Metro Weekly - 07-02-15 - SCOTUS and Ari Shapiro

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JULY 2, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
METROWEEKLY.COM
JULY 2, 2015
EDITORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Randy Shulman
JULY 2, 2015
Volume 22 / Issue 9
ART DIRECTOR
Todd Franson
NEWS & BUSINESS EDITOR
John Riley
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Rhuaridh Marr
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Doug Rule
SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
Ward Morrison, Julian Vankim
CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATOR
Scott G. Brooks
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Sean Bugg, Christian Gerard, Connor J. Hogan,
Troy Petenbrink, Kate Wingfield
WEBMASTER
David Uy
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Julian Vankim
NEWS

Conversion Fraud
Christies Choice
by John Riley
by John Riley
OPINION
9
A Win for History
by Sean Bugg
12
Community Calendar

FEATURES
18
Supreme Equality
by Rhuaridh Marr

illustration by Scott G. Brooks

26

Ari Shapiro
OUT ON THE TOWN

30

Guide to Local Arts
BRAND STRATEGY & MARKETING

Christopher Cunetto
Cunetto Creative
FILM

36

Terminator Genisys
NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE

Rivendell Media Co.
212-242-6863
STAGE

39

The Producers
GAMES
41
Batman Arkham Knight:

Gotham is Mine
by Rhuaridh Marr
NIGHTLIFE

45

JR.s Monday Night Showtunes
54
Last Word
by Doug Rule
SALES & MARKETING

PUBLISHER
Randy Shulman
DISTRIBUTION MANAGER
Dennis Havrilla
PATRON SAINT
John Arthur
COVER ILLUSTRATION
Scott G. Brooks
METRO WEEKLY
1425 K St. NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20005
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JULY 2, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
Compiled by Doug Rule
by Chris Heller
by Doug Rule
photography by Ward Morrison
METROWEEKLY.COM
JULY 2, 2015
Is Equality Maryland shuttering its doors?

Same-Sex Marriage Proposal at Rainbow White House
MYIMAGES MICHA
LGBT
News
Now online at MetroWeekly.com
New Jersey Seal
Conversion Fraud
A New Jersey jurys finding in the JONAH trial could set a precedent for
combating sexual orientation change efforts
by John Riley
N A LANDMARK TRIAL, A NEW JERSEY JURY RULED

that a conversion therapy program purporting to be
able to change clients from gay to straight violated the
states consumer fraud law.
A seven-member jury in the case of Michael Ferguson, et
al., v. JONAH deliberated last Thursday for three hours before
ruling unanimously on almost all counts. They found that Jews
Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH), its founder,
Arthur Goldberg, and counselor Alan Downing violated New
Jerseys consumer fraud law by claiming they could cure clients
of being gay. The jury ordered JONAH to pay $72,400 in damages plus attorney fees.
The outcome of the trial was overshadowed by the precedent
it could set for how best to combat sexual orientation change
efforts. For example, other plaintiffs in other states could now
sue practitioners of conversion therapy by claiming their practice is fraudulent and does not deliver on their promised results.
The logic then follows that if practitioners are more likely to be
sued and potentially found guilty under consumer fraud stat6
JULY 2, 2015
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utes, a number will stop engaging in conversion therapy, thus

constituting a de facto ban on the practice.
This verdict is a monumental moment in the movement to
ensure the rights and acceptance of LGBT people in America,
said David Dinelli, deputy legal director of the Southern Poverty
Law Center, which brought the suit on behalf of the plaintiffs.
Conversion therapy and homophobia are based on the same
central lie that gay people are broken and need to be fixed.
Conversion therapists, including the defendants in this case, sell
fake cures that dont work but can seriously harm the unsuspecting people who fall into this trap.
During trial, the jury was introduced to several of the practices that went on in JONAHs conversion therapy sessions, some
of which bordered on the bizarre. According to the SPLCs initial complaint, these included beating an effigy of ones mother
with a tennis racket; being subjected to taunts of faggots and
homos in mock locker room and gym class scenarios; being
made to cuddle with or intimately hold other people of the same
sex, including counselors, for hours; going to the gym or bath
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JULY 2, 2015
LGBTNews
houses to be nude around father figures; and removing clothing
to get naked during both individual and group therapy sessions.
The SPLCs case was bolstered by a previous ruling by New
Jersey Superior Court Judge Peter Bariso, Jr.. Bariso had earlier excluded several key defense witnesses, many of whom are
prominent proponents and practitioners of conversion therapy,
including several who are ex-gay themselves.
Bariso also ruled that the central idea behind conversion
therapy that homosexuality is a mental disorder and can be
cured is a discredited notion. Bariso left it up to the jury to
determine whether they believed JONAH represented homosexuality as a disorder that could be cured, or simply as disordered, according to their religious beliefs.
This is not a freedom of religion case, SPLC attorney Sam
Wolfe said, stressing that JONAH did portray homoseuality as a
disorder that could be cured. It is unlawful to defraud vulnerable individuals and lure them with false promises of orientation change. The lie that individuals can change their sexual
orientation if only they work hard enough and pay for enough
therapy has harmed individuals, families, and religious communities for far too long.
Lawyers for JONAH, meanwhile, insisted their clients did
nothing wrong, and represented homosexuality as a spiritual
disorder, caused by childhood trauma, which can be overcome
through years of counseling. But because they claim they did
not refer to homosexuality as a disease, their assertions, based
on the groups religious or spiritual beliefs, should have been
protected by the First Amendment.
Chuck LiMandri, the president of the Freedom of Conscience
Defense Fund and JONAHs lead counsel, told the news website
NJ.com that the decision was a blow to religious liberty, and
that he would appeal.
The significance of a guilty verdict was not lost on the
defense. LiMandri told jurors in his closing arguments that
the plaintiffs only sued because the SPLC had convinced them.
And Christopher Doyle, of the Maryland-based International
Healing Foundation himself excluded from testifying in the
trial asserted in an op-ed in the Christian Post that the SPLC
went out of its way to mischaracterize conversion therapy and
was motivated by making an example of JONAH.
While the Judge and the SPLC have told the jury that this
trial is only about getting a refund, the truth is that this trial
is intended to shut down JONAH and all similar ministries,
Doyle wrote.
The tactic of combating conversion therapy by approaching
it as consumer fraud has begun to gain traction among some
lawmakers. U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) has introduced a bill
that would allow the Federal Trade Commission to classify forprofit conversion therapy and its promises to change sexual
orientation or gender identity as fraud. That would enable
the FTC to pursue further action against practitioners.
Currently, four jurisdictions California, New Jersey,
Washington, D.C. and Oregon prohibit the practice of conversion therapy on minors, but not for adults. A bill in Illinois passed
and was sent to Gov. Bruce Rauner (R), who has yet to make a
decision about whether to allow the bill to become law. Another
proposed ban, in New York, passed the Democratic-controlled
State Assembly but was killed after leadership in the Republicancontrolled Senate refused to bring the bill up for a vote.
Closer to home, Equality Virginia, which has been pushing to
ban conversion therapy on minors through the commonwealths
General Assembly, praised the decision and offered indications
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JULY 2, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
that they would use the New Jersey to help boost their efforts.
This verdict put us one step closer to ending the harmful
and ineffective practice of conversion therapy and supports
what we already know: being gay is not a disease that somebody
can be cured of, said James Parrish, Equality Virginias executive director. Instead of trying to fix our gay and transgender
youth, we must protect them from harmful and fraudulent practices and accept them for everything they are. l
Christies Choice
Republican presidential contender must decide whether

to veto bipartisan-backed birth certificate reform bill
by John Riley
EW JERSEY GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R) IS

about to be put on the spot as he enters the 2016 race
for the Republican nomination to the presidency.
Christie, who announced his candidacy in
Livingston, N.J. on Tuesday, has tried to portray himself as a
competent executive and fiscal conservative while eschewing
controversial social issues. But he must now decide whether to
sign or veto a measure amending the states procedures for issuing new birth certificates, which overwhelmingly passed both
chambers of the New Jersey Legislature last Thursday.
The bill eliminates the surgical requirement for people who
seek to change their gender marker on their birth certificates.
Under current law, an individual must provide proof that he or
she has undergone gender transition surgery. This is often difficult for low-income transgender residents, who may not have
the necessary funds or insurance coverage for transition-related
expenses. Additionally, in some cases, surgery may not be necessary to treat someones gender dysphoria.
Under the new changes, the state registrar can issue a new,
clean birth certificate upon receipt of a note from an individuals
health care provider indicating that the individual has undergone treatment appropriate for a gender transition. If a person
opts to change their name on the birth certificate which is not
required they must also obtain a court order and submit that
to the registrar.
New Jersey already provides clean copies of birth certificates
to those who ask for them, which are not marked as amended.
The bill approved by the legislature places the birth certificate
of the individual who undergoes a gender transition under seal.
That seal cannot be broken except in the case of a court order, or
upon the request of the individual to whom it pertains.
The changes to New Jerseys law bring the Garden State
in line with federal standards currently used by the U.S. State
Department and the Social Security Administration, which have
eliminated the surgical requirement for updating passports and
Social Security records.
Even though significant numbers of Republicans in both legislative chambers backed New Jerseys measure, Christie still
remains the bills biggest obstacle. The governor vetoed a similar
bill in 2014, citing concerns over significant legal uncertainties
and worries that changing New Jerseys current guidelines for
issuing new certificates might create opportunities for fraud,
LGBTNews
deception, and abuse.
Arli Christian, policy counsel for the National Center for
Transgender Equality (NCTE), says that this new bill is largely
similar to the one Christie vetoed.
Last year, the governor issued a statement vetoing the bill
that essentially claimed that due to fraud concerns, deception
concerns, this change was not thought out enough and should
be revisited, Christian says. The statement was not superdetailed and not grounded in any factual concerns. Changing
the gender marker on a birth certificate does not help further
someone who is trying to be fraudulent with their identity. It
does not allow someone to hide from their credit history. It
does not allow someone to avoid their criminal history. So the
concerns were not based in reality. Its likely that the veto was
more a political move than a thought through administrative
objection to the change.
The fate of an unrelated pro-LGBT bill does not appear to
bode well for the birth certificate measures chances of being
signed into law. On Monday evening, Christie vetoed a measure
that would have authorized gestational carrier agreements
under New Jersey law. In gestational surrogacy, the carrier is
implanted with a fertilized egg containing DNA from one or
both of the intended parents, but the carrier has no biological
relation to the child she brings to term. Gestational surrogacy
has increased in popularity among members of the LGBT community because it allows couples to establish parental rights
while also maintaining genetic ties to their child. Andrea
Bowen, executive director of Garden State Equality, called
Christies veto a terrible outcome for families across New
Jersey who need gestational surrogacy agreements to strengthen their families.
Political observers have long wondered how Christie, a
social moderate, will be able to appeal to evangelical voters who
make up a significant portion of the Republicans who vote in
presidential primary elections. Due to those political concerns,
Christie may not want to be seen as being too friendly to LGBT
rights. As a result, LGBT activists fear that, barring some profiles in courage from New Jersey lawmakers, the birth certificate reform bill like the gestational surrogacy measure may
also find itself back in the graveyard of vetoed legislation. l
OPINION Sean Bugg
A Win for History

Achieving marriage equality built on the past and
should be a springboard for the future
HEN IT COMES TO POLITICS AND GOVERnance, Im generally overstocked on cynicism

and lacking in sentimentality, but I still found
myself shedding a few tears of joy when I saw
the Supreme Court had ruled in favor of marriage equality.
Despite the fact that the march towards equality can feel
painfully slow, we know just how quickly the marriage victory
came far faster than almost anyone, gay or straight, friend or
foe, would have predicted. In fact, its worth remembering just

how ludicrous the idea of legal gay marriage once seemed, both
as a goal and an institution. Marriage proponents were treated
as comic relief; many gays and lesbians asked, Why on earth
would we want to get married?
And yet here we are, in a world lit up in rainbow colors. Its
a nice place to be.
We got here through the hard work of so many people, who
have been highlighted and profiled and interviewed in these
pages and others over the past decade. But just as important
as the individuals who guided this campaign has been our own
grassroots the thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who said, This is why we want to get married.
This is why we want to be full and equal members of our society.
Marriage equality wasnt a trickle-down victory. Our relationships provided the foundation for the movement. Every
commitment ceremony, every domestic partnership, every early
marriage demonstrated to family, friends and neighbors that our
lives are much the same as theirs, that we are equal in our desire
for love and stability. Ive seen the change in my own family
what once was unthinkable became familiar and accepted, even
in the rural American heartland that anti-gay politicians assume
to be their bedrock. It wasnt pundits on television or amicus
briefs that changed their minds, it was the simple experience of
actual gay people being open about their lives.
Thats why, for me, marriage is part of the continuum of
activism of the 80s and 90s, when the AIDS epidemic began
forcing America to deal with homosexuality as something more
than parades in San Francisco and New York. In the face of government indifference, bureaucratic hostility, and sheer hatred,
LGBT people became the advocates that no one in power would
be. I dont share the apocalyptic worldview or bottomless anger
of Larry Kramer, but we all owe him a debt for using that anger
to help save our community. And, frankly, we owe a debt to all
the people who were willing to storm the FDA, chain themselves in government buildings and heckle the president of the
free world. While too many were lost to AIDS, there are others
who are still with us Id consider this a good time to celebrate
Hug an ACT UP Alumnus Day.
Just as ACT UP and Queer Nation built on the history of
Mattachine and Stonewall, the movement for marriage built on
what preceded it. AIDS showed the country what happened to
people considered less than human: patients left to die alone
by fearful hospitals, surviving partners stripped of their homes
by bigoted family. These issues intersected with marriage, the
same way that marriage would intersect with immigration
rights, visitation rights, and womens equality.
So marriage is part of a continuum that did not end last
Friday at the Supreme Court. As has been noted, there are
states where you can get married and then get fired for it,
because there are no workplace protections for LGBT employees. Homophobic families in most states can still subject their
children to crackpot gay conversion therapies. Transgender
men and women still face astounding discrimination, in courts,
hospitals and hometowns.
We should all celebrate enthusiastically now that weve
achieved a fundamental milestone of the movement. I would
even encourage some extended basking in those rainbow lights.
But dont forget we have a ways to go in making the world an
even nicer place to be.
Sean Bugg is the former editor and co-publisher of Metro Weekly. l
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LGBTCommunityCalendar
Metro Weeklys Community Calendar highlights important events in the D.C.-area
LGBT community, from alternative social events to volunteer opportunities.
Event information should be sent by email to calendar@MetroWeekly.com.
Deadline for inclusion is noon of the Friday before Thursdays publication.
Questions about the calendar may be directed to the
Metro Weekly office at 202-638-6830 or
the calendar email address.
WEEKLY EVENTS
US HELPING US hosts a Narcotics

