CONTENTS

DECEMBER 13, 2018 Volume 25 Issue 31

16 BRITISH CHRISTMAS
Catherine Flye’s Christmas confection, now at MetroStage,
pays tribute to the British music halls of yore.

By Doug Rule

CHELY WRIGHT’S
SECOND ACT
Since coming out in 2010, a lot has changed for the country
singer. What hasn’t changed is her way with words.
26
Interview by Randy Shulman

33 FATAL ADDICTIONS
Power is the drug in the lush but lacking Mary Queen of
Scots, while Ben Is Back pulls out the hard stuff.

By André Hereford

SPOTLIGHT: A JOHN WATERS CHRISTMAS p.7 OUT ON THE TOWN p.13

BRITISH CHRISTMAS: THE OLD BULL AND BUSH p.16 THE FEED p.21
COMMUNITY: RELIGIOUS ASSEMBLY p.23 COVER STORY: CHELY WRIGHT’S SECOND ACT p.26
FILM: MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS p.33 FILM: BEN IS BACK p.34
STAGE: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST p.35 STAGE: TALLEY’S FOLLY p.36 NIGHTLIFE p.37
SCENE: DIK BAR p.37 LISTINGS p.38 NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS p.39 PLAYLIST: DJ CHORD p.43
SCENE: COBALT p.45 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
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4 DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Spotlight
GREG GORMAN
A John Waters Christmas
W
ITH THE HOLIDAYS COME GOOD TIDINGS,
eggnog and candy canes, strategically placed
mistletoe, and elaborately decorated fir trees.
The holidays also draw John Waters, like a Santa fridge
magnet, back to The Birchmere, where the legendary
director of Hairspray and Pink Flamingos, and national
purveyor of pop trash culture, puts his unique spin on
the season in A John Waters Christmas. Those who
attend the event annually — and you know who you
are — don’t get a repeat performance. Instead, he takes
great pleasure in rewriting the 90-minute, one-man
monologue every year.
“The skeleton of it might be the same,” he says, “but
if you got the same present every year, it would kind of
be dull.”
Waters usually pens the Christmas show in July
while vacationing in Provincetown. But this year, he
was putting finishing touches on a new book — Mr.
Know-It-All (“It’s my advice on everything.”) — to be
released in May, so this year’s show didn’t hit paper until
September.
A John Waters Christmas is Thursday, Dec. 20, at 7:30 p.m. at The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave. in Alexandria.
Tickets are $55. Call 703-549-7500 or visit thebirchmere.com.
He concedes his filmmaking years are behind him.
“My books seem to do better, and the independent film
world I knew is gone. I could get a movie made tomor-
row — [the studios] would do it for a million dollars. But
I can’t. I’ve made 17 movies — what am I gonna say to
people? Will you work for nothing? People say, ‘Why
don’t you use Kickstarter?’ I own three homes — I’m not
begging.” He sighs. “It’s hard to be a 72-year-old anar-
chist. And I don’t want to go backward.”
Waters refrains from discussing politics in inter-
views, preferring to save the material for his shows.
However, he does let slip that one of the bits in this
year’s Christmas show outlines “every single thing I
would do if I was president.”
“I tell you everything,” he says. “My cabinet. Who’s
gonna be vice president. My first lady. My medical plans.
Everything I’m gonna do as president,” he says, adding
that after the election of Donald Trump, it became clear
to him that “anybody can win, obviously. So maybe
somebody will back me. I’ll start raising money the day
after the tour’s over.” —Randy Shulman
DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 7
 Spotlight
THE WASHINGTON
BALLET: THE
NUTCRACKER
The Washington Ballet’s former
artistic director Septime Webre first
staged his twist on the family favorite
13 years ago, setting it in D.C.’s his-
toric Georgetown neighborhood with
George Washington as the titular fig-
ure and King George III as the Rat
King. As always, the production sets
XMB PHOTOGRAPHY

up shop for nearly all of December at

downtown’s Warner Theatre, 513 13th
St. NW. To Dec. 24. Call 202-889-5901
or visit washingtonballet.org.

PUDDLES
PITY PARTY
In Puddles the Clown, Big Mike
Geier has created a unique arts
persona out of the jack-in-the-
box. Dressed in clown white-
face, and nary speaking a word,
Puddles, who is perpetually sad,
sings with a shimmering baritone
luster that is as astonishing as it is
surprising. No wonder he’s nearly
sold out the Eisenhower Theater
for his Friday night performance.
His set list reportedly includes
R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion,”
Eric Carmen’s “All By Myself,”
Sia’s “Chandelier,” and, if we’re
lucky, Lorde’s “Royals.” Friday,
Dec. 14, at 8 p.m. Kennedy Center
Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are

DAVID STUART.
$29-$55. Call 202-467-4600 or
visit kennedy-center.org.

THE WASHINGTON CHORUS:

A CANDLELIGHT CHRISTMAS
Christopher Bell directs the annual “A
Candlelight Christmas,” featuring the 200-
voice chorus singing familiar carols and holi-
day songs accompanied by brass ensemble plus
organ, plus audience sing-alongs and a can-
dlelight processional. Joining the chorus this
year is Virginia Bronze, an Alexandria hand-
bell ensemble. Sunday, Dec. 16, at 4 p.m., and
Saturday, Dec. 22, at 2 p.m. Kennedy Center
Concert Hall. Also Thursday, Dec. 20, at 8 p.m.,
and Friday, Dec. 21, at 8 p.m. Music Center
at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North
Bethesda. Tickets are $18 to $75. Call 202-342-
6221 or visit thewashingtonchorus.org.

8 DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 MetroWeekly’s Holiday Gift Guide

Visit the Holiday Gift Guide online at MetroWeekly.com/GiftGuide

 Spotlight
THE SECOND CITY:
SHE THE PEOPLE
An all-female team roasts the patriarchy,
modern politics and pop culture in the lat-
est revue from Chicago’s sketch comedy
troupe. Carly Heffernan directs a Second
City ensemble featuring Atra Asdou, Carisa
Barreca, Alex Bellisle, Katie Caussin, Kazi
Jones, and Maggie Wilder. To Jan. 6. Woolly
TERESA CASTRACANE

Mammoth, 641 D St. NW. Tickets range

from $20 to $85. Call 202-393-3939 or visit
woollymammoth.net.

CHRIS PUREKA
A gender-queer singer-songwriter whose fraught-folk style
reflects slightly, subtly, on her background in science: Pureka was
a research microbiologist at Smith College before she became a
full time musician more than a decade ago. The Portland-based
artist returns for a show at Virginia’s Jammin Java with an
opening set by Crys Matthews, the impressive Herndon-based,
lesbian soul/folk singer. Thursday, Dec. 20. Doors at 6 p.m. 227
Maple Ave. E. Vienna. Tickets are $18 to $25. Call 703-255-3747
or visit jamminjava.com.

OH, GOD
A psychotherapist gets a visit from a new and desperate
patient — God — in a witty and touching work by Anat
Gov, “the Wendy Wasserstein of Israel.” Kimberly Schraf
is the therapist who must talk the divine one (Mitchell
Hébert) off the ledge of despair over the state of humanity
in Mosaic Theater’s winter holiday production. Select per-
formances will be followed by free post-show discussions
exploring resonant themes in the work including, Sunday,
Dec. 16, at 4:30 p.m., between Mosaic founder Ari Roth
and the Edlavitch DCJCC’s Carole Zawatsky. To Jan. 13.
Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are
IWAN BAGUS

$20 to $65. Call 202-399-7993 or visit mosaictheater.org.

10 DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 MetroWeekly’s Holiday Gift Guide

Visit the Holiday Gift Guide online at MetroWeekly.com/GiftGuide

ROB IVES
Out On The Town

DOWNTOWN HOLIDAY MARKET

Over 150 artisans rotate among sixty tents set up on two blocks in the heart of downtown. Now in its 14th year, the holiday
market offers a vast, eclectic, and international assortment of gifts and souvenirs, collectibles and wearables — from prints
and photographs, to pottery and glassware, to custom jewelry and accessories. Each day also brings free staged concerts
by local musicians, and options for food and non-alcoholic drink. Open noon to 8 p.m. daily to Dec. 23. Located on F Street
between 7th and 9th Streets NW. Visit downtownholidaymarket.com.

Compiled by Doug Rule
HOLIDAY
HIGHLIGHTS
AFI HOLIDAY CLASSICS
Over the next several weeks, the
American Film Institute offers 16
Christmas films, from the clas-
sics (A Christmas Carol, Miracle
on 34th Street) to curiosities (Die
Hard, Trading Places). This week
brings a 25th anniversary screen-
ing of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare
Before Christmas on Saturday, Dec.
15, and Sunday, Dec. 16, at 11:15
a.m., and Wednesday, Dec. 19, at
9:30 p.m.; the James Stewart-led
Frank Capra classic It’s a Wonderful
Life, screening in a new 4K resto-
ration, on Monday, Dec. 17, through
Wednesday, Dec. 19, at 2:30 p.m.,
Thursday, Dec. 20, at 1:30 and 6:45
p.m., and Friday, Dec. 21, at 1:50 and
6:45 p.m.; The Muppet Christmas
Carol, Jim Henson’s animated spin
on Dickens with Michael Caine
the voice of Ebenezer Scrooge,
screening Monday, Dec. 17, through
Wednesday, Dec. 19, at 5:15 p.m.,
Thursday, Dec. 20, 11:30 a.m., and
Friday, Dec. 21, at 12 p.m.; and
arguably most notable of all Dial
Code Santa Claus, René Manzor’s
1989 horror drama, in French with
English subtitles, that has almost
the same plot as Home Alone but is
far more stylized and much, much
bloodier and was previously only
available on VHS bootlegs, screen-
ing Monday, Dec. 17, at 9:30 p.m.,
and Friday, Dec. 21, at 10 p.m. AFI
Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville
Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $13.
Call 301-495-6720 or visit afi.com/
Silver for schedule and details.
AN IRISH CAROL
Keegan Theatre presents Matthew
Keenan’s annual homage to Dickens,
with biting Irish humor and inci-
sive candor. Mark A. Rhea directs
a cast featuring Kevin Adams,
Josh Sticklin, Timothy Lynch,
Caroline Dubberly, Josh Adams,
Mick Tinder, and Jon Townson.
After the Saturday, Dec. 22, evening
performance comes a “Keegan’s
Greetings” concert over cocktails
by the Harry Bells, a D.C.-based
horn-and-percussion tribute to the
music of Harry Belafonte. Opens
Thursday, Dec. 13. Runs to Dec. 31.
1742 Church St. NW. Tickets are
$36 to $46. Call 202-265-3767 or
visit keegantheatre.com.
ANNAPOLIS PRIDE’S
HOLIDAY DRAG BRUNCH
Baltimore’s “Queen of Comedy”
Shawnna Alexander and the south-
ern Maryland “Insult Queen”
Victoria Bohmore co-host a holi-
day-inspired variety show. Patrons
can eat and drink from Ram’s Head
On Stage’s standard menu plus a
few select brunch specials, all while
taking in skits and performances
featuring Paris Satellite, Krystal
Nova, and Jalah Nicole, plus special
guests Miss Gay Maryland America
2002 Ashley Bannks, Miss Nation’s
Capital Girl at Large 2018 Victoria
Blair, and Miss Gay Maryland
America 2018 Nicole James. A
portion of the proceeds benefit
Annapolis Pride. Saturday, Dec.
22. Doors at 11:30 a.m. Ram’s Head
On Stage, 33 West St., Annapolis.
Tickets are $20 for admission only.
Call 410-268-4545 or visit rams-
headonstage.com.
BALTIMORE SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA: HOLIDAY POPS
Andy Einhorn, the conductor and
musical director for such celebrated
recent Broadway revivals as Hello,
Dolly! and Carousel, conducts the
BSO and the Baltimore Choral Arts
Society in a new holiday BSO Pops
show featuring festive favorites,
tap-dancing, an audience sing-
along, and a few musical surprises.
All that, plus pre-concert perfor-
mances, holiday cookies, and orna-
ments for sale as the Meyerhoff
Symphony Hall becomes a winter
wonderland. Saturday, Dec. 22, at
3 and 8 p.m. 1212 Cathedral St.,
Baltimore. Tickets are $12.50 to
$80. Call 410-783-8000 or visit bso-
music.org.
GAY MEN’S CHORUS
OF WASHINGTON:
THE HOLIDAY SHOW
Artistic Director Thea Kano leads
an all-new show featuring tap danc-
ers, silver bears, holiday drag, fall-
ing snowflakes, soaring vocals, and
a special visit from Santa Claus.
In other words, the kind of all-
out eclectic extravaganza patrons
come to expect from the Gay Men’s

DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 13

 STAGE
AN INSPECTOR CALLS
A festive evening at the home of a
well-heeled British family is sud-
denly punctured by a visit from a
grim inspector investigating the
death of a young woman that pro-
ceeds to upend their comfortable
lives. Acclaimed stage and film
director Stephen Daldry (Billy
Elliot) returns to J.B. Priestley’s
chilling drama, which he first
helmed in 1992 at London’s National
Theatre, for a Shakespeare Theatre
Company production starring Liam
Brennan as Inspector Goole and
Christine Kavanagh, Jeff Harmer,
Lianne Harvey, and Hamish Riddle
as the Birling family. To Dec. 23.
Lansburgh Theatre, 450 7th St. NW.
Call 202-547-1122 or visit shake-
spearetheatre.org.
TERESA WOOD

