CONTENTS

NOVEMBER 8, 2018 Volume 25 Issue 27

14 OFF THE CUFF

The WIT Road Show may just be the tonic people
need for these anxious times.

By Doug Rule

UNERASABLE
With Boy Erased, author Garrard Conley and
director Joel Edgerton shine a spotlight on the
horror of conversion therapy.

Interview by Randy Shulman

24
33 DEATH & LOVE
Beetlejuice is gleefully dark and dazzlingly designed,
while Anastasia is an overly cute adaptation
of a Russian legend.

By André Hereford

SPOTLIGHT: ACTUALLY’S JAYSEN WRIGHT p.7 OUT ON THE TOWN p.11

OFF THE CUFF: WIT ROAD SHOW p.14 THE FEED: VOTE OF CONFIDENCE p.19
COMMUNITY: TOSS OFF p.21 COVER STORY: GARRARD CONLEY p.24
FILM: BOY ERASED p.29 GALLERY: STEPHEN HANSEN AT ZENITH p.31
STAGE: BEETLEJUICE THE MUSICAL p.33 STAGE: ANASTASIA p.34
STAGE: KING JOHN p.35 STAGE: ILLYRIUM p.36 NIGHTLIFE p.37 SCENE: TRADE p.37
LISTINGS p.38 NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS p.39 PLAYLIST: DJ LEMZ p.41
SCENE: HIGH HEEL RACE 2018 p.44 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 NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Spotlight
Actually’s Jaysen Wright
A
NNA ZIEGLER’S TIMELY NEW DRAMA ACTUALLY
centers on the aftermath of a date between Tom,
an African-American college student, and Amber, a
Jewish freshman. “They go out on a date,” Jaysen Wright,
who plays Tom, says, “and what proceeds from there turns
into a Title IX hearing.”
Presented by Theater J, Actually touches on issues of sex-
ual consent, gender politics, and racial tensions. “This play,
maybe more than any play I’ve ever done, has really forced
me to understand what I believe and why I believe it,” Wright
says. “I consider myself a very strong feminist and also a great
proponent of the Black Lives Matter movement, and this play
respectfully and intelligently puts those things into conversa-
tion with one another.”
Wright notes that Tom is “a black character...who is com-
Theater J’s Actually runs to Nov. 18 in Arena’s Kogod Cradle, 1101 6th St. SW. Call 202-777-3210 or visit theaterj.org.
plicated and three dimensional — good and flawed, broken
and optimistic, and all of these wonderful kind of contradic-
tions. That’s a real gift as an actor, because a lot of times you’re
playing something really flat, something really stereotyped,
something that people have seen before.”
The 31-year-old D.C. native started acting in elementary
school, and was drawn to it in part due to his burgeoning iden-
tity. “[Growing up] gay and black, I was always kind of strug-
gling to find my place and my voice and to connect with peo-
ple. Theater was an early opportunity for me...to understand
people better and to understand myself better. We all deal
with angst and depression and feelings of insecurity growing
up. Theater is an artform that allows you to escape your own
circumstances and walk in somebody else’s shoes. It gives you
a community of people, a family, to work with.” —Doug Rule
NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 7
 Spotlight
THINGS THAT ARE ROUND
A world premiere dark comedy billed
as “Thelma and Louise meets George and
Martha on steroids.” As with the imagina-
tive roles and alternate realities assumed by
the lead characters in those two celebrated
works of fiction, Callie Kimball’s play focuses
on “a strange ballet of truth or dare” between
a dentist and an aspiring opera singer. To
Nov. 18. At Rep Stage, 10901 Little Patuxent
THAIS MENENDEZ

Parkway, Columbia, Md. Tickets are $35 to

$40. Call 443-518-1500 or visit repstage.org.

NICOLE ATKINS
A New Jersey-raised singer-song-
writer who deserves wider
acclaim for her sharp, intriguing
folk-colored pop/rock and cap-
tivating voice that sounds, as
NPR’s Scott Simon put it, like
“Patsy Cline, Janis Joplin, and
Roy Orbison...all rolled into one.”
Atkins plays Wolf Trap’s intimate,
indoor Barns venue. Wednesday,
Nov. 14, at 8 p.m. 1635 Trap Road,
Vienna. Tickets are $22 to $27.
Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit
wolftrap.org.

ALY FAE
SILENT NIGHT
To commemorate the centennial end
of the Great War, the WNO offers the
Washington premiere of a hopeful work
adapted from the 2005 film Joyeux Noël.
Featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning music
by Kevin Puts and a libretto by Mark
Campbell, Silent Night features a cast of
JEFF ROTHMAN FOR THE ATLANTA OPERA

WNO family, including Domingo-Cafritz

Young Artist alumni, performing in mul-
tiple languages (with English surtitles).
Directed by Tomer Zvulun with conductor
Nicole Paiement. Opens Saturday, Nov. 10.
To Nov. 25. Kennedy Center Eisenhower
Theater. Tickets are $35 to $199. Call 202-
467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

8 NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Spotlight
DC WINE WALK
Sample a variety of wines in this first-ever event that
also aims to introduce participants to new bars around
the city, including Anxo Cidery & Pintxos Bar, Ministry
DC, City Winery, La Jambe, Tyber Creek Wine Bar &
Kitchen, Kingfisher DC, and Slate Wine Bar. In addition
to at least two 1 oz. wine samples at each venue, food
will be available for purchase and snacks are allowed
during the walk itself. Presented by DC Fray, a social
sports and special events company. Check-in location
will be confirmed after purchase. Saturday, Nov. 17, at 2
p.m. Tickets are $20 and include a Wine Walk Brochure
DC WINE WALK

Guide and a shatterproof, eco-friendly Tossware wine

glass. Call 202-290-1969 or visit dcfray.com.

EL ANGEL
Carlos Robledo Puch earned the nick-
name “The Angel of Death” for good
reason. Arrested in Argentina in 1972
— aged just 20 — he was ultimately
charged with 11 murders, 17 robberies,
one attempted murder, and a num-
ber of other crimes, and his methods
included stabbing, shooting, strangling,
bludgeoning and slitting throats. Luis
Ortega’s film depicts the baby-faced
serial killer from his first murder up
to his incarceration. Critics are calling
it a stylish period drama, and prais-
ing Lorenzo Ferro’s strong perfor-
mance as Puch. Opens Friday, Nov. 9.
Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th
St. NW. Visit landmarktheatres.com.

TABERNA DEL ALABARDERO’S

PAELLA FESTIVAL
D.C.’s oldest traditional Spanish restaurant honors
Paella by serving it up at lunch and dinner every
day for $28 an entree, with four different varieties
on offer. Additional festival highlights include a
Paella Buffet every Tuesday with a choice of one
tapa and an unlimited selection of three paellas
for $30; a Paella-Making Demo every Thursday in
the dining room by Taberna’s chef Carlos Gomez;
and a Paella Cooking Class led by Gomez, set
TABERNA DEL ALABARDERO

for Friday, Nov. 16. Festival runs to Nov. 30. At

Taberna del Alabardero, 1776 I St. NW. Call 202-
429-2200 or visit alabardero.com.

NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 9

 Out On The Town

ASCAP PRESENTS BROADWAY, THE NEXT GENERATION

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) offers a weeklong showcase of new and
up-and-coming composers at the Kennedy Center. This year’s series, offering free programs at 6 p.m. on the Millennium
Stage, spotlights Sam Carner & Derek Gregor (pictured), a duo responsible for the 2013 Off Broadway musical Unlock’d
and the forthcoming Island Song, on Tuesday, Nov. 13; Mark Sonnenblick, whose musical Midnight at the Never Get just
had its Off Broadway debut, on Wednesday, Nov. 14; and Laiona Michelle & Mark Fifer, who will perform a sneak preview
of their upcoming Nina Simone musical Little Girl Blue, on Friday, Nov. 16. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

Compiled by Doug Rule
FILM
CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF
Based on Tennessee Williams’
Pulitzer Prize-winning play, the
drama earned star Elizabeth Taylor
her second Oscar nod as Maggie “the
cat,” wife and caretaker of stunted
football star Brick Pollitt (a young
and exceedingly handsome Paul
Newman). Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
returns to the big screen in honor
of its 60th anniversary as part of the
Capital Classics series at Landmark’s
West End Cinema. Wednesday, Nov.
14, at 1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 p.m., 2301
M St. NW. Happy hour from 4 to
6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 to $12.50.
Call 202-534-1907 or visit landmark-
theatres.com.
MARIA BY CALLAS
Through never-before-seen footage
and performances, Tom Volf’s doc-
umentary aims to correct the pop-
ular perception that the renowned
Greek-American opera singer was a
diva offstage as well as on. Through
primary sources, including inter-
views, performances, and her own
writings, Maria by Callas reviews
many highlights of Callas’ career as
well as her life and loves, including
her extramarital relationship with
Aristotle “Mr. Jackie O.” Onassis.
Opens Friday, Nov. 9. Area theaters.
Visit fandango.com.
REEL ROCK 13
A collection of 2018’s best climb-
ing and adventure films, taking
viewers on a wild ride from the
frigid Antarctic to the bedouin can-
yonlands of the Middle East, and
featuring Madaleine Sorkin, Alex
Honnold, and Conrad Anker, among
others. This 13 iteration of a pro-
gram and tour founded by filmmak-
ers Josh Lowell and Peter Mortimer
in 2006 runs approximately 100
minutes and is presented with a
20-minute intermission. Monday,
Nov. 12, through Wednesday, Nov.
14, at 7 p.m. AFI Silver Theatre,
8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring.
Tickets are $18 to $20. Call 301-495-
6720 or visit afi.com/Silver.
SMITHSONIAN
VETERANS DAY FILM FESTIVAL
The Smithsonian offers up extraor-
dinary stories about veterans and
their families who have all sacri-
ficed for our country and freedoms.
Showings include the 1930 classic
All Quiet on the Western Front and
Michael Cimino’s epic, The Deer
Hunter. Saturday, Nov. 10, and
Sunday, Nov. 11 in the The Warner
Bros. Theater in the National
Museum of American History, 1300
Constitution Ave. NW. Also Sunday,
Nov. 11 in the Lockheed Martin
IMAX Theater in the National Air
and Space Museum, Independence
Ave at 6th St. SW. Tickets are $6
to $10. Call 202-633-1000 or visit
si.edu/theaters.
STAGE
ANYTHING GOES
Molly Smith puts her stamp on
Cole Porter’s most famous show
by enlisting two right-hand-men
for staging musical classics in the
round — choreographer Parker
Esse (Oklahoma!) and music
director Paul Sportelli (Carousel).
Soara-Joye Ross, last seen in
D.C. via the national tour of The
Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, makes
her Arena debut as showboat sen-
sation Reno Sweeney who sings
several American Songbook stan-
dards, including “Anything Goes,”
“I Get A Kick Out of You,” and
“Blow, Gabriel, Blow.” Ross leads a
cruise ship-sized cast also including
Corbin Bleu as Billy Crocker, Lisa
Helmi Johanson as Hope Harcourt,
Jimmy Ray Bennett as Lord Evelyn
Oakleigh, Lisa Tejero as Evangeline
Harcourt, and Maria Rizzo as the
vampy Erma. Now in previews. To
Dec. 23. Fichandler Stage, 1101 6th
St. SW. Call 202-488-3300 or visit
arenastage.org.
AS YOU LIKE IT
A musical adaptation of
Shakespeare’s classic magical
comedy with music and lyrics by
Shaina Taub. Cara Gabriel and Josh
Sticklin direct a large 18-person
cast including Jade Jones, Oscar
Ceville, Patrick Doneghy, Kourtney
Richards, Bianca Lipford, Willie
Garner, and Jennifer Hopkins.
Choreography by Lady Dane
Figueroa Edidi. To Dec. 2. 1742
Church St. NW. Tickets are $48
to $58. Call 202-265-3767 or visit
keegantheatre.com.

NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 11

 about the everyday racism endured
by African Americans. Presented by
the University of Maryland School
of Theatre, Dance, and Performance
Studies, Citizen: An American Lyric
is billed as a “searingly provocative
meditation on race in America [and]
fast-moving, fluid theater at the
speed of thought.” Opens Friday,
Nov. 9. To Nov. 16. Kogod Theatre
in the Clarice, University Boulevard
and Stadium Drive. College Park.
Tickets are $10 to $25. Call 301-405-
ARTS or visit theclarice.umd.edu.
ELF THE MUSICAL
An orphan leaves the North Pole to
find his true identity in this musi-
cal based on the 2003 Will Ferrell
movie and featuring songs by the
team of composer Matthew Sklar
and lyricist Chad Beguelin (The
Wedding Singer) and a book by
Thomas Meehan (Annie) and Bob
Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone).
Olney Theatre presents a holiday
treat of a production with a pow-
erhouse cast including Patricia
Hurley, Kevin McAllister, Nova
Y. Payton, and Bobby Smith, plus
TOMMY BARRIOS
David Schumpf in the Ferrell role
of Buddy. Directed by Michael J.
Bobbitt and choreographed by Tara
Jeanne Vallee. To Jan. 6. Mainstage,
2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road,
Olney, Md. Call 301-924-3400 or
visit olneytheatre.org.
FUEGO FLAMENCO XIV
GALA’s annual two-weekend festival kicks off with one KING OF THE YEE
of the hottest companies based in the country where Desdemona Chiang directs Lauren
Yee’s smart and cheeky family com-
the style originated. Spain’s Fundación Conservatorio edy about a young playwright who
Flamenco Casa Patas collaborates to present Barrios and chases “through time, space, and the
Co. in the U.S. premiere of Reditum, Dancing Flamenco, fourth wall itself” to find her sud-
an imaginative, high-spirited work that showcases denly missing Chinese-American
father and chronicle a vanishing
Barrios’ virtuosity and also features music director and piece of American culture. Khanh
guitarist Isaac Muñoz, singers Caridad Vega and Sara Doan portrays the playwright, with
Coréa, and Diego Villegas on saxophone, flute, and Stan Egi as her father Larry, in a
cast that also features Celeste Den,
harmonica. Thursday, Nov. 8, through Saturday, Nov. Joe Ngo, and Tony Aidan Vo. Now
11, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 12, at 2 p.m. The second to Nov. 11. Baltimore Center Stage,
weekend offers the D.C. premiere of La Sobremesa, a 700 North Calvert St., Baltimore.
mesmerizing new piece from Spain’s Omayra Amaya Tickets are $20 to $74. Call 410-
332-0033 or visit centerstage.org.
Flamenco Dance Co., performed with bailaor Edwin
Aparicio, the festival’s gay co-founder and curator, a SING TO ME NOW
D.C.-based native of El Salvador who has become a Iris Dauterman weaves sardonic
humor, poetry, and a deeply con-
world-renowned champion of contemporary flamenco. temporary voice to create a comedy
Friday, Nov. 16, and Saturday, Nov. 17, at 8 p.m., and about Calliope, the Greek Muse of
Sunday, Nov. 18, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $30 to $48, or $80 Epic Poetry, and the value in fighting
for beauty while the world is falling
for a Flamenco Pass to both productions. Call 202-234-
apart. Directed by Jenny McConnell
7174 or visit galatheatre.org. Frederick, the Rorschach Theatre
production features Ian Armstrong,
Tori Boutin, Desiree Chappelle,
Erik Harrison, Cam Magee, Chloe
BILLY ELLIOT Crystal Mosser as his mother, Sean Mikala, and Jonathan Del Palmer.
Matthew Gardiner helms Signature Watkinson as brother Tony, and To Nov. 18. Lab Theatre II in the
Theatre’s take on the moving musi- Catherine Flye as Grandma. In pre- Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333
cal from writer/lyricist Lee Hall views. Pride Night is Dec. 14. To H St. NE. Tickets are $19.99 to
and composer Elton John about Jan. 6. The Ark, 4200 Campbell $29.99. Call 202-399-7993 or visit
an 11-year-old boy who just wants Ave., Arlington. Call 703-820-9771 atlasarts.org.
to dance. The production features or visit sigtheatre.org.
two Billys and two young ensem- SWEAT
bles performing in rotation, along CITIZEN: AN AMERICAN LYRIC Set in a small Pennsylvania com-
with an adult crew featuring Nancy Shirley Jo Finney directs Stephen munity where a group of machine
Anderson as Mrs. Wilkinson, Sachs’ stage adaptation of Claudia workers find themselves caught
Chris Genebach as Billy’s father, Rankine’s acclaimed book of poetry
12 NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
between their union and their
employer, Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer
Prize-winning drama bears wit-
ness to the 21st century’s faceless
global economy and its impact on
everything from race relations to
interpersonal dynamics and friend-
ships. Vincent M. Lancisi directs
a high-caliber cast led by Deborah
Hazlett, Dawn Ursula, Kurt Rhoads,
and Vaughn Ryan Midder. Now to
Nov. 25 at Everyman Theatre, 315
West Fayette St. Baltimore. Tickets
are $43 to $65. Call 410-752-2208 or
visit everymantheatre.org.
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. 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.
THE THEATRE LAB
HONORS ACTING
CONSERVATORY SHOWCASE
The Theatre Lab School of the
Dramatic Arts offers final project
presentations by its 2018 honors act-
ing students, with works selected
and performances directed almost
entirely by the students them-
selves. Presented in two rounds,
the performances are at the school’s
Woodward Hall, a block north of
the Old Patent Office Building. The
conservatory is a one-year profes-
sional training program with cours-
es taught by some of Washington’s
leading theater professionals. First-
round performances are Friday, Nov.
16, and Saturday, Nov. 17, at 7:30 p.m.
733 8th St. NW. Free. Call 202-824-
0449 or visit theatrelab.org.
MUSIC
6LACK
Born in Baltimore 26 years ago,
Ricardo Valdez Valentine’s musi-
cal moniker, pronounced “black,”
includes a numerical nod to his
upbringing in Atlanta’s Zone 6. The
moody alt-R&B singer/rapper, who
snagged two Grammy nods earli-
er this year for his debut album
Free 6lack and first single “Prblms,”
certainly is a kindred soul to for-
mer tourmate the Weeknd. More
recent and notable associations
include Khalid and Ty Dolla Sign
via the trio’s collaborative, ’90s R&B
throwback hit “OMW,” as well as J.
Cole, Future, and Offset, all of whom
guest on his new, well-thought-out
sophomore set East Atlanta Love
 Letter. Summer Walker and Deante
Hitchcock open. Sunday, Nov. 11.
Doors at 6:30 p.m. The Anthem,
901 Wharf St. SW. Tickets are $40
to $129. Call 202-888-0020 or visit
theanthemdc.com.