Anonymous Meeting, 6:30-7:30 p.m.,
3636 Georgia Ave. NW. The group is
independent of UHU. 202-446-1100.
The DC Center hosts a meeting of its

TRANS SUPPORT GROUP. 7-9 p.m.
2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more
information, visit thedccenter.org.
ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL
HEALTH offers free HIV testing, 9-5
WOMENS LEADERSHIP
INSTITUTE for young LBTQ women,
WEEKLY EVENTS
THURSDAY, JULY 2
p.m., and HIV services (by appointment). Call 202-291-4707, or visit

andromedatransculturalhealth.org.
13-21, interested in leadership development. 5-6:30 p.m. SMYAL Youth

Center, 410 7th St. SE. 202-567-3163,
catherine.chu@smyal.org.
DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC)
practice session at Takoma Aquatic

Center, 300 Van Buren St. NW. 7:30-9
p.m. swimdcac.org.
DC LAMBDA SQUARES gay and lesbian square-dancing group features

mainstream through advanced square
dancing at the National City Christian
Church, 5 Thomas Circle NW, 7-9:30
p.m. Casual dress. 301-257-0517,
dclambdasquares.org.
The DULLES TRIANGLES Northern
Virginia social group meets for happy
hour at Sheraton in Reston, 11810
Sunrise Valley Drive, second-floor
bar, 7-9 p.m. All welcome. dullestriangles.com.
FRIDAY, JULY 3
ADVENTURING outdoors group
hikes 6.5 moderate miles with 1000

feet of elevation gain to second highest point in Shenandoah National
Park. Bring plenty of beverages,
lunch, bug spray, sunscreen, and
about $20 for fees, plus money for
refreshments. No dogs allowed.
Carpool at 9 a.m. from Kiss & Ride
lot at East Falls Church Metro. Jeff,
301-775-9660.
HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker

Health. At the Elizabeth Taylor
Medical Center, 1701 14th St. NW,
9 a.m.-5 p.m. At the Max Robinson
Center, 2301 MLK Jr. Ave. SE, 9
a.m.-4:30 p.m. For an appointment
call 202-745-7000. Visit whitmanwalker.org.
ADVENTURING also hosts an alternative outing: a one-way 49-mile

bike trip from the Pentagon area to
Baltimore, returning by MARC train.
Bring water, snack, $2 trip fee, $7
train fare and money for a meal in
Baltimore before trip back to D.C.
Ride begins at 8 a.m. from southern
end of Columbia Island Marina
parking lot, 1.5 miles from Pentagon
Metro. Jerry, 703-920-6871. adventuring.org.
IDENTITY offers free and confiden-
LGB PSYCHOTHERAPY GROUP for
tial HIV testing in Gaithersburg,

414 East Diamond Ave., and in
Takoma Park, 7676 New Hampshire
Ave., Suite 411. Walk-ins 2-6 p.m.
For appointments other hours, call
Gaithersburg, 301-300-9978, or
Takoma Park, 301-422-2398.
METROHEALTH CENTER offers
free, rapid HIV testing. Appointment

needed. 1012 14th St. NW, Suite 700.
202-638-0750.
SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5

p.m., by appointment and walk-in, for
youth 21 and younger. 202-567-3155
or testing@smyal.org.
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JULY 2, 2015
adults in Montgomery County offers

a safe space to explore coming out
and issues of identity. 10-11:30 a.m.
16220 S. Frederick Rd., Suite 512,
Gaithersburg, Md. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
TEAM DC hosts a second NIGHT

OUT AT THE NATIONALS EXTRA!
event at the Nats game against the

San Francisco Giants to help kick off
the Chesapeake and Potomac Softball
Leagues MAGIC Tournament.
Tickets $18. Game starts at 7 p.m.
1500 S. Capitol St. SE. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit
teamdc.org.
METROWEEKLY.COM
p.m., and HIV services (by appointment). 202-291-4707, andromedatransculturalhealth.org.
DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice

youth 21 and younger. Youth Center,
410 7th St. SE. 202-567-3155, testing@
smyal.org.
SATURDAY, JULY 4
ADVENTURING outdoors group
hikes 5 easy miles at Great Falls, Md.
Bring beverages, lunch, bug spray,
sunscreen, and a few bucks for fees.
Meet to form carpools at 9 a.m. from
top of escalators at east entrance of
Tenleytown Metro Station, Wisconsin
Avenue & Albemarle Street, NW,
or gather at 9:45 at Great Falls
Tavern Visitor Center at the end of
MacArthur Boulevard. Damon, 202213-4592. adventuring.org.
BURGUNDY CRESCENT, a gay volunteer organization, volunteers today for
Food and Friends, Balloon Wrangling
at the Independence Day Parade and
Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation at
Falls Church PetSmart. To participate,
visit burgundycrescent.org.
WEEKLY EVENTS
session at Hains Point, 927 Ohio Dr.

SW. 6:30-8 p.m. Visit swimdcac.org.
4th of July Weekend! Enjoy.
GAY DISTRICT holds facilitated

discussion for GBTQ men, 18-35, first
and third Fridays. 8:30 p.m. The DC
Center, 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105.
202-682-2245, gaydistrict.org.
SUNDAY, JULY 5
GAY MARRIED MENS

ASSOCIATION (GAMMA) is a con-
fidential support group for men who

are gay, bisexual, questioning and
who are married or involved with
a woman, that meets regularly in
Dupont Circle at 7:30 PM and also
Northern Virginia and Maryland. For
more information: GAMMAinDC.org.


202-638-0750.
PROJECT STRIPES hosts LGBT-
affirming social group for ages 11-24.

4-6 p.m. 1419 Columbia Road NW.
Contact Tamara, 202-319-0422,
layc-dc.org.
SMYALS REC NIGHT provides
a social atmosphere for GLBT and

questioning youth, featuring dance
parties, vogue nights, movies and
games. More info, catherine.chu@
smyal.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.
BETHEL CHURCH-DC progressive

and radically inclusive church holds
services at 11:30 a.m. 2217 Minnesota
Ave. SE. 202-248-1895, betheldc.org.
DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice
session at Hains Point, 972 Ohio Dr.,
SW. 9:30-11 a.m. Visit swimdcac.org.
DIGNITYUSA offers Roman Catholic
Mass for the LGBT community. 6
p.m., St. Margarets Church, 1820
Connecticut Ave. NW. All welcome.
Sign interpreted. For more info, visit
dignitynova.org.
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UNITED

CHURCH OF CHRIST welcomes all
to 10:30 a.m. service, 945 G St. NW.
firstuccdc.org or 202-628-4317.
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.
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JULY 2, 2015
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HOPE UNITED CHURCH OF

CHRIST welcomes GLBT community for worship. 10:30 a.m., 6130
Old Telegraph Road, Alexandria.
hopeucc.org.
INSTITUTE FOR SPIRITUAL

DEVELOPMENT, God-centered new
age church & learning center. Sunday

Services and Workshops event. 5419
Sherier Place NW. isd-dc.org.
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.
lincolntemple.org.
LUTHERAN CHURCH OF
REFORMATION invites all to Sunday
worship at 8:30 or 11 a.m. Childcare is

available at both services. Welcoming
LGBT people for 25 years. 212 East
Capitol St. NE. reformationdc.org.
METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY
CHURCH OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA
services at 11 a.m., led by Rev. Onetta

Brooks. Childrens Sunday School, 11
a.m. 10383 Democracy Lane, Fairfax.
703-691-0930, mccnova.com.
METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY
CHURCH OF WASHINGTON, D.C.
services at 9 a.m. (ASL interpreted)

and 11 a.m. Childrens Sunday School
at 11 a.m. 474 Ridge St. NW. 202-6387373, mccdc.com.
NATIONAL CITY CHRISTIAN

CHURCH, inclusive church with
GLBT fellowship, offers gospel worship, 8:30 a.m., and traditional worship, 11 a.m. 5 Thomas Circle NW.
202-232-0323, nationalcitycc.org.
NEW HSV-2 SOCIAL AND

SUPPORT GROUP for gay men living
in the DC metro area. This group will
be meeting once a month. For information on location and time, email to
not.the.only.one.dc@gmail.com.
RIVERSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH,

a Christ-centered, interracial, welcoming-and-affirming church, offers
service at 10 a.m. 680 I St. SW. 202554-4330, riversidedc.org.
ST. STEPHEN AND THE
INCARNATION, an interracial,
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,
saintstephensdc.org.
UNITARIAN CHURCH OF
ARLINGTON, an LGBTQ welcoming-
and-affirming congregation, offers

services at 10 a.m. Virginia Rainbow
UU Ministry. 4444 Arlington Blvd.
uucava.org.
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JULY 2, 2015
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UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST
CHURCH OF SILVER SPRING
invites LGBTQ families and individuals of all creeds and cultures to join
the church. Services 9:15 and 11:15 a.m.
10309 New Hampshire Ave. uucss.org.
UNIVERSALIST NATIONAL
MEMORIAL CHURCH, a welcom-
ing and inclusive church. GLBT

Interweave social/service group
meets monthly. Services at 11 a.m.,
Romanesque sanctuary. 1810 16th St.
NW. 202-387-3411, universalist.org.
MONDAY, JULY 6
The DC Center hosts a VOLUNTEER
NIGHT. Volunteers will be asked to
help clean around the office, sort
through book donations, sort through
inventory of safe-sex kits, and other
tasks. Pizza provided. 6:30-8:30 p.m.
2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more
information, visit thedccenter.org.
WEEKLY EVENTS
DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice session at Hains Point, 927 Ohio
Dr. SW. 7-8:30 p.m. Visit swimdcac.org.
DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds
practice, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Garrison

Elementary, 1200 S St. NW. dcscandals.wordpress.com.
GETEQUAL meets 6:30-8 p.m. at

Quaker House, 2111 Florida Ave. NW.
getequal.wdc@gmail.com.
HIV Testing at WHITMAN-WALKER
HEALTH. At the Elizabeth Taylor
Center, 2301 MLK Jr. Ave. SE, 9 a.m.4:30 p.m. For an appointment call 202745-7000. Visit whitman-walker.org.
KARING WITH INDIVIDUALITY

(K.I.) Services, 3333 Duke St.,
Alexandria, offers free rapid HIV

testing and counseling, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
703-823-4401.

free, rapid HIV testing. No appointment needed. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. 1012 14th
St. NW, Suite 700. 202-638-0750.
NOVASALUD offers free HIV testing.
5-7 p.m. 2049 N. 15th St., Suite 200,
Arlington. Appointments: 703-7894467.

410 7th St. SE. 202-567-3155 or testing@smyal.org.
THE DC CENTER hosts Coffee DropIn for the Senior LGBT Community.
10 a.m.-noon. 2000 14th St. NW. 202682-2245, thedccenter.org.
METROWEEKLY.COM
JULY 2, 2015
15
LGBTCommunityCalendar
US HELPING US hosts a black gay
mens evening affinity group. 3636
Georgia Ave. NW. 202-446-1100.
WASHINGTON WETSKINS Water
Polo Team practices 7-9 p.m. Takoma
Aquatic Center, 300 Van Buren St.
NW. Newcomers with at least basic
swimming ability always welcome.
Tom, 703-299-0504, secretary@
wetskins.org, wetskins.org.
Whitman-Walker Health HIV/
AIDS SUPPORT GROUP for newly
diagnosed individuals, meets 7 p.m.
Registration required. 202-939-7671,
hivsupport@whitman-walker.org.
TUESDAY, JULY 7
WEEKLY EVENTS
ASIANS AND FRIENDS weekly din-
ner in Dupont/Logan Circle area,

6:30 p.m. afwash@aol.com, afwashington.net.
DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC)
practice session at Takoma Aquatic

Center, 300 Van Buren St. NW. 7:30-9
p.m. swimdcac.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/
walking/social club serving greater

D.C.s LGBT community and allies
hosts an evening run/walk. dcfrontrunners.org.
THE GAY MENS HEALTH

COLLABORATIVE offers free HIV
tial HIV testing in Gaithersburg,

414 East Diamond Ave., and in
Takoma Park, 7676 New Hampshire
Ave., Suite 411. Walk-ins 2-6 p.m.
Gaithersburg at 301-300-9978 or
Takoma Park at 301-422-2398.
KARING WITH INDIVIDUALITY

(K.I.) SERVICES, at 3333 Duke St.,
Alexandria, offers free rapid HIV

testing and counseling, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
703-823-4401.
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 571214-9617. james.leslie@inova.org.
OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS

THE HIV WORKING GROUP of THE

DC CENTER hosts Packing Party,
where volunteers assemble safe-sex
kits of condoms and lube. 7 p.m.,
Green Lantern, 1335 Green Court
NW. thedccenter.org.

202-638-0750.
LGBT focused meeting every

Tuesday, 7 p.m. St. Georges
Episcopal Church, 915 Oakland Ave.,
Arlington, just steps from Virginia
Square Metro. For more info. call
Dick, 703-521-1999. Handicapped
accessible. Newcomers welcome.
liveandletliveoa@gmail.com.