HOW TO KEEP AN ALIEN

Solas Nua, the nation’s only orga-
nization exclusively dedicated to
contemporary Irish arts, presents
the regional premiere of a romantic
FOLGER CONSORT: CHRISTMAS MESSE comedy with a global perspective
The Folger Shakespeare Library’s 1619 manuscript A Christmas Messe, which recounts a on immigration. An audience favor-
tussle between King Beef and King Brawn, offers lively accompaniment to a main course ite from the D.C.-based company’s
play reading series last season,
of beloved Yuletide music. Billed as a banquet of seasonal English music, ranging from the How to Keep An Alien explores the
earliest carols to later arrangements of favorites like Greensleeves by Vaughan Williams, real-life travails of Irish playwright
the music will be brought to life by strings, harp, organist Webb Wiggins, and an ensem- Sonya Kelly in securing a visa for
her Australian-born partner Kate
ble of voices, including soprano Crossley Hawn, alto P. Lucy McVeigh, and tenor Oliver by proving their love to the Irish
Mercer. Before the performance on Saturday, Dec. 15, at 8 p.m., there will be a behind- government. With Tonya Beckman
the-scenes talk and look at related items from the Folger vault led by the organization’s as Sonya. Directed by Tom Story. To
Amanda Herbert in the Paster Reading Room. Performances begin Friday, Dec. 14, at 8 Dec. 16. Dance Loft on 14 Theater,
4618 14th St. NW 2nd Floor. Tickets
p.m. Weekends to Dec. 23. Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. SE. Tickets are $52, plus are $35 to $45. Call 202-621-3670 or
$15 for the Saturday, Dec. 15, pre-show talk and exhibition. Call 202-544-7077 or visit visit solasnua.org.
folger.edu.
INDECENT
Paula Vogel’s latest work tells the
story of a group of artists who
Chorus this time of year. The setlist WASHINGTON IMPROV WASHINGTON NATIONAL risked their careers to perform
includes “Jingle Bells,” “I’d Like to THEATER: SEASONAL DISORDER OPERA: THE LION, THE Sholem Asch’s God of Vengeance
Teach the World to Sing,” “I’ll Be Artistic Director Mark Chalfant UNICORN, AND ME on Broadway in 1923, a work
Home for Christmas,” and “Puttin’ describes WIT’s decade-old This year’s WNO Holiday Family deemed “indecent” for tackling
On The Holiday Drag.” Remaining Seasonal Disorder as “a huge smor- Opera presentation is the heart- taboo themes of censorship, immi-
performances are Saturday, Dec. 15, gasbord of different comedy shows, warming adaptation of the famous gration, and anti-Semitism — but
at 3 and 8 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. all of which have some sort-of angle children’s book, retelling the especially for depicting romance
16, at 3 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, 1215 or theme related to the holidays.” Nativity story from the perspec- blooming between two women. Eric
U St. NW. Tickets are $25 to $65. No two programs are alike, as each tive of a donkey. Artistic Director Rosen directs a cast that includes
Call 877-435-9849 or visit thelin- pivots off of a suggestion or theme Francesca Zambello worked with Ben Cherry, Susan Lynskey, John
colndc.com. from the audience. From there, the Tony-winning composer Jeanine Milosich, and Max Wolkowitz. To
WIT players concoct characters, Tesori (Fun Home) and librettist Dec. 30. Kreeger Theater in the
NSO POPS: HOME FOR THE story, theme — whether to create J.D. McClatchy in developing the Mead Center for American Theater,
HOLIDAYS WITH ASHLEY an original, off-the-cuff show via adaptation, which sees a revival 1101 6th St. SW. Call 202-488-3300
BROWN the iMusical team, an improvised after its sold-out world premiere or visit arenastage.org.
Brown, who originated the role of rock concert from Heavy Rotation, run in 2013. The cast includes
Mary Poppins on Broadway, makes a Latino variety show a la Sabado members of WNO’s Domingo- THE THEATRE LAB HONORS
her NSO Pops debut. Brown will Picante, or “Huggy Smalls: The Cafritz Young Artist Program and ACTING CONSERVATORY
lead a program of holiday favor- Notorious H.U.G.” Weekends to the WNO Children’s Chorus, with SHOWCASE
ites and Christmas sing-alongs that Dec. 30. Source, 1835 14th St. NW. the orchestra conducted by James The Theatre Lab School of the
comes in collaboration with the Tickets are $15 in advance, or $18 at Lowe. Friday, Dec. 14, at 7:30 p.m., Dramatic Arts presents final proj-
USO of Metropolitan Washington- the door. Call 202-204-7770 or visit Saturday, Dec. 15, and Sunday, ect presentations by its 2018 honors
Baltimore and presented in honor witdc.org. Weekends to Dec. 28. Dec. 16, at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Kennedy acting students. The performances
of all service members and their Source Theater, 1835 14th St. NW. Center Terrace Theater. Tickets are are at the school’s Woodward Hall, a
families. Steven Reineke conducts. Tickets are $12 online in advance, or $49 to $79. Call 202-467-4600 or block north of the Old Patent Office
Also featuring the Washington $15 at the door. Call 202-204-7770 visit kennedy-center.org. Building. The conservatory is a one-
Chorus. Friday, Dec. 14, at 8 p.m., or visit washingtonimprovtheater. year professional training program
and Saturday, Dec. 15, at 2 and 8 com. with courses taught by some of
p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Washington’s leading theater pro-
Tickets are $24 to $99. Call 202-467- fessionals. The Final Showcase is
4600 or visit kennedy-center.org. Monday, Dec. 17, at 7:30 p.m. 733 8th

14 DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 St. NW. Free. Call 202-824-0449 or
visit theatrelab.org.

MUSIC
GOOD FOR THE JEWS
Rob Tannenbaum insists his musi-
cal comedy rock band is good for
the Jews — and not just in name.
“What we’re trying to present is an
evolved ideal, or an evolved repre-
sentation of what Jews are about,”
says Tannenbaum. Out are ancient
Hebrew melodies and songs about
dreidels. Instead, there’s original
songs evocative of many of the 20th
Century’s best folk and pop songs,
all written by Jewish Americans,
from Bob Dylan to Paul Simon to
Irving Berlin. After a decade of
performing annually at Virginia’s
Jammin’ Java, Tannenbaum and
bandmate David Fagin bring their
popular annual show into D.C. this
METRO STAGE

year at the Brindley Brothers’ one-

year-old venue on the Wharf, where
they’ll be sure to sing their new sin-
gle “If You’re a Jew Who Voted for
Donald Trump.” Sunday, Dec. 23, at

BRITISH CHRISTMAS
7 p.m. Union Stage, 740 Water St.
SW. Tickets are $20. Call 877-987-
6487 or visit unionstage.com.

HANDEL’S MESSIAH
Catherine Flye’s Christmas confection, now at MetroStage, Two of the area’s great orches-
pays tribute to the British music halls of yore. tras take on Handel’s monumen-
tal Messiah a few days before

I
Christmas. Nicholas McGegan
SOMETIMES FEEL I WAS BORN OUT OF TIME,” SAYS ALBERT COIA. “I THINK conducts the National Symphony
to myself, ‘Mmm, maybe if I had been alive in the 1920s, I might have been a music Orchestra version featuring the
University of Maryland Concert
hall star.’” The actor is currently stealing scenes in Christmas at the Old Bull and Choir and soloists Yulia van Doren,
Bush, a show set in 1918, in a storied British pub. “I play Bertie Ramsbottom, the tipsy Meg Bragle, Miles Mykkanen, and
regular,” Coia says. “He’s at the bar drinking, and he keeps interrupting the Chairman William Berger. Thursday, Dec.
20, at 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 21, and
— the master of ceremonies — with jokes and silly questions. He’s a fly in the ointment, Saturday, Dec. 22, at 8 p.m., and
as it were.” Sunday, Dec. 23, at 1 p.m. Kennedy
In one of show’s most side-splitting skits, Coia’s Bertie lands in the lap of the Center Concert Hall. Tickets are $15
Chairman, and the pair turns the tearjerker “Sonny Boy” into a comedic ventriloquist’s to $89. Call 202-467-4600 or visit
kennedy-center.org. Meanwhile,
act. “I do my face with teeth sticking out and a line around my chin,” says Coia. “It’s to Stan Engebretson conducts the
look like I’ve got one of those floppy wooden chins.” National Philharmonic and its
Created by the British-born Catherine Flye, Christmas at the Old Bull and Bush origi- Chorale plus soloists Suzanne
Karpov, Magdalena Wór, Matthew
nally played in Arena Stage’s now-shuttered Old Vat Room, where it enjoyed a successful Smith, and Trevor Scheunemann.
six-year run from 1997 to 2003. In 2017, Alexandria’s Metro Stage revived Flye’s produc- Saturday, Dec. 22, at 8 p.m., and
tion to tremendous success. Now in its second year, the seasonal seems to have found a Sunday, Dec. 23, at 3 p.m. Music
perfect new home. Center at Strathmore, 5301
Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda.
“I come from that tradition of the English entertainment world,” Flye says. “My Tickets are $34 to $84. Call 301-581-
mother was a singer, my father used to read poetry and stuff, and I’d always heard these 5100 or visit strathmore.org.
music hall songs.” After marrying an American and moving to the U.S., Flye established
LES NUBIANS
herself in the Washington theater scene. (She’s currently playing Grandma in Signature Born to a French father and a
Theatre’s Billy Elliot while her show’s music hall star is portrayed by local theater pow- Cameroonian mother, Paris-born
erhouse Sherri L. Edelen.) sisters Hélène and Célia Faussart
The current production of Christmas at the Old Bull and Bush also pays tribute to the helped shake up hip-hop at the
turn of the millennium with their
100th anniversary of the end of World War I, which Flye calls “that dreadful war.” Yet debut album, Princesses Nubiennes.
the evening, with its joyous carol sing-alongs and audience joke-telling via Christmas They’re now one of the most suc-
crackers, is lighthearted, cheery, and ultimately spirit-lifting. Notes Flye, “In this world cessful French-language musical
groups in the states. Saturday, Dec.
we live in, especially politically now, it’s so important we have something we can escape 15. Doors at 6 p.m. The Howard
to. I think this is very apropos for that situation.” —Doug Rule Theatre, 620 T St. NW. Tickets are
$22.50 to $65, plus $10 minimum per
person for all tables. Call 202-588-
Christmas at the Old Bull and Bush runs to Dec. 30 at MetroStage, 1201 North Royal St., 5595 or visit thehowardtheatre.com.
in Alexandria. Tickets are $55. Call 703-548-9044 or visit metrostage.org.

16 DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 family that inspired the organiza-
tion’s name. The consort’s actu-
al namesake is Johann Sebastian
Bach, whose masterful work for
double choir Komm, Jesu, Komm!
is the program’s centerpiece. Dana
Marsh leads the concert. Sunday,
Dec. 16, at 3 p.m., with a pre-concert
lecture an hour earlier by noted
Bach scholar Dr. Michael Marissen,
plus a post-concert reception.
National Presbyterian Church, 4101
Nebraska Ave. NW. Tickets are $10
to $69. Call 202-429-2121 or visit
bachconsort.org.

DANCE
STEP AFRIKA!: MAGICAL
MUSICAL HOLIDAY STEP SHOW
The local percussive dance com-
pany dedicated to the tradition of
stepping presents its annual holi-
day step show intended for audi-
ences aged four years and up. The
focus is on getting North Pole ani-
mals — polar bears, penguins — to
step. And all to music by “Frosty
THE MAGIC OF DC the Snowman,” putting the nee-
dle on the record as special guest
Drafthouse Comedy club offers a late-afternoon show this weekend featuring three area DJ. In addition to the show fea-
performers: Chris Michael, a comedy magician who does everything from funny beat-box- turing friendly, furry characters,
ing to death-defying stunts; Tommy Halladay (pictured), an Instagram-born talent who this holiday tradition at the Atlas
Performing Arts Center includes
mixes magic with stunts and sideshow acts; and Braden Carlisle, a comedy magician pre-show instrument-making
known for his magic theory book Agree to Disagree and who serves as host of the weekly workshops, photo ops, and a dance
magic podcast Awesome People Talking. Saturday, Dec. 15, and Sunday, Dec. 16, at 4 p.m. party. Opens Friday, Dec. 14. Runs
1100 13th St. NW. Tickets are $10. Call 202-750-6411 or visit drafthousecomedy.com. to Dec. 30. The Sprenger Theatre,
1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $25 to
$45. Call 202-399-7993 or visit atla-
sarts.org.