BALTIMORE CONCERT OPERA:

MASCAGNI’S L’AMICO FRITZ
Italian composer Pietro Mascagni’s
L’Amico Fritz is decidedly more
comical, with a happier ending,
than his better known Cavalleria
Rusticana, yet is filled with the soar-
ing melodies you’d expect from his
verismo style. Baltimore Concert
Opera offers a rare concert perfor-
mance of this opera about a wealthy
landowner who makes a bet with
a friend that he’ll remain a bache-
PHOTO COURTESY OF WIT

lor forever — until threatened by

Darnell Eaton and Dan Milliken
the charms of a tennant’s daugh-
ter. Tenor William Davenport por-
trays Fritz with soprano Victoria
Cannizzo as Suzel, the damsel
of his initial distress. Giovanni
Reggioli conducts with Justina Lee
at the piano in the Garrett-Jacobs
Mansion, the new home of the BCO,

OFF THE CUFF

a decade-old company focused on
offering operatic masterpieces with
singers and piano in the intimate
setting of a gilded 19th-century
The WIT Road Show may just be the tonic people need historic ballroom. Friday, Nov. 9,
at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 11,
for these anxious times. at 3 p.m. Grand Ballroom of the

I
Engineers Club, 11 W. Mount
Vernon Pl., Baltimore. Tickets are
T’S ONE THING TO SEE A MUSICAL OR TO WATCH AN IMPROV SKETCH.
$27.50 to $71.50. Call 443-445-0226
It’s another thing entirely to see both at once.“The thrill of the show is to listen to or visit baltimoreconcertopera.com.
a completely catchy, seductive, singable musical theater song happening sponta-
neously, in a way that connects to something hilarious and/or truthful in a scene,” says BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT
Under his Gremlins-inspired alias,
Mark Chalfant about the Washington Improv Theater’s iMusical. “Improv is already Rod Thomas has made repeat vis-
sort of a magic kind of alchemy where there are signals being sent by performers, and its to D.C. to DJ Otter Crossing
depending on how the audience is responding, the show goes in this direction or that parties. But the Welsh-born, New
York-based Thomas is first and
direction. I think it just feels more magnified when the musical aspect is added.”
foremost a singer-songwriter, and
Chalfant has been a member of iMusical since it started a dozen years ago. He’s the 36-year-old returns to play
served even longer as the director of WIT, which has helped a notoriously serious-mind- from his own uniformly appealing
ed town loosen up a bit. nu-disco/synth-pop repertoire,
from new EP Tough Love, to the
“D.C. has an incredibly robust improv community of really talented performers,” he recently remastered and reissued
says. And he proudly puts that talent on display in programs like the current WIT Road debut Make Me Believe in Hope
Show. Each show features a different mix of improv ensembles, from iMusical to the (originally dating to 2012), to 2016’s
full-length Choreography, which
all-female-identifying group Hellcat. All told, eight of the ensembles performing over
featured Thomas’ past touring part-
the next two weekends feature LGBTQ players, says Chalfant, who is also gay. ners Elton John, Jake Shears and
Among the ensemble lineup, Chalfant singles out the “sensational” — and sensation- Ana Matronic of the Scissor Sisters,
ally named — Lena Dunham. “I think each player in Lena Dunham was the only African- and one with Alan Cumming. His
current headlining tour includes
American player on their respective other improv team,” Chalfant says. “I don’t know if two local opening acts, the prom-
you watch Girls, but there was sort of a cultural moment when they introduced a person ising up-and-coming, upbeat indie-
of color.” pop outfit Sub-Radio, with shades
of Walk The Moon and Vampire
Audience interaction at a WIT show is usually limited to seeking a suggestion of some
Weekend, and the synth-pop trio
sort — “a word, an idea, a location” — from which the improvisers develop a sketch. Loi Loi. Saturday, Nov. 10. Doors at
“Nobody’s created a show that’s based upon audience humiliation or rigorous heckling,” 6 p.m. Union Stage, 740 Water St.
Chalfant says. “That’s not the spirit. We love our audience, we want them there, because SW. Tickets are $10. Call 877-987-
6487 or visit unionstage.com.
they’re helping create the show with us. So we always try and treat them fantastically.
“I think in a city so button-down and so focused on its work and productivity, it’s FRANK SOLIVAN
easy to forget the lighter side of just being human,” he says. “Improv does a great job of & DIRTY KITCHEN
Increasingly regarded as one of the
reminding us that we’re playful, joyous creatures who are entitled to moments of happi-
genre’s best contemporary bands,
ness and play.” —Doug Rule the local progressive bluegrass act
earned a Grammy nomination for
the 2015 album Cold Spell. Solivan
The WIT Road Show runs to Nov. 18 at the DC Arts Center, 2438 18th St. NW. Tickets and his Dirty Kitchen crew —
are $15 to $18. Call 202-462-7833 or visit witdc.org.

14 NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

banjoist Mike Munford, guitarist
Chris Luquette, and bassist Jeremy
Middleton — offers a hometown
show as early promotion for the
forthcoming set If You Can’t Stand
The Heat. The High and Wides,
a self-described “hillbilly string
band,” opens. Friday, Nov. 9. Doors
at 6:30 p.m. The Hamilton, 600 14th
St. NW. Tickets are $17.25 to $39.75.
Call 202-787-1000 or visit thehamil-
tondc.com.
KT TUNSTALL
Underappreciated as she may have
become over the past dozen years
in the mainstream, this Scottish
singer-songwriter — best known for
her swaggering, indelible early hits
“Black Horse and the Cherry Tree”
and “Suddenly I See” — has charted
new territory in recent years, after
moving to Southern California and
becoming a composer and song-
writer for films including Winter’s
Tale, About Ray, and Bad Moms.
Tunstall will perform an intimate
set to support the latest in a trilo-
gy of upbeat-pop/rock albums each
focused around a different aspect
of soul/body/mind, launching with
2016’s soul-stirring KIN. Maddie
Ross opens. Sunday, Nov. 11. Doors
at 6:30 p.m. Union Stage, 740 Water
St. SW. Tickets are $35 to $45, or
$99 for VIP Meet & Greet. Call 877-
987-6487 or visit unionstage.com.
OLETA ADAMS
Several years ago in Metro Weekly,
Maurice Hines sang Adams’ prais-
es, calling her “one of today’s great
voices.” She returns for an annual
show at Alexandria’s great hall, the
Birchmere. Friday, Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m.
3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria.
Tickets are $45. Call 703-549-7500 or
visit birchmere.com.
DANCE
D.C. DANCE
IMPROVISATION FESTIVAL
Dance Loft on 14 plays host to this
day-long annual festival at which
dance masters lead workshop ses-
sions for interested participants
exploring renowned improvisatory
dance styles. Co-presented by Dance
ICONS: International Consortium
for Advancement in Choreography,
the festival kicks off on Saturday,
Nov. 10, at 9 a.m. with Juliana
Ponguta teaching the avant-garde
dance style Contact Improvisation,
originally created by Steve Paxton,
followed by Candice Scarborough
leading a Gaga Masterclass into the
healing power of movement, based
on the style developed by Ohad
Naharin, at 10:45 a.m., Vladimir
Angelov of Dance ICONS teach-
ing Improvisational Technologies
as created by William Forsythe at
12:30 p.m., and Ken Manheimer
leading The Underscore, originally
created by Nancy Stark Smith, at
2:15 p.m. In addition to a break for
a 30-minute lunch, the day con-
cludes with a complimentary Wine
& Cheese reception at 4:30 p.m.
4618 14th St. NW 2nd Floor. Tickets
are $20 to $22. Call 202-621-3670 or
visit danceloft14.org.
MOVEIUS: REPERTORY OF RITES
OF SPRING, CRASH OF FALL,
GLACIER
The MOVEIUS Contemporary
Ballet, which works to push the
boundaries of ballet by tackling pol-
icy issues affecting society, presents
two ballets by the company’s Diana
Movius as part of the first home
season at Movius-founded venue
Dance Loft on 14. Rite of Spring,
Crash of Fall is a new 35-minute
dance-theater piece commissioned
PHOTO COURTESY HOUSE OF GARCON
by the Kennedy Center that uses
Stravinsky’s famous score and sto-
ryline as the backdrop to revisit
to the 2008 financial crisis on its
10-year anniversary. Dating to 2015,
Glacier: A Climate Change Ballet is a
multimedia piece where the threat
of polar icecap collapse is brought
to life by dancers who ripple, crack,
and plunge amidst live video pro-
jections by filmmaker Robin Bell
(known for his #resist projections
on Trump hotels) and set to music
by Max Richter, David Lang, and HOUSE OF GARCON: LOVE SEX PLAY BALL
Andrew Thomas. Remaining per- Whitney and Shannon Garcon formed the collective
formances are Friday, Nov. 9, and
Saturday, Nov. 10, at 8 p.m. 4618 from which they took their last name a decade ago,
14th St. NW 2nd Floor. Tickets making it part of the network of houses providing
are $27. Call 202-621-3670 or visit support and guidance for members, who in turn com-
danceloft14.org.
pete at fabulous, fierce balls. This weekend comes the
Love Sex Play ball presented as a celebration of the
COMEDY
10th anniversary of the International House of Garcon
and the Comme des Garcons Community. Icon Vjuan
BROADWAY SHOW
WITH FRANQI FRENCH Allure will serve as Head DJ and Icon Jack Mizrahi as
In its black box space, D.C.’s Head Commentator at the ball, hosted at Echostage.
Drafthouse Comedy presents this
The theme of New York’s Met Gala 2017 is the guid-
variety show offering stand-up
comedy, music, and sketches by ing force for the event’s grand prize, “OTA — Perfect
a diverse group of local female, 10’s,” which will garner $5,000 to the winner showing
minority, and LGBTQ performers “face, body, and realness but all in good taste.” There
— all hosted by a comedian who has
shared the stage with DL Hughley, are five other Mini Grand Prize categories, including
Todd Glass, Fortune Feimster, and “Best Dressed with an Understudy,” “Team Runway
Judy Gold, among others. Thursday, Era Duo,” and “Performance as a House.” Trophies
Nov. 15, at 8:45 p.m. 1100 13th St.
will be awarded in categories ranging from “Transman
NW. Tickets are $5 online, or $10 at
the door. Call 202-750-6411 or visit Realness: ROTC” to “FF Sex Siren-Succubus” to “BQ
drafthousecomedy.com. Thug Realness: Platinum Cover.” Sunday, Nov. 11, at 6
p.m. at Echostage, 2135 Queens Chapel Rd. NE. Tickets
IMPROBABLE COMEDY: STAND-
UP SILVER SPRING are $35 plus fees. Call 202-503-2330 or visit lovesex-
A showcase of talent from right in play.thegarcons.com.
our own backyard, the latest show
from this Maryland-based present-
ing organization features Blaire
Postman, Michael Brown, Tiffany
Cain, and Jay Rivas. Saturday, Nov.
Kennedy Center a year after taping
his first Netflix special in the Concert
READINGS
10, at 8 and 10:30 p.m. Cissel-Saxon
American Legion Post 41, 8110
Hall. If unfamiliar, his stand-up style
becomes pretty self-evident just by & LECTURES
Fenton St., Silver Spring. Tickets glancing at the titles to previous tap-
ings, all of which originally aired on DISH & TELL: ROSE PREVITE,
are $10 to $15 in advance, or $15 to
Showtime: Brown & Friendly, I Come CHRIS BRADY, ANDREW DANA
$20 at the door. Call 301-588-8937
In Peace, and I’m Not a Terrorist, But Three of the hottest restaurateurs
or visit improbablecomedy.com.
I’ve Played One on TV — the latter of in D.C. at the moment will share
which is also the name of his memoir, their “Recipes for Success” in a
MAZ JOBRANI discussion with Daniel Pink. The
The Iranian-American comedian and published in 2015. Friday, Nov. 16, at
8 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. featured guests are Rose Previte of
actor, who rose to fame a dozen years
Tickets are $29 to $125. Call 202-467- the trendy U Street-area restaurants
ago as a founding member of the Axis
4600 or visit kennedy-center.org. Compass Rose and Maydan — the
of Evil Comedy Tour, returns to the
latter, the second-best restaurant
NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 15
 its enduring pop culture legacy 20
years after its release. Hill’s solo
debut has been held up as an inspi-
ration to most of today’s leading
pop/hip-hop ladies, from Beyoncé
to Nicki Minaj to Janelle Monáe,
as well as deemed by NPR as sec-
ond only to Joni Mitchell’s Blue as
the greatest album from a woman.
Kierna Mayo and Demetria Lucas
will join Morgan as special guests
for a special Kennedy Center Book
Talk and Signing, followed by an
Afterparty with DJ Beverly Bond
of Black Girls Rock! Thursday, Nov.
15, at 7:30 p.m. Terrace Theater.
Tickets are $35. Call 202-467-4600
or visit kennedy-center.org.
THE ATLANTIC’S POLITICS
PHOTO COURTESY OF WPAS
lectors. There’s Kevin Champeny’s
“Defiance”, for instance, a mosa-
ic portrait of Trump comprised
of hundreds of tiny plastic hands
with middle fingers up, or Bryan
McGinnis’ “Taking a Hard Stance,”
a collection of hand-carved wood-
en dildos plastered with photos of
administration officials and covered
by condoms. Other striking works
in the juried exhibition include
George Kennedy’s “Freedom
of Speech,” a crude update on a
Norman Rockwell illustration
showing a Trump supporter flip-
ping off a black man while the presi-
dent sits back grinning, and Patricia
Isaza’s sculptural work that uses
real straw for the president’s hair.
Now to Nov. 14, with a “Free Open