410 7th St. SE. 202-567-3155, testing@smyal.org.
SUPPORT GROUP FOR LGBTQ
YOUTH ages 13-21 meets at SMYAL,
410 7th St. SE, 5-6:30 p.m. Cathy
Chu, 202-567-3163, catherine.chu@
smyal.org.
US HELPING US hosts a support

group for black gay men 40 and older.
7-9 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. 202446-1100.
Whitman-Walker Healths GAY
MENS HEALTH AND WELLNESS/

STD CLINIC opens at 6 p.m., 1701
14th St. NW. Patients are seen on

walk-in basis. No-cost screening for
HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. Hepatitis and herpes testing
available for fee. whitman-walker.org.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8
RAINBOW RESPONSE, a coalition
of individuals and agencies working
together to combat LGBTQ intimate
partner violence, meets at The DC
Center. 6-8 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW,
Suite 105. For more information, visit
rainbowresponse.org.
THE LAMBDA BRIDGE CLUB
meets for Duplicate Bridge. 7:30 p.m.

Dignity Center, 721 8th St. SE, across
from the Marine Barracks. No reservation needed. Call 703-407-6540 if
you need a partner.
16
JULY 2, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
WEEKLY EVENTS
AD LIB, a group for freestyle conversation, meets about 6:30-6 p.m.,
Steam, 17th and R NW. All welcome.
For more information, call Fausto
Fernandez, 703-732-5174.
DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice session at Hains Point, 927 Ohio

Dr. SW. 7-8:30 p.m. Visit
swimdcac.org.
DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds
practice, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Garrison

Elementary, 1200 S St. NW. dcscandals.wordpress.com.
HISTORIC CHRIST CHURCH
offers Wednesday worship 7:15 a.m.

and 12:05 p.m. All welcome. 118 N.
Washington St., Alexandria. 703-5491450, historicchristchurch.org.

Center, 2301 MLK Jr. Ave. SE, 9 a.m.4:30 p.m. For an appointment
call 202-745-7000. Visit
whitman-walker.org.
tial HIV testing in Gaithersburg, 414

East Diamond Ave. Walk-ins 2-7 p.m.
Gaithersburg at 301-300-9978.
JOB CLUB, a weekly support pro-
gram for job entrants and seekers,

meets at The DC Center. 2000 14th St.
NW, Suite 105. 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. More
info, www.centercareers.org.
free, rapid HIV testing. No appointment needed. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. 1012 14th
St. NW, Suite 700. 202-638-0750.
NOVASALUD offers free HIV testing.

11 a.m.-2 p.m. 2049 N. 15th St., Suite
200, Arlington. Appointments:
703-789-4467.
PRIME TIMERS OF DC, social

club for mature gay men, hosts
weekly happy hour/dinner. 6:30 p.m.,
Windows Bar above Dupont Italian
Kitchen, 1637 17th St. NW. Carl,
703-573-8316. l
METROWEEKLY.COM
JULY 2, 2015
17
Supreme Equality
On June 26, the Supreme Court affirmed the right to marry for millions of gay Americans,
ushering in a new age of LGBT rights
by Rhuaridh Marr
Illustration by Scott G. Brooks
18
JULY 2, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
TS FUCKING AWESOME!
Eighteen-year-old Austin Schmidts words may

not have been as eloquent as many espoused over the
course of that day, but as the Virginia native stood on
Pennsylvania Avenue, staring at a White House aglow
with the colors of the rainbow, fucking awesome
seemed an entirely appropriate way of summarizing an incredible end to an historic day.
For millions of Americans, the sight of 1600 Pennsylvania
Avenue blazing with the colors of LGBT Pride was a bold confirmation that their love was finally, inexorably considered equal to
their heterosexual counterparts. Love was love, no quantifiers,
adjectives or addendums required.
On Friday, June 26, gay Americans in thirteen states woke,
uncertain of what the future would hold. After a momentous,
passionate, definitive ruling by the Supreme
Court of the United States, they could climb
into bed knowing that marriage equality was
real, it was constitutional, and it was theirs.
It was a staggering change for a country that,
just twelve years ago, still had laws criminalizing
sex between gay and lesbian couples. Lawrence
v. Texas, decided June 26, 2003, finally made
sodomy laws illegal. In 2004, Massachusetts
became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage but far from starting a tidal wave of
acceptance, it transpired to be a minor ripple in
a seething pool of hatred. Opponents, cemented
in their bigotry, ushered in marriage-equality
bans throughout most of the country.
Gradually, however, grassroots campaigns, LGBT rights organizations, a proliferation of LGBT people on television and in film,
and the simple fact that most people were guaranteed to know a
gay person led to a shift in public opinion. By 2012, six states, plus
the District of Columbia, had legalized same-sex marriage. Part
of the Defense of Marriage Act, which restricted marriage definitions to heterosexual couples, had been repealed. Proposition 8
had been defeated in court and was headed to the Supreme Court
justices for a final decision. Then, in May of that year, President
Obama became the first sitting president to publicly declare support for marriage equality. It was a watershed moment.
Two years later, marriage bans were falling like dominoes, as
federal courts ruled in favor of equality. In October of 2014, the
Supreme Court rejected the appeals of five states that had found
their bans ruled unconstitutional at that point, as many states
had marriage equality as had measures preventing it. When, this
January, the Supreme Court declared that it would hear cases
challenging same-sex marriage bans in four states, thirty-six
plus D.C. already had marriage equality. What happened next
was beyond belief for those who had lived through decades of
marginalization, indifference during the AIDS crisis, and years
of legislation aimed at reducing their relationships to secondclass status.
Last Friday, in an opinion written by Justice Anthony
Kennedy, the right to same-sex marriage or, as it will now
forever be know, marriage was affirmed in a majority ruling
on Obergefell v. Hodges. Citing the same Fourteenth Amendment
that had brought down sodomy laws over a decade ago, Kennedy,
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and
Elena Kagan declared marriage equality constitutional.
A conservative justice appointed during the Regan era,
Kennedy has long been considered the courts swing vote on
the issue. In an impassioned opinion, he rebuffed several major

arguments used by marriage equality opponents, particularly
that marriage is traditionally a heterosexual union and should
remain as such.
To [equality opponents], it would demean a timeless institution if the concept and lawful status of marriage were extended
to two persons of the same sex, he wrote. Marriage, in their
view, is by its nature a gender-differentiated union of man and
woman.... The petitioners acknowledge this history but contend
that these cases cannot end there. Were their intent to demean
the revered idea and reality of marriage, the petitioners claims
would be of a different order. But that is neither their purpose
nor their submission.
Far from seeking to devalue marriage, he continued, the
petitioners seek it for themselves because of their respect and
need for its privileges and responsibilities. And their immu-
After a momentous, passionate, definitive

ruling by the Supreme Court of the United
States, LGBT COUPLES COULD CLIMB INTO
BED KNOWING THAT MARRIAGE EQUALITY
WAS REAL, IT WAS CONSTITUTIONAL,
AND IT WAS THEIRS.
table nature dictates that same-sex marriage is their only real
path to this profound commitment.
Kennedy drew comparisons between same-sex marriage and
Loving v. Virginia, which invalidated laws against interracial
marriage. The right to personal choice regarding marriage is
inherent in the concept of individual autonomy, he wrote. This
abiding connection between marriage and liberty is why Loving
invalidated interracial marriage bans under the Due Process
Clause.
Its his last paragraph that has generated the most support,
emotion and column inches. Kennedy argued that same-sex
couples want to marry in order to become something greater
than once they were. He contended that [it] would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of
marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply
that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves.
Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness,
excluded from one of civilizations oldest institutions, he continued. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The
Constitution grants them that right.
CELEBRATORY SPIRIT
OR JIM OBERGEFELL, Kennedys words were bittersweet. As plaintiff in the Supreme Court case, it was
a decision he had waited two years for, when he first
filed suit against Ohio and its same-sex marriage ban
in July, 2013. Obergefells husband, John Arthur, whom he had
married that year in Maryland, was terminally ill with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS. Both men wanted
Ohios Registrar to recognize Obergefell as Arthurs spouse on
his death certificate something prevented, because their marMETROWEEKLY.COM
JULY 2, 2015
19
riage wasnt recognized within Ohios borders. In October of

that year, Arthur died in a cruel legal move, the states attorneys tried to dismiss the case, claiming it was no longer relevant.
District Judge Timothy S. Black refused, eventually finding in
favor of Obergefells case and ruling that Ohio must recognize
out-of-state same-sex marriages.
Unfortunately, the case was overturned by the Sixth Circuit
Court of Appeals. Determined to validate his marriage to Arthur,
Obergefell, along with same-sex couples in Ohio, Tennessee,
Michigan and Kentucky, petitioned the Supreme Court to finally
determine the validity of same-sex marriage. After two years,
Stonewall Inn which sparked the notorious riots as LGBT people objected to their lives being oppressed, leading to the birth
of the modern LGBT rights movement queer New Yorkers
flocked to the historic (and officially designated) landmark to
toast the momentous occasion. Who cared that it wasnt even
midday, it was five oclock somewhere and there was marriage
equality right now. Hundreds crammed into the bar, desperate
to show their love, their support, their excitement for a decision
that patrons forty years ago would never have hoped to expect.
People are going to party in the streets, Stacy Lentz, one of
Stonewalls owners, told The Guardian. Its an incredible day for
us and for LGBT people around the world. America
finally has marriage equality!
Nothing could detract from the celebrations, not
even the dissents of the four judges who opposed the
Courts ruling. When Justice Antonin Scalias objections were read out on CNN, Stonewalls revellers
toasted him it was too joyous an occasion to care
that he considered the ruling a judicial Putsch.
In Gayborhoods around the country, LGBT
Americans spilled onto streets to dance, hug, kiss
and laugh with one another. Impromptu parties
took place in Greenwich Village, San Franciscos
Castro neighborhood, West Hollywood, and of
course in D.C. Bars overflowed with revellers,
homes were opened up for friends and families to
visit and celebrate, workplaces shut down as gay
owners chose to forego a day of profits for a day of marking the
affirmation of their equality.
At San Francisco City Hall, Mayor Ed Lee, triumphantly
declared At long last, marriage equality in the U.S.! to a crowd
as ebullient as that still revelling at the Supreme Court. We
started that movement right here when Gavin Newsom dared
to marry loving same-sex couples right under this dome [in
2004, though marriages were halted and later invalidated by
Californias Supreme Court].... We are proud of our city leading
the nation and even the world on this issue.
Social media exploded with photos, videos and messages
of surprise and delight, but it was Snapchat that best captured
Americas reactions. Its ephemeral nature, used to document
music festivals, sporting events, and daily life in cities around
the world as well as a variety of more mundane individual
events finally proved its worth as a special Marriage Equality
story became available for contributions. Snippets flowed in,
available to watch around the world, as Americas gays cried
and cheered and basked in their moment. From a mother and
daughter in tears, as the former realizes she can one day attend
the latters wedding, to a couple celebrating the validity of their
union across the nation, to those on streets waving rainbow flags
and screaming in joy, it was a beautiful snapshot of emotion from
all walks of gay life and was delivered to those living in countries where gay rights are still a daily struggle, a digital hug and
confirmation that it really does get better.
As news trickled down to states,

counties, cities and towns,
judges and court officials cleared
their schedules. ACROSS THE
COUNTRY, COUPLES POURED INTO
GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS, EAGER
TO FINALLY SAY I DO.
Jim Obergefell heard the words that his late husband hadnt
been able to their marriage was legal, valid, and equal.
My late husband John and I were together for almost 21
years before he passed away, Obergefell said on the steps of
the Supreme Court after the decision was handed down. Im
here today...because my home state fought the recognition of my
marriage to John. No American should have to suffer that indignity. Thats why John and I, and the 30 plaintiffs in this lawsuit,
decided to fight.
Todays ruling from the Supreme Court affirms what millions across this country already know to be true in our hearts,
he continued. Our love is equal. That the four words etched
onto the front of the Supreme Court, equal justice under law,
applied to us, too.
At the end of a statement that drew rapturous applause and
cheers from an audience that has elevated him to become the
face of the marriage equality fight, Jim Obergefell offered one
last thought before he left to absorb the immensity of his victory.
Its my hope that the term gay marriage will become a thing of
the past, he said. And our nation will be better off because of it.
Reaction to the landmark ruling was felt across the nation.
On the steps of the Supreme Court, LGBT activists and allies had
amassed, part of a daily ritual as they waited in anticipation of a
positive decision. When it finally became aware that a decision
was ready, as interns raced from the doors of the Court carrying
copies, the tension was palpable. Standing in front of cameras,
frantically flicking through a hastily assembled ruling normally bound, they were instead A4 sheets stapled together, indicative of the lateness of the decision journalists raced to break
the news to viewers and readers around the country.
It wasnt necessary. As they scanned the prepared documents, looking for the key facts of the decision, the crowd had
already reached the conclusion: theyd won. An almighty roar
broke out along First Street, signalling the start of a day of widespread celebration across America.
Forty-six years after New York City police raided the
20
JULY 2, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
OH, HAPPY DAY
OR THOUSANDS OF couples, the Supreme Courts

