series she currently has a hand in time. I’m against censorship, so I’m not saying he doesn’t have
developing, and it’s in addition to her steady film and TV career a right to go and tour. But like I said, if people buy tickets, that
in front of the camera. A wife, mother, mentor, performer, and answers your question.
activist, Wanda Sykes stays busy in L.A. and on the road. So, MW: How did you learn of Roseanne’s unfortunate Valerie Jarrett
when she made time to chat with Metro Weekly ahead of her tweet. What was your reaction when you saw that?
Strathmore date, we gladly pep- SYKES: Actually, I was about
pered her with questions on near- to email Bruce Helford, the
ly every hot topic under the sun, [Roseanne] showrunner. It was
including Roseanne’s tweets, for- the day the writers were supposed
mer The Chris Rock Show colleague to report, and I was going to let
Louis C.K., and Colin Kaepernick’s him know I’m gonna miss the
ongoing crusade to raise aware- first week because I was working
ness of racial injustice. As expect- on a show at Comedy Central.
ed, Sykes didn’t hold back in shar- And then, you know, [I’m seeing]
ing any of her opinions. messages, like, “What? You see
this shit?” I’m like, “What the...?”
METRO WEEKLY: How is touring When I saw it, I was like, “Oh,
across America right now? Do audi- Lord. Oh, God.” I was hurt and
ences feel starved for laughter? disappointed, and like, “What...?”
SYKES: I think so — people wanna It didn’t take me long to make a
laugh. But the country’s so polar- decision to say, “Okay, I can’t be
ized right now — you can see peo- a part of this.” So that’s how that
ple in their seat like, “Oooh, let’s happened.
not talk about that yet.” They get MW: While you were on the staff,
a little squeamish, which makes what did you hope that the show
me laugh because if you come to would accomplish?
a Wanda Sykes show you pret- SYKES: I think it accomplished
ty much know what you’re gonna what we were hoping for, because
get. I talk about social issues, and we tackled real issues. I think we
you’re gonna get it. Politics, but showed both sides, and it was a
DEREK WOOD
you’re also gonna get my fami- good representation of how fam-
ly because they chew up a huge ilies are dealing with how people
amount of my time. So I talk about are [politically] divided.
a lot of things that I know, and MW: Have you experienced any of
that’s the people I spend time with. So know that I’m gonna talk that kind of political division close to home?
about everything. SYKES: I’ve had some friends that I’m like, “Wait a minute. You
MW: Actually, talking about everything, you just appeared with did what?” That was very disappointing, but they voted with
Bianca Del Rio in Hurricane Bianca 2. Bianca, who is a great their wallets. And now it’s like, okay, I can’t. Honestly, it’s just
insult comic, garnered backlash for joking that one of the queens not the same ‘cause I can’t fuck with you like that. Because now
on Rupaul’s Drag Race used her story about having been raped as it’s beyond taxes and shit. And I’m talking gay people — I know
a means of saving herself from elimination. Is any kind of rape joke some gays and lesbians who voted for this president.
stepping over the line? Or is the line different for comics like Joan MW: Brett Kavanaugh has been sworn in as the next Justice of the
Rivers, Don Rickles, or Del Rio? Supreme Court. Does the composition of this court alarm you at
SYKES: I am not aware of this as far as what Bianca said and the all?
Drag Race thing, so I’m not gonna answer that as far as concern- SYKES: Oh, absolutely. We are talking about Handmaid’s Tale
ing what Bianca said. For me, I don’t do rape jokes. Making a shit right now. This is scary, for real.
joke about somebody being raped is not funny to me. And I think MW: I guess it’s an obvious question, but do you worry that rights
the audience will let you know if it’s funny or not. I think we’re and advances that you’ve helped to advocate for are in danger of
seeing the audience evolving, as far as what’s funny and not being eroded?
funny. And now, more women and men are speaking up about SYKES: Yeah, absolutely. And the things that we’re trying to
their experiences. If you’re a comic and you’re on stage and advance, it’s gonna come to a halt. It’s hard. You can still be fired
you’re doing a rape joke, you don’t know who’s out there, who in the majority of the states for being LGBT, so yeah, we’re in
has been a victim. If you want to see that goal and you think it’s trouble.
funny, then that’s on you. But whoever’s in that audience, and if MW: After a year of #MeToo, and a few years of #OscarsSoWhite,
they don’t like it they also have a right to let you know. That’s does anything seem solved, or even improved?
how I see it. SYKES: I think women are doing more as far as when we’re in the
MW: Recently an audience at a club was taken by surprise when position to make decisions, and the hiring, and also developing
Louis C.K. came out to perform an unannounced set. Some left. shows. I think we’re doing a better job looking out for women,
Some stayed, but felt uncomfortable. How soon is too soon for the and bringing in more women as far as, like, not just in front, but
return of a Louis C.K., or any #MeToo person? also behind the camera. So yeah, I think we’re doing a better job.