TEAM: WHAT DO THE MIDTERMS Mic: The Art of Literary Protest”

MEAN? featuring poets Sarah Browning,
If you were hoping for a little Katherine E. Young, and Tara
reprieve from politics and politi- Campbell, on Friday, Nov. 9, at 7:30
cal analysis in the week following p.m. Mather Studios Building, 916 G
the elections, well, you do realize St. NW. Visit politicsartus.org.
you’re in Washington, don’t you?
In fact, waiting a full week for a LAURA BERMAN:
postmortem will strike some as too CHROMATIC SPACE
DANISH STRING QUARTET little, too late. Yet hearing from The Inspired by “the vast landscape of
Washington Performing Arts presents the return of these Atlantic’s political hive mind should nothingness” that is the very middle
prove worth the wait. The maga- of Kansas, the unique monoprints
masters of traditional classical repertoire with a focus zine’s staff writers McKay Coppins, of this artist and professor at the
on folk music from their home turf. Childhood friends, Vann R. Newkirk III, and Elaina Kansas City Art Institute reflect
violinists Frederik Øland and Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen Plott, and editor-in-chief Jeffrey the slow and dramatic connections
Goldberg, are planning to convene between enormous spaces on and
and violist Asbjørn Nørgaard, formed the ensemble in
and take stock of the election results beyond our earth. Everything is
2002, but became the quartet as it’s known today a decade with a look to 2020 on Tuesday, related and nothing is identical in
ago when they were joined by Norwegian cellist Fredrik Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. 600 I St. NW. iterative prints of patterns and bold
Schøyen Sjölin. Expect everything from moving ballads to Tickets are $15 in advance, or $18 colors, also informed by the art-
day of. Call 202-408-3100 or visit ist’s hometown of Barcelona, Spain.
energetic jigs akin to their recordings of old Nordic melo- sixthandi.org. Now to Nov. 25. Long View Gallery,
dies and dances 2014’s Wood Works and 2017’s Last Leaf. 1234 9th St. NW. Call 202-232-4788
Monday, Nov. 12, at 8 p.m. Sixth & I Historic Synagogue.
ART & EXHIBITS or visit longviewgallery.com.
600 I St. NW. Tickets are $35. Call 202-408-3100 or visit
PORTRAITS OF THE WORLD:
sixthandi.org. ATHENAEUM INVITATIONAL: SWITZERLAND
THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES Once a year, the Smithsonian’s
Artists, both those specially invited National Portrait Gallery plans
and others who answered a call for to showcase one portrait created
in the country right now, per Bon clips, photographs, and his own submissions, created themed-based by a foreign artist in an exhibi-
Appetit — and Chris Brady and memories as an occasional col- works in this fourth annual exhi- tion designed around that work,
Andrew Dana of Timber Pizza in league of Bernstein’s to explore the bition presented by Alexandria’s via a series intended to highlight
Petworth — “Pizzeria of the Year,” dimensions of his musical contri- historic museum. The exhibition the global context of American
a la Bon Appetit in 2017 — and Call butions, from On The Waterfront brings a modern context to the idea portraiture. The inaugural exhibi-
Your Mother, the overwhelmingly to West Side Story, Candide to of a curiosity collection enveloped tion focuses on “Femme en Extase
popular new deli/bagelry in Park Mass. Plotkin will also touch on in a gallery-sized cabinet. On dis- (Woman in Ecstasy),” a portrait of
View with lines down the block Bernstein’s unparalleled impact play to Nov. 11. The Athenaeum, Italian dancer Giulia Leonardi by
daily for their New York-style rolls. on American culture and society 201 Prince St., Alexandria. Call 703- Swiss painter Ferdinand Hodler,
Despite relative overnight suc- through his many roles as “an 548-0035 or visit nvfaa.org. complemented by a selection of
cess across the board, none of the American Renaissance Man” — as
works from the gallery’s collec-
three had planned or expected to composer, conductor, concert pia- DEFINING THE ART OF CHANGE tion featuring American dancers,
become restaurateurs or food entre- nist, Broadway tunesmith, educa- (IN THE AGE OF TRUMP) notably Isadora Duncan, Martha
preneurs, with Previte focusing on tor, and humanitarian, to cite his More than 100 provocative works Graham, Doris Humphrey, Ted
public policy/governmental affairs, more prominent roles. Thursday, of art reflecting on the current state Shawn, and Ruth St. Denis. To Nov.
and Brady and Dana working in Nov. 15, at 6:45 p.m. S. Dillon of American politics — as you can 12. 8th and F Streets. NW. Call 202-
corporate sales for a tech company. Ripley Center, 1100 Jefferson Dr. imagine, many of them explicitly 633-8300 or visit npg.si.edu.
And yet, they opted to pursue their SW. Tickets are $45, or $30 for anti-Trump — are on display at the
dreams anyway. Thursday, Nov. 15, Smithsonian Associates. Call 202- Center for Contemporary Political RODARTE
at 7 p.m. at Sixth & I, 600 I St. NW. 633-3030 or visit smithsonianasso- Art, a downtown venue founded The American luxury fashion house
Tickets are $12 in advance, or $15 ciates.org. by former Washington Post foreign is featured in the first fashion exhi-
day of. Call 202-408-3100 or visit correspondent Charles Krause. The bition organized by the National
sixthandi.org. JOAN MORGAN: SHE BEGAT Center is the first research institute Museum of Women in the Arts, a
THIS: 20 YEARS OF THE and nonprofit gallery in the U.S. showcase of the Los Angeles-based
FRED PLOTKIN: LOVING LENNY: MISEDUCATION OF “devoted to the study, patronage, label’s conceptual blend of high
LEONARD BERNSTEIN AT 100 LAURYN HILL and strategic use of political fine couture, modern femininity, crafts-
A popular Smithsonian music lec- Feminist author and journal- art” — including the kinds of work manship, and California influences.
turer as well as opera and Italy ist Morgan offers an expansive, museums and commercial galleries Rodarte has drawn critical acclaim
expert, Plotkin offers a talk high- in-depth, and heartfelt analysis of are likely to shy away from for fear from both the art and fashion
lighted by music recordings, film The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and of offending donors or wealthy col-

16 NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Week can offer a more flexible and
cheaper way for a first-time diner
to get to know an establishment
than through RAMW’s signa-
ture Restaurant Week promotion.
Rather than commit to a relatively
pricey, multi-course, multi-hour
experience at one establishment,
you can pretty easily bar hop among
a few venues during Cocktail Week,
which this year begins Monday,
Nov. 12. For instance, you could
try a Cosmopom — a pomegran-
ate Cosmopolitan — paired with
an appetizer of Hush Puppies at
Georgetown’s America Eats Tavern,
the newest restaurant from José
Andrés, for just $9, and then take
a stroll down to the Washington
Harbor to try the Negroni Spritzer
with Founding Spirits Arroyo’s
Never Bitter Amaro at Farmers
Fishers Bakers, which is pairing the
libation with its Margarita Pizza
for $15. A few additional pairing
highlights from the 60-plus partic-
ipating venues: a Gimlet featuring
spice-infused Citadelle gin and a
punch of Amaro at Penn Quarter’s
top-notch Karma Modern Indian,
paired with the classic tandoor
oven-cooked Chicken Tikka for $16;
a Civic Sunset, made with Republic
Restoratives vodka, lemon, rose-
mary simple syrup, and a Meritage
float, that is paired at City Winery
in Ivy City with an Amuse Bouche
of bleu cheese mousse in phyllo and
roasted apples for $14; the Carajillo,
made with espresso, Licor 43, dark
rum, and syrup, and paired with
SYRANNO
the Sweet Potato and Queso Fresco
Croqueta for $8 at the Colada
Shop just off 14th Street NW; and
Dogfish Head Roasted Peanut
BLAIR IMANI: MODERN HERSTORY Vodka mixed with a port reduction,
grenadine, amaretto, and egg white,
A black queer American Muslim activist, the 25-year-old
paired at Shaw’s playfully upscale
Imani is founder and executive director of the femi- Unconventional Diner with “Foie
nist organization Equality for HER. Subtitled Stories of Gras PB&J,” or liver with grape
Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History, her jelly, port reduction, pomegran-
ate, and dehydrated peanut butter
new primer on social activism features profiles of 70
“snow” on toast, for $22. Runs to
diverse progressives from the last 60 years engaged in Nov. 18. Visit dccocktailweek.com
building a more inclusive and just society in all sectors, for more information.
from politics to academia to pop culture. Imani will be in
EMPORIYUM
conversation with Mia Ives-Rublee, a national organizer Union Market is a haven for food-
for the Women’s March on Washington and coordinator ies year-round, but one weekend
of its disability caucus. Wednesday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. every November it becomes a veri-
table foodie’s paradise. In addition
Politics & Prose at Union Market, 1270 5th St. NE. Call
to the regular merchants and food
202-544-4452 or visit politics-prose.com. stalls inside the Market proper, over
100 artisans, producers, chefs, and
restaurants from around the Mid-
worlds since its founding in 2005 NW. Admission is $10. Call 202- Atlantic also set up booths behind
by sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy 783-5000 or visit nmwa.org. the market to sample and peddle
— who also become the first design- their latest wares and fares. A sam-
pling of the more intriguing vendors
ers recognized with their own show
at the museum. Jill D’Alessandro FOOD & DRINK on hand this year include Hubert’s
of the Fine Arts Museums of San Lemonade, Ice Cream Jubilee,
Francisco guest curated the display, DC COCKTAIL WEEK Hot Little Biscuit, Buttercream
featuring highlights from the com- Ostensibly a showcase of the Bake Shop, Republic Restoratives,
pany’s most pivotal collections in its area’s mixologists and finer water- La Vache “microcreamery,” the
first 13 years — all told, almost 100 ing holes, this annual promo- deli Call Your Mother, Sweet
complete looks, presented as they tion is also geared toward chefs Sticks pudding, Crude bitters and
were shown on the runway. Opens and dining establishments — not sodas, Chick’nCone, Colada Shop,
Friday, Nov. 9. On view to Feb. surprising, given it’s a product Maryland ChickAn, Ramen Burger,
10. National Museum of Women of the Restaurant Association Shouk, True Chesapeake Oyster Co,
in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave Metropolitan Washington. Cocktail and Undercover Quinoa Co. The
18 NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
Emporiyum launches with a pre-
view party Friday, Nov. 9, starting at
6 p.m. The Emporiyum is Saturday,
Nov. 10, and Sunday, Nov. 11. Dock5
at Union Market, 1309 5th St. NE.
General admission per day is $25
for admission at 11 a.m., $20 at 12:30
p.m., or $15 at 1:30 p.m., or $40 for
VIP access at 10 a.m. with special
bites and sips, and a gift bag; the
Friday party is $50, or $80 with
an All Access Weekend Pass. Call
800-680-9095 or visit theempori-
yum.com.
ABOVE & BEYOND
LA-TI-DO: GREAT COMPOSERS
FEAT. TOM FLATT
& CHERIE WARD
Regie Cabico and Don Mike
Mendoza’s variety show features
higher-quality singing than most
karaoke, often from local musical
theater actors performing on their
night off, and also includes spo-
ken-word poetry and comedy. Held
at Bistro Bistro in Dupont Circle,
the next La-Ti-Do is an annual cele-
bration of songs by great composers,
this year featuring composer Flatt
and poet Ward, with a spotlight on
singer-songwriter Chris Urquiaga.
Frank Britton and Lawrence O.
Grey, Jr. are guest hosts for this
program with guest performers
including Carlos Castillo, Julia
Capizzi, Natalie Jensen, Elizabeth
Weiss, and Stephanie Wilson.
Pianist Paige Rammelkamp accom-
panies the performers along with
a small jazz band. Monday, Nov.
12, at 8 p.m. 1727 Connecticut Ave.
NW. Tickets are $15, or $10 if you
eat dinner at the restaurant before-
hand. Call 202-328-1640 or visit
latidoproductions.com.
STRATHMORE’S MUSEUM SHOP
AROUND HOLIDAY MARKET
The annual Museum Shop Around
is one of the best and most con-
venient places in town for finding
unique, artsy holiday gift ideas. Next
weekend, 17 museums and art orga-
nizations will be represented at the
event selling memorabilia and mer-
chandise, including the Audubon
Naturalist Society, the Jewish
Museum of Maryland, Montgomery
History, the National Geographic
Museum, the National Museum of
Women in the Arts, the Phillips
Collection, and the Supreme Court
Historical Society. Each museum
is given its own space, often its
own room, in Strathmore’s historic
Mansion. That’s enough for most
shops to display as much as 40 per-
cent of their normal inventory. The
Mansion also offers a café with food
and drink available throughout the
event, including hot apple cider.
Opens Thursday, Nov. 8, and runs
through Sunday, Nov. 11, starting at
10 a.m. each day. 5301 Tuckerman
Lane, North Bethesda. Free, but
suggested donation is $10. Call 301-
581-5100 or visit strathmore.org. l
 theFeed
VOTE OF CONFIDENCE
Tuesday’s elections brought a number of high-profile LGBTQ victories — and
a decisive win for transgender rights By John Riley
T
HE DEMOCRATIC TSUNAMI DIDN’T QUITE
materialize on Tuesday night. But despite the
wave being more of a ripple, national Democrats
had much to feel good about — as well as seven gov-
ernorships and a number of state legislative seats, the
party regained control of the House, effectively putting
the brakes on the worst excesses of the Trump adminis-
tration, including its attacks on LGBTQ rights.
However, on the Republican side, the potential
bruising some expected instead offered a few unexpect-
ed results — the GOP increased their U.S. Senate major-
ity by at least four seats, giving Trump the numbers
he requires to confirm as many anti-LGBTQ federal
nominees as he likes.
But blue wave or not, Tuesday did bring a notable
“rainbow wave” — a movement that propelled several
LGBTQ candidates, particularly women, to victory. In
total, at least 120 openly LGBTQ candidates up and
down the ballots won on Nov. 6, including Senators,
U.S. Reps, Governors, and local candidates. With that
in mind, here’s all the LGBTQ highlights from the 2018
midterms:
CONGRESS
LGBTQ representation in Congress continues to swell,
driven entirely by Democrats — all nine LGBTQ win-
ners are Democrats, meaning the GOP yet again failed
to elect a single openly LGBTQ lawmaker to Congress.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, the first openly lesbian person
elected to Congress, romped to a double-digit re-elec-
tion victory in Wisconsin — a state won by President
Trump just two years ago — while openly gay U.S.
Reps. Mark Pocan (Wis.), David Cicilline (R.I.), Mark
Takano (Calif.) and Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.) were
all re-elected to the House.
Joining them in the House are four newcom-
ers: Chris Pappas of New Hampshire; Katie Hill in
California; Angie Craig, a second-time candidate who
ousted Rep. Jason Lewis in Minnesota; and Sharice
Davids of Kansas, who makes history as the first LGBTQ
Native American woman elected to Congress.
“The Rainbow Wave is an historic achievement for
the entire LGBTQ community,” Rep. Takano, a co-chair
of Equality PAC, said in a statement. “Not only will we
have a record number of LGBTQ members of Congress,
we will have a record number of women LGBTQ rep-
resentatives. And I am thrilled to be joined by a second
LGBTQ person of color. Representation matters. And
the historic number of LGBTQ members will help
ensure equality for our community becomes a dream
realized.”
Yet despite notable wins, LGBTQ Democrats suffered
at least a dozen losses in highly partisan Congressional
districts, including the much-touted Gina Ortiz Jones, a
lesbian military veteran running in Texas, and Margaret
Engebretson of Wisconsin, who is also a veteran. Others
who lost included Jamie McLeod-Skinner in Oregon;
Tracy Mitrano, who ran a close race in upstate New
York; Rick Neal, running in the 15th District of Ohio;
and Lee Castillo, who lost in Utah. And over on the
other side of the aisle, Brian Evans, the sole LGBTQ
Republican running for Congress this year, was defeat-
ed by Democratic veteran Tulsi Gabbard in Hawaii’s
heavily Democratic 2nd Congressional District.
GOVERNORS’ RACES
In Tuesday’s Governors’ races, it was a mixed bag for
LGBTQ candidates. Voters in Oregon re-elected Gov.
Kate Brown, America’s first openly bisexual elected
governor, while Colorado picked U.S. Rep. Jared Polis
to become America’s first openly gay governor — one of
the night’s best scenes came from Polis’ victory party,
where he introduced his partner, Marlon Reis, as the
state’s “first ‘first man’” to massive cheers.
On the other hand, Democrats ran into a red fire-
wall in Texas, where former Dallas County Sheriff
Lupe Valdez, fell short against Republican incum-
bent Greg Abbott. Had Valdez won, she would have
been the nation’s first out lesbian governor. Similarly,
in Vermont, Christine Hallquist, who was hoping to
become the nation’s first transgender governor, fell to
incumbent Gov. Phil Scott, a moderate, pro-LGBTQ
Republican.
LOCAL
In Maryland, even though Republican Gov. Larry
Hogan won a commanding victory on Tuesday night,
several LGBTQ candidates emerged victorious in the
state, including Del. Mary Washington (D-Baltimore
City) who becomes the first lesbian and first African-
American LGBTQ person elected to the State Senate.
In the House, Gabriel Acevero, running in the 39th
District, became the first openly gay Afro-Latino elect-
ed to the Maryland General Assembly, and incumbent
LGBTQ lawmakers Bonnie Cullison (D-Montgomery
NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 19
 theFeed
Co.), Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City), Anne Kaiser
(D-Montgomery Co.) and Maggie McIntosh (D-Baltimore
City) swept to re-election. Elsewhere, incumbent Liz
Barrett was re-elected to the Frederick County Board of
Education, and, in a historic first, Silver Spring resident
Evan Glass became the first openly gay elected member
of the Montgomery County Council, winning an At-Large
seat.
Tuesday was not so kind to LGBTQ candidates in the
District, where all seven out candidates lost. In the race for
two At-Large Council seats, lesbian restaurateur and com-
munity organizer Dionne Reeder, an independent, came
in third behind Democrat Anita Bonds and Independent
Elissa Silverman, while gay independent Jamie Sycamore
lost his race against incumbent Councilmember Brianne
Nadeau (D-Ward 1). Reeder and Sycamore’s losses ensure
there will be no out LGBTQ Council members, although a
couple dozen LGBTQ individuals in various wards were
victorious in the less-heralded ANC races.
Elsewhere, gay community activist Jason Andrean lost
to Emily Gasoi in a three-way race for the Ward 1 seat on
the State Board of Education.
The D.C. Libertarian Party, which ran a history-making
all-gay slate for citywide races, saw all of their candidates
fall short. Ethan Bishop-Henchman lost to incumbent
Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D), while his husband,
Joe Henchman, lost in the race for D.C. Attorney General.
Martin Moulton failed to unseat Mayor Muriel Bowser,
and Bruce Majors lost his race against Del. Eleanor Holmes
Norton for her seat in Congress.
20 NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
TRANSGENDER RIGHTS
Amid attempts by Trump to crackdown on transgender
rights, Massachusetts voters delivered an overwhelming
rebuttal on Tuesday night when more than two-thirds of
voters chose to uphold a law that prohibits discrimination
against transgender people in places of public accom-
modations. Opponents of LGBTQ rights had attempted
to repeal the law, arguing that it would put women and
children at risk of sexual harassment or sexual assault
in intimate spaces. But no such attacks have occurred in
Massachusetts since the law passed in 2016, and voters
were clearly unconvinced.
LGBTQ groups hailed the victory as an important
statement defying the Trump administration’s attempts
to redefine sex and gender — which many consider an
attempt to deny the very existence of transgender people.
“It’s now clear that America — from coast to coast
— supports protections for transgender and nonbinary
people,” James Esseks, the director of the ACLU’s LGBT
and HIV Project, said in a statement, adding, “Over the
past two years, anti-transgender activists tried but failed
to get a similar measure on the ballot in Washington State
and in Montana. Last spring, voters in Anchorage reject-
ed a related anti-transgender ballot measure. And now
Massachusetts has sided with the transgender communi-
ty. Those who oppose equality should see this as another
clear message that discrimination should have no place in
America.”l