decision also offered a wonderful opportunity. In those
thirteen states where marriage equality had hung on
the outcome of the ruling, doors at county clerk offices
were thrown open, welcoming couples to finally collect something many had waited years for: a marriage license.
Thousands waited, breath bated, as governors gradually
issued statements over the course of the day, confirming that up to get their licenses and exchange vows.
their states would comply with the Courts ruling.
For Emma Foulkes and Petrina Bloodworth, history was
The fractured laws across the country concerning same-sex made twice that day. Not only could they now get married,
marriage had created an unsustainable and unbalanced legal they ultimately became the first couple in Fulton County do so.
environment.... That situation was unfair, no matter which side Rather than wait any longer, the couple of ten years agreed to
of the debate you may support, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear collect their license and share their vows as soon as possible.
said. Effective today, Kentucky will recognize as valid all same- We were going to run someplace else and get married, Foulkes
sex marriages performed in other states and in Kentucky.
said, when it seemed as though marriage equality would never
Nebraskas governor was less diplomatic in his speech, delib- reach Georgia. But our son was in college and we wanted him
erately noting the imbalance between the courts rulings, and to be home to see this. And we wanted to see the country move
the overwhelming majority who voted for the states constitu- in the right direction. Their wait paid off, with son Raimius
tional amendment against same-sex marriage in 2000. He stated able to witness the ceremony. It feels really, really good to see
that 70 percent of Nebraskans approved our amendment, but their love and commitment to each other validated, he told the
acknowledged that the highest court in the land has ruled states Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
cannot place limits on marriage between same-sex couples. We
will follow the law and respect the ruling outlined by the court.
In Missouri, Governor Jay Nixon a Democrat couldnt
hide his joy at the Supreme Courts ruling. Calling it a major vicT WASNT SUCH a joyous day for everyone, howevtory for equality and an important step toward a fairer and more
er. When Bobbi Gray and Celeste Swain arrived at the
just society for all Americans, Nixon who faces a RepublicanHarrison County, Mississippi clerks office, they were
controlled General Assembly that was unlikely to legislate favorquickly reminded that while the Supreme Courts ruling
ably on marriage equality was eager to implement the changes was universal, that didnt mean it was immediate.
in his state. No one should be discriminated against because of
The Supreme Courts decision is not immediately effective
who they are or who they love, he said. In the coming days, I in Mississippi, said Attorney General Jim Hood in a statement.
will be taking all necessary and appropriate actions to ensure It will become effective in Mississippi and circuit clerks will
this decision is implemented throughout the state of Missouri.
be required to issue same-sex marriage licenses when the 5th
As news trickled down to states, counties, cities and towns, Circuit lifts the stay of Judge Reeves order. This could come
judges and court officials cleared their schedules. Once they quickly or may take several days.
received confirmation from superiors that they were free to do
Were pretty deflated, Swain told The Clarion-Ledger. Im
so, licenses were issued and marriage ceremonies started. Across looking at Mississippi wanting to wave the Hi, were in last
the country, couples poured into government buildings, eager to place flag again. Alabama is issuing licenses, Tennessee ... Im
finally say I do.
sort of speechless.
Perhaps the days most endearing ceremony took place in
By Monday, Hood had reversed his position. He stated in an
Dallas County, Texas. The first wedding of
the day, the happy couple had waited a long
time for their special day. A really long time.
Jack Evans, 85, and George Harris, 82, have
been together for more than fifty years, since
meeting in Dallas in 1961. George and I
met at a party and we were the last ones to
leave together. We havent slept apart since,
Evans told the BBC.
Speaking with Kera News, Harris was
overcome with the outpouring of support
they received. Im excited to see so many
people down here. Love is everywhere, and
thats a great thing, he said. Wed never

Jim Obergefell
thought wed see the day. Were very excited
and weve waited a long time for it. Both men
joked to onlookers that their marriage license was the best $90 email to clerks that he [seemed] to have been misinterpreted
we ever spent.
as prohibiting Circuit Clerks from issuing marriage licenses to
Neither man could quite believe that marriage equality had same-sex couples. The statement was merely meant to explain
finally arrived. Not in my lifetime, is when Evans thought it that an order of the Fifth Circuit would be necessary to lift the
would happen, according to the BBC. Ten years ago, this is stay. Hood said that if clerks had issued, or began to issue marsomething that we couldnt even imagine. We thought it would riage licenses, they would not be prosecuted by the AGs office.
never get to Texas.
However, Governor Phil Bryant opposes the Fifth Circuit lifting
In Fulton County, Georgia, a mass wedding ceremony was their stay, and is currently considering filing a motion to prevent
held at the county courthouse, with couples invited to marry, it from doing so, according to his spokesperson.
complete with a cake, photographer and countless supportive
Whats more, hes not alone. As conservative governors
onlookers. According to Creative Loafing, Jerry Hill jokingly watched their states embrace marriage equality, their frustratexted his partner, Boyd Beckwith, that they should go down and tion was vented in statements declaring opposition to a legally
get married now that it was legal. Sure. Lets go at lunchtime, binding ruling. Texas Greg Abbott decried the ruling as an
was the response. They joined dozens of other couples who lined unelected nine-member legislature [imposing] on the entire
MATRIMONIAL DISCORD
Im here today...because MY HOME

STATE FOUGHT THE RECOGNITION OF MY
MARRIAGE TO JOHN. NO AMERICAN SHOULD
HAVE TO SUFFER THAT INDIGNITY. Thats
why John and I, and the 30 plaintiffs
in this lawsuit, decided to fight.
METROWEEKLY.COM
JULY 2, 2015
21
county their personal views. He intimated that he would

instruct state agencies to prioritize the protection of Texans
religious liberties.
On Monday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called the
Supreme Court lawless, and demanded that the states agencies respect and preserve Texans religious liberties, echoing
Abbotts earlier statement.
The government must never pressure a person to abandon
or violate his or her sincerely held religious beliefs regarding
a topic such as marriage, Paxton wrote in a memo to state
employees.
This newly minted federal constitutional right to same-sex
marriage can and should peaceably coexist with longstanding
constitutional and statutory rights, including the rights to free
exercise of religion and freedom of speech, Paxton continued.
Of course, Paxton and Abbott failed miserably to prevent
anything. Despite their objections, Texas clerks have been marrying same-sex couples since Fridays Supreme Court ruling.
However, any clerks that have personally objected to issuing
licenses will be defended against fines by Paxtons office freeof-charge. Its a last-ditch attempt from a man whose personal
views are now clouding his decision-making: he will help defend
employees who deliberately flout the law for personal reasons.
Meanwhile, in Louisiana, Governor Bobby Jindal was forced
into a climbdown after thumping his chest and declaring his
opposition to the ruling.
The Supreme Court decision today conveniently and not
surprisingly follows public opinion polls, and tramples on states
rights that were once protected by the 10th Amendment of the
Constitution, said Jindal, a renowned opponent of marriage
equality and LGBT rights, on Friday. Marriage between a man
and a woman was established by God, and no earthly court can
alter that.... The government should not force those who have
sincerely held religious beliefs about marriage to participate in
these ceremonies.... I will never stop fighting for religious liberty
and I hope our leaders in D.C. join me.
On Monday, Louisiana began issuing marriage licenses to
same-sex couples.
A defeated Jindal told NBC News on Sunday, We dont have
a choice. Our agencies will comply with the court order. The
states attorney general, Buddy Caldwell, had previously stated
that he found nothing in todays decision that makes the Courts
order effective immediately. Officials in New Orleans disagreed
and, after reviewing the ruling, issued a marriage license to
Michael Robinson and Earl Benjamin, who have been together
for 14 years. They are believed to be the states first same-sex
marriage, TIME Magazine reports.
VOICE OF DISSENT
IVEN THAT EVERY state in America is now issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, it begs
the question of what is left for marriage equality
opponents? If the Supreme Court ended the loudest
argument they have, is there any room for further opposition?
Of course there is Fox News needs those ratings, after all.
Lets start with the four dissenting opinions of the Supreme
Court justices. Not since Bush v. Gore in 2000 have four judges
each written their own opinion a sign of how divided the court
was over the issue.
In his opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts complained that,
by securing marriage equality through the Supreme Court,
advocates had somehow lost their opportunity to gain it through
22
JULY 2, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
other methods. It is worth acknowledging what they have lost,

and lost forever, he wrote, the opportunity to win the true
acceptance that comes from persuading their fellow citizens of
the justice of their cause.
Of course, in states such as Texas and Louisiana, how long
would said acceptance have taken to win? How long would
African American citizens have had to wait before they could
convince everyone in the South that their marriage to a white
person was valid and true, had Loving v. Virginia not validated
interracial marriage?
Supporters of same-sex marriage have achieved considerable success persuading their fellow citizens through the
democratic process to adopt their view, Roberts continued.
That ends today. Five lawyers have closed the debate and enacted their own vision of marriage as a matter of constitutional law.
Stealing this issue from the people will for many cast a cloud
over same-sex marriage, making a dramatic social change that
much more difficult to accept.
Replace every mention of same-sex marriage with interracial
marriage, and try not to oppose Roberts words.
Of course, it was Justice Antonin Scalia who has endured the
most criticism for his withering derision of the majority opinion.
The substance of todays decree is not of immense personal
importance to me, he wrote. It is of overwhelming importance,
however, who it is that rules me. Todays decree says that my
Ruler, and the Ruler of 320 million Americans coast-to-coast, is a
majority of the nine lawyers on the Supreme Court. Something,
it should be noted, he has no issue with when he is part of the
majority decision.
Scalia slammed the majority opinion as lacking even a thin
veneer of law, and blasted the mummeries and straining-tobe-memorable passages, as well as amusingly calling parts
pure applesauce and jiggery pokery. He added that The five
Justices who compose todays majority are entirely comfortable
concluding that every State violated the Constitution for all of
the 135 years between the Fourteenth Amendments ratification
and Massachusetts permitting of same-sex marriages in 2003.
He concluded that the decision was so damaging to the courts
reputation that it reduced the value of its rulings to the mystical
aphorisms of the fortune cookie.
But while Scalia was spouting gibberish, Justice Samuel Alito
was producing some worryingly ill-advised quotes in his dissent.
While he wrote that same-sex marriage lacks deep roots, he
also dredged up another argument used to defend marriage: that
its for procreation.
For millennia, marriage was inextricably linked to the one
thing that only an opposite-sex couple can do: procreate, Alito
wrote. If this traditional understanding of the purpose of marriage does not ring true to all ears today, that is probably because
the tie between marriage and procreation has frayed. Today, for
instance, more than 40% of all children in this country are born
to unmarried women.
It is now apparently unwed mothers faults that we have
same-sex marriage. But thats not all, as Alito also included
a passage which again would sound terrible to most rational
Americans if we swap same-sex marriage with racism.
I assume that those who cling to old beliefs will be able to
whisper their thoughts in the recesses of their homes, he wrote,
but if they repeat those views in public, they will risk being
labeled as bigots and treated as such by governments, employers,
and schools.
Yes, Justice Alito, they should be labelled as bigots. Just as a
person who whispers racist sentiments in their home, or repeats
them in a public place, is a racist. Or who slanders women at

home or in public is sexist.
While the dissents of the four justices were mostly ignored
on the day in favor of Kennedys majority opinion, as the LGBT
community celebrated, right-wing America was seething. Fox
News, according to Salon, floundered for a few hours after the
decision was announced before lining up a host of conservative pundits and contributors to discuss the various failings of
the ruling.
What [the Supreme Court] did was not rule on marriage
equality. What they did was redefine marriage, Mike Huckabee,
Republican candidate for President told Megyn Kelly. And
there is a fundamental difference. Their decision was a political
decision, it was not a legal one.
Earlier that day, Huckabee called the courts flawed,
failed decision...an out-of-control act of unconstitutional
judicial tyranny. He was joined by the rest of the Republican
field for President, who refused to let go of their opposition
to marriage equality.
Today, 5 unelected judges redefined the foundational unit
of society. Now it is the peoples turn to speak, wrote Rick
Santorum, while Ted Cruz called it
judicial activism at its worst.
Guided by my faith, I believe in
traditional marriage. I believe the
Supreme Court should have allowed
the states to make this decision, Jeb
Bush said. However, he also called for
a level of tolerance between opposing
parties, adding, I also believe that we
should love our neighbor and respect
others, including those making lifetime commitments. In a country as
diverse as ours, good people who have
opposing views should be able to live
side by side.
While I disagree with this decision, we live in a republic
and must abide by the law, said Marco Rubio, the youngest
contender for the Republican nomination. He similarly called
for tolerance on the issue from both sides, while emphasizing
his support for religious freedom. Not every American has to
agree on every issue, but all of us do have to share our country....
In the years ahead, it is my hope that each side will respect the
dignity of the other.
While many Republicans seethed, it was anti-gay groups that
chose the strongest rhetoric, with references to 9/11 a disturbingly popular theme.
Tim Wildmon, of the American Family Association, stated
that he wasnt surprised, but was extremely disappointed by
the Supreme Courts decision. He said that he feared for the
country, because this is a spiritual 9/11, I believe. We have said
to God Almighty, we dont care what you say about marriage and
your definition of whats natural and normal.
American Family Radios Bryan Fischer declared that, [f]
rom a moral standpoint, 6/26 is the new 9/11. He called the
five majority justices moral jihadists, and claimed that they
became rainbow jihadists and they blasted the twin pillars of
truth and righteousness into rubble.
The National Center for Policy Analysis Allen West hypothesized that the marriage ruling could lead to a new Civil War.
The Supreme Court is essentially saying individuals have civil
rights based on their sexual behavior, he wrote, calling it the
straw that breaks the camels back.
Matt Barber, writing on BarbWire.com, called it a homo-fascist decision, and that the Supreme Court of the United States
has just declared that reality and biology no longer exist, and we
can now declare marriage to be whatever we want it to be.
NEXT STEPS
ONE OF THOSE negative reactions mattered to those

gathered on the steps of the Supreme Court. Gay
America wasnt going to let the bitter delusions of
the religious right, who were protected by the First
Amendment from any incursion into their places of worship by
the ruling, from spoiling their enjoyment of marriage equality
being realized.
Instead, among the HRC banners, pride flags, t-shirts, news
crews, signs, dancing, and joyous, embracing couples, individual
stories filtered through, as everyone in the crowd contemplated
the impact of the ruling on their daily lives.
For Stacey Simmons, a Connecticut native, it was vindication
that her efforts hadnt been for naught. She had camped out in
front of the Court in a sleeping bag to ensure she would get a seat
Any clerks that have personally objected

to issuing licenses will be defended against
fines by Paxtons office free-of-charge.
ITS A LAST-DITCH ATTEMPT FROM A
MAN WHOSE PERSONAL VIEWS ARE NOW
CLOUDING HIS DECISION-MAKING.
inside the courtroom for the reading.
I decided yesterday morning, she said. I had been following SCOTUSBlog on Thursday, and obviously, we didnt have the
decision. And I couldnt stand it anymore, so I decided to come
down. I left at about 2 oclock from Connecticut. I hit horrendous rain, lightning, and got here about 10 oclock. Ive worked
really hard and been a part of this movement, and wanted to be
a part of history.
When she learned that the justices had ruled in favor of samesex marriage, Simmons had a hard time holding back her emotions. I was crying. I had to cover my mouth. I had tears rolling
down my face. It was so emotional, just so validating. In more
ways than one, it would transpire: Simmons had been estranged
from her parents after they couldnt handle her coming out, but
marriage equality offered a chance to reconnect.
When I came out of the Supreme Court, the minute I walked
outside, my phone was ringing, she recalls. It was my mom.
And I picked up the phone and talked to her, and I was weeping.
And the fact that she was calling me, to congratulate me, 25 years
later, it still means a lot.
Jayme Worrell drove from Virginia with her teenage son
and young daughter to celebrate the decision. For Worrell, as
a mom, the ruling was validation for the future of her son, a
transgender male.
We have a dog in this fight. We have a stake in this, she
said. My kid is the same as anyone elses child. Hes a good kid....
[This is] a time for people to educate themselves. To learn, to go
METROWEEKLY.COM
JULY 2, 2015
23
beyond their prejudices and not be afraid of each other.