30 OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

MW: How do you approach it when you’re the executive in the like, “Wait a minute. What is going on? What’s happening?”
meeting? Then the way Serena was going, I’m like, “Ah, shit.” I was like,
SYKES: Well, like the show we’re doing now for Epix, Unprotected “Yep, she’s right.” She was right. I mean, it was so disrespectful,
Sets. My production company, Push It, we’re putting out and just wasn’t fair the way she was being treated. What kills
up-and-coming comics, and we have a very diverse group of me is when the guys are going off on the chair, a lot of times
comics that we’re about to showcase. And it’s a merit-based they don’t point those directional mikes right at them. So we
thing. We were looking for comics who we thought were really don’t hear all this shit that they’re saying. But Serena, it’s like
funny, and had something to say. And it just shows you that all they went out there and actually put a mike on her. It was crazy
you have to do is look for diversity. how they like zoomed right in like,
It’s not hard to do, you know? So “Here you go.” And we couldn’t
when we are in those positions,
we always try being inclusive. You
“I’m with Colin hear what the chair was saying.
We couldn’t hear that guy. Yeah, I
look, that’s all. And we found some
really funny comics.
MW: You do so much now as a
[Kaepernick], and felt bad for Naomi, but Serena was
absolutely right.
MW: Are there other sports that
producer, a writer, a performer, in
addition to being a wife, a mother,
when I see how a you’re a fan of?
SYKES: I used to be a big NFL fan,
your own person. What’s your big-
gest role? league can try to but I stopped watching after the
whole Colin Kaepernick thing. I
SYKES: I don’t know. I guess being canceled my Sunday Ticket, and
a mother is my most important
gig right now. Yeah. I mean, that’s
silence somebody I have not watched anything this
season.
someone I could go to jail for, you
know, if I fuck that up. who is trying to speak MW: I take it that you would stand
with Kaepernick? Or, rather, kneel
MW: What ages are your kids? with him?
SYKES: They’re nine. I have twins.
MW: I have friends with a pair of
out against police SYKES: Oh, absolutely. Yeah, yeah.
I’m with Colin, and when I see
10-year-old twins. They apparently
fight like mad. How do you deal brutality... then how a league can just try to silence
somebody who is trying to speak

I CAN’T SUPPORT
with warring twins? out against police brutality and
SYKES: You know, at first it was what’s happening, and the mur-
trying to mediate, and I was quick der of these unarmed black and

THAT LEAGUE.”
to step in, “What happened? What
happened?” Now, I just tell them,
“Know what? You gotta work it
out. You guys work it out.” Unless
it’s egregious, something where
I’m like, “Okay, wait a minute.” But now I just let them work it
out because that’s what they’re gonna have to learn how to do.
MW: Outside of raising your family, you’re out on the road a lot and
have been doing that for a while. What do you love about it?
SYKES: I love doing the shows. It’s not necessarily being on the
road. At times I go, “Man, you know that Vegas gig is kind of
sweet.” You get a residency in Vegas, where you just go and do
your show, then you go home, you’re there. But there’s some-
thing cool about going around the county and seeing different
audiences. I love that. I love the show part. But the getting there,
that’s the worst part of it. Being on the road I do not like, but I
love doing the shows.
MW: I wanted to ask you about the Aretha Franklin funeral. For
me, it was the most unapologetically black eight hours of television
since Roots. It was really like being in a black church, which you
don’t see so much on American TV.
SYKES: Right. I saw clips here and there, but I didn’t see it. I
think I was at the US Open that day, so I didn’t see a lot of it.
So [during] the blackest thing, I was at the whitest event. I was
there to see the Williams sisters. Sloane played that day. The
Williams sisters played.
MW: Did you also see Serena and Naomi Osaka? Was there any
part of that blow-up situation with Serena and the chair umpire
that resonated with you as a woman, as a sports fan, or as a black
woman?
SYKES: Oh, all of that. I was feeling all that. Because at first we’re
brown people, or just anybody,
what the cops are doing. And they
just silence this brother, and take
away his job and all, then I can’t
support that league.
And then when you have Trump, whatever, in office and he’s
calling them sons-of-bitches. And you’re still out there playing
after somebody called your mom a bitch, I can’t support you. I
can’t watch this.
MW: I want to ask you about Black-ish and Daphne Lido. Will we
see you this season?
SYKES: Yeah, we’re trying to work out some dates. They asked
me to come back, but the date didn’t work. I just saw them at
the Emmys and we’re trying to figure it out. But, yeah, I love that
show, and I love being a part of that team. So hopefully they’ll
get me back in soon.
MW: Daphne is weirdly antagonistic towards the lead character,
Dre.
SYKES: Daphne loves to antagonize Dre, but when it comes to
social issues, she’s always on the right side. But other than that,
it’s always just some craziness, which I love.
MW: Are dates and availability how the writers decide which
characters are in those conference sessions? Because they’re key
comedy every week.
SYKES: Yeah. I think when they’re breaking a script they’re like,
“Oh, yeah, we would love to have Daphne in this scene.” And
then they try, they say, “Is Wanda available that week?” If I am,
then great, they’ll put me in. If not, then they’re like, “All right,
well hold it for another episode.” Or sometimes they’ll switch up
the episodes and try to make it work.
MW: My editor and I are both fans of The New Adventures of

OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 31

Old Christine with Julia Louis- SYKES: I like Unsung on TV1. It’s

“People wanna laugh.

Dreyfus. When it was on, I didn’t
watch it — I discovered it in syndi-
cation and enjoyed it. Are you expe-
riencing that, people finding your
older shows in syndication?
SYKES: I know people who watch
it in syndication. I don’t know how
many of them are new viewers, but
yeah, the fans, they miss this show.
They really do, and they always
tell me how much. Especially late
at night, that’s how they like to
end their evening. They watch
some reruns of that. Actually, I
like Behind the Music, but with
black artists. I watched one the
other day on the Bar-Kays. It was
But the country’s so great.
MW: All I remember about the Bar-
polarized right now — Kays are the naked ladies on the
back of their album cover.
SYKES: [Laughing] Yeah, they par-
you can see people in
tied, man. They were hardcore.
They partied. I like Unsung, and
their seat like, ‘Oooh, I can watch reruns of Sanford and
Son all day.
let’s not talk about MW: That’s a good one. I guess
there’s not been anybody like a Redd

that yet.’
watch also, because a lot of them Foxx. Do you see anybody carrying
I hadn’t seen. Especially the ones that torch?
that I wasn’t in. So, yeah, I enjoy SYKES: Like Redd Foxx? I think
watching that show, too. It was a
good show. It was a shame that it
THEY GET A LITTLE Mike Epps would be a good Redd
Foxx.
didn’t [continue]. I guess it’s not a
shame because I love Veep, so I’m SQUEAMISH.” MW: That’s an unexpected answer.
I don’t want to scoop anything
glad Julia went on to do that. that you’re talking about at The
MW: On Will and Grace you played Strathmore, but can you give us an
Cricket, the makeup counter lady who acted as a surrogate mother idea of what we’re going to hear from you on the current tour?
for Karen Walker. How does it feel coming in for those one-off SYKES: You know me. I’m gonna talk about everything.
guest appearances with a cast that are like this well-oiled machine? Everything. Politics, social issues, and a whole lot of Wanda. l
SYKES: Oh, that’s the best. That’s the best because there’s no
pressure on me. It’s their show, they have it, they’re always Wanda Sykes performs Thursday, November 3, at The Music
gonna be funny. I just pop in, boom, do my thing, and that’s it. Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, Bethesda. Tickets
MW: What’s your pleasure when kicking back at the end of the day? are $35 to $115. Call 301-581-5100, or visit strathmore.org.