THURSDAY, NOV. 8
GLOE: The Kurlander
Outreach Program for GLBTQ
Outreach and Engagement
at the Edlavitch DC Jewish
Community Center, and The
DC Center’s Center Faith
group, will host IN SORROW
AND SOLIDARITY, a program
for those affected by last
Shabbat’s attack on the Tree of
Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
Rabbi Laurie Green of Bet
Mishpachah will open the
program with Jewish insights
on mourning, and psychiatrist
WOODYS PHOTOS
Dr. Stuart Stosky will lead
a facilitated conversation
where individuals can share
their thoughts and feelings.
Vegetarian dinner served after
the event. 6:30-8:30 p.m. 2000
14th St. NW, Suite 105. For
more information and to RSVP,
email gloe@edcjcc.org.
Join SAGE, a program for
LGBTQ elders, The DC
Center, and Mary’s House
for Older Adults for an
INTERGENERATIONAL
LGBTQ DINNER. Share a meal
and build connections with
LGBTQ people of all ages.
6:30-8 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW,
Suite 105. To ensure an accu-
rate headcount, please RSVP
via thedccenter.org/events/
sagetable.
Weekly Events
ANDROMEDA
TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH
offers free HIV testing and HIV
services (by appointment). 9
a.m.-5 p.m. Decatur Center,
1400 Decatur St. NW. To
arrange an appointment, call
202-291-4707, or visit androm-
edatransculturalhealth.org.
DC AQUATICS CLUB practice
session at Takoma Aquatic
Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 300 Van
Buren St. NW. For more infor-
mation, visit swimdcac.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS run-
ning/walking/social club
welcomes runners of all ability
levels for exercise in a fun and
supportive environment, with
socializing afterward. Route
distance is 3-6 miles. Meet at
7 p.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW.
For more information, visit
dcfrontrunners.org.
DC LAMBDA SQUARES, D.C.’s
gay and lesbian square-dancing
group, features mainstream
through advanced square
dancing at the National City
Christian Church. Please dress
casually. 7-9:30 p.m. 5 Thomas
Community
Circle NW. 202-930-1058,
dclambdasquares.org.
DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds
practice. 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 DULLES TRIANGLES
Northern Virginia social
group meets for happy hour at
Sheraton in Reston. All wel-
come. 7-9 p.m. 11810 Sunrise
Valley Drive, second-floor bar.
For more information, visit
dullestriangles.com.
HIV TESTING at Whitman-
Walker Health. 9 a.m.-12:30
TOSS OFF
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
The Rogue Cornhole league recreates the call 202-745-7000 or visit whit-
ultimate tailgate experience at man-walker.org.
The Midlands Beer Garden. IDENTITY offers free and
K
confidential HIV testing at
two separate locations. Walk-
EVIN COMERFORD GOT HIS FIRST TASTE OF
ins accepted from 2-6 p.m.,
cornhole in the best setting possible: at a North by appointment for all other
Carolina State tailgate party. “I’m competitive by hours. 414 East Diamond Ave.,
nature, so I was immediately hooked on it,” says the commis- Gaithersburg, Md. or 7676
sioner of D.C.’s Rogue Cornhole league. New Hampshire Ave., Suite
411, Takoma Park, Md. To set
A popular game among football fans, cornhole has become up an appointment or for more
a staple of tailgate parties, particularly in college towns across information, call Gaithersburg,
the Midwest and South. And it’s that same spirit of collegial, 301-300-9978, or Takoma Park,
competitive fun that LGBTQ-focused Rogue Cornhole repli- 301-422-2398.
cates at its weekly events.
METROHEALTH CENTER
The game itself is relatively simple: To win, teams takes offers free, rapid HIV testing.
turns throwing cloth bags filled with corn kernels at wooden Appointment needed. 1012 14th
boards with holes cut into them. One point is given if your bag St. NW, Suite 700. To arrange
lands on top of the board, three points if your bag falls into one an appointment, call 202-638-
0750.
of the holes, and throwers can knock their opponents’ bags off
the board to gain a point advantage. Games continue until a SMYAL offers free HIV Testing,
team scores 21 points. 3-5 p.m., by appointment and
In Rogue Cornhole’s league, which meets Wednesdays at walk-in, for youth 21 and
The Midlands Beer Garden in the Park View neighborhood younger. Youth Center, 410 7th
St. SE. 202-567-3155 or test-
of D.C., each team carries two to four people, and they play as ing@smyal.org.
many matches as possible in a 40-minute window — typically
eight to ten. Rogue Cornhole’s fall season is already underway, STI TESTING at Whitman-
but registration for a second season, in the spring, will start in Walker Health. 10 a.m.-12:30
February. p.m. and 2-3 p.m. at both 1525
14th St. NW and the Max
Comerford says one of the key appeals of cornhole is that Robinson Center, 2301 Martin
there are few physical limitations. It is truly open to everyone. Luther King, Jr. Ave. SE.
“Cornhole is a very social game,” he says. “You play along- Testing is intended for those
side your opponent, so you get to meet new people. It’s com- without symptoms. For an
appointment call 202-745-7000
petitive, but also casual enough where you can hold a drink in
or visit whitman-walker.org.
one hand, and throw with the other. It’s a very easy game to
learn and play, for people of every age.” —John Riley US HELPING US hosts a
Narcotics Anonymous Meeting.
The group is independent of
Rogue Cornhole’s fall season runs through Nov. 28, meeting UHU. 6:30-7:30 p.m., 3636
from 7-10 p.m. on Wednesdays at The Midlands Beer Garden, Georgia Ave. NW. For more
3333 Georgia Ave. NW. For more information, information, call 202-446-1100.
visit rlsports.org/cornhole.
NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 21
 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, NOV. 9
GAMMA is a confidential, volun-
tary, peer-support group for men
who are gay, bisexual, questioning
and who are now or who have been
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.
WOMEN IN THEIR TWENTIES
(AND THIRTIES), a social discus-
sion and activity group for queer
women, meets at The DC Center
on the second and fourth Friday of
each month. Group social activity
to follow the meeting. 8-9:30 p.m.
2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For
more information, visit thedccen-
ter.org.
Weekly Events
BET MISHPACHAH, founded by
members of the LGBT community,
holds Friday evening Shabbat ser-
vices in the DC Jewish Community
Center’s Community Room. 8 p.m.
1529 16th St. NW. For more infor-
mation, visit betmish.org.
DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a prac-
tice session at Howard University.
6:30-8 p.m. Burr Gymnasium, 2400
6th St. NW. For more information,
visit swimdcac.org.
PROJECT STRIPES hosts LGBT-
affirming social group for ages
11-24. 4-6 p.m. 1419 Columbia Road
NW. Contact Tamara, 202-319-
0422, layc-dc.org.
SMYAL’S REC NIGHT provides a
social atmosphere for LGBT and
questioning youth, featuring dance
parties, vogue nights, movies and
games. For more info, email cather-
ine.chu@smyal.org.
SATURDAY, NOV. 10
CHRYSALIS arts & culture group
spends the weekend touring his-
toric plantations on the James
River. Limited space available for
overnight in hotel near Richmond,
Va. Contact Craig, 202-462-0535 or
email craighowell1@verizon.net.
The DC Center hosts BYSTANDER
INTERVENTION TRAINING on
how to respond if you witness ver-
bal or physical hate. You’ll develop
skills to assess situations and
choose responses to end harass-
22 NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
ment and de-escalate aggressive
behavior. 12-2 p.m. 2000 14th St.
NW, Suite 105. For more informa-
tion, contact Justin, justin@thedc-
center.org.
The DC Center hosts a monthly
meeting of UNIVERSAL PRIDE,
a group to support and empower
LGBTQIA people with disabili-
ties, offer perspectives on dating
and relationships, and create
greater access in public spaces for
LGBTQIA PWDs. 1-2:30 p.m. 2000
14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more
information, contact Andy Arias,
andyarias09@gmail.com.
Weekly Events
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.
SUNDAY, NOV. 11
Center Military, a program for
veterans at The DC Center, will
hold its annual VETERANS DAY
WREATH-LAYING CEREMONY
FOR LGBTQ VETERANS at the
grave of Technical Sgt. Leonard
Matlovitch, in the LGBTQ section
of Congressional Cemetery. 12-1:45
p.m. 1801 E St. SE. For more infor-
mation, visit thedccenter.org/mili-
tary or fb.com/centermilitary.
Weekly Events
LGBT-inclusive ALL SOULS
MEMORIAL EPISCOPAL CHURCH
celebrates Low Mass at 8:30
a.m., High Mass at 11 a.m. 2300
Cathedral Ave. NW. 202-232-4244,
allsoulsdc.org.
BETHEL CHURCH-DC progressive
and radically inclusive church
holds services at 11:30 a.m. 2217
Minnesota Ave. SE. 202-248-1895,
betheldc.org.
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, NOV. 12
ADVENTURING outdoors group
marks Veterans Day holiday with a
strenuous 10-mile circuit hike with
2200 feet of elevation gain and
spectacular scenic overlooks in the
southern section of Shenandoah
National Park. Suitable only for
experienced, aerobically fit hikers.
Bring beverages, lunch, sturdy
boots, $20 for fees and money for
dinner on the way home. Carpool
from East Falls Church Metro Kiss
& Ride lot. Contact Harris, 442-
415-7856 or visit adventuring.org.
TUESDAY, NOV. 13
The DC Center holds a monthly
meeting of its COMING OUT
DISCUSSION GROUP 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 DC Center’s TRANS
SUPPORT GROUP provides a
space to talk for transgender people
and those who identify outside of
the gender binary. 7-8:30 p.m. 2000
14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more
information, visit thedccenter.org.
Weekly Events
DC AQUATICS CLUB practice
session at Takoma Aquatic Center.
7:30-9 p.m. 300 Van Buren St. NW.
For more information, visit swim-
dcac.org.
DC 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.
KARING WITH INDIVIDUALITY
(K.I.) SERVICES, at 3333 Duke St.,
Alexandria, offers free “rapid” HIV
testing and counseling, 9 a.m.-4
p.m. 703-823-4401.
OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS
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.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 14
BIG GAY BOOK GROUP meets at
Trio Bistro to discuss Tinderbox:
The Untold Story of the Upstairs
Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay
Liberation, by Robert W. Fieseler.
7 p.m. 1537 17th St. NW, down
the street from the Dupont Circle
Metro. Newcomers are always
welcome. For more information or
to RSVP, email biggaybookgroup@
hotmail.com.
The DC Center hosts a GET
EMPOWERED! Self-Defense
Workshop on how to defend your-
self if you are verbally or physically
harassed. Open to women, trans-
gender, and gender-nonconforming
people ages 16 and up. 6:30-8:30
p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105.
To register, or for more informa-
tion, visit defendyourself.org.
The DC Center’s HEALTH
WORKING GROUP will hold a
meeting focusing on transgender
health and wellness, talking about
data on transgender health and
discussing the work of partner
organizations that promote trans
wellbeing. 6:30-8 p.m. 2000 14th
St. NW, Suite 105. For more infor-
mation, visit thedccenter.org.
The LAMBDA BRIDGE CLUB meets
at the Dignity Center, across from
the Marine Barracks, for Duplicate
Bridge. No reservations needed.
Newcomers welcome. 7:30 p.m. 721
8th St. SE. Call 202-841-0279 if you
need a partner. l
NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 23
 Interview by Randy Shulman