MACY GRAY
Nearly 20 years since “I Try,” Gray
is still recording and performing her
signature blend of R&B, pop, funk,
and jazz. The Bethesda Blues & Jazz
Supper Club brings the chanteuse
“back by popular demand” only
six months after her last visit over
Black Pride Weekend when she and
a full band offered a sneak peek at
Ruby, her 10th full-length album,
released in September. Now comes
a command performance before a
crowd of fans who will be able to
sing along. Friday, Dec. 21, at 8 p.m.
7719 Wisconsin Ave. Tickets are $67
to $87, plus $20 minimum purchase
per person. Call 240-330-4500 or
visit bethesdabluesjazz.com.
MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO
In 2016, the bisexual iconoclastic
singer-songwriter Ndegeocello
debuted Can I Get A Witness: The
Gospel of James Baldwin, a Harlem
Stage commission through the
WaterWorks initiative supported
by Time Warner and the National
Endowment for the Arts. Now the
D.C. native returns to her roots with
a program at the Kennedy Center
held up as the next evolution in a
series about the great gay Harlem
Renaissance writer, titled No More
Water|The Fire Next Time: The
Gospel According to James Baldwin.
This music-only concert version
includes Ndegeocello’s Baldwin-
inspired compositions in addition to
selections from her prodigious and
far-flung discography. Sunday, Dec.
16, at 8 p.m. Eisenhower Theater.
Tickets are $49 to $89. Call 202-467-
4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.
O.A.R.
Founded two decades ago in
Rockville, Of A Revolution con-
tinues to stir up audiences both
at home and around the country.
Singer/guitarist Marc Roberge,
drummer Chris Culos, guitar-
ist Richard On, bassist Benj
Gershman, and saxophonist/gui-
tarist Jerry DePizzo will perform
from its great alt-rock repertoire
in its second annual show right off
the District Pier. Saturday, Dec. 15.
Doors at 6:30 p.m. The Anthem,
901 Wharf St. SW. Tickets are $45
to $75. Call 202-888-0020 or visit
theanthemdc.com.
TOO MANY ZOOZ
A busking sensation in the subways
of New York, this instrumental
“brass house” trio has gotten a sig-
nificant upgrade in recent years.
First, Beyonce tapped them to
accompany her on Lemonade songs
“Formation” and “Daddy Issues,”
then she invited them to perform
“Daddy Issues” with her at the
2016 CMA Awards. And in the past
year, they’ve gotten significant air-
play in the U.K. with their song
“Warriors,” as well as the sequel
“So Real (Warriors)” featuring Jess
Glynne. A blend of jazz, Afro-Cuban
rhythms, funk, and electronic/
dance elements, the brassy, sassy,
manic music of Too Many Zooz can
be a little, well, too much to merely
listen to. Fortunately, they provide
plenty to look at, from a very phys-
ical style of dancing, to the shock
of hair sported by the tall baritone
saxophonist Leo P. Too Many Zooz
tours in support of new EP A Very
Too Many Zooz Xmas, Vol. 1 on a
double-bill with the six-piece rock/
jam band Big Something, support-
ing its “post-apocalyptic peyote
trip”-themed album The Otherside.
All that, plus an opening set from
Baltimore’s “future wave/space
disco” instrumental quartet Electric
Love Machine. Talk about a far out
kind of night. Saturday, Dec. 22.
Doors at 7 p.m. 9:30 Club, 815 V St.
NW. Tickets are $20. Call 202-265-
0930 or visit 930.com.
WASHINGTON BACH CONSORT
This year’s “Christmas with the
Consort” focuses on motets for
the Advent and Christmas writ-
ten by Baroque masters, including
Hieronymous Praetorius, Heinrich
Schütz, and naturally two compos-
ers from the musically rich German
ART & EXHIBITS
CHURCHILL’S SHAKESPEARE
The U.K.’s legendary 20th-centu-
ry prime minister was a lifelong
admirer of the 16th-Century Brit
regarded as the greatest writer
in the English language, and the
Bard’s influence can be found in
Churchill’s speeches and ideas. The
Folger Shakespeare Library pres-
ents materials from its collection
as well as those from Cambridge’s
Churchill Archives Centre and
Churchill’s home Chartwell, both
of which collaborated on this spe-
cial exhibition. To Jan. 6. 201 East
Capitol St. SE. Call 202-544-4600
or visit folger.edu.
FABERGE REDISCOVERED
The late heiress Marjorie
Merriweather Post has a renowned
collection of pieces from the firm of
Carl Fabergé, the legendary jeweler
to the last court of Russia. A spe-
cial exhibition at Post’s Hillwood
Estate, nestled in a leafy section of
Upper Northwest a few blocks from
Van Ness, unveils new discoveries
relating to the collection of about
90 Fabergé works, including two
imperial Easter eggs. To Jan. 13.
4155 Linnean Ave. NW. Suggested
donation is $18. Call 202-686-5807
or visit HillwoodMuseum.org.

18 DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 ABOVE & BEYOND
GEORGETOWN GLOW 2018
Now in its fifth year, this light
art exhibition presented by the
Georgetown Business Improvement
District features 10 displays by mul-
tidisciplinary artists. Billed as a way
to “reimagine the season of light,”
the commissioned works, curated
by Deirdre Ehlen MacWilliams,
offer a high-tech modern contrast
with the surroundings of D.C.’s old-
est neighborhood — which has been
further illuminated by the string-
ing of white lights on street-fac-
ing buildings. The five-week event
includes a Christmas Tree Farm
every weekend at the Ritz-Carlton
COURTESY OF MURRAY HILL

Georgetown’s Yard and regular

GLOW-inspired walking and food
tours led by several local tour com-
panies. GLOW runs every night
from 5 to 10 p.m. through Jan. 6.
Visit GeorgetownGlowDC.com for
more information.

LIGHT YARDS
Two traveling light installations
A MURRAY LITTLE CHRISTMAS add a little seasonal, illuminating
New York drag king and transgender comedian Murray Hill — aka Mr. Showbiz — throws whimsy as part of this year’s fourth
annual holiday celebration in the
a holiday cocktail party live on a stage in Baltimore. Joining Hill, who regularly comes to Navy Yard area of Southeast D.C.
the Birchmere to host Burlesque-A-Pades, are Angie “International Queen of Burlesque” — also increasingly known as the
Pontani, LGBTQ burlesque artist The Maine Attraction, and singer Julia Rose. They’ll Capitol Riverfront. The Pool by New
York’s Jen Lewin Studio, developed
offer wacky skits, Hot Toddy burlesque, and “a sleigh full of cheesy holiday songs.” All six years ago but making its D.C.
that, plus the winner of an Ugly Sweater Contest among audience members will get to sit debut here, features 106 interactive
on Santa’s lap and pick a gift from his grab bag. Saturday, Dec. 15, at 7 and 10 p.m. Creative circular pads of light that react as
Alliance at the Patterson, 3134 Eastern Ave. Baltimore. Tickets are $22 to $25, or $50 visitors move on and around them,
creating a giant canvas of shift-
with a ticket to the 10 p.m. show plus a pre-show “Tuxedos, Sequins & Champagne” party ing and fading colors. Meanwhile,
offering bubbly, a gin punch, and snacks, all as a fundraiser for Creative Alliance. Call 410- Angels of Freedom by Israel’s OGE
276-1651 or visit creativealliance.org. Group is a social sculptural instal-
lation where visitors pose with
five giant, neon-colored wings and
white halos, intended as a way to
signify that we’re all angels and that
ROOPKOTHA PHOTO EXHIBIT Union Station, meanwhile, has been TORPEDO: 100 YEARS “everybody counts and deserves
Vibrant images captured by various added to the garden court’s collec- Construction on the original U.S. love.” On display from 6 to 10 p.m.
photographers, along with histor- tion of plant-based D.C. landmarks. Naval Torpedo Station in Old Town every night until Jan. 4. The Yards
ical artifacts and personal mem- Also on view throughout the con- Alexandria began the day after Park Boardwalk, 355 Water St. SE.
orabilia, tell the story of Xulhaz servatory are thousands of blooms, Armistice Day marked the end of Call 202-465-7093 or visit theyards-
Mannan and Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy, including a showcase of heirloom World War I — Nov. 12, 1918 — and it dc.com.
two Bangladeshi LGBTQ activists and newly developed poinsettia remained a munitions plant through
and artists who were savagely mur- varieties. All that, plus live holiday the end of World War II. In 1972, OLD STONE HOUSE’S HOLIDAY
dered in their home two years ago. music on Tuesdays and Thursdays the building was converted into OPEN HOUSE
The Center Arts Gallery in the DC in December, when the conservato- the Torpedo Factory Art Center, Closed for a year for fire suppres-
Center for the LGBT Community ry, which normally closes at 5 p.m., which houses what is reportedly the sion installation and structural
has set up this powerful installa- will stay open until 8 p.m. Next up nation’s largest number of public- rehabilitation, the Old Stone House
tion as part of an ongoing cam- in the live music series, which kicks ly accessible working artist studios and garden in Georgetown is slated
paign to protest the inaction of the off each night at 6 p.m., is smooth under one roof — a whopping 82, to reopen with an all-ages afternoon
Bangladeshi government to inves- jazz ensemble Tony Craddock Jr. plus seven galleries. Currently in event showcasing new exhibits, a
tigate the murders. 2000 14th St. & Cold Front, on Tuesday, Dec. 18, Gallery 311, the Torpedo Factory new store, and featuring games,
NW. Call 202-682-2245 or visit and versatile a cappella troupe the Artists’ Association presents art in a crafts, and more. Built in 1765 in the
thedccenter.org. Capital Hearings, on Thursday, range of media related to torpedos, British colony of Maryland and a
Dec. 20. Note: The website advis- the Navy, the city of Alexandria, rare example of pre-Revolutionary
SEASON’S GREETINGS: es patrons that wait times, espe- the factory itself. Lesley Clarke, architecture, the house was the site
ALL ABOARD cially on weekends, may be longer Min Enghauser, Mary Beth Gaiarin, of a car dealership when the federal
This year’s annual holiday show at than usual “due to the ongoing roof John Gosling, Hyun Jung Kim, Greg government purchased the property
the U.S. Botanic Garden spotlights and facade project.” To Jan. 1. 100 Knott, Mary Lynch, and Meg Talley in 1953. It opened as a National Park
the country’s historic railroad sta- Maryland Ave. SW. Call 202-225- are among the 18 participating art- Service facility in 1960. Saturday,
tions, more than 30 of which are 8333 or visit usbg.gov. ists. On display to Dec. 16. 105 North Dec. 15, from 1 to 6 p.m. 3051 M St.
recreated in miniature versions Union St. Alexandria. Call 703-838- NW. Call 202-895-6000 or visit nps.
made from plants and natural mate- 4565 or visit torpedofactory.org. gov/rocr/index.htm. l
rials and spread out along the tracks
of an elaborate model train show. A
botanical replica of Washington’s

20 DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

EXCHO FOX
theFeed

Fox (center) competting

FOX SPORTS
‘I’m gay, black, and a furry’: SonicFox wins Best Esports Player
at The Game Awards. By Rhuaridh Marr

A
TOP GAMER PROUDLY DECLARED THAT lic — a “big honor,” McLean said he “just really really [enjoys]
he is “gay, black, [and] a furry” while accept- playing video games competitively” and that he doesn’t com-
ing while accepting Best Esports Player at The pete for the fame.
Game Awards 2018. Dominique Instead, he joked, “I kind of just
“SonicFox” McLean, American enjoy the rush of beating people
Fighting Games player and four- up” — a nod to his preferred genre
time Evolution Championship of fighting games.
Series winner, also gave a shout-out The highest-paid fighting game
to his LGBTQ friends and touched player in the world, McLean also
on his charitable nature during his referenced a $10,000 donation he
speech. made last month to help the father
McLean is famous in the esports of fellow gamer Curtis “Rewind”
community not only for being McCall, who is undergoing stage
a skilled gamer, but also for his three cancer treatment.
open embrace of his sexuality and He then gave a series of shout-
SonicFox furry persona, including outs to his team and friends, before
wearing his fur suit to gaming tour- ending on a bold declaration of his
naments. sexuality and identity that drew
The 20-year-old gave a nervous, cheers from the crowd.
excited speech at the Microsoft “As you guys also may know
Theater in Los Angeles on Dec. 6, — or may not know — I’m also
donning his blue fox furry head as super gay,” McLean said. “I
he walked up to the stage before stating in disbelief, “I wanna give a super shoutout to all my LGBTQ+
really won this shit.” friends that have always helped me through life.
Calling the award — which is voted on by a panel of inter- Obviously I’m a furry, so shout out to the furries....
national gaming journalists, all well as by members of the pub- Guess all I gotta really say is I’m gay, black, a furry —

DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 21

 theFeed
pretty much everything a Republican hates — and the
best esports player of the whole year I guess. Thank
you so much!”
He took to Twitter shortly after winning to say he has
“never been so nervous before.”“Forgive me!” he tweeted.
“I’ve never been so nervous before!”
McLean made headlines and drew praise in August this
year when he came out publicly immediately after winning
the 2018 EVO championship.
“I’m gay,” McLean tweeted, before reminding any haters,
“also the best [Dragon Ball FighterZ] player on this fucking
planet[don’t] forget it.” l

QUITTING GRINDR
Grindr’s head of communications resigns after president says
marriage is between man and woman. By Rhuaridh Marr

A
GRINDR EXECUTIVE HAS QUIT HIS ROLE AT THE I was young,” Chen said. “I support gay marriage and I am
gay dating app over controversial comments on same- proud that I can work for Grindr. I apologize that my words
sex marriage by Grindr’s president. Landon Rafe did not clearly convey these feelings.”
Zumwalt, former head of communications at Grindr, stepped That wasn’t enough for Zumwalt, who wrote on Medium.
down in protest over president Scott Chen’s comments last com that he “refused to compromise” his values to defend
month. Chen’s comments, made on his personal Facebook Chen’s words.
page, went viral after they were reported by INTO, a Grindr- “As an out and proud gay man madly in love with a
owned website. man I don’t deserve,
In November, I refused to compro-
Chen shared an mise my own val-
article about HTC’s ues or professional
president and CEO integrity to defend a
Cher Wang, who statement that goes
reportedly used her against everything I
nonprofits to back am and everything I
anti-LGBTQ groups believe,” he wrote on
seeking to influence Medium. “While that
Taiwan’s referen- resulted in my time
dum on same-sex at Grindr being cut
marriage. short, I have abso-
“There are peo- lutely no regrets.”
ple who believe that He called working
marriage is a holy for Grindr a “privi-
matrimony between lege,” and said he was
a man and a woman. “immensely proud of
I agree but that’s the work we were
none of our busi- allowed to do during
ness,” Chen wrote my time at Grindr.”
in comments under He also ref-
the post, according erenced Grindr
to INTO’s transla- employees who
tion. “There are also remained with the
people who believe company despite
that the purpose of their opposition to
FACEBOOK

marriage is to create Chen’s comments.

children that carry
their DNA. That’s
also none of our business. There are people that are simply
different from you, who desperately want to get married.
They have their own reasons.”
Chen’s comments were interpreted by some to be in
opposition to same-sex marriage, though he subsequently
responded clarifying that his words “related to marriage
between a man and a woman were meant to express my
personal feelings about my own marriage to my wife — not to
suggest that I am opposed to marriage equality.”
“I am an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and have been since
Zumwalt
“For those who
remain, those who
will continue to fight for our community from within, know
I will be cheering you on from the sidelines,” he wrote.
“Persist. Make your voices heard. And never compromise
who you are for someone else.”
Speaking to PinkNews, a Grindr spokesperson didn’t elab-
orate further and instead wished Zumwalt well.
“As Landen shared in his Medium post, he has resigned
from his position at Grindr,” the spokesperson said. “We
wish him the best in his future endeavors and appreciate his
contributions to the company and the Grindr community.” l

22 DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Community
THURSDAY, DEC. 13
Join the MAYOR’S OFFICE OF
LGBTQ AFFAIRS for its annual
HOLIDAY MIXER at Pitchers.
6-8:30 p.m. 2317 18th St. NW.
For more information, visit
lgbtq.dc.gov.