32 OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

PHOTO BY MARY CYBULSKI. © 2018 TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM CORPORATION ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Movies

A visit to Israel’s literary agent

Forge Ahead
Marjorie, wonderfully played by the great
Jane Curtin, clarifies things a bit. Marjorie
explains to her unruly client that she’d
better come up with a subject more com-
mercial than Fanny Brice and try to not
Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant star be such a raging pain in the ass all the
as a devious pair of con artists in the entertaining time. But rather than track the course of
Can You Ever Forgive Me?. By André Hereford some unlikely Scrooge-like transforma-
tion towards gleeful benevolence, the film

I
stays true to who Lee Israel is and under-
N THE SLY DRAMA CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? (HHHHH), MELISSA stands herself to be: She’s a dyed-in-the-
McCarthy’s talent and instincts for locating a truly odd character and magnifying wool New Yorker, and she ain’t changing
that persona for the big screen pays off royally. Portraying the late real-life author for anybody.
and convicted forger Lee Israel, who was also lesbian, McCarthy dons a disheveled wig She wouldn’t, or couldn’t, change to
and overcoat, and digs in deep for a fascinating story of crime and friendship. please her longtime girlfriend, Elaine
Lee Israel made a name for herself as a writer in the ’70s and ’80s by publishing (Anna Deavere Smith), who dumped
well-received biographies of early 20th-century figures like actress Tallulah Bankhead her, and she has no intention of chang-
and media personality Dorothy Kilgallen. But Israel’s unauthorized 1985 biography of ing course on her planned Brice biog-
cosmetics queen Estée Lauder flopped when Lauder counter-punched by releasing her raphy. That turns out to be the first in a
own best-selling memoir. series of fatefully bad decisions. For, while
That move pretty much ended Israel’s career — she tried to keep the magic going researching the Funny Girl, she finds a let-
with a planned biography of Fanny Brice, but eventually turned to copy editing to make ter actually written by Fanny Brice tucked
ends meet. To keep herself going, she also turned to drink. It’s in that state of defeat inside a library book and pilfers it.
that the film first finds her in 1991, a bitter, scotch-guzzling curmudgeon with a sick cat Israel promptly sells the purloined let-
and a biting wit. ter to a collector, bookstore owner Anna
Depleting her disposition of all the mirth and sunniness that’s helped make her famous, (Dolly Wells), who not only is a fan of
McCarthy is a mighty convincing curmudgeon. She still earns laughs, despite Israel blow- Israel’s books but might be a fan of Israel,
ing around Manhattan like an ill wind, always just one rude word or look away from too. Most importantly, Anna informs her
laying a verbal smackdown on whomever crosses her. It’s unclear at first whether director that a letter by Brice, or any celebrity, is
Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl) means to depict New York as a brutally hos- worth more to collectors if the contents
tile town, or merely as a place that reflects Israel’s rampant hostility back at her. are intimate, or truly express the sender’s

OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 35

 personality. That’s all Israel needs to hear to decide that she can
come up with a more sellable letter by forging one. So begins her
illustrious career as a high-end dealer of fake literary collect-
ibles, or “elite literary artifacts,” as Israel likes to claim.
She forges and sells letters by everyone from Marlene Dietrich
and Noël Coward, to Lillian Hellman and Dorothy Parker. Her
creative forgeries, and the ensuing robust sales, satisfy her
ego as a writer and as a burgeoning criminal mastermind. And
the movie, based on Israel’s own memoir, aptly conveys the
accompanying rush she feels with every collectible sale. In her
letter-forging hubris, she comes to think she’s “a better Dorothy
Parker than Dorothy Parker.” Even if the audience knows she’s
doomed, the fun is infectious while it lasts.
Like so many criminals who get caught, Israel can’t help
spilling about her “brilliant” crimes to the exact wrong per-
son. That’s one Jack Hock, a middle-aged ne’er-do-well she
befriends over daytime drinks at old-school West Village gay bar
Julius’. Played with a devilish twinkle in his eye by Richard E.
Grant, Hock is a much better drinking buddy than a partner-in-
crime. Once he gets involved in helping Israel deal her forgeries,
the situation flies quickly out of hand. Collectors around town
catch on, as does the FBI.
At stake is their freedom and their friendship. Outside of her
cat, Israel has no one else. She and Hock are kindred spirits in
their melancholy misanthropy, but not without a sense of prom-
ise, and romance for the city they both love. The movie stirs
those senses, with its tender piano score by Nate Heller, brother
of the director, and a soundtrack of jazz standards that wouldn’t
be out of place in a Woody Allen picture.
Solidly scripted by filmmaker Nicole Holofcener and Jeff
Whitty, the Tony-winning book writer of Avenue Q, the film
invites the audience to soak up the atmosphere of a bygone New
York, while forging their own opinions of the disgraced Lee
Israel. Was she an inspired artist, or an unforgivable thief and
liar? And, with her memoir, and now this film, did she finally,
improbably, have the last word? l

Can You Ever Forgive Me? is rated R, and opens Friday, Oct. 26, at Landmark’s E Street and Bethesda Row Cinemas.
Visit landmarktheatres.com.