Unerasable
With Boy Erased, or bigoted or racist,”
says Edgerton. “And
yet in life those things

author Garrard

G
would feel obviously
very uncomfortable to

Conley and
me, and I’d feel very
ARRARD CONLEY IS AUDIBLY TICKLED upset with myself for
to be interviewed by an LGBTQ publica- holding the opinions or

director Joel
tion. “I don’t like talking to straight mag- views of these charac-
azines,” says the 33-year-old gay author ters.” Still, as hateful
of Boy Erased, his memoir about his few as Victor is, Edgerton

Edgerton shine
torturous weeks spent in a conversion therapy program felt it was important
as a teenager. Realizing how that sounds, he clarifies. to portray the man
“It’s not that I don’t like talking to straight ones. as more than a cook-
I talk to straight ones because I want the topic to be
mainstream. I want everyone to get angry about it and a spotlight on
do something about it, but it’s like a breath of fresh air
ie-cutter villain.
“I have to bring an
element of warmth and
when I’m talking to someone who’s LGBTQ because
they just get it — they understand the trauma. It gets the horror of charisma to him,” he
says. “He is presented as

conversion
exhausting to try to explain your basic humanity to a real shoulder to cry on
[straight] people, you know? During the interview, I’ll and a person who could
be like, ‘Can we please talk about how the administra- be there to help and be a

therapy.
tion is erasing trans people from existence? That’s con-
version therapy.’ And they’ll be like, ‘Yeah, yeah,’ and
they’ll cut that from the piece because they only want
to talk about whether or not I cried when I watched the
film. It’s just a different tone.”
The second film released this year to deal with the horrors
of conversion therapy — the first being The Miseducation of
Cameron Post, starring Chloe Grace-Moretz — Boy Erased is
about as mainstream Hollywood as a topical film gets. The film
was adapted and directed by Australian actor Joel Edgerton,
who also stars as its antagonist, Victor Sykes, the man who runs
Love in Action, where anything but love is deployed to break
the spirit and brainwash LGBTQ people into believing they can
be cured of their same-sex attraction. Sykes is a fictionalized
stand-in for the camp’s real former head, John Smid, much as
mentor. I wanted to just
unsettle the audience
in the beginning when
they walk in that facility
with Lucas’ character, to go, ‘Oh, this guy looks like he’s there to
help. This guy may actually make these kids feel safe.’ And have the
character do what John [Smid] did in real life, which is to use that
safe space that he created, to use information he learns, to shame
the children. I think that’s really insidious.”
In addition to Hedges, Edgerton cast Nicole Kidman and
Russell Crowe as Jared’s parents, Nancy and Marshall.
“I think a lot of people think that I just have this Australian
connection and that Russell and Nicole are on speed dial,” says
Edgerton, “and that I was just being lazy and calling on my
mates. But I was scared of casting them because I didn’t want
FOCUS FEATURES

Jared Eamons, sensitively and passionately portrayed by Lucas people to think with me and Nicole and Russell that it was an
Hedges, is a fictionalized version of Conley. Australian movie.”
“It’s interesting to go to work and be violent or malevolent Apart from the compelling acting chops Crowe and, espe-

24
Nicole Kidman, Lucas Hedges and Russell Crowe

25
cially, Kidman bring to the proceedings, Edgerton cast them for
their uncanny resemblance to Conley’s actual parents. “I asked
Garrard to see some of the family photos from that era. And
when I saw pictures of him with his mom and dad, it was like I
was staring at Russell and Nicole.”
Edgerton’s involvement with the film — along with commit-
ments from his stars — helped fast-track the film, which is being
released nationally by Focus Features this weekend (see review,
page 29).
“When I read the book, I knew I wanted to be involved
somehow,” Edgerton recalls. “I didn’t know
if I was the right person to make the film.
Obviously, I’m not in the LGBTQ community
and for that reason I was like ‘Ugh, I love this
“He raped me,
story. I feel so impassioned by it and inflamed
by it, but I’m not allowed to be the one to and then told
make the movie.’ I very quickly turned that
around, purely because I got so obsessed on a me that he
daily basis by Garrard’s story.”
The film garnered a bit of outspoken
criticism from Cameron Post’s Moretz, who
raped a 14-year
was vocal in a summer interview with the
L.A. Times over her frustration with Boy
old boy in his
Erased getting major studio support despite
lacking LGBTQ involvement. “Queer mov- congregation.
In doing so,
ies should be told through a queer lens and
created by queer people,” said Moretz. She
noted that Boy Erased “is going to be big —
it’s written and directed by a white man, it’s
shot through a straight male gaze.” Cameron
he seemed to
Post’s writer-director, by contrast, was
Desiree Akhavan, a member of the LGBTQ
confirm the
community.
“I remember when that came out,” says very bigoted
stuff that I’d
Edgerton. “I have to admit, I was a little dis-
appointed at the time that we weren’t able to
just stand in solidarity and celebrate the fact
that there was a double-pronged takedown
of conversion therapy brewing in the same
always heard
year.” Edgerton says Moretz reached out to
after the article came out and made amends. growing up: all
“I was a consultant on The Miseducation
of Cameron Post,” adds Conley. “I met with gay men are
Chloe and I met with Desiree, and so I
pedophiles or
was a little flabbergasted by that statement,
especially because I’m the only survivor of
conversion therapy that has anything to do
with a film about conversion therapy.... I still
perverts.”
think it’s valid to question why a queer per-
son of color did not receive as much attention as a straight white
man. That’s a valid question and I think it should be raised. I
don’t agree that Boy Erased is an entirely straight white venture
because so many people in front of the camera and behind the
camera are queer in this film — we made sure of that, and every
single LGBTQ organization was behind this film from the start.”
Conley stands behind the final product and Edgerton’s efforts
in bringing the story to the screen with sensitivity, clarity, and
powerful emotional depth: “For this particular piece of advoca-
cy, I think it’s better that Joel directed it.”
“Like no other project, Boy Erased picked me and dragged
me along, and I don’t feel any doubts about why I am the right
person to have made it,” says Edgerton. “I’m happy that it exists
in the world. The sooner it got out into the world, the better. I’m
26
happy that I made it and I feel the support of many people now
who have seen the film and I don’t feel judged for it and nor do
I judge myself for it.”
Edgerton is hopeful that the film will bring the topic of
conversion therapy into a greater national discussion. “I really
hope it just puts the floodlights so much on the subject, and
draws attention to it enough, that people who don’t know about
conversion therapy will then form an opinion and hopefully do
something about it. Our aim is to take it off the table and make it
a thing of the past.
“I see Garrard’s story as a wonderful
roadmap, because while his parents made
the wrong choice by sending him to Love
in Action, they also, in their own sepa-
rate ways, have come around to a differ-
ent point of view,” he continues. “Parents
stand to learn the most from this movie and
I really hope anyone who is close to making
the decisions [Garrard’s parents] made, or
have made those decisions in the past, or
have a child in conversion therapy at the
moment, or feel like that conversation of
coming out is looming in their household,
I hope that they see this film and see that
there’s a different set of choices moving
forward than Garrett’s family did.”
METRO WEEKLY: Let’s start with the notion
of writing a memoir. What does it take to lay
out yours and your family’s demons in full
public view?
GARRARD CONLEY: That’s a good question.
Before I even wrote a word of it, ten years
had passed. Previously, I was only writing
fiction, and pretty much everything that I
wrote as fiction was some sort of version of
conversion therapy. It would be like some
sort of dystopian narrative, and the novels
would always fall apart. I think truth is
so much stranger than fiction — in fiction
your details can’t be so wild because you
have to somehow justify why you put a spe-
cific detail in there. It can feel exploitative.
But whenever you write something as a
memoir, the details become really import-
ant — recorded history — and then you can
riff off of that.
So my story was always going to work
better as the truth. I’d had 10 years to think
about it and I couldn’t imagine why I had agreed to go into
conversion therapy in the first place. I remember I was reading
some blogs that were about conversion therapy and people were
listing symptoms that had occurred after they’d been in con-
version therapy. They were many of the same symptoms that I
recognized in myself, like my inability to touch a man at certain
points, the sense of shame I felt stayed with me. No matter how
rational I’d become, there were these irrational parts of me, so
I started to write it. But it didn’t feel complete. It felt like it was
just one side of a story.
When I got serious about writing it, I visited with my mom
in Florida. She was on vacation and I think I ruined her vaca-
tion. I came to see her and asked her to tell her story from the
beginning. She was 16 when she got married to this man who
she thought she loved, but she sort of disappeared into his life.
And when I heard that story and why she agreed to conversion
therapy, which was that she couldn’t go against the advice of
these men around her, that was when I knew that I had a real
story. It was no longer just my own journey, but my mom’s jour-
ney. And then, by looking at mom’s journey, and also my dad’s, I
was like, “Well, what if I also looked at the counselor’s journey?”
That was the hardest to do because I had to “friend” John Smid,
who ran [Love in Action], on Facebook, and then communicate
with someone who had been my abuser. But I’ll do anything for
writing.
MW: What did you worry about most while writing the book?
CONLEY: When the book sold on proposal, I was terrified
because I knew it was going to be a real thing. It was easier to
think it wasn’t going to be a real thing because most books don’t
get published. But when everything
lined up so quickly, it felt like it would
be a book that maybe a lot of people
would talk about, and that was hard. I
spent a year of my life with bad sleep,
worrying about the truth. Did I get it
all right? Did I reconstruct it properly?
Am I showing my parents in a com-
passionate light? Is my family going
to hate me?
In the middle of all that, I went to a
writer’s conference, and while I was at
that conference I did a thing that writ-
ers should never do. I ran up to Cheryl
Strayed, who wrote Wild, this really
great memoir that I enjoyed, and I
said, “Please give me some advice on
this. I feel like my family’s going to
hate me when I publish this book.”
And she said to me, “The people who
hate you are going to continue to hate
you, and the people who love you are
going to continue to love you.” And I
was like, that’s such a Cheryl Strayed thing to say, I’m going to
just take it. It has proven true throughout.
MW: The book came out in 2016. Two years later it’s already a
major motion picture. That’s a very fast trajectory.
CONLEY: Yeah, the timing of all this has been very strange to me.
I was going around on my book tour in 2016 and warning people
about Trump’s rise, because I was going back to Arkansas and
seeing how excited people were, and I was taking that barome-
ter, and I could tell that something was happening, and people
were laughing at me. They were saying, “Oh, there’s no way.”
My roommates at the time were saying, “Oh, I’m not even going
to vote because it doesn’t matter.” I was so mad and angry. Just
throw away your vote.
And then suddenly, a year later, when I was going around
talking to the same people who couldn’t believe that conversion
therapy was going on in the country, they were suddenly like,
“Oh yeah, of course it’s going on,” because they’d been exposed
to the underbelly of the country that they’d ignored for so long.
It’s one of the things that has frustrated me so much about deal-
ing with nice liberal crowds, which I’m a part of. But I’m also a
southerner who knows what it’s like to be on the ground in a lot
of these communities, and why this kind of harmful rhetoric is
appealing to a lot of these people.
To this day, every Q&A that I do, there are many crowds here
in New York, or L.A., or San Francisco where they’re just like, “I
had no idea this was happening.” My response is a little bit catty
because I’m like, “Did you also not know that 40 percent of all
youth homelessness is LGBTQ? Did you know that? Do you not
know anything about the country?” I’m the buzzkill for every
city I go to, just spouting statistics.
MW: Those statistics are important, and the movie ends with some.
If I recall correctly, a title card at the end of the film notes that 35
states still allow some form of legal conversion therapy.
CONLEY: Yeah, that’s true. Also, the bans that have been passed
are only for teens or younger. In addition to that, any religious
organization that wants to perform conversion therapy can
charge for it because of religious protection laws in this country.
So, Love in Action would not ever be banned according to that
standard. We’ve got a long way to go.
MW: Do you think there’s something wrong with a religion that
FOCUS FEATURES
Edgerton
preaches love and goodness, and yet encourages this form of
unsubstantiated cruelty?
CONLEY: What it is, I think, is that religion and faith have been
co-opted by a few really bad seeds. Tony Perkins is one of them
— he’s part of the Family Research Council and he’s someone
who’s been a huge champion of conversion therapy, along with
Mike Pence who, in the past, has donated to places like Focus On
the Family. We know their funds went directly into supporting
conversion therapy. Pence has tried to distance himself from
that, but we know better. We know his track record on LGBTQ
rights.
I think that these people have very cynically co-opted evan-
gelical and fundamentalist movements that otherwise would
have dealt with the issue very differently. For example, my
father, had he known what Love in Action was doing, trying to
make me hate him in order to be cured, he would’ve never sent
me there. He wouldn’t have been a PFLAG dad, suddenly hang-
ing out with my gay partners, but he wouldn’t have sent me to
conversion therapy to be tortured.
I’d like to believe that most of these people who have sup-
ported conversion therapy haven’t really done a lot of digging
into why it’s harmful. I think it’s a few really cynical people that
are using terms like family and faith in a really dark way, pushing
all the right buttons.
MW: I read an interview where you said “Pence is evil.”
27
CONLEY: [Laughs.] Oops!
MW: Was that really an “oops,” or do you genuinely believe that?
CONLEY: I do believe that. I also don’t like to say it because it
angers all the conservatives, but yeah, I believe that.
MW: Why do you think people believe they have to “cure” homo-
sexuality?
CONLEY: Let me talk about my father’s experience and then
extrapolate from there. For my father, his faith is resting on
something that is very rickety. I like to think of it as a Jenga
game, and if you begin to prod at the Bible verses, you start to
realize that these are all stories that were created in a historical
period that had its own rules. And if you do that, then a lot of
this sort of dogmatic or fundamentalist faith tends to erode, and
what you’re left with is simply love or hatred. Those are the two
sides of the coin. So, when you get rid of all of the scaffolding
that people hide behind, what you find is people that don’t like
LGBTQ people. They don’t like them not because of the Bible,
because the Bible also says we should have slaves, but my dad
doesn’t believe that slavery is okay. So, what is it? If it’s not the
Bible, what is it? And I think that the answer is disgust.
MW: They see it as a sin against God.
CONLEY: I heard this the other day from someone. They said, “I
hate it when people say Mike Pence is secretly gay, because it
lets straight people off the hook. It makes it about our own com-
munity doing this to ourselves. But our own community is not
doing this to ourselves — it’s the straight people that are bigoted
that are doing this.” I get that argument. It’s too easy to say that
every single person who’s homophobic is secretly gay or bi, you