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
DIGNITY

Buren St. NW. For more infor-

mation, visit swimdcac.org.
Dignity at Pride 2017
DC FRONT RUNNERS run-
ning/walking/social club

RELIGIOUS ASSEMBLY
welcomes runners of all ability
levels for exercise in a fun and
supportive environment, with
socializing afterward. Route
Dignity/Washington offers LGBTQ Catholics the unconditional love distance is 3-6 miles. Meet at
7 p.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW.
many seek from the Church in which they were raised. For more information, visit
dcfrontrunners.org.

A
t Dignity, a lot of our members were born and raised in the Catholic tradition,” DC LAMBDA SQUARES, D.C.’s
says Vin Testa. “When our group was founded, it was based around the idea that gay and lesbian square-dancing
we love our Catholic identity, but just have a hard time reconciling it with our group, features mainstream
through advanced square
sexual identities.” dancing at the National City
Testa is the president of Dignity/Washington, D.C.’s local organization for LGBTQ Christian Church. Please dress
Catholics, and says it’s not uncommon to hear from other members of the group who casually. 7-9:30 p.m. 5 Thomas
Circle NW. 202-930-1058,
struggled to balance their Catholic roots with the mixed messages of high-ranking
dclambdasquares.org.
church officials — including, most recently, Pope Francis. It’s a part of Testa’s story
as well. DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds
Raised in an Italian and Irish Catholic family in Wallingford, Conn., Testa was practice. The team is always
looking for new members.
baptized, had his first communion, and was confirmed in the church and regularly All welcome. 7-9 p.m. Harry
attended Mass until he stopped in the middle of his sophomore year of high school. Thomas Recreation Center,
When he moved to D.C. in 2011, he began searching for a faith community that would 1743 Lincoln Rd. NE. For more
information, visit scandalsrfc.
fully accept him, and even considered changing religions before discovering Dignity.
org or dcscandals@gmail.com.
Founded in 1972, Dignity meets weekly for Mass on Sunday evenings at St.
Margaret’s Episcopal church, due to prohibitions from the Vatican on holding LGBTQ- THE DULLES TRIANGLES
related events on Catholic Church properties. The group also holds weekly book club Northern Virginia social
group meets for happy hour at
meetings, biweekly movie screenings, a monthly bridge night, and a monthly meeting Sheraton in Reston. All wel-
for its “Defenders” group — LGBTQ Catholics who are part of the leather community. come. 7-9 p.m. 11810 Sunrise
As Dignity prepares for the Christmas season, the group has planned a Christmas- Valley Drive, second-floor bar.
For more information, visit
themed movie night for Dec. 17, as well as a special Christmas Day Mass at 6 p.m. at
dullestriangles.com.
St. Margaret’s.
“We need to have Mass that speaks in a different language,” says Testa. “One that HIV TESTING at Whitman-
respects who people love and how they identify. We’re trying to be a model on how to Walker Health. 9 a.m.-12:30
p.m. and 2:30-5 p.m. at 1525
make churches more inclusive.” —John Riley 14th St. NW, and 9 a.m-12
p.m. and 2-5 p.m. at the Max
Robinson Center, 2301 MLK Jr.
Dignity/Washington’s biweekly movie night occurs on the first and third Mondays of Ave. SE. For an appointment,
each month at 7 p.m. at The Dignity Center, 721 8th St. SE. Dignity’s book club meets call 202-745-7000 or visit whit-
weekly on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. at The Dignity Center. Weekly Mass is on Sundays at man-walker.org.
6 p.m. at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, 1820 Connecticut Ave. NW.
KARING WITH
Visit dignitywashington.org. INDIVIDUALITY (K.I.)

DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 23

 SERVICES, 20 S. Quaker Lane,
Suite 210, Alexandria, Va., offers
$30 “rapid” HIV testing and coun-
seling by appointment only. 10
a.m.-2 p.m. Must schedule special
appointment if seeking testing after
2 p.m. Call 703-823-4401.
METROHEALTH CENTER
offers free, rapid HIV testing.
Appointment needed. 1012 14th
St. NW, Suite 700. To arrange an
appointment, call 202-849-8029.
STI TESTING at Whitman-Walker
Health. 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 2-3
p.m. at both 1525 14th St. NW and
the Max Robinson Center, 2301
Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. SE.
Testing is intended for those with-
out symptoms. For an appointment
call 202-745-7000 or visit whit-
man-walker.org.
US HELPING US hosts a Narcotics
Anonymous Meeting. The group
is independent of UHU. 6:30-7:30
p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. For
more information, call 202-446-
1100.
FRIDAY, DEC. 14
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.
SATURDAY, DEC. 15
KHUSH DC, a support group
for LGBTQ South Asians, hosts
a monthly meeting at The DC
Center. 1:30-3:30 p.m. 2000 14th St.
NW, Suite 105. For more informa-
tion, visit facebook.com/khushdc.
The DC Center hosts a month-
ly LGBT ASYLEES SUPPORT
MEETING AND DINNER for LGBT
refugees and asylum seekers. 5-7
p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105.
For more information, visit thedc-
center.org.
SUNDAY, DEC. 16
Volunteers are needed to help
with CASA RUBY’S MONTHLY
DINNER. Held on the third Sunday
of each month, in conjunction with
24 DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
The DC Center, the event provides
a hot meal to those housed at Casa
Ruby. Homemade or store bought
meals welcome. 7-8 p.m. Casa Ruby
Shelter, 1216 Kennedy St. NW. For
more information, contact lamar@
thedccenter.org, jon@thedccenter.
org, or visit casaruby.org.
Weekly Events
LGBT-inclusive ALL SOULS
MEMORIAL EPISCOPAL CHURCH
celebrates Low Mass at 8:30
a.m., High Mass at 11 a.m. 2300
Cathedral Ave. NW. 202-232-4244,
allsoulsdc.org.
DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a
practice session at Wilson Aquatic
Center. 9:30-11 a.m. 4551 Fort Dr.
NW. For more information, visit
swimdcac.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/
walking/social club welcomes run-
ners of all ability levels for exercise
in a fun and supportive environ-
ment, with socializing afterward.
Route will be a distance run of 8, 10
or 12 miles. Meet at 9 a.m. at 23rd
& P Streets NW. For more informa-
tion, visit dcfrontrunners.org.
FAIRLINGTON UNITED
METHODIST CHURCH is an open,
inclusive church. All welcome,
including the LGBTQ commu-
nity. Member of the Reconciling
Ministries Network. Services at
9:30 and 11:00 a.m. 3900 King
Street, Alexandria, Va. 703-671-
8557. For more info, visit fairling-
tonumc.org.
FRIENDS MEETING OF
WASHINGTON meets for worship,
10:30 a.m., 2111 Florida Ave. NW,
Quaker House Living Room (next
to Meeting House on Decatur
Place), 2nd floor. Special welcome
to lesbians and gays. Handicapped
accessible from Phelps Place gate.
Hearing assistance. quakersdc.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 NORTHERN
VIRGINIA services at 11 a.m., led
by Rev. Emma Chattin. Children’s
Sunday School, 11 a.m. 10383
Democracy Lane, Fairfax. 703-691-
0930, mccnova.com.
NATIONAL CITY CHRISTIAN
CHURCH, inclusive church with
GLBT fellowship, offers gospel wor-
ship, 8:30 a.m., and traditional wor-
ship, 11 a.m. 5 Thomas Circle NW.
202-232-0323, nationalcitycc.org.
ST. STEPHEN AND THE
INCARNATION, an “interra-
cial, multi-ethnic Christian
Community” offers services in
English, 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., and
in Spanish at 5:15 p.m. 1525 Newton
St. NW. 202-232-0900, saintste-
phensdc.org.
UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST
CHURCH OF SILVER SPRING
invites LGBTQ families and indi-
viduals of all creeds and cultures to
join the church. Services 9:15 and
11:15 a.m. 10309 New Hampshire
Ave. uucss.org.
MONDAY, DEC. 17
Join the GERTRUDE STEIN
DEMOCRATIC CLUB as it hosts its
annual HOLIDAY PARTY at Dupont
Italian Kitchen. 6:30-9 p.m. 1637
17th St. NW. For more information,
visit facebook.com/SteinClubDC.
The Metro D.C. chapter of PFLAG,
a support group for parents, family
members and allies of the LGBTQ
community, holds its monthly
meeting at The DC Center. 7-9 p.m.
2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For
more information, visit thedccen-
ter.org.
Tuesday, DEC. 18
CENTER BI, a group of The DC
Center, hosts a monthly roundtable
discussion around issues of bisex-
uality. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW,
Suite 105. Visit thedccenter.org.
THE HEALTH WORKING GROUP
of The DC Center hosts a “Packing
Party,” where volunteers assemble
safe-sex kits of condoms and lube.
7-9 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite
105. For more information, visit
thedccenter.org.
Weekly Events
ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL
HEALTH offers free HIV testing
and HIV services (by appointment).
9 a.m.-5 p.m. Decatur Center, 1400
Decatur St. NW. To arrange an
appointment, call 202-291-4707,
or visit andromedatranscultural-
health.org.
DC AQUATICS CLUB practice
session at Takoma Aquatic Center.
7:30-9 p.m. 300 Van Buren St. NW.
For more information, visit swim-
dcac.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/
walking/social club welcomes run-
ners of all ability levels for exercise
in a fun and supportive environment,
with socializing afterward. Route
distance is 3-6 miles. Meet at 7 p.m.
at Union Station. For more informa-
tion, visit dcfrontrunners.org.
DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds prac-
tice. The team is always looking
for new members. All welcome.
7-9 p.m. Harry Thomas Recreation
Center, 1743 Lincoln Rd. NE. For
more information, visit scandalsrfc.
org or dcscandals@gmail.com.
THE GAY MEN’S HEALTH
COLLABORATIVE offers free
HIV testing and STI screening
and treatment every Tuesday.
5-6:30 p.m. Rainbow Tuesday
LGBT Clinic, Alexandria Health
Department, 4480 King St. 703-
746-4986 or text 571-214-9617.
james.leslie@inova.org.
OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS
holds an LGBT-focused meet-
ing every Tuesday, 7 p.m. at St.
George’s Episcopal Church, 915
Oakland Ave., Arlington, just steps
from Virginia Square Metro. For
more info. call Dick, 703-521-
1999. Handicapped accessible.
Newcomers welcome. liveandletli-
veoa@gmail.com.
Support group for LGBTQ youth
ages 13-21 meets at SMYAL. 5-6:30
p.m. 410 7th St. SE. For more
information, contact Rebecca York,
202-567-3165, or rebecca.york@
smyal.org.
US HELPING US hosts a support
group for black gay men 40 and
older. 7-9 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave.
NW. 202-446-1100.
Whitman-Walker Health holds its
weekly GAY MEN’S HEALTH AND
WELLNESS/STD CLINIC. Patients
are seen on walk-in basis. No-cost
screening for HIV, syphilis, gon-
orrhea and chlamydia. Hepatitis
and herpes testing available for fee.
Testing starts at 6 p.m, but should
arrive early to ensure a spot. 1525
14th St. NW. For more information,
visit whitman-walker.org.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 19
BOOKMEN DC, an informal
men’s gay literature group, dis-
cusses Lillian Faderman’s The
Gay Revolution: The Story of the
Struggle at The DC Center. All are
welcome. 7:30 p.m. 2000 14th St.
NW, Suite 105. Visit bookmendc.
blogspot.com.
The TOM DAVOREN SOCIAL
BRIDGE CLUB meets for Social
Bridge at the Dignity Center, across
from the Marine Barracks. No
partner needed. 7:30 p.m. 721 8th
St. SE. Call 301-345-1571 for more
information. l
DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 25
 ly Wright ’
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Interview by R
MATTHEW RODGERS

26 DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

’s T
HERE IS PERHAPS NO WORD
Chely Wright loathes more than “tol-
erance,” especially when it’s used in
relation to acceptance of the LGBTQ
community.
“I hear the word ‘tolerance’ — that some peo-
ple are trying to teach people to be tolerant of
gays,” she writes in her 2010 autobiography Like
Me: Confessions of a Heartland Country Singer.
“I’m not satisfied with that word. I am gay, and
I am not seeking to be ‘tolerated.’ One tolerates a
toothache, rush-hour traffic, an annoying neigh-
bor with a cluttered yard. I am not a negative to
be tolerated.
She has a great point.
“In terms of the faith communities, I run into
a lot of people who are straight and say, ‘You can
come to our church, we’re tolerant,’” says Wright
over the phone from her home in Manhattan.
“I don’t want to come to your church if you’re
just going to tolerate gays and lesbians — you’re
not the house of worship for me. I want a life
in which the essence of who I am is celebrated,
not just allowed in. I think the word tolerance
is a gross, half-assed way of understanding one
another. What an insult — ‘I’m gonna tolerate
you like a toothache.’ That’s awful.”
Like Me was the launching pad for Wright’s
second — and arguably richer, more emotionally
fulfilling — act in life, an act that was not imped-
ed by secrets and lies. She had been one of the
contemporary queens of modern country, with
several major chart-topping hits — including
“Shut Up and Drive” and the rousing “Single
White Female” — but her inability to lead an
out and open existence took its toll emotional-
ly. Wright was at the point of suicide — gun in
mouth, ready to pull the trigger — when she had
a revelation and took control of her narrative.
She decided to make her sexuality public, damn
it all to hell.
Not long after coming out amid a ton of media
buzz, Wright commandeered the stage of that
summer’s Capital Pride, playing to a massive
audience that was more than ready to welcome
her into the fold, to unconditionally love her,
forever and ever, amen. It was a life-changing
moment for the 48-year-old, who to this day
exults, “Capital Pride was a highlight of my
career and one of the highlights of my life.”
Since coming out, Wright has used her celeb-

DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 27

rity to help others find their own way into the LGBTQ commu-
nity.
“One of the reasons I came out was in hopes that someone
would find comfort in my story, to know that there’s at least one
person out there who knows what it’s like,” she says. “In the past
eight years since I came out, I’ve had the privilege of speaking
at churches and schools and corporations and I have a lot of
dialogue with people privately on direct message and Facebook
and email. It is astonishing to learn how many people have had
the gun in their mouth or a rope hanging from a ceiling who have
said that reading my story or seeing my clip on Ellen or seeing me
on Oprah or something gave them pause and hope.”
Wright looks at her life today and marvels at how much fuller
it is. She’s married to Lauren Blitzer, an executive at Sony Music
Entertainment, and the pair are doting parents to identical twin
five-year-old boys.
“We’re raising them Jewish,” concedes Wright, who was
raised in a devout Christian family in the tiny burg of Wellsville,
Kansas. “But there will be an observance of the Christian holi-
days as well. My wife isn’t terribly religious, but her Judaism is
a big part of our family. There’s a lot about the Jewish faith that
just really speaks to me. And the boys are getting both.”
The twins — along with the rest of the world — are also
getting a Christmas album from their singer-songwriter mom.
Wright recently issued Santa Will Find You, an EP of five glori-
ous, country-infused originals — one of which, the thunderous
“Christmas Isn’t Christmas Time,” co-written and performed
with her friend, the legendary Richard Marx, is a deeply satisfy-
ing tribute to Phil Spector, evoking the wall-of-sound strains of
“Be My Baby.”
“I love holiday music,” says Wright, who appears at City
Winery DC next Thursday, Dec. 20. “I love Nat King Cole, The
Carpenters. There are a lot of country Christmas records that I
do like — Vince’s, Trisha’s, couple of tracks on the Alan Jackson
Christmas record. I wanted to record something with an emo-
tional breath that feels like it wouldn’t embarrass me, honestly.
I don’t want my musical legacy to be [covers of] ‘Frosty the
Snowman’ and ‘Jingle Bells.’ My goal was to write and record...
five songs I cared about.”
A scheduled 45 minutes on the phone quickly turns into
two hours. Her conversation is energized, familiar, and broad,
often veering into the political and ideological. She recounts
stories with the cadence of a skilled country lyricist, her catchy,
homespun turns of phrase illuminating a greater point. Take, for
instance, her thoughts on those who eschew science, particu-
larly when it comes to topics of urgent importance, like climate
change.
“My wife and I had a pretty pissy discussion the other day
about mass shootings, and the hopes and prayers from the GOP,”
she says. “She said, ‘What if all the firefighters in California had
just gotten on their knees and prayed? What would that look
like to anybody? Not much.’ How did firefighters fight that fire?
I guaran-damn-tee you they used a lot of math and science.
There’s no other way to fight a big fire like that without math and
science. I don’t understand why anybody could deny the math
and science of why our oceans are rising, why it’s hotter and
it’s colder than it’s ever been, why the glaciers are falling into
the ocean — glaciers that have never ever cracked off before are
breaking off into the ocean. I don’t understand. Why can’t they
be people of faith and science? I am.”
METRO WEEKLY: We last interviewed you in early June of 2010,
just before your Capital Pride appearance. You were pretty much
28 DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
freshly out. How have things changed for you in the ensuing eight
years?
CHELY WRIGHT: When I look back at that time now, I was kind of
in a fog. It would be interesting for me to go back and read that
interview to hear where my head was. So much has changed. I’m
a married mom of identical twins now — that’s a big threshold in
life. And a lot has changed in the world in terms of equality and
how we’ve been able to move the needle from where it was in
2010 to where it is now. Marriage equality is the law of the land
on a federal level. I really think that kind of happened in a way
that none of us would have predicted. Had you told me in 2010
that you’d be able to get gay married in Mississippi in 2018, I
would have laughed in your face. But here we are.
So we’ve made incredible gains, and in doing that it also
unearthed the contrarians to equality. Much like when President
Obama became our president, race became a new and rejuve-
nated discussion. We thought we were a post-racial country.
We’re not. With all the gains we saw with a black man in the
Oval Office, we also got to see the underbelly of what America
thinks of black people. We’re seeing that again because we’ve
got a person and administration in the White House that has
emboldened and empowered nasty dinner table talk. It has
emboldened and empowered anti-Semitism. So we did gain a lot
of ground, but with it comes the subset of people who often have
felt most comfortable articulating their messages in the dark of
night under hoods.
In terms of the equality movement for the LGBTQ commu-
nity, yes we have to celebrate our gains, but we are in danger of
losing a lot of the ground that we have made in the past eight to
ten years.
MW: Part of it, I think, is a matter of history repeating itself in some
fashion. It’s like a cycle.
WRIGHT: What is the saying? “History may not repeat itself but
it often rhymes.” My grandfather was in the army during World
War II — Harold Henry was his name. He and I were very
close. He was one of the first guys into a couple of the camps
they liberated. Right before his death, he talked to me about
the Holocaust, and said, “I gotta warn you, this is gonna happen
again in your lifetime.” I couldn’t believe that. I said, “What do
I do?” and he looked off, out the hospital window and he said,
“Well, you won’t know what to do. You might not even know it’s
happening. They’ll hogtie democracy.”
If you’ve grown up in the country at all, you hogtie an animal
so you can castrate it. They take an animal and they tie its two
back legs together, and then you tie the third leg to the other two,
and then you tie the fourth leg. But by the time the back two legs
are tied, the animal has been rendered useless and helpless. He
said that they’ll hogtie democracy, that they’ll do it one leg at a
time.
That is what is happening now with the stacking of the
courts, which is why McConnell and all and company are just
allowing Trump to stay in office. They know he’s a no good guy,
they know he’s a liar, they know he conspired with Russia, they
know that. He’s their means to an end. They’re stacking the
courts, and that’s gonna matter as anti-Semitism rises and cases
are adjudicated that have to do with anti-Semitism, anti-LGBT
issues, racial issues — they are doing it exactly how my grandfa-
ther said they would do it. It’s sobering. And my grandfather was
right — I don’t know what to do.
MW: I don’t think most of us do at this point. Protesting and voting
seem the only options.
WRIGHT: We’re in a dark time. We’ve got to vote, but the gerry-
mandering and all the voter suppression that’s happened — it’s
like a slow moving train. And they’ve got their train kind of
cooking now. It’s going to be hard to not only slow the train
down, but get it turned around on the tracks. [Pauses.] What
kind of a country songwriter would I be if I didn’t invoke a train
metaphor? [Laughs.]
MW: Wow, we took an unexpected turn here early on.
WRIGHT: We did. But these are the things I think about at two in
the morning, and I suspect you do, too. We have a traitor in the
White House and it’s alarming. Even if I didn’t have children, I
would be worried about what we’re leaving to the next genera-
tion. There’s so much. Maybe we have coffee at some point and
talk about all this, okay? Okay, music.
MW: Right, music. It took an act of courage for you to come out,
not just in the country music industry, but in the music industry
at large. You had chart hits, you were writing hit songs for other
major artists. Were you concerned about what would happen to
your career after you came out?
WRIGHT: It was the biggest concern in my life. It’s what kept me
in the closet until I was 39. It’s what caused me to spend twenty
years in Nashville doing my job, writing songs, making records,
doing all the things you get
to do when you’re signed to a
major label. It was a second
career hiding the fact that I’m
“I put the gun down and
gay — a full-time job of hiding
with no benefits and no perks.
It’s what ruined every day of
went upstairs. I literally got on
mine — that black cloud, that
fear of somebody’s gonna find
out. I also had a deep, abid-
my knees, clasped my hands
ing understanding that once
it was found out, my career
was over.
together, and prayed. What
I prayed for was, ‘OKAY I’M
MW: So why then decide to
come out?
WRIGHT: The decision was not
made in haste. It was a matter
of staying alive. I had a gun in READY TO DO IT YOUR WAY,
my mouth and was ready to
end it on a really cold winter
morning in Nashville. BECAUSE MY WAY SUCKS.’”
It was early 2006, in
January, and I had gone
through a breakup. I had a partner for 12 years during the zenith
of my career. While I was having my biggest hits, I had a part-
ner. In retrospect, of course, we didn’t survive — love just does
not survive in the dark. There was a point at which I thought I
was about to be outed. One of my colleagues asked me the very
pointed question: “You’re not gay, are you?” I took a breath and
said, “No, I’m not.” It scared me so bad that I had just lied about
it — like, flat out lied — but I was scared he was going to out me
somehow. So my partner and I broke up, we sold our house,
and I just kind of went into a spiral. I wanted to end my life, not
because I’m gay, but because I did not know how to be who I
was in this facade of a life I had worked really hard to build. I
thought I could always hide that secret. Then I realized I didn’t
want to hide that secret, but I didn’t know how to be me in this
life I created.
Obviously, I wasn’t thinking straight. I was, I’m sure, clinical-
ly depressed. I was not eating, not sleeping, my heart was beating
funny, I was a mess, I was falling apart. I had a 9mm gun that my
parents gave me in 1991, after I had been mugged at knifepoint. I
had it in my mouth and....
MW: What stopped you from pulling the trigger?
WRIGHT: Good question. I don’t know.
MW: You must have had some realization that turned you around.
WRIGHT: I was looking in a mirror as I had the gun in my mouth
and I remember being somewhat confounded that I wasn’t
crying. It shocked me. I remember thinking, “Don’t people cry
when they kill themselves?” My thought was if I do it, no one’s
gonna be able to get me on the phone, and my sister might get in
the car and drive from Kansas to come find me, and I didn’t want
her to find me like that. I do know that was one of the things that
flashed in my mind.
So I didn’t pull the trigger. I put the gun down and went
upstairs, slept a couple of hours, and when I awoke I wasn’t con-
vinced that I wouldn’t go downstairs and pull the trigger. What I
did do was get on my knees and pray. On that day, I literally got
on my knees, clasped my hands together, put my elbows up on
the edge of my bed, and prayed. What I prayed for was, “Okay
I’m ready to do it your way, because my way sucks.” In that
moment I knew I had to come out. It would take me another
nine months before I started my book, Like Me, and started put-
ting a plan together.
I wanted to come out pretty
strategically because I wanted
to tell my whole story. I didn’t
want anyone else to be able to
frame my narrative. So I wrote
my book and prepared myself
physically, mentally, and spir-
itually as best I could, because
I knew they weren’t going to
hold a ticker tape parade for
me in Nashville. I knew this
was not gonna be an easy road,
but I knew it was my road and
there was something pretty
peaceful about the fact that
once I knew what my road
was, I owned it.
I can honestly tell you my
life became almost magical
the very moment I decided
to come out, the very moment
I knew “Okay, this clock is
ticking, freedom awaits.” I knew there was a light at the end of
the tunnel. I’m often asked, are you living the life you’d always
dreamed of? And my honest answer to that is, “No, I never even
dreamed of it. I wouldn’t allow myself to dream of it. It’s too
painful.”
MW: What would you say to somebody who reads this, who is in the
closet, who is feeling isolated, who feels, for whatever reason, that
they need to end their life. What would you say to get them to take
the gun out of their mouth?
WRIGHT: I would say a couple of things. The first would be to
be gentle with yourself — it’s not a referendum on your courage
if you’re thinking about ending your life. People ask me when
should I come out, how should I come out? My mandate to
people is one should only come out when they feel safe and able.
Everyone’s safe and able is different. Be strategic about it, find
an ally. If you live in Dothan, Alabama, maybe you’re not safe to
come out, maybe you’re not able to come out, but only you are
the arbiter of your safe and able.
My second would be, don’t beat yourself up for having hidden.
I felt guilty for a long time for having hidden because I could. I
DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 29
could hide, so I did. Part of it was arrogance, part of it was I way. Their assessment was that I wasn’t as big a star as I used
didn’t want to lose my career, self-survival. But here’s what I to be. I may not have been as big a star as I had once been, but
say about coming out, here’s what I say about being closeted: It’s this is my life’s work. They had a lot of audacity, in my mind, to
worth it to hide until frame it as though I
the very moment was just trying to
it’s not, and only get attention. It was
you know that very so mind-bogglingly
moment. There is so tone deaf, it shocked
much joy awaiting me. It shocked me.
you in your authen- MW: I think you
tic life. Give yourself did a very smart
a fair shot. thing in 2010 when
MW: On reflection, you performed at
how did the country Capital Pride only
music industry take a few weeks after
your coming out? coming out. That
WRIGHT: I was really must have felt real-
shocked by my com- ly supportive to see
munity, my industry that massive sea of
of country music. I people out there, to
know there are a lot feel that warmth and
of forward-thinking response from the
people in my indus- LGBTQ community.
try. I know who WRIGHT: Capital
they are. But there Pride was a high-
are also some peo- light of my career
ple who hadn’t given and one of the high-
gay issues the time lights of my life. It
of day. I feel there meant as much to
was a moment for me as playing at the
them to say, “Wow, Grand Ole Opry the
I bet that was hard first time in 1989.
for Chely to hide.” I was 18 when I
Instead, there was played the Opry,
some cynicism and it was one of