Studio 54 so happening. Through sever-

al interviews shot while the mogul was
prepping a new coffee-table book cele-
brating the club, he lays out the timeline
of one of the greatest adventures of his
life. He reveals how he and Rubell — who
was gay, although not at all vocal about
it — were inspired by gay clubs around
Manhattan like the Garage, Le Jardin, and
ADAMSCULL

The Gallery.
We see the work and creativity that

Boogie Nights
The hip and haunting documentary Studio 54 digs into the legend of
New York’s hottest nightclub. By André Hereford
went into creating the club out of the husk
of an aging TV studio, turning it into an
incomparable oasis of freedom for gays,
artists, and the biggest names in film, music,
fashion, and even politics. In his recollec-
tions, Schrager reveals that perhaps the
real secret behind the magic was the deep,

I
abiding friendship he shared with his busi-
N THE ANNALS OF STORIED NEW YORK CITY BARS AND NIGHTCLUBS — ness partner. They were two very different
the Cotton Club, Max’s Kansas City, the Paradise Garage — the legend of Studio boys from Brooklyn, friends who’d met
54 endures like none other. Burnished by the powerful chemistry of disco-era sex, at Syracuse University, and who shared a
celebrity, and scandal, 54’s rep still shines so brightly, hardly anyone recalls that the similar drive to succeed on the grandest
party lasted only 33 frenetic months. scale they could imagine. Schrager’s gen-
In Studio 54 (HHHHH), Matt Tyrnauer (Scotty’s Secret History of Hollywood) chron- uine love for his deceased pal is touch-
icles the stunning two-and-a-half-year rise and fall of the nightlife supernova with a ing. The flip side of that love-fest is that
candor and clarity that might be the closest thing to reliving those halcyon ’70s nights. Schrager and Rubell cut all kinds of legal
In the words of the club’s late co-founder Steve Rubell, present throughout the film and ethical corners to live their dream.
in archival footage and copious interviews, the success of any nightspot is “all about They fudged permits, ran without an actual
capturing a moment.” For 54, that moment was the post-Vietnam, post-Watergate, let’s liquor license, and skimmed millions off
just have a damn good time period of spring ’77, and the energy is palpable. Gorgeously the books and into their pockets.
grainy old news footage and publicity reels revel in the throngs of celebrities partying Schrager seems honest enough, given
inside — Liz! Liza! Andy! Halston! Bianca! MJ! — as well as the crowds outside begging the expired statute of limitations related to
to be chosen by Rubell and his doormen to be allowed past the velvet ropes. Everyone their crimes, but still soft-pedals the grift
who was anyone, and almost everyone else, was dying to be seen at 54. in order to keep the myth alive. He still has
Much of that footage has been unreeled or recreated elsewhere. What Tyrnauer’s businesses to run, after all, and self-my-
film brings to the table is the authorized participation of Rubell’s co-founder Ian thologizing one of the great moments of
Schrager. It’s a fabulous get for Tyrnauer and for audiences that Schrager, now a New York City nightlife history certainly
successful hotelier and real estate developer, finally felt ready to spill on what made won’t hurt his bottom line. l

Studio 54 is not rated, and opens Friday, Oct. 26, at Landmark’s E Street Cinema. Visit landmarktheatres.com.

36 OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

NightLife Photography by
Ward Morrison

OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 37

Scene GMCW’s Ropeburn 2 at Sax- Thursday, Oct. 18 - Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

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38 OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Playlist