That’s particularly true of rocker Flea,

here portraying former addict Brandon,
who works under the program’s rigid
leader Victor Sykes (Edgerton). Preaching
that homosexuality is a choice that will
be changed at the Refuge, Sykes uses
Brandon like an attack dog to scare the
clients into line. His program isn’t just
about trying to pray the gay away — Sykes
and his minions bully and browbeat the
kids. One is literally beaten across the back
with a Bible.
Edgerton and cinematographer
Eduard Grau shoot for the shadows, while
the script, based on the 2016 memoir by
Garrard Conley, aims for the horror of
forced conversion. The film’s depictions of
sexuality are steeped in shame or, in one
case, violence, and the joys of self-affir-
mation and reconciliation are fleeting. But

Boy Embraced
there is joy in seeing either one of Jared’s
parents turn a corner that we know they
must. The story teases if, when, and how
we’ll see it, and Nicole Kidman shows up
in a handful of superb scenes to supply all
Come for the Oscar-caliber performances, stay for the harrowing the answers.
gay conversion journey of Boy Erased. By André Hereford While one actor’s performance doesn’t
answer the question of who might be the
audience for this severe drama, Kidman

I
N BOY ERASED (HHHHH) THE PERFORMANCES ARE THE DRAW, LED BY fans should be pleased. As should Russell
Lucas Hedges as ’90s teen Jared Eamons, the only child of a devoutly religious Crowe fans who also love Jesus, and fans
Baptist couple in the rural exurbs of Arkansas. To portray Jared’s parents, Joel of out-and-proud pop singer Troye Sivan,
Edgerton, the film’s writer and director, called upon two heavy-hitters from Down who cameos as a client at the Refuge, and
Under. Russell Crowe surprises by playing preacher dad Marshall in a gentle register contributes to the soundtrack the sweet
that makes the reverend’s obstinate closed-mindedness doubly frustrating. Nicole dirge “Revelation.”
Kidman’s pliant, Republican-blonde wife Nancy is similarly frustrating for her wholly Hedges, an Oscar nominee for
credible obedience to her husband. Manchester By the Sea, continues his multi-
When Jared confesses that he thinks about men sexually, Nancy’s response falls in year streak of turning up in award-worthy
line behind her husband’s. They both love their son, and it’s clear that Nancy under- material. His Jared embodies a very spe-
stands him better than Marshall does, but in the Eamons household, Marshall chooses cific, Christian American upbringing, yet
what to do about their family’s problems. still reflects myriad facets of a universal
So Jared is checked into a Christian-based gay conversion program at the Refuge, experience. He’s the bleeding heart of a
where he and his fellow attendees are referred to as clients or members, but treated like movie that draws blood and tears depict-
inmates. The boys undergo masculinity training, which sounds funny out of context, ing the cruelty that’s still being inflicted in
but nothing’s funny at the Refuge. the name of God. l

Boy Erased is rated R, and opens at Landmark’s E Street Cinema on November 9. Visit landmarktheatres.com.

28 NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

know? It just means then that we’re torturing ourselves. It’s hard
for people to give up power once they have it, and so allowing for
equality in this way seems to threaten them.
MW: How did you feel the first time you watched the film?
CONLEY: When I first saw the first cut of the film, I was with
Joel [Edgerton] and my husband, and a few other people. It
was a very intimate, small screening. I was just so embarrassed
because I saw Lucas [Hedges] playing my part and I guess I just
felt like, how could I have ever been that dumb? That was the
first thought I had.
I was so confused when I watched it the first time, I didn’t
know what I felt. I didn’t know if I liked the movie, and I said to
Joel, “Can I watch it by myself? Can you send me a link and I’ll
watch it on my laptop.” When I shut out the rest of the world and
watched it the second time, I had a lot of sympathy for Lucas’
character and I was able to see him as someone other than me. I
was like, “Oh, I know why he made this decision. He was raped
and then he was outed to his parents and he was going to lose
everything.” It felt extremely cathartic.
The third time I watched it was the final cut at Telluride Film
Festival, and Nicole came in and was watching it for the first
time. She was really nervous for me to watch it in front of every-
one in a big crowd for the first time, so during all the really rough
parts of the movie, she was giving me this back massage. I was
like, “Okay, I’ve got to remember this moment because Nicole
Kidman is giving me a back massage and this is really weird and
amazing.” So I don’t think I’ve ever had a pure viewing expe-
rience. I think it’s just always going to be really surreal for me.
MW: How accurate was the movie with regard to your own mem-
ory of events, the big conversation between Kidman and Hedges,
in particular?
CONLEY: It’s completely accurate. That’s what’s so crazy. That
entire end sequence is pretty much right out of my life. The real-
ity was actually more dramatic than the movie. My mom and I
remember it pretty vividly, and Joel did a lot to play down some
of the parts because he didn’t want it to be melodramatic. He
didn’t want to make people caricatures even if they could easily
be caricatures.
MW: Joel didn’t take dramatic liberties?
CONLEY: There weren’t many liberties taken at all. The only
thing that happened was that a lot of details that are in the book
were kept out. Like, you may not have known that there were
people who were much older in the program that were dealing
with pedophilia and bestiality and were all grouped together
into a 12-step program. You might not have known that some of
the other activities were even more harmful. If anything, things
were omitted that Joel didn’t have time for in a two-hour movie.
There was a lot more with my first girlfriend in the book, and
a lot more context about the rape. The movie shows the rape, it
shows him crying, and then the rape is used against him by [Love
in Action’s] Victor Sykes, who basically says, “I know you’re not
telling me everything.” And that’s like a really dark thing that
did happen, but I definitely explored what the rape meant a lot
more in my book, especially because I thought rape hasn’t been
written about thoroughly in general. People have so many weird
assumptions about it, but yeah, I’d say if anything, things were
just omitted.
MW: How does the trauma of the rape impact you to this day?
CONLEY: I think I’ve gotten over a lot of it, but I don’t think it
ever leaves you, the trauma. There can be certain triggering
moments, but yeah, it really sucks because basically my first
sexual experience was taken from me, and my coming out was
taken from me as well, by the same person. And he was just like a
monster — I have absolutely no sympathy for him. He’s the only
person in the book I don’t try to humanize, because I think there
are just some people that turn into monsters or do something so
bad that there’s just not much you can say about them.
One of the things that is really disturbing was that he raped
me, and then told me that he raped a 14-year old boy in his con-
gregation. In doing so, he basically seemed to confirm the very
bigoted stuff that I’d always heard growing up: all gay men are
pedophiles or perverts. And you know there’s a long history of
that term with us, being called a pervert. And so it was another
reason I joined conversion therapy because I thought, “Well, if
that’s what sex is, and sex is rape, and if I’m going to turn into a
child molester, then I don’t want that.” That’s a really insidious
idea to be placed on someone at a pretty young age. If anything,
it just made it easier for me to go into conversion therapy.
MW: I can’t imagine what that was like for you watching that scene
on film. What’s interesting is that we think it’s leading toward a
romantic moment, and then it turns into something brutal and
dark and sad.
CONLEY: I know. It’s the thing that was most difficult for Joel to
get right, because it is a very tricky moment and you don’t want it
to be misread as that’s what gay sex is. It was a really hard thing
I think for him to write.
MW: If you hadn’t experienced this trauma, do you think you would
have fought harder against the conversion therapy?
CONLEY: Yeah, I really think had he not done what he’d done,
both raped me and outed me, I would’ve never gone to conver-
sion therapy. Once it was all out, and I was dealing with that
trauma, and then, in addition, the trauma of my father saying to
me, “You’re not going to step foot in this house again if you don’t
do this.” That’s three blows in one. You just lost everything.
There’s nothing there to hold onto.
MW: That’s the greatest fear for any kid coming out. “Am I going to
be ousted from the family?”
CONLEY: And I think the movie plays it a little softer because I
think Joel wants these people to be more sympathetic. In two
hours you can’t both have a father saying, “I don’t want to talk to
you again unless you go to this,” and then have that final scene
[of understanding] between him and his son. In a book you can,
because there’s a lot more time and you have a lot more space to
sort of explain why he did what he did, but in a movie you just
can’t because the audience would automatically be like, “No, he
doesn’t deserve to talk to Jared right now.” So I think if anything
the trauma is really downplayed in the film.
John Smid, for all he’s doing now and as great as it is that he’s
changed his tune and is now married to a man, in his original
promotional materials to his supporters, wrote about going to
see a man who was dying of AIDS in a hospital. He writes about
it with gratuitous detail, and then he says, “Let’s make sure
that no one else will die by this lifestyle, so you should donate
money.” That’s really dark, dark stuff. Again, the movie doesn’t
show that.
MW: He’s still a fairly dark and sinister presence in the film. Do you
forgive him for what he did to you and others? I mean, it seemed
he was trying to make you worse so he could justify keeping you in
the live-in program and extorting more money from your parents.
CONLEY: I’ve talked to Smid, and he’s doing all the right things
now. I can see that he’s a different person in many ways, but it’s
just really hard to forget.
MW: What do you think Smid’s motivations were? Given that he’s
now acknowledged that he’s gay, was he doing this purely out of
greed or self-loathing at the time?
CONLEY: I think it’s incredibly complicated, actually. I know for
NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 29
a fact that he was subjected to a lot of homophobia when he was
younger and he did not have an easy life. It was actually a very
difficult life, so I cut him slack there. I think that once he became
the head of Love in Action, like anything, power can go to your
head. I think that he, for the first time, felt really important. I
think Exodus International, the umbrella group that operated
all of the conversion therapy facilities, made him feel like he was
really important, and that’s important to realize. I think they
were using him, but I also think that he was like, “Well, what
if I changed it? What if I made it even more important? What
if I added Freudian theory and Alcoholics Anonymous and all
this other stuff?” That’s where I think he’s extremely culpable.
I found out later that in one year they were making a million
dollars — this was a small place and that’s not a small amount
of money. So I can’t imagine that money and greed and power
didn’t play into his role.
MW: Who do you think Boy Erased is for? Who is its primary
audience?
CONLEY: I don’t think it’s necessarily for queer people. I think
that survivors [of conversion therapy] who have watched it,
they’ve all told me that it was for them. I try to imagine watching
this outside of my own experience and I think I would’ve need-
ed it as a survivor. That being said, I think it’s for parents and
people around LGBTQ youth, because that’s the audience that
needs to see it.
It’s not for maybe someone who’s been out of the closet for
a long time. That’s not to say that you can’t enjoy watching
it. I think the movie is a piece of advocacy, and the podcast
[UnErased: The History of Conversion Therapy in America] con-
tinues that trend to where it shows the whole history of conver-
sion therapy. So I like to think of them all operating as windows
30 NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
that people can enter from different perspectives.
MW: Honestly, the movie feels like a call to arms.
CONLEY: It is. It’s a call back to those types of movies that are
basically like, “Okay, let’s get political now.” I’m into that. The
whole reason I let Joel take the rights is because here’s a man
who has really great contacts who can make this a mainstream
topic. We very intentionally made sure that Hollywood stars
were in it so that we could get people to watch it who might not
otherwise. Will it work? I don’t know. Is it worth trying? Yes.
Even if it affected one person, which I already know it affected
a lot of people because they’re coming up to me after screenings,
crying, and psychologists who are in Texas, for example, are
using the film as a way to talk to their patients who have been
through trauma. So already it’s doing its job.
Last night, I got two letters from two different girls in New
York City who were not out yet that said that the movie spoke to
them and gave them courage to come out. These were two letters
that were handed to me at a screening last night. I’ve received
emails from people who are still struggling.
I can see why, to an outside viewer, especially someone who’s
in a metropolitan area who is gay and been out for a while could
be like, what is this movie for? It’s definitely not Call Me By
Your Name. But I also know the work it’s doing, and that’s good
enough for me. l
Boy Erased is Rated R and opens Friday, Nov. 9, at area theaters,
including Landmark’s E Street Cinema in D.C., ArcLight Bethesda
in Maryland, and Anjelika Film Center Mosaic in Virginia. Visit
fandango.com. The book, published by Riverhead Books, is avail-
able for purchase at Amazon.com.
 Gallery

Great Moments in Art III

S
TEPHEN HANSEN’S NEWEST SERIES IS THE FINE
art equivalent of being in a cover band. “You spend
four or five hours of being Matisse and you start kind of
Matissing around,” Hansen says. “Your whole focus is the little
canvas in front of you, so it’s kind of like being somebody else for
a period of time. And then the little painters I’ve built to go on
them represent, in most cases, my thoughts while I was working
on the painting.”
The New Mexico-based sculptor has developed what he calls
“late-life art appreciation” as a result of the mixed-media series
of paintings with three-dimensional elements. He started with
the notion “of trying to become a better painter,” but over the
course of time, found “a lot of [painters] I’d kind of dismissed
that...I [now] find far more intriguing.” Jackson Pollock, for one.
“In trying to do a Pollock, I realized that it was really pos-
sible to ruin one,” he says. “Which therefore meant that it was
possible to do one really well. So it became this odd quest,
and I found out that I ended up liking the guy.” —Doug Rule

On display through Dec. 1 at Zenith Gallery, 1429 Iris St. NW. Meet-the-Artist receptions are set for Friday, Nov. 9, from 5 to 8 p.m.,
and Saturday, Nov. 10, from 2 to 6 p.m. Call 202-783-2963 or visit zenithgallery.com.

NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 31

MATTHEW MURPHY
Stage

woman Charles has yet to reveal he’s

Death & Love

sleeping with — Lydia’s crystal-carrying,
“Yaaas qween” life coach Delia (Leslie
Kritzer).
Charles and Delia makeover the
Beetlejuice is gleefully dark and dazzlingly designed, while Anastasia is Maitlands’ quaint home in their gauche
an overly cute adaptation of a Russian legend. By André Hereford image, and, accordingly, the walls of sce-

N
nic designer David Korins’ set shift shape
OW THIS IS HOW YOU OPEN A SHOW — AT LEAST IF IT’S A BIG-BUDGET, and color. Ken Posner’s rock god lighting
Broadway-caliber musical adaptation of a beloved film, that is. Go for broke turns from sweet to sick to glam with a
from the first number. Springing up from the depths below, the demon song.
Beetlejuice enters his self-titled musical like a rock star, and why shouldn’t he? Tim The Maitland/Deetz/Beetlejuice house
Burton’s haunted ’80s circus of a film, led by Michael Keaton’s id-soaked performance, and its disappearing portals to the nether-
has ensured the long-dead ghost eternal pop culture life. Thirty years on, the character’s world are marvelous, the puppetry and
more sprightly than a Rolling Stone, with his own greatest hits to play. And he’s ready makeup are seamlessly effective, and the
for a comeback with the bawdy world-premiere production of Beetlejuice the Musical cast and ensemble are tireless in their sup-
(HHHHH), directed by Alex Timbers, a Tony nominee for Peter and the Starcatcher. port of the show’s anything-goes esprit.
In for a brief, invigorating run at the National Theatre before it pops up on Broadway Although, noting a few parts where the
in spring 2019, the show strums several of the movie’s greatest scenes and catchphras- momentum lingers too long on a laugh line
es. Shrunken head guy, dancing dinner, and a sandworm all make appearances. But, for wouldn’t be unwarranted.
the most part, Timber’s production wields inventive stagecraft, along with music and The songs serve Lydia and Beetlejuice
lyrics by Eddie Perfect and a book by Scott Brown and Anthony King, to tell the familiar best, as Caruso and Brightman seem to
film story differently. best serve Perfect’s songs, particular-
This iteration renders a moving portrait of loss through its motherless Lydia Deetz ly BJ’s opener “The Whole Being Dead
(Sophia Anne Caruso), alongside the very mature comic ghost story of Beetlejuice (Alex Thing” and Lydia’s odd but honest ballad
Brightman), the demon who wants to live and breathe. He’s a con man and would-be “Dead Mom.” The script, which has a
killer among ghosts, somehow nasty and cuddly thanks to Brightman’s rambunctious strong handle on the underlying emotions,
energy and quick impulses for reading the room. mostly hits singles with its humor, setting
Flipping through moods and pitches, Beetlejuice makes easy marks of the innocent up twice as many jokes as it knocks down
and recently dead married couple the Maitlands, Barbara (Kerry Butler) and Adam — a bit about a boy band, Boy Inferno, gen-
(Rob McClure), who don’t want to share their house with the living family that just erates only one good joke about boy bands.
moved in. That would be Lydia and her dad, Charles (Adam Dannheisser), and the But the show earns points for freshness

NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 33

 just for its creative way of delivering a cream pie to the face.
If a cream pie to the face sounds like any kind of entendre,
be aware that this dead comic works in an abundance of single,
double and non-entendres, all more fun than offensive, depend-
ing on which holes and balls jokes might fly over your child’s
head (the show advises parental discretion just to be safe). Some
of the jokes aim too low to fly over anybody’s head, whereas
some jokes are all in the delivery — especially where Kritzer’s
daft Delia, or Jill Abramovitz in a variety of roles, are involved.
While the trusting Maitlands’ plight still seems integral to the
story, Broadway vets McClure and Butler don’t do much with
the characters. The couple’s second-act duet rolls in and out like
a perfunctory wind bearing little to none of the electricity that
juices every onstage appearance of the titular ghost.
Though he is briefly upstaged by a giant snake within a
snake, and a dead big game hunter with a comically tiny head,
Beetlejuice still is, after all these years, the ghost with the
most around these parts. Thoroughly possessed by the devilish
Brightman, he’s the undead emcee for a musical ghost show
that’s the most show of any show in town.
MATTHEW MURPHY
BLOWING THE HOUSE DOWN with fire and brimstone isn’t
the way for every Broadway-born, screen-to-stage production.
The musical Anastasia (HHHHH) — based on the 1997 animated
musical, inspired by the Oscar-winning 1956 drama — parades
a tasteful, refined take on the historical legend of the long-lost
Grand Duchess of Russia.
The touring company of Darko Tresnjak’s 2017 Broadway
production fills the Kennedy Center Opera House with sumptu-
ous music, exquisite costumes, and impressively projected scenic
backdrops that add snowfall or clouds rolling across the skies of St.
Petersburg. The production dazzles with elegance, while the book
by Terrence McNally elaborates a tale of old-fashioned romance
Anastasia runs to Nov. 25, at Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets are $49 to $175.
Call 202-467-4600, or visit Kennedy-Center.org.
Beetlejuice runs to Nov. 18 at the National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Tickets are $54 to $104.
Call 202-628-6161, or visit thenationaldc.org.
34 NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
and wish fulfillment. The overall effect is Shirley Temple-cute,
which isn’t a bad standard to meet for the journey of young Russian
Anya (Lila Coogan) from amnesiac street-sweeper to possibly the
last surviving daughter of Tsar Nicholas II (Michael McCorry
Rose) and Tsarina Alexandra (Lucy Horton).
But the presentation doesn’t venture far beyond cute, despite
a grim romantic plotline for Anya’s love interest Gleb (Jason
Michael Evans) that has the Bolshevik general contemplating
whether he could follow through on orders to execute the Grand
Duchess Anastasia on sight. He even sings about it in “The Neva
Flows,” a baleful ballad that Evans performs brilliantly.
The award-winning team of composer Stephen Flaherty and
lyricist Lynn Ahrens expanded their six-song soundtrack from
the animated movie into a sweeping, dynamic score for the stage.
Anya summons dancing memories of her family’s past in the
haunting “Once Upon a December.” And she engages a different
dance with the con man Dmitry (Stephen Brower), duetting on
their love song “In a Crowd of Thousands.”
It’s unfortunate, but not unprecedented, that the musical’s
most recognizable tune, “Journey to the Past,” is its bland-
est. Alas, Coogan’s delivery
of the song hammers that
point home with the vanilla
vocalizing of a Voice contes-
tant. The performance and
presentation of the center-
piece number betray a fear
of displeasing fans, rather
than the thrill of serving
them a favorite dish.
The enterprise generally
seems too invested in the
appearance of begowned
perfection, highlighting
that cute usually comes
with not much passion. And
in Anastasia, it also comes
without a strong villain — or
any villain, really — anoth-
er move seemingly geared
towards easing palatability.
Cutting through the cute
with comedy and verve,
Anastasia Tari Kelly and Edward
Staudenmayer set off waves
of passion in their crowd-pleasing featured roles as Countess
Lily and Vlad, “The Countess and the Common Man.” The show
could use more of the pair, and their energy.
The story weaves in just enough of Joy Franz’s Dowager
Empress, Anya’s possible long-lost noble grandmother, to devel-
op some urgency in the underlying mystery of Anya’s true iden-
tity. Then the improbable conclusion more or less casts aside
the mystery and its implications in favor of cute romance. So the
story disappoints, even while the beautiful score and scenery do
not. To behold the opulence of this production, while listening
to the original Broadway cast recording, seems like a dream for
some future once upon December. l
TERESA WOOD
Stage

cal, but intellectual engagement — deliver

Crowning
on Posner’s promise, breathing vibrant,
quirkily human life into every moment.
Of course, there are some conun-

Achievement
drums here, first and foremost being
what to do with the convoluted backstory
to the drama: the machinations of rule
as England vied to maintain control of
King John may not be one of Shakespeare’s greatest, but the Folger vast swaths of France and the passage of
makes it a must-see. By Kate Wingfield power down none-too-straight bloodlines.

P
Posner solves both with a friendly pre-
LEASE LET THERE ALWAYS BE A FOLGER THEATRE. IN THIS AGE OF amble in which the characters introduce
(Largely Useless) Information in which so much of life is co-opted by an agi- themselves. If it teeters a tad too close for
tated, luminous screen, it is such a rare sensory pleasure to be ensconced in the comfort to the kind of toe-curling accom-
dark, mock-medieval confines of this intimate little venue, knowing that whatever takes modations found in educational theater, it
the stage will be urgent, soulful, cerebral, and often irreverently funny. does save some significant struggles later
There will be no shortcuts, gimmicks, or monetized lens — rather it will be that to follow the elaborate family trees.
high-risk adventure of bringing to life the classical words, stories, and ideas that, if they And, frankly, once the drama takes
find their twenty-first century synergy, shoot like fireworks through the modern heart hold, there’s no looking back. As the pro-
and mind. Does it help to be a Shakespeare geek? Sure. Is it required? Hell, no. Put sim- gram notes, this was a cast deep into the
ply: Any time spent inside the Folger’s enchanted walls is time well-spent. interpretation during rehearsals and the
Being the earliest and rather ponderously formed of his so-called historical plays, result is a gratifying ease and the space for
Shakespeare’s King John (HHHHH) isn’t exactly top of the repertoire. But as envi- real personality. For all-out mind-bend-
sioned by director Aaron Posner and a stellar cast, one suddenly wants to ask why? It ingly consummate skill and manifestation,
may have a lesser kind of gravitas and dimension than the plays that came later, but Holly Twyford’s Constance must ultimate-
seen with a keen enough sensibility there is still so much to savor, especially in its lan- ly take first mention. As mother to the ille-
guage of loss. And that’s the Folger magic all over — they do love a challenge. gitimate, young Arthur, she advocates as
Always attuned to what ails and what entertains, Posner brings just the right empha- relentlessly as a crazed stage mother for
sis to the obsessive, ambitious adults scrabbling for power over the head of a tender his crown, only to reveal later her keen-
shoot of a boy — one who never quite gets why honor matters so little to his elders and ing, unfathomable grief and despair at
supposed betters. The players — immersed in the Folger tradition of not just theatri- his loss. Twyford makes both sides of this

NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 35

 Constance riveting and believable, delivering her Shakespeare
with an extraordinary fluidity. As King John, Brian Dykstra is
immensely, messily credible. So joyfully free of the usual “king-
ly” posturing, he cogitates and angsts, slumps and equivocates,
and when frustrated, yells. He is completely convincing as a
leader who cannot imagine life without his “borrowed majesty”
and yet has no idea what to do with it.
Searingly memorable as the principled Philip Faulconbridge,
Kate Eastwood Norris turns the concept of the “trouser role”
on its head, delivering her man with unfettered charisma and
a beautifully mannered command of the language. In smaller
roles, Megan Graves absolutely shines as the oft-tearful young
Arthur, plaintively attempting to manage the adults on whom
he must depend. As The Dauphin, Akeem Davis brings a mem-
orable warmth and integrity and a masterful command in the
language. In the role of the interesting power female character,
Queen Eleanor, John’s mother, Kate Goehring delivers a vibrant
energy in her remonstrations, along with a sense of where this
John gets his insecurities. As the French king, Philip, Howard
W. Overshown keeps it effectively understated and yet main-
tains the man’s sense of menace.
Continuing in the Folger’s undaunted tradition, this compel-
ling, intimate King John is another small but enduring reason
why our phones will never, ever, be enough. l

King John runs to Dec. 2 at the Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. SE. Tickets are $42 to $79. Call 202-544-7077 or visit folger.edu.

aloft and creates a supporting character

worth caring about in this thickly plot-
ted production. He’s matched most often
with the lady his Malvolio serves, Olivia,
played by Dani Stoller as a sort of rock
video vixen who’s immune to the charms
of the lustful club owner Orsino (Matthew
Sparacino).
Stoller and Sparacino both have break-
out comic moments — his being a drunk-
en breakdown over Olivia, performed
to Laura Branigan’s “Gloria” — while
conveying the romantic framework of
Shakespeare’s love triangle. Their third
in the triangle is Viola, an innocent who
turns up at Illyria disguised as Cesario.
Ezra Tozian’s performance brings not
much clarity or meaning to the story’s
storm of mixed emotions, and she attacks
C. STANLEY PHOTOGAPHY

the adapted Shakespearean language

almost syllabically, leaving Cesario’s pleas
seriously wanting for persuasive ardor.
There are a few more in the cast who are
even less persuasive.
However, Montana Monardes as
Cesario’s twin Sebastian and Adam Lemos

Club Meh
Avant Bard’s Illyria takes on Twelfth Night with a promising concept,
but the cast doesn’t pull it off. By André Hereford
as Sebastian’s lover Antonio play a credi-
ble version of young love. Although their
romance seems stranded apart from the
rest of the action due to the production’s
episodic pacing, the actors’ rapport con-
tributes nicely to the show’s queer-friend-

F
ly atmosphere.
reely adapting Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Jonelle Walker and Mitchell Hébert Illyria’s ambiance might best be exem-
arrived at the auspicious conceit of setting the Bard’s romantic comedy of fluid plified by its resident chanteuse Fabian,
identities and genders inside an ’80s nightclub dive in NYC. played by Miss Kitty LeLynx (aka Jase
Thus, WSC Avant Bard’s production transforms the Gunston Arts Center stage into Parker). Fabian teeters in and out to
the cabaret/dance floor of the club Illyria. The scenic design by Joseph B. Musumeci, reflect the characters’ hope, lust, cynicism
Jr. immerses the audience via cocktail tables set amidst the action, while copious pas- and bitterness back at the audience. She
tels and a framed Nagel nude do their duties evoking the era. As a final touch, like any opens with a respectable spin through
decent nightclub, Illyria (HHHHH) needs the right crowd for the play’s vivid cast of Eartha Kitt’s “I Wanna Be Evil,” and she
characters to entertain and inspire. The right crowd should start with the performers, might conjure magic if she had the right
who, in this case, are not all up to the task. crowd. But she’s instead crowded out by
Starting at the top, in a nifty Warhol wig, Christopher Henley’s vain, deceived a hit-or-miss ensemble who can’t capture
Malvolio is ever a pleasure to listen to and observe. Henley soundly hoists the language the moment at club Illyria. l

Illyria runs to Nov. 18 at the Gunston Arts Center, 2700 South Lang St. in Arlington. Tickets are $40.
Call 703-418-4808 or visit avantbard.org/tickets.