MATTHEW RODGERS
about my advocacy the few moments
or the way I went in my life where I
about doing it. I had felt like I was stand-
a book deal, I was ing exactly where
on Oprah, there was I was supposed to
cynicism about my be standing. Even
motivation. Some “We have a traitor in the White House and though I was hid-
were just like, “Oh, it’s alarming. Even if I didn’t have children, ing that I was gay,
she’s trying to revive I don’t think the
her dying career.” I I WOULD BE WORRIED ABOUT WHAT WE’RE trauma of the closet
was surprised any-
one would maybe LEAVING TO THE NEXT GENERATION.” had caught up to me
by that time in my
think that way. Did life. Standing on the
any part of them think, “God that must have been hard for her to stage at Capital Pride with the Capitol over my shoulder, with
hide?” The fact that they went right to “She’s trying to get atten- the band that I had toured the world with, as an openly gay
tion” was just baffling and mind-boggling to me. country singer, I felt like I had fully realized the essence of who
Knowing I was gay since I was nine years old and then hiding I was. It was emotional and spiritual and profound, and will go
that so I could strategically, twenty years into my career, come down on one hand, with maybe some fingers left over, as one of
out so I could get some press? What kind of an idiot thinks that the most important defining moments of who I am as a person
way? What kind of a non-feeling, short-sighted person could of faith, a person who loves country music, and a person who is
think that about a person who came out in country music? That just really proud of who I am as a human being. That moment
was heartbreaking to me. Some of them were people I’d worked was the crown jewel.
with. Some of them were people I’d ridden around in a car with MW: I’m curious. As a songwriter, did you choose country or did
on radio tours for weeks at a time. They saw how hard I worked. country choose you?
How could they in any way think that it was a publicity stunt? WRIGHT: Country chose me. I grew up in a house with a bunch of
MW: If anything, coming out in country music put your career at vinyl stacked next to a record player. My parents had an incred-
risk. ible vinyl collection and they announced to us kids — much like
WRIGHT: Their position on my career was that it was over any- you might announce to your family that we are Democrats or

30 DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

we are Republicans or we are Christians — in a very sober dec-
laration that we are a country music household. I don’t know
why they felt like they needed to say that but they did. And the
records that were around our house were country. There were
some Beatles records scattered in there and a lot of Elvis, so for a
long time in earnest I thought The Beatles were a country band,
I kid you not. I thought Elvis was a country artist. But we had
records like Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, The Carter Family,
Emmylou Harris, Marty Robbins, Hank Sr., Hank Jr. Once I
heard Connie Smith sing “Once a Day,” I was hooked. I think it
was her voice and Loretta Lynn’s voice that really got me and
really kind of bit me. My mom was a singer, a really good singer.
My dad was a great rhythm guitar player. We sat around and
sang country songs. This is what we did for fun. We sang out of
a songbook my mom kept. To this day, if I’m doing a show that is
loose and fun and the audience yells out to play a classic, I’ll play
“Crazy Arms” or “Blue Moon of Kentucky.” I come by country
honestly.
MW: You have a great new Christmas EP out. Is it part of the pack-
age deal that when you sign up for being a country music star, you
are at some point obligated to release a Christmas album?
WRIGHT: [Laughs.] That’s a good question. Yeah, I think so. It’s
shocking to me that I’m twenty years into my career and this is
my first holiday record. I’d been asked by the label in the early
2000s to do it, but it just didn’t feel right at the time. I’ve written
Christmas songs for other artists but I just never recorded them
myself. It’s like having a train song. When I made my record with
Rodney Crowell, Lifted off the Ground, the song called “That
Train” is on there because it occurred to me one day I was a
fraud because I was a country singer with a lot of records under
my belt and not a single train song and not a single train refer-
ence in any songs. So I wrote that song as my token train song.
Same goes with this Christmas record. If you’ve done the job for
long enough, you kind of owe it to yourself and your listeners to
make a holiday record.
MW: It’s a lovely EP. It seems very personal and is a lot of fun to
listen to.
WRIGHT: When I was on MCA, I was asked to record a Christmas
song for a compilation they did — I don’t even know what the
record was called. But they had me record “Let It Snow.” It’s not
anything that I’m not proud of. I have no connection to it. It’s
a nice recording, but it wasn’t an important song to me. I knew
that I needed to be as connected to a holiday record as I am to
my other records, because when you make a record it’s forever.
As Connie Smith once told me, “Don’t ever record music that
you don’t care about because, sure as the world, it will become
your biggest hit record and you’ll have to sing it over and over
and over.
MW: You mentioned prayer earlier. On Christmas day, if you were
to say a prayer for the world, what would you pray for?
WRIGHT: That’s a really good question, I don’t want to answer it
in haste. If I could say a prayer for the world, I would pray for
the internet to go away. I would. If we could undo the internet —
and I know there are upsides to it, it connects the world in ways
that are helpful I understand that — but I think the way we treat
one another behind our keyboards, without seeing that there’s
an actual person we’re talking to, all of us, I think we’d be better
off if we didn’t have that means. I think it has gotten easier to
see people as one dimensional as an Avatar on social media. So
I’d pray that somehow God could end that. Is that crazy? That’s
kind of crazy, but that’s what I would wish for. Or I’d ask God
to find a way to help us find our humanity despite social media.
It’s like taking the melody away from the lyric, that’s what
“I’m twenty years
into my career and
this is my first holiday
record. If you’ve
done the job for long
enough, YOU OWE IT
TO YOUR LISTENERS
TO MAKE A
HOLIDAY RECORD.”
social media does. It separates everything and you don’t get all
of everything at once. We’re supposed to be getting eye contact,
we’re supposed to be tactile and touching one another and serv-
ing one another a heap of mashed potatoes. We’re missing all
that. No wonder we’re at odds — we’re not really connecting but
yet we get the sense — the false sense — that we are connecting,
and we’re not. No wonder depression is up in Americans. We’re
looking at everyone else’s timeline and wondering why ours isn’t
as good, why our life isn’t what theirs is, and we’re not really
connecting with one another. That’s my prayer.
MW: I’d like to keep Spotify. Can we please keep Spotify?
WRIGHT: [Laughs.] I think we probably can. It’d be hard to get
rid of Spotify!
MW: Final question. How has motherhood changed your life?
Especially as a musical artist who tours.
WRIGHT: You know, I don’t go out for long stretches like I used
to. I used to go out for a couple weeks at a time, and I still do that
on occasion, maybe once or twice a year. But I get to where when
I’m on the road and I miss these guys so much it really does hurt.
Also, being a mom has made me more politically vocal.
I should have been more politically vocal even before I was
a mom, but there’s something about looking into the eyes of a
five-year-old and worrying about things like climate change and
gun control. So I think I’m fully realized now as a human. I’ve
matured. I speak my mind a little bit more, and that’s all in the
soup of becoming an older person. But being a mom has made
me realize that I’m well suited for it, I think I’m pretty good at it.
I’m sure I have a lot of room to grow. But I think at 48 years old,
I’m the perfect age to have five-year-old sons. I’m comfortable
with my mistakes, I’m still curious, I love to watch them learn —
they’re learning to read right now which is a magical experience.
So I think I’m right where I’m supposed to be.
Chely Wright plays at City Winery DC, 1350 Okie St. NE, on
Thursday, Dec. 20 at 8:30 p.m. Doors at 7 p.m. Tickets are $24 in
advance, $28 at the door. Call 202-250-2531 or visit citywinery.
com/washingtondc. Her holiday EP, Santa Will Find You, is avail-
able at Amazon and on most streaming services, including Spotify.
DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 31
 Movies

amounts to mostly background noise.

Fatal Addictions
The scenes of actual war definitely
amount to nothing but noise, with stiff
compositions of armies on horseback trod-
ding hither and yon but never clashing
Power is the drug in the lush but lacking Mary Queen of Scots, while significantly. The Scottish and English
Ben Is Back pulls out the hard stuff. By André Hereford scenery is gorgeous, but one still wonders
why bother with action scenes that beget

T
no action.
HE RISE AND FALL OF THE ROYAL HOUSE OF STUART TOOK ALMOST The film, directed by esteemed theatre
six centuries, but it will take moviegoers only a few brief hours, and a pair of vet Josie Rourke, instead gets somewhat
current films, to venture from the heights of that regal line to its fateful end. As sidetracked playing out one of the more
Yorgos Lanthimos’ saucy comedy The Favourite racks up awards for its depiction of scandalous episodes of Mary’s reign: the
Queen Anne, the last of the Stuart monarchs, another film arrives to take on perhaps gruesome murder of her Italian-born advi-
the most charismatic ruler of the clan, Mary, Queen of Scots. sor David Rizzio (Ismael Cruz Cordova).
Based on historian John Guy’s book Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart, the Mary’s close friendship with the androg-
drama stars Saoirse Ronan as the 16th-century Scottish queen with legitimate claims ynous Rizzio is viewed by her enemies in
to the throne of England. Of course, ruling over both realms would have required the court as a weakness worth exploiting.
usurping power from Mary’s English cousin Elizabeth I, who was in no hurry to cede Similarly, Rizzio’s seemingly too-close
her crown. friendship with Mary’s second husband
Elizabeth (Margot Robbie) appears intermittently throughout Mary Queen of Scots Lord Darnley (Jack Lowden) is viewed
(HHHHH), which posits the monarchs as frenemies who share a mutual admiration. as a weakness that demands punishing.
The real-life ladies might have been formidable foes from a distance, but their contest The movie’s treatment of homosexuality
of wills doesn’t live up to its billing here. might be appropriate to the period, but it’s
Mary and Elizabeth spend much of their screen-time talking about one another, dic- strikingly harsh, all the same — especially
tating letters to each other, or otherwise engaging through intermediaries. The bulk of given how little the Rizzio episode has to
the film’s drama rests not in their epistolary relationship but in marking Mary’s battles do with understanding what might have
against the men in her court. The problem is that none of those men are sharply defined transpired between Mary and Elizabeth.
as characters in their own right. The film’s various lords and earls — and they all sort The movie does flesh out some of
of run together — question Mary’s leadership as a woman and as a Roman Catholic Elizabeth’s strengths and vulnerabilities,
follower of the Pope, but not one emerges in this story as a compelling dramatic foil for but she hardly feels like a living, flesh-
the headstrong queen. and-blood character. Even if Robbie cuts
In a fierce performance, Ronan asserts the monarch’s power via her commanding an imposing figure as the Virgin Queen,
gaze and sharp tongue, yet her Mary is, for the most part, a gladiator with no real equal outfitted in the impressive finery of cos-
in the arena. Occasionally, the action cuts to Elizabeth, to punctuate how all the hushed tume designer Alexandra Byrne (who won
scheming and plotting relates to Mary’s larger ambitions, but the cousins’ tug of war an Oscar for her work on Elizabeth: The

DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 33

Golden Age), underneath all the pomp and pageantry this is still
one starchy epic.
Merely registering a succession of points on a timeline, Mary
Queen of Scots pales in comparison to the livelier, more psy-
chologically complex depiction of the court of Mary’s descen-
dant, Anne, in The Favourite. It’s also worth noting that in that
queer-friendly film, no one is stabbed to death over their sexual
orientation, and the battle of wits and tactics is more evenly and
entertainingly matched.
REPRESENTING THIS CROWDED movie season’s most obvi-
ous example of twin releases taking on similar subjects, the
my-son-is-an-addict drama Ben Is Back (HHHHH) hits theatres
just as the my-son-is-an-addict drama Beautiful Boy winds down
its run.
When these big-screen showdowns present themselves, usu-
ally it’s not that hard for audiences (and definitely not for crit-
ics) to choose favorites. Armageddon vs. Deep Impact? Easy,
Deep Impact. Capote vs. Infamous? Not as easy, but still Capote.
The Prestige vs. The Illusionist? Does anyone remember The
Illusionist?
Ben Is Back vs. Beautiful Boy? This one looks like a draw. Both
films deal with an upper-middle-class family struggling to hold it
together as a teenage son battles substance abuse. Both films are led
by an A-list movie star doing capital-A acting opposite a hot, young
Oscar-nominated talent who tears his heart out for the camera.
Both films are even being advertised with posters picturing the
respective pairs of parent and son in some form of embrace.
But those similar posters aptly convey what’s different about
these lookalike films. In ads for Ben Is Back, the film’s young
addict, played by Lucas Hedges, holds onto his mother, played
by Julia Roberts, not with the effervescent sense of hope and
connection that’s exuded by Beautiful Boy, but with a sense of
petrified desperation. That about sums up the atmosphere of
Ben Is Back is rated R, and opens December 14 at Landmark’s E Street and Bethesda Row Cinemas.
Visit landmarktheatres.com/washington-d-c.
Mary Queen of Scots is rated R, and opens December 14 at Landmark’s E Street and Bethesda Row Cinemas.
Visit landmarktheatres.com/washington-d-c.
34 DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
the film, set over a long Christmas weekend when Ben Burns
(Hedges) returns home after an unexplained, but almost certain-
ly drug-induced, absence.
His mother Holly (Roberts) welcomes him home with open
arms, then spends the next few days walking on eggshells, wor-
ried that her seemingly sober son could easily return to his old
ways. Or worse, she fears, he might still be using drugs and just
be pretending to have kicked his habit in order yet again to take
advantage of his family’s good will.
Their modern, blended
interracial family is round-
ed out by Ben’s stepdad Neal
(Courtney B. Vance), who
might be done with giving
Ben second chances; Holly’s
other teenager, Ivy (Kathryn
Newton), who also loves but
doesn’t fully trust her big bro;
and Holly and Neal’s two
young kids together Lacey
(Mia Fowler) and Liam (Jakari
Fraser), whose innocence is in
constant danger of being tram-
pled by whatever turmoil Ben
might cause.
For the record, the Sheff
family in Beautiful Boy also is
of a blended variety, and the
parallels are striking, but just as
striking are the ways in which
the two films diverge paths.
Beautiful Boy, benefiting from
the authentic detail of the two
published memoirs that inspired it, captures something that
feels genuine about riding the rollercoaster of recovery and
relapse, coping with the false starts and promises. And Chalamet
is marvelous as Nic Sheff, finding a sympathetic groove for the
troubled kid who might sincerely hate himself for squandering
so many gifts.
Hedges, who impresses in the other awards-bait family drama
Boy Erased, is, frankly, less convincing as an addict at the end of
his rope in Ben Is Back. But when the film veers off into thriller
territory, following Ben and Holly into drug dens and worse, veri-
similitude virtually flies out the window, so it doesn’t really matter.
This is where the film’s writer and director Peter Hedges
(real-life dad of Lucas) benefits from having Julia Roberts, who
still can simultaneously deliver charm and knife-edge suspense
as if this were the second coming of Sleeping with the Enemy.
Holly is a force of nature in defense of her family and her son,
and the kind of hero it’s possible to imagine could wipe out the
opioid epidemic all by herself.
It’s a potent fantasy, especially viewed alongside the sad reality
of Beautiful Boy’s painful uphill battle. Choosing a favorite between
the two films might not be as easy as deciding between Babe and
Gordy. Perhaps, in this case, it’s best to acknowledge that though
they might be competing for box office and awards, these two
addiction dramas are, in fact, strangely complementary. l
CLINTON BRANDHAGEN
Stage