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40 OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
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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 cock-
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
2-10pm • Beer and wine
only $4
OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
Monday,
October 29
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
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 •
Wicked 15th Anniversary
Party: Wicked Trivia and
Karaoke, 8pm • Watch
Party for NBC’s Wicked
Anniversary Special, 10pm
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
41
 Tuesday, with Sasha Adams and
Brooklyn Heights, 7-9pm •
TRADE
Doors open 5pm • Huge
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • $6
Shaw’s Tavern, Fan from
Clack That Fan • $250
TRADE
Doors open 5pm • Huge
October 30 Karaoke, 9pm-close Happy Hour: Any drink Burgers • Beach Blanket Grand Prize • RedBull Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a Drag Bingo Night, hosted Blood Bags $6 Absolut normally served in a
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN NUMBER NINE cocktail glass served in a by Ms. Regina Jozet Cocktails cocktail glass served in a
Open 5pm-12am • Happy Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any huge glass for the same Adams, 8pm • Bingo huge glass for the same
Hour: $2 off everything drink, 5-9pm • No Cover price, 5-10pm • Beer and prizes • Costume Contest, NUMBER NINE price, 5-10pm • Beer and
until 9pm • Video Games • High Heel Race After wine only $4 • High Heel 10pm • Skare-E-Okie Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any wine only $4 • Women’s
• Live televised sports Party, featuring DJ Chord Race After Party, hosted Contest, 11pm • Hosted by drink, 5-9pm • No Cover Crush Wednesday:
Bezerra, 9:30pm by Geneva Confectionn, DJ Unicorn Killer Queering Halloween,
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR 9:30pm-close • Music by PITCHERS 6-10pm • Church pres-
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Taco PITCHERS DJ Joann Fabrixx • Show GREEN LANTERN Open 5pm-12am • Happy ents Hell House, 9pm •
Tuesday • Poker Night — Open 5pm-12am • Happy featuring Bratworst, Sippi Happy Hour, 4pm-9pm • Hour: $2 off everything Hosted by Pussy Noir •
7pm and 9pm games • Hour: $2 off everything Galore, and Sigma Freud, Bear Yoga with Greg Leo, until 9pm • Video Games $100 Costume Contest •
Karaoke, 9pm until 9pm • Video Games 10:30pm 6:30-7:30pm • $10 per • Foosball • Live televised Shows by Domingx and
• Foosball • Live televised class • $3 rail cocktails sports • Full dining menu Bombalicious Eklaver •
GREEN LANTERN sports • Full dining menu and domestic beers all till 9pm • Special Late Music by Alex DB, Rev.
Happy Hour, 4pm-9pm till 9pm • Special Late night long • Halloween Night menu till 11pm Jesse Jackson, Wicked
• $3 rail cocktails and
domestic beers all night
Night menu till 11pm •
Visit pitchersbardc.com Wednesday, Night Party, 9pm-close •
Hosted by Gladys Kravitz
• Bartenders’ Choice
Costume Contest: Dress
Witch of WesstheDJ •
No Cover
long October 31 • Music by DJ Darryl in costume, and each bar-
SHAW’S TAVERN Strickland • Special tender will give out a gift ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS
MAJESTIC DIVA Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN performance by Sony certificate to their favorite All male, nude dancers
LOUNGE Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, Open 5pm-12am • Happy Recording Artist Brian • Dance Party • Visit • Wicked Divas and
2000 Mt. Vernon Ave. $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Hour: $2 off everything Hutson • $200 Cash Prize pitchersbardc.com Killer Cocks, 9pm-close
Alexandria, Va. Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas until 9pm • Video Games • Kristina Kelly’s Wicked
Happy Hour, 10-11:30pm • and Select Appetizers • Live televised sports NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR SHAW’S TAVERN Divas Drag Show, 11:30pm
Best Latin Halloween Party • Half-Priced Burgers • Bartenders’ Choice Rocky Horror Halloween Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 and after the Costume
— $500 Costume Contest and Pizzas all night with Costume Contest: Dress Sing/Dance-along with Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, Contest • Costume contest
at midnight • $15 Cover $5 House Wines and $5 in costume, and each bar- drag performances, 8-10pm $5 House Wines, $5 Rail prizes valued at $300, $125
Sam Adams • DC Bocce tender will give out a gift • Hosted by DJ Brooklyn Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and $75 for first, second
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR League: Indoor Bocce, certificate to their favorite Heights • Absolutely and Select Appetizers • and third place • Music by
Beat the Clock Happy Hour Second Floor, 6:30pm Snatched Drag Show, Halloween Dance Party, DJ Steve Henderson • $10
— $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), 10pm-midnight • Costume Karaoke and Costume Cover • 21+ l
$4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of Contest, 11pm • Prizes Contest, hosted by Kristina
Beer $15 • Drag Bingo include gift cards from Kelly — $200 Prize • Sign
Vida Fitness, Hawthorne, up by 8:30pm