Of the ruling itself, Worrell was mindful of the building she
stood next to. This is historic. The words on that building say it,
Equal Justice Under Law. Thats what America was established
on.... Thats all that were asking for, equality. Were not asking
for special treatment, were just asking for the same treatment
that everyone else has.
The momentous nature of the decision wasnt lost on the
younger members of the crowd, either.
Ive known I was gay since I was 5 years old, said Anthony
Orso, a 21-year-old student from Missouri. I came out when I
was 16, which is still quite young, especially for a suburban kid
in a very Republican area.
For Orso, knowing he can now freely marry when the time is
right is something he doesnt take for granted. As a gay man, to
have the option to be who I am is very nice. I dont have to have
be done on many fronts, we can celebrate knowing that fairness

and love (and much hard work) have won the day.
A VICTORY FOR AMERICA
RESS RELEASES AND personal statements fell to the

side, however, when the man who has helped advance
LGBT rights more than any other person occupying
his office took to a podium in the White House Rose
Garden. President Obama, not attempting to hide his elation at
the SCOTUS decision one which will become a hallmark of his
presidency spoke for nine impassioned minutes, deeming the
ruling a victory for America.
Progress on this journey often comes in small increments,
sometimes two steps forward, one step back, propelled by the
persistent effort of dedicated citizens, he said. And then sometimes, there are days like this when that
slow, steady effort is rewarded with
justice that arrives like a thunderbolt.
This morning, the Supreme Court
recognized that the Constitution
guarantees marriage equality, Obama
continued. In doing so, theyve reaffirmed that all Americans are entitled to the equal protection of the
law. That all people should be treated
equally, regardless of who they are or
who they love.
The president had one more sur Richard Molnar
prise in store for LGBT Americans. As
the sun set over the East Coast and the
sky dimmed, the lights of the White
a nation tell me what I can and cant do because of something I House flickered on not, however, in their trademark white,
cant change.
but in a bold, bright rainbow splash. Dressed in pride, the White
He also touched upon an issue raised by many that day: House became a defining symbol of a day that sealed its place
whats left for the gay rights movement? Where does it go after in Americas history. As thousands gathered on Pennsylvania
marriage equality?
Avenue to celebrate with one another, propose to one another,
I feel like a lot of nonprofits and organizations are going or simply be around their community, America undoubtedly felt
to have to reposition themselves, whether thats employment like it had changed for the better.
nondiscrimination, basic things like transgender rights, Orso
For Richard Molnar, who had traveled from his home in
continued. The gay community is definitely going to have to Twinbrook, Maryland, it was the end of a long, thrilling, lifereposition itself on those issues.
affirming day.
Indeed, thats exactly what they did. While most politicians
My husband woke me up because I work nights, and he
in favor of the ruling chose simple congratulations, nonprofits woke me up at 10 oclock and said, Richard, its Christmas mornand LGBT advocacy groups chose to emphasize that the fight ing, you gotta see the TV set. I came to the living room my
wasnt yet over and not just to continue their revenue stream. heart dropped out, he said. Glancing over his shoulder at the
Instead, it was to reiterate the fact that [people] are still being White House, tears overcame him. To see this behind me, Im
fired from their jobs because of who they are...[and] are still blown away. This is an amazing moment in time. Just amazing.
fighting to receive medical care for the same reason. And LGBT
He recalled those he worked alongside during the AIDS
people everywhere are still at risk of being the victims of violent crisis, all our friends that we have lost, all these years, and he
hate crimes by those with hate in their hearts, as the Southern struggled to compare it to the outpouring of love on display, callPoverty Law Centers Richard Cohen stated.
ing it mind-boggling. But what about the future?
Todays ruling makes perfectly clear that there is no legal or
It has opened a whole new chapter in this country. A whole
moral justification for standing in the path of marriage equality, new chapter. I think its going to change it for the better. The
said HRC president Chad Griffin. But whats clear today is that generation that we lost to the AIDS epidemic, the new millenour work isnt done until every discriminatory law in this nation niums children are filling that void, he said. Its a very big void
is wiped away. The time has come in this country for compre- and theyre filling it slowly. Theyre turning their mothers and
hensive federal LGBT non-discrimination protections.
their fathers and their grandmothers and their grandfathers and
This transformative triumph is a momentous victory for making them think differently.
freedom, equality, inclusion, and above all, love. For the first
I reach out to all those queer folk, LGBT, everybody. This is
time in our nations history, ALL loving and committed couples the moment. And its changing this country forever. l
will have the freedom to say, I do., affirmed Freedom To
Marrys President Evan Wolfson. And while more remains to Additional reporting by John Riley and Randy Shulman
The generation that we lost to the AIDS

epidemic, the new millenniums children are
filling that void, THEYRE TURNING THEIR
MOTHERS AND THEIR FATHERS AND THEIR
GRANDMOTHERS AND MAKING
THEM THINK DIFFERENTLY.
24
JULY 2, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
METROWEEKLY.COM
JULY 2, 2015
25
Wait. Right now?
SHAPIRO: Do I wish I were there to help cover it? I tend not to
have journalistic F.O.M.O. Fear of Missing Out. In the course

of my journalism career, there are so many terrific, engaging
stories that wouldnt capture the worlds attention but for the
fact that I chose to tell those stories. As long as I am engaged and
stimulated by the stories Im covering, whats the point of wishing you were covering something else?
MW: I just heard F.O.M.O. used for the first time from an Inside
Amy Schumer skit. I guess that term has actually been around
a while?
SHAPIRO: Ive known F.O.M.O. for a while, for sure certainly
before I came to London. But Im embarrassed to say that I know
Amy Schumer is a huge comedy icon in the states right now, but
now that I no longer live in the states, I
could not quote one Amy Schumer line to
you. I sound like a complete out-of-touch
cultural fossil, but I have not watched a
single Amy Schumer sketch. Im out of the
loop when it comes to a few really imporNPRs Ari Shapiro has found the perfect side-career as a singer
tant key American cultural touchstones.
with the stylish lounge group, Pink Martini
MW: But youre in London, where a lot of
shows, music and other culture ideas and
Interview by Doug Rule
trends are born before they make it over here.
SHAPIRO: Yes. So Im ahead of the curve in
ics news, culture, business trends from around the U.K. and certain ways, and way behind the curve in other ways.
Europe, really whatever is happening that is interesting to me MW: You were ahead of the curve by getting married 11 years ago
or that might be interesting to NPR listeners.
in California.
The downside is it requires a long-distance relationship. His SHAPIRO: We got married in 2004, when same-sex marriage was
husband, Mike Gottlieb, remains in D.C., a lawyer for the White an extraordinarily new thing. It was when San Francisco Mayor
House. We see each other about once a month, Shapiro says. Gavin Newsom started doing same-sex marriages. Mike, my
Because I travel so much, if he were in London, I would still see husband, grew up in San Francisco, so this was his hometown.
him rarely. And this way we set aside time to see each other. Its My goal was not to make a political statement. Unfortunately I
obviously not ideal, but its also not forever.
had no choice but to get married in a way that happens to make
In addition to his work for NPR, Shapiro has become known a political statement.
in recent years for his side work performing and recording with
In the 10 years since, Ive done stories about same-sex marthe quirky cocktail band Pink Martini, whom hell perform with riage. Evaluated on their merits, they are thoughtful and fair and
next Friday, July 10, at Wolf Trap. Though he grew up singing in comprehensive and in some ways richer, coming from a person
choirs and in musicals, his work with Pink Martini is not some- who knows the subject personally. I dont think my stories sound
thing he ever imagined would happen. Then again, few, Shapiro like the biased tirade of a partisan. But as a journalist I tend to try
included, ever imagined the Supreme Court would make same- to avoid making political statements.
sex marriages legal in all 50 states.
We had another ceremony in 2005, because the wedding in
Listen, if the Supreme Court bumps me, I will understand, California was such short notice three days notice it was
Shapiro says, when told he might not in fact be on the cover of literally my parents and his parents in City Hall. Plus my brother
this weeks Metro Weekly, adding, with a laugh, thats a totally flew in from Seattle. So the following summer we had a wedding
legitimate reason not to be on the cover.
with all our friends and family. His family rabbi and my family
rabbi co-officiated. My family rabbi came from the Conservative
METRO WEEKLY: Before you became an International Correspondent movement of Judaism, which at the time did not endorse samereporting from London, you covered the White House and the sex marriage. But this was important to him it was the first
Justice Department for NPR. Didnt you also cover the Supreme same-sex marriage that either rabbi had performed. They were
Court?
very clear that they were doing this not as a favor to us, but
ARI SHAPIRO: I got my start in journalism as an intern for Nina because it was something that we had every right to expect from
Totenberg, who covered the Supreme Court. And on very busy our community.
Supreme Court days when they needed all-hands-on-deck, I MW: What do you think the next steps are for LGBT rights in general?
would be called in to help with court coverage. But that was SHAPIRO: To be honest, Im a little bit reluctant to answer that
never my beat per se. I covered the U.S. Department of Justice question, not having taken a step back to think about and read
during the George W. Bush Administration and the start of the the ruling. I dont want to right now to, off the top of my head,
Obama Administration. So it was a lot of counter-terrorism stuff, say something that in a weeks time will seem off-base or obvisurveillance, interrogation, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. ous. Even an hour from now, having actually had a chance to
And then I covered the White House and the 2012 presidential think about it, I will possibly have more insight than I will have
campaign.
at this moment.
MW: Do you wish you had been in D.C. to assist with the coverage MW: Do you have a legal background, or is that something you
of this years Supreme Court rulings, the marriage equality case in learned on the job?
particular?
SHAPIRO: I majored in English in college. I have no legal training
Its not every day you get to break news to a journalist. But
a few minutes into a phone interview last Friday Ari Shapiro
was informed that the Supreme Court had just issued its ruling
on marriage equality. A quick check of the website of Shapiros
employer confirmed it. Supreme Court Declares Same-Sex
Marriage Legal in All 50 States, National Public Radio reported
at 10:05 a.m.
Wow, Shapiro says. Wow, wow, wow! This is amazing!
Shapiro got his start as an intern for NPRs venerable Nina
Totenberg, but since the beginning of last year he has been
reporting for NPR from London, covering a wide range of top-
The Singing Reporter
26
JULY 2, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
DAN MONICK
I had the impression that being gay meant you had to fit a very narrow
cliche or stereotype. It was a factor of, WELL, I GUESS MY LIFE
WILL HAVE TO BE LESS THAN I HAD
HOPED IT COULD BE.
METROWEEKLY.COM
JULY 2, 2015
27
I wrote an essay for the Yale alumni magazine some years