Hernandez). Young Cecily has designs of

Earnest Pleasures
her own on an Earnest who almost cer-
tainly doesn’t exist.
If there’s a character among this lot
that it might be guessed the writer him-
A vibrant cast and production yield a smirking good time in self didn’t care for, it would be Cecily,
Everyman’s The Importance of Being Earnest. By André Hereford a child playing a grown-ups’ game. The
portrayal by Hernandez is hampered by an

F
accent and delivery that are up and down,
OR EVERYMAN’S FROTHY PRODUCTION OF OSCAR WILDE’S THE but she’s utterly invested in the sheltered
Importance of Being Earnest (HHHHH), company member Bruce Randolph Cecily’s ingenuousness, which counts for
Nelson joins the long list of leading men who have strung up a corset and donned a lot. Well, it counts for something.
a chapeau to play the imposing Lady Bracknell. The upper crust queen bee in a buzzing The entire cast, including Helen
1890s hive of lovers, liars, and busybodies, Bracknell is a role that lends easily to the Hedman as Cecily’s governess Miss Prism,
haughty confidence of drag presentation. So does the Lady’s glamorous wardrobe, and is up to speed on Wilde’s wordplay, but
costume designer David Burdick doesn’t disappoint in bedecking this society grande several bits of physical comedy, like a
dame in some dazzling frocks. mock sword fight with Kleiger’s confident
Nelson carries off Bracknell’s fashion and wears her brisk air of superiority with Gwendolen, are more hmm funny than
gumption, from her crowning millinery to the gloved hand holding her walking stick. ha-ha hilarious. The awkward physicality
She thrusts that cane like a sword at her impetuous daughter Gwendolen (Katie extends to Ritsch’s tendency here to plant
Kleiger), and at her somewhat beloved nephew Algernon Moncrieff (Danny Gavigan), characters a bit too prominently onstage
both of whom she schemes to keep in line. during other characters’ monologues.
But in this Wilde world, the young, or not as mature, are ever defiant of the wish- They stare off — pondering, plotting,
es of their elders. They’re also more than capable of scheming on their own. So it’s meditating — and what might be going
Algernon’s schemes, and those of his friend and confidant Jack Worthing (Jaysen through their heads, or whether they’re
Wright) — both pretending to be a man named Earnest — that drive the galloping plot. supposed to be aware of the person speak-
And it’s the play’s winking cynicism about Algernon and Jack’s bachelor ways, ing, becomes a distracting guessing game.
which are far from earnest, that keeps the story feeling modern. Director Joseph W. A guessing game more germane to the
Ritsch’s well-paced staging is just spicy enough and just screwball enough to feel plot of Wilde’s classic satire, and more
naughty and old-fashioned at the same time, yet is always elegant. stimulating too, is the fun of trying to read
Adding to that, the production looks as fresh as an unplucked rose, thanks to Daniel the witty and aloof trickster Algernon. He
Ettinger’s bright set design and Burdick’s costumes for all the players, particularly wants to be seen but not be exposed, and
Bracknell and Algernon. It’s all lit cheerfully by Harold F. Burgess II for an overall Gavigan’s mellow but mischievous turn
aesthetic that channels the vibrancy of the language. captures the rogue’s many contradictions.
The show’s bounce helps it over a few bumps, namely a second act of three that lags His and Wright’s suggestive rapport as
a bit in the story’s trip to the country house that Jack shares with his ward Cecily (Paige friends who know each other’s secrets

DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 35

 keeps Algernon and Jack’s scenes swimming in subtext. loudly and carrying a big stick, Algernon works with a lighter
Gavigan teases out especially well many shades of hidden or touch that’s deftly played, and well attuned to one of the play’s
underlying humor in the dialogue without making it look obvi- cleverer contradictions: “In matters of grave importance, style —
ous. Whereas Lady Bracknell aims her barbs to sting, speaking not sincerity — is the vital thing.” l

The Importance of Being Earnest runs through December 30 at Everyman Theatre, 315 W. Fayette Street, Baltimore.
Tickets are $10 to $65. Call 410-752-2208, or visit everymantheatre.org.
C. STANLEY PHOTOGRAPHY

Hathaway’s boathouse and jetty is packed

with details of a family’s history, but still

Moon Over Missouri

makes for a dreamy refuge from Sally’s
bigoted relations.
What refuge could keep them safe,
A harmonious pair produce a touching duet in Theater J’s lovely though, from every hateful relation and
production of Talley’s Folly. By André Hereford stranger in Missouri and beyond? There
is none, which would seem to be the sad

I
point of Matt’s family’s history, revealed
NSIDE A BOATHOUSE UNDER A MOONLIT NIGHT IN MISSOURI, A COU- in a profoundly embellished tale that he
ple anxiously tests the waters of a potential future together in Lanford Wilson’s shares with Sally. And she has her own
Pulitzer Prize-winning Talley’s Folly (HHHHH). Aaron Posner’s new production checkered past too that could come back
tenderly evokes the warm, summer evening, the creatures calling out on the river, to haunt them.
the firm sense that this boathouse, built to resemble a gazebo, definitely was the place So perhaps love is their refuge. Wilson’s
where accountant Matt Friedman (John Taylor Phillips) and nurse’s aide Sally Talley beautifully seesawing script allows them
(Erin Weaver) fell in love. glimmers of hope, and some aid from
But Matt and Sally don’t stand in mutual agreement about whether they are a cou- an unlikely corner. Secrets they’ve been
ple, or ever could be one in the world they know. Maybe Sally really isn’t in love, or can’t keeping from one another spill out some-
admit it, because it’s 1944 and she’s a Midwestern WASP from a rural factory-owning what clumsily, both for their sakes and for
family that might never accept her having more than a friendship, or even that, with a the sake of this show, but the suspense
foreign-born Jew like Matt. hanging over that boathouse is in whether
On this July evening, Sally and Matt are a year removed from what he calls their they’ll grab onto a lifeline together.
“affair,” a week they spent meeting secretly in the boathouse. Weaver and Phillips cap- Weaver and Phillips, like Sally and
ture that passage of time, and the fondness that grew inside it. Sally and Matt’s teasing Matt, take the journey in real time, and
debates, and flatout fights, relay the familiarity the lovers forged in private, hidden with a piercing conviction in this other-
away from her ever-present family. Hypocrites and fools, she calls them. wise unfussy production of a sweetheart
Sprawling across the GALA Hispanic Theatre stage, scenic designer Paige of a romance. l

Talley’s Folly runs until December 30 at GALA Theatre, 3333 14th St., NW. Tickets are $34 to $64.
Call 202-777-3210 or visit theaterj.org.

36 DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

NightLife
Photography by
Ward Morrison

DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 37

Scene DIK Bar - Saturday, December 8 - Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

DrinksDragDJsEtc... TRADE GREEN LANTERN • Foosball • Live televised Saturday,

Thursday, of Beer all night • Sports
Leagues Night
DEC. 13
NUMBER NINE
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
Open 5pm-2am • Happy drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
Hour: $2 off everything
until 9pm • Video Games PITCHERS
• Live televised sports Open 5pm-2am • Happy
Hour: $2 off everything
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR until 9pm • Video Games
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • • Foosball • Live televised
Karaoke, 9pm sports • Full dining menu
till 9pm • Special Late
GREEN LANTERN Night menu till 11pm •
Happy Hour, 4-9pm Visit pitchersbardc.com
• Shirtless Thursday,
10-11pm • Men in SHAW’S TAVERN
Underwear Drink Free, Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
12-12:30am • DJs Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
BacK2bACk $5 House Wines, $5 Rail
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR and Select Appetizers • All
Beat the Clock Happy Hour You Can Eat Ribs, 5-10pm,
— $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $24.95 • $4 Corona and
$4 (7-8pm) • $15 Buckets Heineken all night
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+
Friday,
DEC. 14
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
Open 5pm-3am • Happy
Hour: $2 off everything
until 9pm • Video Games
• Live televised sports
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm •
Karaoke, 9pm
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $3
Rail and Domestic • $5
Svedka, all flavors all night
long • Phucker: A Hanky
Code Party, 10pm-close
• Featuring DJ Ryan
Doubleyou • No Cover
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Open 3pm • Beat the
Clock Happy Hour — $2
(5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4
(7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer,
$15 • Weekend Kickoff
Dance Party, with Nellie’s
DJs spinning bubbly pop
music all night
NUMBER NINE
Open 5pm • Happy Hour:
2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
• No Cover • Friday Night
Piano with Chris, 7:30pm •
Rotating DJs, 9:30pm
PITCHERS
Open 5pm-3am • Happy
Hour: $2 off everything
until 9pm • Video Games
sports • Full dining menu
till 9pm • Special Late
Night menu till 2am • Visit
pitchersbardc.com
SHAW’S TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 House Wines, $5 Rail
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
and Select Appetizers
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
Men of Secrets, 9pm •
Guest dancers • Rotating
DJs • Kristina Kelly’s Diva
Fev-ah Drag Show • Doors
at 9pm, Shows at 11:30pm
and 1:45am • DJ Don T. in
Ziegfeld’s • Cover 21+
DEC. 15
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
Open 2pm-3am • Video
Games • Live televised
sports
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Saturday Breakfast Buffet,
10am-3pm • $14.99 with
one glass of champagne
or coffee, soda or juice •
Additional champagne $2
per glass • World Tavern
Poker Tournament, 1-3pm
• Crazy Hour, 4-8pm •
Freddie’s Follies Drag
Show, hosted by Miss
Destiny B. Childs, 8-10pm
• Karaoke, 10pm-close
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $5
Bacardi, all flavors, all
night long • The Bear
Cave: Retro to Electro,
9pm-close • Featuring DJ
Popperz • No Cover