42 OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Clublife
tume contests Friday, Oct. 26, after mid-
night, sponsored by SkinTightUSA with a
prize “valued at over $500,” as part of a
Pre-Halloween shindig (with a $5 cover)
featuring DJ JerrBear and host D’Manda
Martini aka Captain Green Lantern 2018.
Cobalt stages a $1,000 costume contest
as part of a Fresh Fridays Dawn of the
Dead party ($10) with DJ Sean Morris
upstairs and DJ Madscience in the
lounge. Meanwhile, the popular Dacha
Beer Garden transform into the Dacha
Fear Garden, with special prizes given
out to the best costumes every day
throughout the holiday.
Ella Fitzgerald and her “Witches
of Illusion” beckon the spirited to
Ziegfeld’s/Secrets on Saturday, Oct.
27, for “Dragula’s Haunted Rave-yard”
($10), full of showy queens, even show-
ier boys, DJ Steve Henderson, and a
contest at midnight promising $1,000 for
best costumes. There’s $500 on the line
at Number Nine as part of a Halloween
Party hosted by KC B Yonce with the
DJ duo BacK2bACk. Say Halloqueen
at Trade for a special CTRL QWERTY
party with DJs Dvonne, Jeff Prior, Adam
Koussari, and Claudia and a $100 cos-
tume contest at midnight hosted by
Donna Slash. More queens will be flock-
ing to the Duplex Diner for “Broken
Heel,” the official Miss Adams Morgan
Pageant After Party ($10), where DJ
Tanner will be spinning and bartenders
will be “Squeeze”ing $8 specials until
you’re drunk or they develop carpal tun-
nel — whichever comes first.
Other Saturday night highlights
include DMV Deep’s “U Hell” party
WARD MORRISON

($10 after 11 p.m.) at U Street Music

Hall is an underground dance music
party with DJ duo Rush Plus and newer
house/techno DJs Saad Ashraf, Luke
Andy, and Khalifeh, plus a costume con-

HALLOWEEK HAPPENINGS
test at 11:30 p.m. (The prize is a year’s
worth of shows); a $1,000 costume
contest at Cobalt a la the Cherry Fund’s
Your exclusive guide to the best LGBTQ tricks and treats Cherry Horror party with DJs Paulo
this Halloween in D.C. By Doug Rule Pacheco and Sean Morris; Creep, a
costume party with drag darlings Pussy

S
Noir, DIVOID, and Jane Saw, and the
OME PEOPLE LIKE TO DRESS UP AND GET SPOOKY AS OFTEN AS DJs from Sleaze and fellow queer col-
possible. And those people just might be the only ones who love a Hump lective The NeedlExchange, at an as-still
Day Halloween, with the full week of shows and shenanigans it brings. undisclosed warehouse location; and
In any case, this year promises to be all systems go from the start, as the Uproar’s Fright Night party with spooky
opening Halloweekend coincides with Howard University’s Homecoming. Go videos courtesy of DJ Travis Island (aka
Bisons! And bears, pigs, and peacocks, oh my! VJ Tre).
Speaking of bears, the Green Lantern hosts its first of two Halloween cos- Across the river on Saturday night,

OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 43

Freddie’s Beach Bar throws a party ($5) that starts with
drag at 8 p.m., continues with a $100 costume contest at
10 p.m., and ends with karaoke and music by Sexy Lexi.
Meanwhile, the Majestic Diva Lounge presents the Best
Latin Halloween Party ($15) (also offered Tuesday, Oct. 30)
with a contest at midnight granting $500 for best costume.
Come Monday, Oct. 29, if you’re getting the itch to
witch, Shaw’s Tavern offers an all-things-Wicked coven
with trivia, karaoke, and a watch party for the NBC special
celebrating 15 years of the Broadway blockbuster. For
something a little witchier, the Dew Drop Inn in Brookland
plays host to the new horror-themed drag show/dance
party BratWorst’s Bat Ball with Geneva Confectionn,
Buhnana Gunz, Desiree Dik, JaxKnife Complex, and Iris
Honeydew, plus a special prize for scariest costume.
On Tuesday, everyone will convene on 17th Street for
the High Heel Race at 9 p.m. From there, you could head
to the race’s starting line for the official after party 2000
Maniacs ($5) at Cobalt with DJ Tracy Young on the main
dance floor and DJ Keenan Orr in the Lounge. You could
also stumble a few blocks east to Number Nine for a
party with DJ Chord or to Trade for a party with DJ Joann
Fabrixx and a bevy of heel-slingers including host Geneva
Confectionn, Bratworst, Sippi Galore, and Sigma Freud.
If you’re still standing the next day, get pumped, you’re
at the hump — and just in time to do the time warp.
Nellie’s toasts the holiday with a Rocky Horror Halloween
party featuring a sing/dance-along with the Absolutely
Snatched Wednesdays queens plus evening host Brooklyn
Heights, a costume contest at 11 p.m. with prizes including
a $250 grand prize, and drink specials including $6 Absolut
44 OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
mixes and “Red Bull Blood Bags.”
Trade leans into the holiday with the “Queering
Halloween” Womxn Crush Wednesday happy hour at 6
p.m., later ushering in a special “Hell House” edition of
Church with a $100 costume contest hosted by Pussy Noir
and a cavalcade of talent on tap, from drag acts Domingx
and Bombalicious Eklaver, to DJs Alex DB, “Rev. Jesse
Jackson,” and “Wicked Witch of the Wessthedj.”
All Hallows Eve also finds Ziegfeld’s/Secrets opening
its doors for the midweek special “Wicked Divas and Killer
Cocks” ($10), with a show hosted by Kristina Kelly, a mid-
night costume contest with $500 in prizes, and dancing to
DJ Steve Henderson. Green Lantern turns to tricks with
host Gladys Kravitz and treats with DJ Darryl Strickland and
performers Sony and Brian Hutson, plus a $200 costume
contest at 11 p.m. At A League of Her Own and Pitchers,
patrons dressed in costume might get a free drink — or even
better, a gift certificate — from a bartender per the com-
plex’s Bartenders’ Choice Costume Contest. Shaw’s Tavern
offers a Halloween Dance Party featuring karaoke and a cos-
tume contest at 9 p.m. with a $200 prize with host Kristina
Kelly and DJ Jill Parson. Cobalt offers a $500 costume con-
test at midnight, after a Twitches show with special guest
Joey Gallagher aka “National Bearded Queen 2018.”
Finally, Freddie’s has drag bingo at 8 p.m., a costume
contest at 10 p.m., and a Skare-E-Okie contest at 11 p.m.,
with music from DJ Unicorn Killer. Boo! l
For more info on these and other area bars,
including addresses and phone numbers,
visit metroweekly.com/nightlife.
 LastWord.
People say the queerest things

“I’m protecting everybody.

I want to protect our country.
”
— DONALD TRUMP, responding to questions from reporters about a proposed federal policy that would define gender as based on
genitalia at birth — effectively erasing transgender, gender nonconforming and intersex people from the federal government and
removing them from discrimination protections. Reuters reports that Trump, who famously said during the 2016 election that he
would be a “friend” to the LGBTQ community, said that the adminstration has “a lot of different concepts right now.
They have a lot of different things happening with respect to transgender right now.”

“ When you put a picture of an assault rifle on there which was used in the Pulse shooting
and you mail it to every LGBT bar in Nashville,

that is coming from a hateful place.”

— MELVIN BROWN, owner of Stirrup Sports Bar in Nashville, Tx., one of three gay bars in the area to receive anti-LGBTQ, pro-Trump
flyers that utilized the LGBT acronym to show the Statue of Liberty, an assault rifle, a bottle of beer, and Donald Trump.
“To say that it’s disturbing is an understatement,” Brown told News Channel 5.

“Caution must be exercised in how we apply a statute which can criminalize

private sexual acts between consenting adults.”
— JUDGE GINGER LERNER WREN, of Broward County, Florida, in her ruling after throwing out charges against two men accused
of exposing themselves at an adult store in the city of Hollywood. Wren criticized a detective who said the actions of the men
offended him, and noted that the same-sex sexual acts — for which several other men were charged — occurred in a private,
restricted area, which could not be accessed by the public. The arrests have been widely criticized for appearing
to be a “gay sting” operation to entrap gay men.

“The straight flag is being seen as a flag of

privilege and anti-minorities
”
which our community and our council does not support.

— THE VILLAGE OF CHIPMAN COUNCIL, in New Brunswick, Canada, in a statement after it received widespread backlash for erecting a
black and white “straight pride” flag. The council argued that it was raised in the spirit of fairness, after an LGBTQ Pride flag was
raised in June, but that they were removing it “based on the feedback from the citizens we serve,”
and that “no harm or hate was intended in any way.”

“It wasn’t a gay to straight thing.

It was a lost to a saved thing.”
— Pulse shooting survivor LUIS JAVIER RUIZ, speaking to CBN ahead of a Freedom March in Los Angeles featuring “ex-gay”
or “ex-LGBTQ” people, who claim to have renounced or “changed” their sexuality or gender identity in the name
of Christianity — a practice refuted by former “ex-gay” activists, who claim they merely repressed their identity.
A similar march in Washington D.C. in May drew just a few dozen people.

46 OCTOBER 25, 2018 • METROWEEKLY