ago. They asked somebody from each of the last five decades
to write an essay about being gay at Yale. And the thrust of my
essay was that, I had this very banal experience. Basically I went
to college, met the guy who I ended up marrying which people
have been doing for generations. And the banality of my experience was only possible because of generations of people earlier,
who were not able to have a banal experience. They were forced
to fight or hide.
MW: Your family is obviously supportive of your marriage and of
Mike.
SHAPIRO: Completely, yeah, yeah. I think our mothers probably
talk to each other more than either of us talks to our mothers.
[Laughs.] Mikes mother is in San Francisco, my mother is in
Portland. Theyre both these sort of West Coast Jewish mothers
who see the world through a similar lens.
MW: Do you think youll move to the West Coast at
Ive done stories about same-sex marriage. some point?
Evaluated on their merits, they are SHAPIRO: I feel more at home in Portland than I do
anywhere else. When I show up in the city, its like,
thoughtful and fair and comprehensive oh yeah, those are my people. Even though I dont
the piercings and the facial hair and the tattoos,
and IN SOME WAYS RICHER, COMING have
on the inside I connect with those people. But I just
FROM A PERSON WHO KNOWS THE think professionally there are opportunities for me
that just dont exist on the West Coast.
SUBJECT PERSONALLY. MW
: How do you feel about Portlandia?
SHAPIRO: Before the show debuted, Morning Edition
brother was interested in geology. And my father collected wild asked if I would do a review of the show as a local. And I thought
mushrooms. And my mother knew wildflowers. And so, as we well, thats kind of boring. Lets do something a little more interwould go hiking, being able to recognize a bird call, or identify a esting. I was going to be back in Portland anyway visiting my
wildflower, or describe the geology in the cliff base. It made the family. And I got in touch with Portlandias co-creator Carrie
world a more interesting place, as my parents said. I still find Brownstein, and we came up with this plan to do a segment
that to be true today.
for Morning Edition, where we would basically walk around
Portland trying to find places that were so quintessentially,
MW: Was coming out easy, or was it painful, or somewhere in
stereotypically Portland they could just translate directly to the
between?
show without any parody, without any change. It was so easy! It
SHAPIRO: I think it is very rarely easy. Relative to many people
I know, I would not describe it as painful, but I would describe was like shooting fish in a barrel. Portland really is like that. As
it as challenging. I came out the summer after my junior year my husband says, people in Portland reflect their city more than
of high school. If you had to be a gay teenager anywhere in any people in any other city in the world. That is to say, Parisians
America in the 90s, Portland, Oregon, was a pretty good place are not as Parisian as Portlanders are Portland.
to do it. There were queer youth groups, there was an underage MW: Pink Martini is a Portland band. Youve been involved with
gay nightclub. I expected to come out and be totally alone them for about six years?
nobody was out at my public high school. But after I came out, SHAPIRO: I recorded with them for the first time in either 2008 or
I discovered there was this whole community in Portland. And 2009. Lets see, I can actually Google this.
it was a community that ranged from wealthy private school MW: How often do you Google yourself?
children to homeless drug-using youth on the street. And we all SHAPIRO: Only when theres something specific that I need to
kind of looked out for each other in this pretty remarkable way. know that I dont remember. Which is more often than it should
And I dont know how many other cities in America had that in be, given that Im not yet at the age when I should be forgetting
the mid-1990s.
things. [Laughs.] Okay, so my first performance was 2009.
MW: High school is a pretty young age to come out. Did you not MW: And that developed because of your ties to Portland?
struggle with it for years, particularly on religious grounds?
SHAPIRO: Well, its a long story. I mean, there are lots of people
SHAPIRO: No. For me, religion was never an obstacle to being from Portland who have not performed with Pink Martini.
gay. My family was very active in the Jewish community, and [Laughs.] It is a semi-large city. But I was a fan of theirs when
there was absolutely no homophobia. But there were also no I was a kid. They started 20 years ago, in the mid-nineties. And
clear role models. I think most people coming out in that era, at when I was in high school I would go to their little shows in bars
that age, like me, had the impression that being gay meant you and clubs, and they were sort of a favorite Portland band that no
had to fall into a particular niche, or fit a very narrow cliche or one had heard of. And this was before the Portland music scene
stereotype. I have great respect for florists and hairdressers, but had really exploded in the way that today everybody thinks
I had no desire to be a florist or a hairdresser. Those were the Portland is a really great music city. That wasnt really the case
only examples I had of what it meant to be gay. There was never 20 years ago.
a sense of, Im a sinner, or Ill be condemned to hell. That wasnt
Pink Martini was one of the favorite hometown bands. And
a factor. It was just a factor of, Well, I guess my life will have to they had this great style theyre glamorous. And I loved their
be less than I had hoped it could be.
music, and I would go to their shows. When I was in college,
whatsoever. Thats one of the things I love about journalism.

You get to learn about something new every day. I spent four
years learning about legal issues when I covered the Justice
beat. And I learned a lot about politics when I covered the White
House and the presidential campaign. And this beat that Im
in now allows me to learn about different cultures and places.
The key trait that makes journalism a perfect career for me is
curiosity. Having this job where Im not just using information
that I acquired when I was in school, but rather acquiring new
information everyday, fits my personality well.
MW: Were you raised to be curious?
SHAPIRO: I think so. My parents were both college professors.
My parents would always say, the more you learn, the more
interesting the world is. As a kid, they would take me and my
brothers hiking. I was interested in bird watching. And my older
28
JULY 2, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
their first CD came out, and I remembered bringing it back to

college and playing it for all of my friends. It was my dinner party
soundtrack from when I was throwing my first-ever dinner party.
After college I became friends with them. And so when they
would come to D.C., I would throw them a party. And in 2008,
I threw a party for them that happened to be the night that the
Portland band Blind Pilot was also in town. So it was a barbeque
in our backyard. It was all my D.C. friends and Blind Pilot and
Pink Martini. And it kind of went all night, and then it turned
into this sing-along around my piano. And Thomas Lauderdale,
Pink Martinis band leader, was at the piano, and everybody was
all singing together. And it went until about probably 2 in the
morning. It was a Monday night. And the band was performing
Tuesday night at Wolf Trap, and Thomas called me that morning: We have this concept for a song on the next album that we
want a man to sing. Why dont you come sing it? I said sure.
That night at Wolf Trap, he brought me backstage. He pulled out
like a sheet of paper with scrawled lyrics, and we sat at his piano,
and he played for me the rough structure of what turned into the
song But Now Im Back.
MW: Since then youve performed all over the world with them.
SHAPIRO: Yeah. Which was really scary. In America, I could ride
on the fact that people knew NPR. Some of them knew who I
was. I was a journalist, not a singer, so I could get away with it.
But the first time we went overseas, we were performing for an
audience where nobody had heard of NPR. They certainly had
not heard of me. And so suddenly, I had to fall on my merits as a
performer, not just as a sort of gimmicky special guest.
MW: What will you be performing at Wolf Trap next week?
SHAPIRO: I dont know the exact set list. Thomas tends to write
the set list 30 minutes before the show, give or take. So you have
to show up prepared for anything.

I do know that were working on a new song, which is actually a very old school in Armenian.
MW: You dont speak Armenian, do you?
SHAPIRO: I dont speak Armenian. But I also dont speak Hindi or
Greek or Spanish or any of the other languages that I sing with
the band. So the other night I actually called a good friend of
mine in San Francisco, who is Armenian. And we spent about an
hour on the phone. He walked me through the pronunciation of
all these words, and the meaning of all the words. Its important
to me when Im singing, even I dont speak the language, that I
know the meaning of the words that Im singing. And also its
important to me that I learn the pronunciation from a native
speaker, or at least somebody who is fluent in the language.
MW: How often do you perform with Pink Martini these days?
SHAPIRO: It varies. This is one of the longest stretches Ive gone
without performing with them. Its been since a show in L.A.
on New Years Eve. But Im doing a couple of shows with them
on this tour, and then in early September Im joining them for
another week of performances, including the Hollywood Bowl.
I think after six years and three albums, it seems like this is
actually real. You know, like this is not just this random one-off
thing. This is actually now kind of a part of my life, and Im really
happy that it is. Pink Martini is a band that I have admired and
loved and listened to for the last 20 years. And they perform in
the greatest venues in the world. So I do feel a little spoiled. l
Ari Shapiro performs with Pink Martini on Friday, July 10, at 8
p.m., at The Filene Center at Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna.
Tickets are $28 to $50. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit
wolftrap.org.
METROWEEKLY.COM
JULY 2, 2015
29
JULY 2 - 9, 2015
Compiled by Doug Rule
SPOTLIGHT
A CAPITOL FOURTH:
BARRY MANILOW, NICOLE
SCHERZINGER, LANG LANG
FOO FIGHTERS WITH HEART,

JOAN JETT, LL COOL J
To celebrate its 20th Anniversary, Dave Grohls Foo

Fighters has assembled an impressively eclectic,
mixed-genre Blowout lineup, culled from the
bands HBO series Sonic Highways, and doubling as
a celebration of the diversity of American music on
the nations birthday. In addition to Grohl and Co.,
were talking female rockers Heart and Joan Jett
and the Blackhearts, blues guitar legend Buddy Guy
and his obvious musical descendent Gary Clark Jr.,
LL Cool J feat. DJ Z-Trip, plus New Orleans funk/
jazz act Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and
D.C.s go-go makers Trouble Funk. This afternoon
and evening affair at RFK Stadium also includes
a motorcycle rally, BBQ and of course fireworks.
Saturday, July 4, starting at 12 p.m. RFK Stadium,
2400 E. Capitol St. Tickets are $78. Visit 930.com.
Its not something you likely want to

do every year - too many tourists
- but everybody should at least once
head down to the U.S. Capitol for the
National Symphony Orchestras annual A Capitol Fourth concert, now in
its 35th year of being televised live
on PBS. As ever, Jack Everly leads
the National Symphony Orchestra in a
performance of patriotic favorites and
classical masterworks, most notably
Tchaikovskys 1812 Overture. Several
military bands will add to the patriotic spirit, as will septuagenarian pop
star Barry Manilow, who will help celebrate the countrys 239th birthday
by singing a special patriotic medley.
Other performers by genre include:
country music, both new Hunter
Hayes and Meghan Linsey of The
Voice and older, such as the nearly
half-century-old band Alabama; dance
music, from the disco era KC and the
Sunshine Band to today, with former Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger;
and classical, including the Choral
Arts Society of Washington, celebrity
Chinese concert pianist Lang Lang
and opera singer Ronan Tynan of the
Irish Tenors. The festivities conclude
with what organizers tout as the biggest, most distinctive fireworks display
in the nation. Saturday, July 4, at 8
p.m. West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol
Building. Free. Call 202-467-4600 or
visit www.kennedy-center.org/nso/
for more information.
IDINA MENZEL
Baltimores
France-Merrick
Performing Arts Center, better known
as the historic Hippodrome Theatre,
is one of two area stops on a Live
Nation-presented world tour from this
Broadway/pop powerhouse. Expect to
hear songs from Rent, Wicked, If/Then,
as well as Glee, not to mention a little
movie called Frozen. Wednesday, July
8, at 8 p.m. Hippodrome Theatre, 12
North Eutaw St., Baltimore. Tickets
are $50.25 to $122.75. Call 410-547SEAT or visit france-merrickpac.com.
Also Saturday, July 18, at 8 p.m. Jiffy
Lube Live, 7800 Cellar Door Drive,
Bristow, Va. Tickets are $25 to $125.
Call 703-754-6400 or visit
livenation.com.
INGENUE TO ICON: HILLWOODS

FASHION EXHIBITION
Subtitled 70 Years of Fashion from the

Collection of Marjorie Merriweather
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JULY 2, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
Post, the Hillwood Museum offers

a special exhibition focused on the
elegant fashions and sumptuous fabrics documenting the evolution of 20th
Century fashion and all drawn, naturally, from the late Hillwood owner
who gave the place so much style.
Now to Dec. 31. Hillwood Estate, 4155
Linnean Ave. NW. Suggested donation is $12. Call 202-686-5807 or visit
HillwoodMuseum.org.
ONCE
Summer has become the time when

you can see not one, but two acclaimed
Broadway musicals at the Kennedy
Center. While the decades biggest
musical to date (The Book of Mormon)
has returned to the Opera House, a
quieter show that also nearly swept the
Tony Awards debuts next week in the
Eisenhower as part of its first national tour. Glen Hansard and Marketa
Irglovas eight-time Tony-winning
Once, with a book by Enda Walsh,
features an ensemble of actor/musicians who play their own instruments
onstage. They tell an enchanting tale of
a Dublin street musician whos about
to give up when a beautiful young
woman takes a sudden interest in his
haunting love songs. Opens Tuesday,
July 7, at 7:30 p.m. To Aug. 16. Kennedy
Center Eisenhower Theater. Tickets
are $65 to $160. Call 202-467-4600 or
visit kennedy-center.org.
THE SECOND CITYS

LET THEM EAT CHAOS
Chicagos legendary improv troupe

returns to present a D.C.-centric production at Woolly Mammoth Theatre
Company for the sixth time, after sellout success with previous provocative, political-skewering shows, from
Barack Stars to American All Better!!
Opens in a pay-what-you-can performance Tuesday, July 7, at 8 p.m. To
Aug. 2. Woolly Mammoth, 641 D St.
NW. Tickets range from $35 to $83.
Call 202-393-3939 or visit woollymammoth.net.
FILM
MAGIC MIKE XXL
Yes, the plucked and waxed musclefest is back for round two, with nary
a chest hair nor premise for justifying its existence in sight. Well, except
for the eye candy, including Channing
Tatum, Joe Manganiello and Matt
Bomer. Gregory Jacobs directs a cast
also including Gabriel Iglesias, Amber
Heard and Jada Pinkett Smith. Now
playing. Area theaters. Visit
fandango.com.
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JULY 2, 2015
31
TERMINATOR GENISYS
Ill be back! and sadly, its true:

James Cameron reboots his scifi blockbuster, returning Arnold
Schwarzenegger to the big screen. In
fact, this is conceived as the first in a
new trilogy. Apparently, you just cant
terminate the Terminator. Now playing. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com.
THE ROCKY HORROR

PICTURE SHOW
Every Friday and Saturday Landmarks

E Street Cinema shows films at midnight that are more risqu or campy
than the usual fare. And, no surprise,
once a month brings screenings of
a certain cult classic. Each screening is accompanied by the shadow
cast Sonic Transducers, who act out
the film in front of the screen with
props and costumes. Friday, July 10,
and Saturday, July 11, at midnight.
Landmarks E Street Cinema, 555 11th
St. NW. Call 202-452-7672 or visit
landmarktheatres.com.
STAGE
DOUBLE TROUBLE
(AKA THE PARENT TRAP)
Bethesdas youth-oriented theater

company Imagination Stage offers
a world-premiere musical based on
Erich Kastners novel Lottie & Lisa
as adapted by David S. Craig, with
music by Marc Schubring. The focus
is on 10-year-old twins who are being
raised separately, unknowingly, by
their divorced parents. To Aug. 14.
Imagination Stage, 4908 Auburn Ave.
Bethesda. Tickets are $10 to $25. Call
301-280-1660 or visit imaginationstage.org.
GARFIELD,
THE MUSICAL WITH CATITUDE
Adventure Theatre MTC presents

this musical for all ages based on the
adventures of the sarcastic, tubby cat,
with a book co-written by creator and
cartoonist Jim Davis and Aventures
own Michael J. Bobbitt. John L.
Cornelius II wrote the music and lyrics. To Aug. 23. Adventure Theatre
MTC, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen
Echo. Tickets are $19.50. Call 301634-2270 or visit adventuretheatremtc.org.
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
With text sparked by Euripides