36 NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

NightLife Photography by
Ward Morrison

NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 37

Scene Dusty and Lucien’s Birthdays at Trade - Saturday, Nov. 3 - Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

DrinksDragDJsEtc... SHAW’S TAVERN Friday, NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR SHAW’S TAVERN

Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Open 3pm • Beat the Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, November 9 Clock Happy Hour — $2 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 House Wines, $5 Rail (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 $5 House Wines, $5 Rail
Thursday, NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Beat the Clock Happy Hour
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas A LEAGUE OF HER OWN (7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer, Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
November 8 — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
and Select Appetizers • All
You Can Eat Ribs, 5-10pm,
Open 5pm-3am • Happy
Hour: $2 off everything
$15 • Weekend Kickoff
Dance Party, with Nellie’s
and Select Appetizers
$4 (7-8pm) • $15 Buckets
$24.95 • $4 Corona and until 9pm • Video Games DJs spinning bubbly pop TRADE
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN of Beer all night • Sports
Heineken all night • Live televised sports music all night Doors open 5pm • Huge
Open 5pm-2am • Happy Leagues Night
Happy Hour: Any drink
Hour: $2 off everything
TRADE FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR NUMBER NINE normally served in a cock-
until 9pm • Video Games NUMBER NINE
Doors open 5pm • Huge Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Open 5pm • Happy Hour: tail glass served in a huge
• Live televised sports Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
Happy Hour: Any drink Karaoke, 9pm 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm glass for the same price,
drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
normally served in a cock- • No Cover • Friday Night 5-10pm • Beer and wine
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
tail glass served in a huge GREEN LANTERN Piano with Chris, 7:30pm • only $4
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • PITCHERS
glass for the same price, Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Rotating DJs, 9:30pm
Karaoke, 9pm Open 5pm-2am • Happy
5-10pm • Beer and wine $3 Rail and Domestic • ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS
Hour: $2 off everything
only $4 $5 Svedka, all flavors all PITCHERS Men of Secrets, 9pm •
GREEN LANTERN until 9pm • Video Games
night long • HybridNine: Open 5pm-3am • Happy Guest dancers • Rotating
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Foosball • Live televised
ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS Stripped Harness and Hour: $2 off everything DJs • Kristina Kelly’s Diva
• Shirtless Thursday, sports • Full dining menu
All male, nude dancers • Jock Party, 10pm-close until 9pm • Video Games Fev-ah Drag Show • Doors
10-11pm • Men in till 9pm • Special Late
Open Dancers Audition • • Featuring DJ Ryan • Foosball • Live televised at 9pm, Shows at 11:30pm
Underwear Drink Free, Night menu till 11pm •
Urban House Music by DJ Doubleyou • No Cover sports • Full dining menu and 1:45am • DJ Don T. in
12-12:30am • DJs Visit pitchersbardc.com
Tim-e • 9pm • Cover 21+ till 9pm • Special Late Ziegfeld’s • Cover 21+
BacK2bACk
Night menu till 2am • Visit
pitchersbardc.com

38 NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS
GREEN LANTERN: FREEBALLERS
“The first Green Lantern party that does not include underwear!”
trumpets the cheeky tagline to this new party celebrating freedom
of movement below the belt. Keeping things covered but not con-
fined; imprinted rather than exposed; outlined as opposed to out.
Catch our drift? You can reveal your religion, in other words, as
long as you remain a man of the cloth. This fun, freeballing fies-
ta, likely to turn into a battle of the bulges, features the DJ duo
BacK2bACk and promoter/bartender Matt Strother. Saturday, Nov.
10, starting at 10 p.m. 1335 Green Ct. NW. Call 202-347-4533 or
visit facebook.com/GreenLanternDC.

LA FANTASY: SWIMSUIT PARTY PART II

A swimsuit is always acceptable on a packed, sweaty dance floor
no matter the season — and of course in Miami anywhere, any-
time. La Fantasy Productions toasts the city and its upcoming
Circuit Festival, the for-profit successor to the storied White Party
dance for charity, set for Thanksgiving weekend. DJs Anne Louise
from Brazil and Jesus Montanez from Mexico will provide the beats
Saturday, NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Drag Brunch, hosted to soundtrack the pretend pool/beach party at the downtown club
November 10 by Chanel Devereaux, L8 Lounge. Friday, Nov. 16, starting at 10 p.m. 727 15th St. NW.
10:30am-12:30pm and
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN 1-3pm • Tickets on sale
Tickets are $25. Call 202-506-7006 or visit lafantasyproductions.
Open 2pm-3am • Video at nelliessportsbar.com com.
Games • Live televised • House Rail Drinks, Zing
sports Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie
PEACH PIT VS. SHADY PINES
Beer and Mimosas, $4,
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR 11am-3am • Buckets of A special, expanded edition of Matt Bailer’s popular Peach Pit,
Saturday Breakfast Buffet, Beer, $15 • Guest DJs the party named after the diner in the ’90s-hit show Beverly Hills,
10am-3pm • $14.99 with
one glass of champagne NUMBER NINE 90210. Rather than its usual DC9 perch, the party moves to U Hall
or coffee, soda or juice • Doors open 2pm • Happy for a Veterans Day blowout with a broadened focus including pop
Additional champagne $2 Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink,
per glass • World Tavern 2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5
music from the ’80s — in a nod to that decade’s beloved gay-favor-
Poker Tournament, 1-3pm Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close ite sitcom The Golden Girls, set in the fictitious Miami retirement
• Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • • Pop Tarts, featuring DJs community of Shady Pines. Sunday, Nov. 11, starting at 10:30 p.m.
Freddie’s Follies Drag BacK2bACk, 9:30pm
Show, hosted by Miss Tickets are $5 in advance or $10 at the door. Call 202-588-1880 or
Destiny B. Childs, 8-10pm PITCHERS visit ustreetmusichall.com.
• Karaoke, 10pm-close Open Noon-3am • Video
Games • Foosball • Live
GREEN LANTERN televised sports • Full PITCHERS: FLASHBACK
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $5 dining menu till 9pm • Originally launched in the mid-’90s at Cobalt as a retro-themed
Bacardi, all flavors, all Special Late Night menu
night long • Freeballers till 2am • Visit pitchers-
party on Tuesdays, longtime DJ and promoter Jason Royce has
Party, 9pm-close • bardc.com revived Flashback at Pitchers, the new LGBTQ nightclub with an
Featuring DJs BacK2bACk even newer dance floor. The move to Adams Morgan also comes
• No Cover • 21+
with other changes, including a switch to Thursdays and covering
a wider time frame, with hits going well past the disco of 1975, all
the way up to the dance-pop of 2005. Royce is also now joined in
the “Party Like It’s 1999” cause by fellow veteran Darryl Strickland.
Thursdays starting at 10 p.m. 2317 18th St. NW. Call 202-733-2568
or visit pitchersdc.com.

ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS: FREAKY FRIDAYS

Daryl Wilson Promotions offers another freaky deaky bonanza on
both levels of Southwest’s large LGBTQ nightclub and entertain-
ment complex starting at 10 p.m. Entertainment for the evening
will come via 20 all-nude male dancers — including The Kandyman
— house DJ Sedrick and hip-hop DJ Tim Nice, plus a special drag
show with Capri Bloomingdale, Jasmine Blue, and Tuesday Snow,
at 11:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9. 1024 Half St. SW. Visit secretsdc.
com. — Compiled by Doug Rule

NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 39

40 NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

SHAW’S TAVERN
Brunch with $15
Bottomless Mimosas,
10am-3pm • Happy Hour,
5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite,
$4 Blue Moon, $5 House
Wines, $5 Rail Drinks •
Half-Priced Pizzas and
Select Appetizers
TRADE
Doors open 2pm • Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cock-
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
2-10pm • Beer and wine
only $4
ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS
Men of Secrets, 9pm-4am
• Guest dancers • Ladies
of Illusion Drag Show
with host Ella Fitzgerald
• Doors at 9pm, Shows
at 11:30pm and 1:45am
• DJ Don T. in Ziegfeld’s
• DJ Steve Henderson in
Secrets • Cover 21+
Sunday,
November 11
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
Open 2pm-12am • $4
Smirnoff and Domestic
Cans • Video Games •
Live televised sports
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Ella’s Sunday Drag Brunch,
10am-3pm • $24.99 with
four glasses of champagne
or mimosas, 1 Bloody
Mary, or coffee, soda or
juice • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm
• Karaoke, 9pm-close
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm •
Karaoke with Kevin
downstairs, 9:30pm-close
• Veterans Day Dog Tags
and Jocks Party, 9pm-2am
• Music by DJ Darryl
Strickland • Clothes Check
available • Military ID
gets you Happy Hour Prices
all night • No Cover
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Drag Brunch, hosted
by Chanel Devereaux,
10:30am-12:30pm and
1-3pm • Tickets on sale
at nelliessportsbar.com
• House Rail Drinks, Zing
Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie
Beer and Mimosas, $4,
11am-1am • Buckets of
Beer, $15 • Guest DJs
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut
and $5 Bulleit Bourbon,
9pm-close • Multiple TVs
showing movies, shows,
sports • Expanded craft
beer selection • Pop
Goes the World with Wes
Della Volla at 9:30pm •
No Cover
PITCHERS
Open Noon-2am • $4
Smirnoff, includes flavored,
$4 Coors Light or $4 Miller
Lites, 2-9pm • Video
Games • Foosball • Live
televised sports • Full din-
ing menu till 9pm • Visit
pitchersbardc.com
SHAW’S TAVERN
Brunch with Bottomless
Mimosas, 10am-3pm •
Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 House Wines, $5 Rail
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
and Select Appetizers
• Dinner-n-Drag, with
Miss Kristina Kelly, 8pm
• For reservations, email
shawsdinnerdragshow@
gmail.com
TRADE
Doors open 2pm • Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cock-
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
2-10pm • Beer and wine
only $4
Monday,
November 12
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
Playlist
DJ LEMZ
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm • No Cover NOBODY
SHAW’S TAVERN Mitski
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 House Wines, $5 Rail
BODY AND SOUL
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas teddy<3
and Select Appetizers •
Shaw ’Nuff Trivia, with
Jeremy, 7:30pm
MAKER
Big Wild
TRADE
Doors open 5pm • Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink HIGH HORSE
normally served in a cock- Kacey Musgraves
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
5-10pm • Beer and wine Ever Again
only $4 Robyn
HURTING
Tuesday, SG Lewis feat. Alunageorge
November 13
GET WAVEY
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Redlight
Open 5pm-12am • Happy
Hour: $2 off everything
until 9pm • Video Games HAVE FUN TONIGHT
• Live televised sports Fischerspooner
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Taco FAST SLOW DISCO
Tuesday • Poker Night —
7pm and 9pm games •
St. Vincent
Karaoke, 9pm
HEAL ME
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4pm-9pm Lady Gaga
• $3 rail cocktails and
domestic beers all night
long
Lemz is the creator of Sleaze
at Wonderland Ballroom,
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR where he also is resident DJ.
Beat the Clock Happy Hour
— $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), He also DJs Rough House at
$4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of the Green Lantern. You can
Beer $15 • Drag Bingo catch him most weekends
with Sasha Adams and
Brooklyn Heights, 7-9pm • at Nellie’s or hiding at home
Karaoke, 9pm-close playing video games. Follow
him on Instagram @DjLemz
for gig updates and cat
pictures.
NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 41
 NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
PITCHERS
Open 5pm-12am • Happy
Hour: $2 off everything
until 9pm • Video Games
• Foosball • Live televised
sports • Full dining menu
till 9pm • Special Late
Night menu till 11pm •
Visit pitchersbardc.com
SHAW’S TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 House Wines, $5 Rail
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
and Select Appetizers
• Half-Priced Burgers
and Pizzas all night with
$5 House Wines and $5
Sam Adams • DC Bocce
League: Indoor Bocce,
Second Floor, 6:30pm
TRADE
Doors open 5pm • Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
42 NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
normally served in a cock-
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
5-10pm • Beer and wine
only $4
Wednesday,
November 14
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
Open 5pm-12am • Happy
Hour: $2 off everything
until 9pm • Video Games
• Live televised sports
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • $6
Burgers • Beach Blanket
Drag Bingo Night, hosted
by Ms. Regina Jozet
Adams, 8pm • Bingo prizes
• Karaoke, 10pm-1am
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4pm-9pm •
Bear Yoga with Greg Leo,
6:30-7:30pm • $10 per
class • $3 rail cocktails
and domestic beers all
night long
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
SmartAss Trivia Night,
8-10pm • Prizes include
bar tabs and tickets to
shows at the 9:30 Club •
$15 Buckets of Beer for
SmartAss Teams only •
Absolutely Snatched Drag
Show, hosted by Brooklyn
Heights, 9pm • Tickets
available at nelliessports-
bar.com
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
PITCHERS
Open 5pm-12am • Happy
Hour: $2 off everything
until 9pm • Video Games
• Foosball • Live televised
sports • Full dining menu
till 9pm • Special Late
Night menu till 11pm •
Visit pitchersbardc.com
SHAW’S TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 House Wines, $5 Rail
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
and Select Appetizers •
Piano Bar with Jill, 8pm
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
Thursday,
November 15
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
Open 5pm-2am • Happy
Hour: $2 off everything
until 9pm • Video Games
• Live televised sports
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm •
Karaoke, 9pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm
• Shirtless Thursday,
10-11pm • Men in
Underwear Drink Free,
12-12:30am • DJs
BacK2bACk
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Beat the Clock Happy Hour
— $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) • $15 Buckets
of Beer all night • Sports
Leagues Night
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
PITCHERS
Open 5pm-2am • Happy
Hour: $2 off everything
until 9pm • Video Games
• Foosball • Live televised
sports • Full dining menu
till 9pm • Special Late
Night menu till 11pm •
Visit pitchersbardc.com
SHAW’S TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 House Wines, $5 Rail
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
and Select Appetizers • All
You Can Eat Ribs, 5-10pm,
$24.95 • $4 Corona and
Heineken all night
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
ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers •
Open Dancers Audition
• Urban House Music by
DJ Tim-e • 9pm • Cover
21+ l
Scene High Heel Drag Race - Tuesday, October 30 - Photography by Todd Franson and Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

44 NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 45
 LastWord.
People say the queerest things

“Thanks to you, tomorrow will be

a new day in America.”
— House Democratic leader NANCY PELOSI, speaking after it was announced that Democrats had successfully flipped enough seats
to retake control of the House. Pelosi promised “we will drain the swamp,” and said Democrats would
“[restore] the Constitution and checks and balance to the Trump administration.”

“I’m grateful to North Philly for this resounding and historic win.
I’m ready to get to work.”
— MALCOLM KENYATTA, speaking to News One after he won his election for Pennsylvania’s 181st District, becoming the state’s
first openly gay African American legislator. “Nothing is impossible!” he later tweeted. “Together we made history!”

“Voters in Massachusetts made history tonight and sent a clear message that
transgender rights are human rights.”
— GLAAD CEO SARAH KATE ELLIS, in a tweet after Massachusetts voters upheld protections for transgender people, after anti-trans
activists tried to have them removed via ballot measure. Two-thirds of voters supported maintaining a law that protects
trans people from discrimination in public places, which Ellis called “the latest sign” that Trump’s anti-transgender agenda
is “completely out of step with where the American public is.”

“I want to thank...first and foremost, my amazing partner and

the first ‘first man’ in the history of Colorado,
Marlon Reis.
”
— Colorado Governor-elect JARED POLIS (D), who made history on Tuesday by becoming the first gay man in America to be elected
governor, introducing his long-term partner Marlon Reis to a cheering crowd at his election night victory party.

“This is not the end.

This is the beginning.”
— CHRISTINE HALLQUIST, in a concession speech after she lost her bid for Governor of Vermont, with voters instead opting
for Republican incumbent Phil Scott. Despite losing her election, Hallquist has made history as the first openly transgender
major party nominee for governor in America. “Vermont is a beacon of hope,” she said. “We showed the rest of the country
what good democracy looks like.”

46 NOVEMBER 8, 2018 • METROWEEKLY