38 DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY


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-3am • Buckets of
Beer, $15 • Guest DJs
NUMBER NINE
Doors open 2pm • Happy
Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink,
2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5
Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close
• THIRSTY, featuring DJ
Chord Bezerra, 9:30pm
PITCHERS
Open Noon-3am • Video
Games • Foosball • Live
televised sports • Full
dining menu till 9pm •
Special Late Night menu
till 2am • Visit pitchers-
bardc.com
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 • Gay Bash: The
Alt Dance Party and Home
for Unconventional Drag,
10 pm • Hosted by Donna
Slash • Featuring JaxKnife
Complex, Salvadora Dali,
Jane Saw, and special
guests • Music by The
Barber Streisand
ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS
Men of Secrets, 9pm-4am
• Guest dancers • Ladies
NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS Compiled by Doug Rule
DUPLEX DINER’S JANKY SWEATER PARTY
These days it seems like everyone throws a holiday party full of people wearing gen-
uinely horrid Christmas sweaters. But the best have a reason for the gaudy seasonal
display, such as making it a benefit for the Trevor Project, the leading organization
providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth. That’s
the cause that will benefit from donations at the door and profits from drink sales
— including $3 from every Janky Sweater Squeeze — this Friday, Dec. 14, at 18th
& U Duplex Diner. Drag queen Goldie Grigio hosts the 5th annual event featuring
music by DJ Wes Della Volla. The party starts at 9 p.m. — after a viewing of the
premiere of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 4 — and “ends when we take our
sweaters off.” Duplex Diner is at 2004 18th St. NW. A donation of $10 gets you
a complimentary champagne cocktail. Call 202-265-9599 or visit duplexdiner.com.
UPROAR’S KYLIE CHRISTMAS 2
The best and most ambitious video jockeys do twice as much work as their strict-
ly audio counterparts, and for a fraction of the fame. Which is why you may not
know the name VJ Tre, although you certainly know his work if you ever set foot in
Omega, where he mixed and played music videos for a dozen years before the ulti-
mate video bar shuttered in 2012. These days, Tre has worked to boost recognition
of his craft by adopting a different, telling alias, DJ Travis Island. In 2018 alone, the
Saturday night regular at Uproar has thrown video parties devoted to gay-favorite
pop divas — everyone from Madonna to Olivia Newton-John to Stevie Nicks. The
series launched exactly one year ago with music videos and edited montages
featuring Kylie Minogue all night long. Island promises a bigger and better round
two, with “Kylie’s Xmas music and all the hits you know and love.” Calling All The
Lovers, Your Disco Needs You, Dancing. (The Loco-Motion optional.) Saturday, Dec.
15, starting at 10 p.m. Uproar is at 639 Florida Ave NW. Call 202-462-4464 or visit
facebook.com/uproarloungedc.
PITCHERS: THE CATEGORY IS...SLEIGH
This Sunday, Dec. 16, promoter Orri Orr’s The Cake Factory presents another
round of its monthly Sunday Funday tea dance. This “Ho Ho Ho” afternoon dance
party, from 3 to 7 p.m., will feature holiday favorites and spirited beats by DJ Saint
Deporres, fueled by $4 Smirnoff drink specials “to tickle your tonsils with merriment
and cheer.” Be sure to wear your finest festive-wear and prepare your balls — that
is, bells — to sleigh. Pitchers is at 2317 18th St. NW. Call 202-733-2568, visit pitch-
ersbardc.com, or search “The Category Is” on facebook.com.
HOW THE GRINCH STOLE BARE
All the Cindy Lou Whos and Boos in Whoville are expected at Cobalt next Saturday,
Dec. 15, for a party featuring the mean, green one himself running around handing
out goodies, including drink tickets and prizes. The occasion is the holiday edition
of the popular third-Saturdays party that Karen Diehl and her Ladies of LURe start-
ed a decade ago, making Bare one of the longest-running queer women’s dance
events in D.C. history. DJ Eletr()x will pump up the party with festive jams while the
DystRucXion Dancers add to the merry festivities all starting at 10 p.m. Cobalt is at
1639 R St. NW. Cover is $7 before midnight, $10 after. Call 202-232-4416 or visit
facebook.com/lurewdc.
GREEN LANTERN: PHUCKER PARTY
“Fetish the Phuck Up” goes the tagline to a new monthly party at the Green Lantern
where each edition will focus on a specific kink and the goal of helping fellow fetish
fiends “find your phucker.” Inspired by the famous, evergreen hanky code, the
Phucker Party actually launches with an all-color-hankies affair, where fetishists are
encouraged to don a handkerchief or other accoutrement in their preferred kink’s
color — among the more colorful choices are navy blue for anal, lavender for drag,
mustard for hung, and coral for toesucking — and positioned on either their left
or right side depending on what they want to give or take. DJ Ryan Doubleyou
will set the sexy pace at a party he co-hosts with bartender Matt Strother. Drink
specials and clothes-check all night. Friday, Dec. 14, from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Green
Lantern is at 1335 Green Ct. NW. No cover. Call 202-347-4533 or visit facebook.
com/GreenLanternDC.
DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 39
of Illusion Drag Show GREEN LANTERN PITCHERS glass for the same price, NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR TRADE
with host Ella Fitzgerald Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Open Noon-2am • $4 2-10pm • Beer and wine Beat the Clock Happy Hour Doors open 5pm • Huge
• Doors at 9pm, Shows Karaoke with Kevin down- Smirnoff, includes flavored, only $4 — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), Happy Hour: Any drink
at 11:30pm and 1:45am stairs, 9:30pm-close $4 Coors Light or $4 Miller $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of normally served in a cock-
• DJ Don T. in Ziegfeld’s Lites, 2-9pm • Video Beer, $15 • Half-Priced tail glass served in a huge
• DJ Steve Henderson in NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Games • Foosball • Live Burgers • Paint Nite, 7pm glass for the same price,
Secrets • Cover 21+ Drag Brunch, hosted
by Chanel Devereaux,
televised sports • Full din-
ing menu till 9pm • Visit
Monday, • PokerFace Poker, 8pm •
Dart Boards • Ping Pong
5-10pm • Beer and wine
only $4
10:30am-12:30pm and pitchersbardc.com DEC. 17 Madness, featuring 2 Ping-
1-3pm • Tickets on sale Pong Tables
Sunday, at nelliessportsbar.com SHAW’S TAVERN FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR

DEC. 16
• House Rail Drinks, Zing
Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie
Brunch with Bottomless
Mimosas, 10am-3pm •
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm •
Singles Night • Half-Priced
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
Tuesday,
Beer and Mimosas, $4, Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3 Pasta Dishes • Poker Night drink, 5-9pm • No Cover DEC. 18
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN 11am-1am • Buckets of Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, — 7pm and 9pm games •
Open 2pm-12am • $4 Beer, $15 • Guest DJs $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Karaoke, 9pm SHAW’S TAVERN A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
Smirnoff and Domestic Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Open 5pm-12am • Happy
Cans • Video Games • NUMBER NINE and Select Appetizers GREEN LANTERN Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, Hour: $2 off everything
Live televised sports Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any • Dinner-n-Drag, with Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $5 House Wines, $5 Rail until 9pm • Video Games
drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut Miss Kristina Kelly, 8pm $3 rail cocktails and Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas • Live televised sports
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR and $5 Bulleit Bourbon, • For reservations, email domestic beers all night and Select Appetizers •
Ella’s Sunday Drag Brunch, 9pm-close • Multiple TVs shawsdinnerdragshow@ long • Singing with the Shaw ’Nuff Trivia, with FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
10am-3pm • $24.99 with showing movies, shows, gmail.com Sisters: Open Mic Karaoke Jeremy, 7:30pm Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Taco
four glasses of champagne sports • Expanded craft Night with the Sisters Tuesday • Poker Night —
or mimosas, 1 Bloody beer selection • Pop TRADE of Perpetual Indulgence, 7pm and 9pm games •
Mary, or coffee, soda or Goes the World with Wes Doors open 2pm • Huge 9:30pm-close Karaoke, 9pm
juice • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm Della Volla at 9:30pm • Happy Hour: Any drink
• Karaoke, 9pm-close No Cover normally served in a cock-
tail glass served in a huge

40 DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4pm-9pm
• $3 rail cocktails and
domestic beers all night
long
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Beat the Clock Happy Hour
— $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of
Beer $15 • Drag Bingo
with Sasha Adams and
Brooklyn Heights, 7-9pm •
Karaoke, 9pm-close
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
normally served in a
cocktail glass served
in a huge glass for the
same price, 5-10pm •
Beer and wine only $4
• Sissy That Tuesday: A
Monthly Cabaret, 8pm •
Hosted by Pussy Noir and
special guests • Music by
WesstheDJ
Wednesday, NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
SmartAss Trivia Night,
DEC. 19 8-10pm • Prizes include
bar tabs and tickets to
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN shows at the 9:30 Club •
Open 5pm-12am • Happy $15 Buckets of Beer for
Hour: $2 off everything SmartAss Teams only •
until 9pm • Video Games Absolutely Snatched Drag
• Live televised sports Show, hosted by Brooklyn
Heights, 9pm • Tickets
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR available at nelliessports-
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • $6 bar.com
Burgers • Beach Blanket
Drag Bingo Night, hosted NUMBER NINE
by Ms. Regina Jozet Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
Adams, 8pm • Bingo prizes drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
• Karaoke, 10pm-1am
PITCHERS
GREEN LANTERN Open 5pm-12am • Happy
Happy Hour, 4pm-9pm •
Bear Yoga with Greg Leo,
Hour: $2 off everything
until 9pm • Video Games
6:30-7:30pm • $10 per • Foosball • Live televised
class • $3 rail cocktails sports • Full dining menu
and domestic beers all till 9pm • Special Late
night long Night menu till 11pm •
Visit pitchersbardc.com
DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
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,
DEC. 20
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
41
42 DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

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+
Friday,
DEC. 21
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
Open 5pm-3am • 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 •
$3 Rail and Domestic •
$5 Svedka, all flavors all
night long • Rough House:
Hands On, Lights Off,
10pm-close • Featuring DJ
Lemz • $5 Cover (includes
clothes check)
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Open 3pm • Beat the
Clock Happy Hour — $2
(5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4
(7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer,
$15 • Weekend Kickoff
Dance Party, with Nellie’s
DJs spinning bubbly pop
music all night
NUMBER NINE
Open 5pm • Happy Hour:
2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
• No Cover • Friday Night
Piano with Chris, 7:30pm •
Rotating DJs, 9:30pm
PITCHERS
Open 5pm-3am • Happy
Hour: $2 off everything
until 9pm • Video Games
• Foosball • Live televised
sports • Full dining menu
till 9pm • Special Late
Night menu till 2am • Visit
pitchersbardc.com
SHAW’S TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 House Wines, $5 Rail
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
and Select Appetizers
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
Men of Secrets, 9pm •
Guest dancers • Rotating
DJs • Kristina Kelly’s Diva
Fev-ah Drag Show • Doors
at 9pm, Shows at 11:30pm
and 1:45am • DJ Don T. in
Ziegfeld’s • Cover 21+
Saturday,
DEC. 22
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
Open 2pm-3am • Video
Games • Live televised
sports
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Saturday Breakfast Buffet,
10am-3pm • $14.99 with
one glass of champagne
or coffee, soda or juice •
Additional champagne $2
per glass • World Tavern
Poker Tournament, 1-3pm
• Crazy Hour, 4-8pm •
Freddie’s Follies Drag
Show, hosted by Miss
Destiny B. Childs, 8-10pm
• Karaoke, 10pm-close
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $5
Bacardi, all flavors, all
night long • JOX: The
GL Underwear Party,
9pm-close • Featuring
DJs C-Dubs and Chaim •
$5 Cover (clothes check
included) • 21+
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-3am • Buckets of
Beer, $15 • Guest DJs
Playlist
DJ CHORD
THANK U, NEXT
Ariana Grande
TAKI TAKI
DJ Snake ft. Cardi B
NUMBER NINE
Doors open 2pm • Happy
Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, PROMISES
2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5 Sonny Fodera Remix
Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close
• Jawbreaker: Music
Calvin Harris ft. Sam Smith
of the ‘90s and 2000s,
featuring DJs BacK2bACk, ARMS AROUND YOU
9:30pm
XXXTENTACION & Lil Pump
PITCHERS ft. Maluma & Swae Lee
Open Noon-3am • Video
Games • Foosball • Live
televised sports • Full YOU CAN DO IT BABY
dining menu till 9pm • Mark Knight & Danny Howard
Special Late Night menu
till 2am • Visit pitchers-
bardc.com DRIVE
Tom Staar Remix
SHAW’S TAVERN
Brunch with $15 Black Coffee & David Guetta
Bottomless Mimosas,
10am-3pm • Happy Hour,
5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite,
TWERK
$4 Blue Moon, $5 House Cardi B - City Girls
Wines, $5 Rail Drinks •
Half-Priced Pizzas and
Select Appetizers ELECTRICITY
BPM Supreme Edit
TRADE
Dua Lipa
Doors open 2pm • Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cock- LICK IT
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
Noizu Remix
2-10pm • Beer and wine Valentino Khan
only $4
ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS DOSE
Men of Secrets, 9pm-4am Ciara
• Guest dancers • Ladies
of Illusion Drag Show
with host Ella Fitzgerald
Catch DJ Chord at Number 9 on Saturday,
• Doors at 9pm, Shows
at 11:30pm and 1:45am Dec. 15th and at Misfits w/ Joe Gauthreaux
• DJ Don T. in Ziegfeld’s at L8 Lounge on Saturday, Dec. 29th. Follow
• DJ Steve Henderson in him on Twitter at
Secrets • Cover 21+
shawsdinnerdragshow@ @djchordb.
gmail.com. l
Listen to this Playlist.
Follow MetroWeekly on Spotify.
Attention Local DJs: Find out how you can
submit a Playlist. Send an email to the editor
at rshulman@metroweekly.com.
DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 43
Scene Cobalt - Saturday, December 8 - Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 45

 LastWord.
People say the queerest things

“This effectively stops all of our research

to discover a cure for HIV.”
— A researcher at ROCKY MOUNTAIN LABORATORIES in Hamilton, Montana, in an email to Advanced Bioscience Resources in
California. As reported by Science magazine, the Trump administration has banned the National Institute of Health
from using fetal tissue in experiments — including a cure for HIV — a practice opposed by anti-abortion groups.

“The government is playing word games by arguing that trans people can serve in their birth sex.
That is a contradiction in terms.”
— JENNIFER LEVI, director of GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders’ Transgender Rights Project, in a statement slamming
the Trump administration’s attempts to justify their ban on transgender people serving in the military. The administration
argued in federal court that trans people would not be discharged as long as they suppressed their gender identity
and refrained from seeking to transition.

“Here’s my personal opinion:

Just don’t use the word.”

— Comedian and actor BILLY EICHNER, on Twitter responding to unearthed tweets by Sarah Silverman, Chelsea Handler,
and Amy Schumer, in which all three use a variation of “faggot.” Eichner contrasted their tweets with recent outcry over
Kevin Hart’s homophobic tweets and said context mattered, but ultimately: “It’s not a fun word for us
to hear at this point. We’ve come too far. So maybe let’s just drop it.”

“Conversion therapy has

no place in the modern world.”
— Bishop of Liverpool PAUL BAYNES, chairman of Britain’s Ozanne Foundation — which advocates for equality and diversity
in religious organizations — in a statement backing a charity-led inquiry into conversion therapy within religious groups. He con-
tinued: “We already know that all too often it has devastating long term consequences.
And we are concerned that it is still being practised.”

“He approached from behind,

punched the victim in the back of her head
and shoved her to the ground.
”
— NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT, in a statement to NBC News, after a 20-year-old woman was hospitalized with a broken spine
following a homophobic attack on the city’s subway. Police are searching for the suspect, who reportedly called the woman
“dyke” and began harassing her after she kissed another woman on the train. He then assaulted her and fled the scene.

46 DECEMBER 13, 2018 • METROWEEKLY