Greek tragedy The Trojan Women,
Nancy Bannon and Mollye Maxners
Occupied Territories explores how
bodies, minds and souls are vast territories altered by the relentless history of war. Theater Alliance presents
this play in association with Kicking
Pig Productions, directed by co-writer Mollye Maxner and with a cast
including co-writer Nancy Bannon
plus Elliott Bales, Freddie Bennett,
Jake MacDevitt, Thony Mena and
Nathan Jan Yaffe. Closes Sunday, July
5. Anacostia Playhouse, 2020 Shannon
Place SE. Tickets are $35. Call 202241-2539 or visit theateralliance.com.
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JULY 2, 2015
TARTUFFE
Dominique Serrand directs Molieres

classic indictment of religious hypocrisy at the Shakespeare Theatre
Company in a co-production with
South Coast Repertory and Berkeley
Repertory Theatre. The show stars
Steven Epp, last seen at STC in the
2012 Helen Hayes Award-winning
performance in The Servant of Two
Masters, and Sofia Jean Gomez (Ariel
in this seasons The Tempest). Closes
Sunday, July 5. Sidney Harman Hall,
Harman Center for the Arts, 610 F
St. NW. Tickets are $20 to $110. Call
202-547-1122 or visit shakespearetheatre.org.
THE BOOK OF MORMON
Yes indeed, the biggest show on

Broadway in the last decade returns
to the Kennedy Center after 2013s
initial sold out run. Tickets are thankfully easier to come by the second
time around, particularly since it
now runs for two months. Written
by South Parks Trey Parker and Matt
Stone, the riotously funny, audacious
musical, which won a whopping nine
Tony Awards, is both cutting edge in
shocking substance yet traditional in
style. The Book of Mormon may weave
in unexpected and provocative plot
twists and scenes as well as convey
extremely modern sensibilities about
life, culture and organized religion.
Yet it still hews to the standard musical mold, from repeated musical lines
and lyrics, to boisterous sing-along
group anthems, to sharp group choreography and a tap number. Why,
it even ends on a happy note. Now
thats audaciously sweet. To Aug. 16.
Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets
are $43 to $250. Call 202-467-4600 or
visit kennedy-center.org.
THE PRODUCERS
Mark Waldrop directs an Olney

Theatre production of the zany Mel
Brooks musical, based on the zany,
nearly 50-year-old Mel Brooks
film, following the adventures of
washed-up Broadway producer Max
Bialystock and his mousy accountant
Leo Bloom who scheme to get rich
by producing the most notorious flop
in the history of show biz. Michael
Kostroff plays Max and Michael
Di Liberto plays Leo at Olney. To
July 26. Olney Theatre Center, 2001
Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, Md.
Tickets are $55 to $65. Call 301-9243400 or visit olneytheatre.org.
MUSIC
9TH ANNUAL
OLD TIME BANJO FESTIVAL
Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer, Jayme

Stone, David Reed and Adam Hurt
team up for this annual festival, originally co-founded by the late archivist Mike Seeger, who helped stir a
resurgence in popularity of that most
METROWEEKLY.COM
Appalachian of instruments. Saturday,

July 11, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere,
3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria.
Tickets are $29.50. Call 703-549-7500
or visit birchmere.com.
AKUA ALLRICH
A D.C. native and Howard University

alum, young jazz vocalist and composer Akua Allrich blends traditional,
modern and African jazz styles while
often singing in the showy, rangy manner of many of todays leading soul/
pop divas when not channeling her
idol Nina Simone. She performs with
a six-piece band plus special guests
at the Kennedy Center for a free
Millennium Stage concert that is also
an album release show for Allrichs
new set Soul Singer. Sunday, July 5,
at 6 p.m. Kennedy Center Millennium
Stage. Free. Call 202-467-4600 or visit
kennedy-center.org.
ALL HER MUSES

WITH NANCY EDDY
Poet Natalie E. Illum and artist the

Grey A team up for a cleverly named
cover band project, harmonizing
together to offer interpretations of
pop, rock and folk songs new and old.
Nancy Eddy of the Pushovers will
serve as special musical guest as the
group makes its public debut next
week. Thursday, July 9, at 8 p.m. The
Fridge DC, 516 1/2 8th St. SE in Rear
Alley. Tickets are $10. Call 202-6644151 or visit thefridgedc.com.
BOHEMIAN CAVERNS
JAZZ ORCHESTRA
Every Monday night the 17-piece

jazz orchestra performs a variety of
music from the big band repertoire
including pieces by Duke Ellington,
Count Basie, Billy Strayhorn and
Maria Schneider, plus originals from
band members, at its namesake venue.
Founded by baritone saxophonist
Brad Linde and club owner Omrao
Brown, featuring some of D.C.s best
jazz musicians, including Linde and
trumpeter Joe Herrera, who codirect. Performances at 8 p.m. and 10
p.m. every Monday night. Bohemian
Caverns, 2001 11th St. NW. Tickets
are $10. Call 202-299-0800 or visit
bohemiancaverns.com.
CASTLETON FESTIVAL
Celebrated classical music maestro

Lorin Maazel, who died last year,
started this festival with his wife
Dietlinde Turban-Maazel principally
as a way to boost the careers of young
artists, pairing them with professional
mentors to produce full-scale operas
and first-rate concerts. Taking place
at the Maazels picturesque property
in Virginias Rappahannock County,
the not-exclusively classical event,
now in its seventh season, runs for
an entire month and starts Thursday,
July 2, at 7 p.m. with fireworks and
a bluegrass concert featuring the
Grammy-nominated J.D. Crowe and
the New South Flashback Band.
The next evening offers an opening gala dinner plus a performance
of Charles Gounods opera Romeo et

Juliette in a production directed by
Dorothy Danner and conducted by
Maestro Rafael Payare. The festival
offers a special 4th of July program of
patriotic American classics played by a
band led by former U.S. Marine Band
Conductor Colonel John R. Bourgeois.
Festival runs to Aug. 2. The Castleton
Festival, 7 Castleton Meadows Land,
Castleton, Va. For tickets and more
details, call 866-974-0767 or visit
www.castletonfestival.org.
ERIC FELTON JAZZ ORCHESTRA
This 18-piece band offers a patriotic

tribute to the big band jazz that helped
inspire a nation and its soldiers during
World War II. Thursday, July 2, and
Friday, July 3, at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW.
Tickets are $32.50, plus $10 minimum
purchase. Call 202-337-4141 or visit
bluesalley.com.
GOAPELE
Years ago, the socially active, straight

neo-soul singer Goapele headlined the
Capital Pride Womens Pride Concert.
The Oakland, California, native, who
Rolling Stone once said sounds like
the spiritual love child of Sade and
DAngelo, now returns to the Howard
Theatre, touring in support of last
years Strong As Glass featuring the
single Hey Boy with Snoop Dogg.
Thursday, July 9, at 8 p.m. The Howard
Theatre, 620 T St. NW. Tickets are
$29.50 or $60. Call 202-588-5595 or
visit thehowardtheatre.com.
IMAGINE DRAGONS, METRIC
If you only know Radioactive, youll

be pleasantly surprised to hear the
rest of Imagine Dragons output not
only do few songs sound alike, none
of them sound as musically agitated
as the bands breakout hit. In fact,
most songs by the Las Vegas-based
group, originally formed by students
from Brigham Young University and
the Berklee College of Music, are an
inspiring blend of progressive rock,
folk, Americana and hip-hop in the
mold of U2, Arcade Fire, Muse and
even a touch of Mumford & Sons. The
Canadian synth-pop band Metric, led
by Emily Haines, is one opening act,
touring a few months in advance of
its next studio set, to be called Pagans
in Vegas. Monday, July 6, at 7:30 p.m.
Verizon Center, 601 F St. NW. Tickets
are $34.50 to $69.50. Call 202-6283200 or visit verizoncenter.com.
LAS CAFETERAS
After performing at the now-shuttered

Artisphere last fall, this California
group returns to the area for a concert
at Strathmore, part of its free outdoor series in the Gudelsky Gazebo.
Formed by a group of music students
in East Los Angeles nearly a decade
ago as a way to celebrate the music
from Veracruz, Mexico, Las Cafeteras
has since gone on to create a very
L.A.-style hybrid of popular music,
incorporating hip-hop, cumbia and
Latin rhythms. Wednesday, July 8, at 7
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JULY 2, 2015
33
p.m. Gudelsky Gazebo at Strathmore,

10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda.
Tickets are free. Call 301-581-5100 or
visit strathmore.org.
NSO AT WOLF TRAP:

SARAH CHANG
NSO SUMMER MUSIC INSTITUTE
Kennedy Center welcomes to its

Millennium Stage a series of performances as part of the Summer Music
Institute [SMI], a free four-week festival of orchestral and chamber music
for under 21-year-olds from around
the country, coached by National
Symphony Orchestra musicians.
First, on Tuesday, July 7, comes a
solo Concerto Competition to see
which finalists will play with the full
SMI orchestra on Saturday, July 25,
in the Concert Hall. The Concerto
Competition is followed by a series
of performances by the full orchestra,
Sunday, July 12, through Wednesday,
July 15, and Monday, July 20. All performances at 6 p.m. Kennedy Center.
Free. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.
THE HONEY DEWDROPS
Songwriters and Virginia natives

Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish
weave dynamic harmonies and travelseasoned narratives as the American
roots music duo the Honey Dewdrops.
Thursday, July 9, at 8:30 p.m. Gypsy
Sallys, 3401 K St. NW. Tickets are 12
in advance, or $15 day-of. Call 202333-7700 or visit gypsysallys.com.
Composer John Corigliano and librettist William M. Hoffmans 1991 opera

The Ghosts of Versailles is a grand
opera buffa, a comedy that features
an opera-within-an-opera as the
famed playwright of The Marriage of
Figaro aims to rewrite history and
save Marie Antoinette from the guillotine. Eric Melear conducts and Louisa
Muller directs a Wolf Trap Opera
Company production featuring a cast
of 28 including Melinda Whittington
as Antoinette, Will Liverman as playwright Beaumarchais, Morgan Pearse
as Figaro and Timothy Bruno as Louis
XVI. Sung in English with supertitles. Performances Friday, July 10, at
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JULY 2, 2015
10:30 p.m., Saturday, July 11, at 8 p.m.

and 10:30 p.m., and Sunday, July 12, at
8 p.m. DC Improv, 1140 Connecticut
Ave. NW. Tickets are $25. Call 202296-7008 or visit dcimprov.com.
NEAL BRENNAN
Bruchs Violin Concerto No. 1 is the

centerpiece of the next performance
of the National Symphony Orchestra
at the Filene Center, as performed by
Sarah Chang, the 34-year-old awardwinning American who was only eight
when she debuted as a soloist with
the New York Philharmonic and her
hometown Philadelphia Orchestra.
This NSO concert ends with as big
of a bang as classical music gets:
Beethovens Symphony No. 5, touted
as the worlds most recognizable classical composition. Rising Korean conductor Shi-Yeon Sung leads the NSO
in this program. Saturday, July 11, at
8:15 p.m. The Filene Center at Wolf
Trap, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets
are $20 to $58. Call 877-WOLFTRAP
or visit wolftrap.org.
WOLF TRAP OPERA
7:30 p.m., Sunday, July 12, at 3 p.m.,

Wednesday, July 15, at 7:30 p.m., and
Saturday, July 18, at 7:30 p.m. The
Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road,
Vienna. Tickets are $32 to $88. Call
877-WOLFTRAP or visit wolftrap.org.
DANCE
BALLROOM WITH A TWIST
Various personalities and finalists

from performance-based reality TV
shows sing and dance in a musical
showcase of dance styles as varied
as ballroom, hip-hop, the waltz and
samba. Among those on the bill when
the show stops at Strathmore next
weekend: Lacey Schwimmer and
Oksana Dmytrenko from Dancing with
the Stars, Legacy, Tanisha Belnap and
Nick Garcia from So You Think You
Can Dance, Von Smith from American
Idol, and Caitlin Koch from X Factor.
Also performing will be several international world champion dancers.
Saturday, July 11, at 8 p.m., but starting at 6:30 p.m. with a pre-show Party
on the Patio featuring food and drink
specials. Music Center at Strathmore,
5301 Tuckerman Lane, North
Bethesda. Tickets are $35 to $75. Call
301-581-5100 or visit strathmore.org.
MOVE FEATURING DEREK HOUGH

AND JULIANNE HOUGH
Dancing with the Stars champion

brother-sister duo, an Emmy-winning
and Olympic Gold Medal-winning
choreographer and country chart-topper, perform works by So You Think
You Can Dance married choreographers Tabitha and Napoleon Dumo,
known together as Nappytabs. The
Houghs will be accompanied by the
Move Company Dancers. Friday, July
3, at 8 p.m. The Filene Center at Wolf
Trap, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets
are $25 to $55. Call 877-WOLFTRAP
or visit wolftrap.org.
WILD SAFFRON/SAFFRON DANCE
Exploring the common seeds of

movement and dance styles along the
ancient routes of the global spice trade
is the focus of this company offering a tribal fusion style of bellydance.
Sunday, July 5, at 3 p.m. Baltimore
Theatre Project, 45 West Preston St.
Baltimore. Tickets are $25 in advance,
or $30 at the door. Call 410-752-8558
or visit theatreproject.org.
COMEDY
JOHN WITHERSPOON
Surely you remember him as Ice

Cubes dog-catching dad in Friday,
Next Friday and Friday After Next, or
as Pops on TVs The Wayans Brothers,
or as Spoon on The Tracy Morgan
Show. Hes also stolen scenes in films,
from Boomerang to Im Gonna Git You
Sucka. Hes even developed his own
humorous greeting card line called
Spoon Cards. Thursday, July 9, at 8
p.m., Friday, July 10, at 8 p.m. and
METROWEEKLY.COM
A co-creator of and co-writer/director

on Comedy Centrals Chappelle Show
as well as the stoner classic film Half
Baked both with Dave Chappelle
actor and comedian Neal Brennan has
an impressive roster of TV shows and
films that he either helped create or
inspire. But these days, hes focusing
on standup comedy, and returns to
the Arlington Drafthouse. Friday, July
10, at 10 p.m., and Saturday, July 11, at
7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Arlington Cinema
N Drafthouse, 2903 Columbia Pike,
Arlington. Tickets are $20. Call 703486-2345 or visit arlingtondrafthouse.
com.
GALLERIES
ANA SEDILES:
A WOMAN IN THE LANDSCAPE
A well-known artist and one of the

most awarded watercolorist in Spain,
Anna Sediles makes her debut in D.C.
with an exhibition of watercolor landscapes and etchings at Georgetowns
year-old gallery All We Art, in partnership with Spain Arts & Culture. All
We Art aims to serve as a multidisciplinary space dedicated to promoting international cultural exchange.
Opening reception Thursday, July 2,
from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. On exhibit
through July 26. All We Art, 1666 33rd
St. NW. Call 202-375-9713 or visit allweartstudio.com.
BEYOND BOLLYWOOD: INDIAN

AMERICANS SHAPE THE NATION
Smithsonian Asian Pacific American

Center presents this ambitious and
colorful exhibition on the second floor
of the National Museum of Natural
History, exploring the heritage, daily
experiences and diverse contributions
of Indians and Indian Americans.
Through Aug. 16. National Museum
of Natural History, 10th Street and
Constitution Avenue NW. Call 202633-1000 or visit mnh.si.edu.
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES
The Target Gallery contemporary

exhibition space of the Torpedo
Factory Art Center presents a series
featuring works by 15 artists exploring societal, personal and geographic
margins and working in a variety of
media, from video to photography to
pastels even human hair. Among
the local artists represented: Susan
Ellis, Michael Fischerkeller, Songmi
Heart, Karen Spiering, Kathy Turner
and Lillis Werder. Through July 19.
Target Gallery in Torpedo Factory
Art Center, 105 North Union St.
Alexandria. Free. Call 703-838-4565
or visit torpedofactory.org.
ELAINE DE KOONING: PORTRAITS
John F. Kennedy, poets Frank OHara

and Allen Ginsberg, critic Harold
Rosenberg, choreographer Merce
Cunningham, and painters Willem
de Kooning and Fairfield Porter are
among the friends and family members represented in a National Portrait
Gallery retrospective of this abstract
expressionist painters work. Most of
de Koonings paintings hang in private
collection and have rarely been seen
by the public before. Through Jan.
10. National Portrait Gallery, 8th and
F Streets. NW. Call 202-633-8300 or
visit npg.si.edu.
JONATHAN WEINER: A JOURNEY

DOWN THE POTOMAC
In this exhibition at the Capitol Hill

Arts Workshop, local artist and photographer explores in color photographs
the length of the Potomac River, from
its humble origin in the Appalachian
Mountain to its grand joining with the
Chesapeake Bay. Opening reception
Saturday, July 11, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Exhibit runs through Aug. 15. Capitol
Hill Arts Workshop, 545 7th St. SE.
Call 202-547-6839 or visit chaw.org.
MODERN SCULPTURE:
DIALOGUES IN
THREE DIMENSIONS
While its galleries are closed for renovation and expansion, the National
Gallery of Art has set up throughout its
East Building a special installation of
modern sculpture from its renowned
holdings. And three times a week, the
gallery offers a new 60-minute guided
tour highlighting these works, allowing patrons to engage with each other
in open-ended discussions about, in
addition to the guide pointing out connections between, the works on view,
from Alexander Calders monumental
mobile Untitled from 1976 to Andy
Goldsworthys decade-old Roof. The
relationship between I.M. Peis East
Building and John Russell Pops West
Building is also examined. Tuesdays,
Thursdays, and Sundays, at 1:30 p.m.
National Gallery of Art East Building
Information Desk, 3rd Street at
Constitution Avenue NW. Call 202737-4215 or visit nga.gov.
MONSTER FISH: IN SEARCH OF

THE LAST RIVER GIANTS
Based on the popular National

Geographic Wild series, this interactive exhibit includes clips from the
series, life-size fish sculptures and several family-friendly activities designed
to educate visitors about the massive
fish that Dr. Zeb Hogan, the aquatic ecologist who is the host of the
Monster Fish series, has spent decades
exploring. Through Oct. 11. National
Geographic Museum, 1145 17th St.
NW. Tickets are $11. Call 202-857-7588
or visit ngmuseum.org.
ONCE THERE WERE BILLIONS
Once There Were Billions: Vanished

Birds of North America documents
those species of birds weve lost on this
continent over the past two centuries,
from the puffin-like great auck to the
Carolina parakeet to the heath hen to

the passenger pigeon, not to be confused with the commonplace carrier
pigeon. Through October. National
Museum of Natural History, 10th
Street and Constitution Avenue NW.
Call 202-633-1000 or visit mnh.si.edu.
ONE LIFE: DOLORES HUERTA
The National Portrait Gallery offers

its first exhibition devoted to a Latino
figure. Dolores Heurta co-founded the
National Farm Workers Association
with Cesar Chavez in 1962 and fought
for the passage of the California
Agricultural Labor Relations Act of
1975. Taina Caragol curated an exhibition that vividly traces the 13 years
between those two actions. Opens
Friday, July 3. To May 15, 2016.
National Portrait Gallery, 8th and F
Streets. NW. Call 202-633-8300 or
visit npg.si.edu.
THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964:

A LONG STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM
The Library of Congress commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Civil

Rights Act with a yearlong exhibition highlighting legal and legislative victories and shedding light on
the individuals who shaped the civil
rights movement. Through Sept. 12.
The Library of Congresss Thomas
Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE.
Call 202-707-8000 or visit loc.gov/
exhibits.
with recurrent geometries and lowercase lettering, and featured in this

exhibition. Through Nov. 13. National
Museum of Women in the Arts. 1250
New York Ave NW. Admission is $10.
Call 202-783-5000 or visit nmwa.org.
WINDOW TO WASHINGTON
Window to Washington: The Kiplinger

Collection at HSW is an exhibition at
Washingtons Carnegie Library that
traces the development of the nations
capital from a sleepy Southern town
to a modern metropolis, as documented through the works of artists.
The Historical Society of Washington,
D.C., exhibition was made possible by
a donation from the Kiplinger family.
Its also an early step in a reorganization effort by the society, which
has struggled to revive ever since
its short-lived effort a decade ago to
run a City Museum of Washington
proved too ambitious. Open Tuesdays
through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Historical Society of Washington,
D.C., at the Carnegie Library, 801 K
St. NW. Call 202-393-1420 or visit
dchistory.org.
ABOVE AND BEYOND

DAVID GUAS:
BARBECUE BOOT CAMP
Baltimores quirky Visionary Art

Museum offers its 20th annual exhibition, this one championing lifes grand
Eureka! moments, held in common
by Earths most dynamic and intuitive evolutionaries, from inventors,
scientists, Americas founding fathers,
dreamers and saints. The show was
co-curated by filmmaker and publisher Jodi Wille and AVAM founder and
director Rebecca Alban Hoffberger.
Through Aug. 30. American Visionary
Art Museum, 800 Key Highway.
Baltimore. Tickets are $15.95. Call
410-244-1900 or visit avam.org.
Over the years, New Orleans-native

David Guas has moved on from his
start in D.C. as the executive pastry chef for DC Coast, Acadiana and
others in the high-end Passion Food
Hospitality local restaurant chain.
Now hes nationally known for his frequent appearances on The Today Show
and as host of Travel Channels 2014
competition series American Grilled.
The chef and TV personality will
offer demonstrations from his new
cookbook Grill Nation at Hill Center,
where hes just opened the second
location of his restaurant Bayou
Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery. Saturday,
July 11, at 11 a.m. Hill Center, Old Navy
Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE.
Tickets are $85. Call 202-549-4172 or
visit HillCenterDC.org.
UNDER A SUMMER SUN
LA-TI-DO
THE VISIONARY EXPERIENCE:

SAINT FRANCIS TO FINSTER
Del Ray Artisans offers this summer-themed art exhibit as part of its
Gallery Without Walls program and
presented at the Vola Lawson Animal
Shelter. Participating artists donate
40 percent of each sale to be shared
equally by the nonprofit arts group
and the Animal Welfare League of
Alexandria. To Sept. 27. Vola Lawson
Animal Shelter, 4101 Eisenhower
Ave., Alexandria.
VANESSA BELLS
HOGARTH PRESS DESIGNS
Virginia Woolfs younger sister was

one of Englands most famous postimpressionist painters. Vanessa
Bell helped start what became the
Bloomsbury Group of writers, artists
and intellectuals in London between
World Wars. But she also designed
many of the book covers for Hogarth
Press, simple arts-and-crafts designs,
Regie
Cabico
and
DonMike
Mendozas La-Ti-Do variety show is
neither karaoke nor simply cabaret.
In addition to higher-quality singing
than most impromptu karaoke, Cabico
and co-host Mendoza also select storytellers who offer spoken-word
poetry and comedy. Now moved to
James Hobans on Dupont Circle, the
featured performer in July is Bayla
Whitten. Next Monday, July 6, offers
a night of songs by the underrepresented Disney Villains. Brandon
Heishman accompanies with other
special guests. Monday nights at 8
p.m. James Hobans Irish Restaurant
& Bar, 1 Dupont Circle NW. Tickets
are $15, or only $7 if you eat dinner at
the restaurant beforehand. Call 202223-8440 or visit latidodc.wix.com/
latidodc. l
METROWEEKLY.COM
JULY 2, 2015
35
film
Terminator: Genisys pays strict homage

to the original before traipsing down a
senseless, incomprehensible path
by CHRIS HELLER
GENESIS IS A BEGINNING. A ROOT OF A

creation. The moment of inception. Terminator:
Genisys (HHHHH), the fifth movie in a 31-yearold franchise, is very far from anything resembling that. It fancies itself an origin, which is true in the sense
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JULY 2, 2015
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that itll surely be followed by a sequel, but it is not new.

The premise is the same as James Camerons original movie,
The Terminator. Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) is a resistance fighter
in a post-apocalyptic future. Hes led by John Connor (Jason
Clarke), a military savant who saved the world from Skynet, an
artificially intelligent network of robots. Skynet sends a model
T-800 Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) back in time, to
May 12, 1984, to kill Johns mother, Sarah (Emilia Clarke). Kyle
volunteers to time-travel as well, vowing to save and protect
Sarah. If she dies, John will never exist. Hasta la vista, humankind.
With Genisys, director Alan Taylor pays tremendous homage to Camerons legacy. The first scenes from 1984 are, senselessly enough, shot-for-shot recreations of footage from The
Terminator which Taylor could not use because its owned
PARAMOUNT PICTURES
Deja Poo
METROWEEKLY.COM
JULY 2, 2015
37
by another production company. The T-800 still scares away

a cigar-chomping forklift driver. Kyle, after writhing from his
time-hop, still steals a homeless mans pants in a back alley. All
of this has happened before.
And then, things change. The T-800 is destroyed by another
grey-haired and wrinklier Terminator of the same model. When
Kyle accosts a cop at gunpoint, the officer transforms into a
T-1000, which originally didnt appear until Camerons sequel,
Terminator 2: Judgement Day. An armored car plows into the
T-1000, the door swings open, and a woman orders Kyle to get
inside. Its Sarah Connor. Shes saving him. This isnt how it was
supposed to be.
I wish I could explain why Terminator: Genisys does these
things, why it mimics its forebear for so long, why Taylor chooses to drop the imitation when he does. Its vaguely satisfying
to watch if only for the moment when Emilia Clarkes barks
Come with me if you want to live! but to what end does
this all serve? Why rewrite what came before? In later scenes,
Genisys scribes Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier drop a
heaping pile of scientific mumbo jumbo about alternate timelines into each characters mouth. Its a lazy construction that
never fully explains how the story moves forward. Genisys ties
itself in knots, but cant loosen them.
Sarah, were told, prepared for more than a decade to meet
Kyle. She was attacked by Skynet as a child, lost her parents,
then was found by a friendly T-800, which was programmed
to protect her. The robot, indulgently named Pops by Sarah,
looks older because it is older; the skin covering its endoskeleton
ages just as Schwarzeneggers has. How convenient!
Finally united with Kyle, Sarah, and Pops reveal their plan:
theyll travel through time, yet again, to stop Judgement Day.
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JULY 2, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
Who needs a schuck like John Connor when you can save the
world yourself?
Of course, its not that easy to stop doomsday. For reasons
beyond reason, Kyle and Sarah jump to the year 2017, mere days
before Skynets Trojan horse, an Apple-esque operating system
called Genisys, launches worldwide. They had years years!
to stop Skynet, yet these dunces skip to the precipice of nuclear winter. To make a near-impossible nearly more impossible,
they also face an improbable opponent: a hybrid Terminator
built from a nanomachine-infected man.
Again and again, Genisys contorts itself into these Gordian
situations, where characters must behave like fools to raise
the stakes higher and higher. As a consequence, theres no
consistency within each characters development. Sarah veers
between warrior and damsel-in-distress more times than you
can count, yanking Clarkes performance from tough and indefatigable into something shrill. Courtney might be the least
charismatic leading actor in Hollywood, yet hes forced into
bizarre repartee with Schwarzenegger think of the dad meets
daughters boyfriend to get a decent idea of how silly it is and
Schwarzeneggers robot outdazzles him.
Im old, not obsolete, Pops says, when he and Kyle first trade
barbs. Its not just him. The Terminator is old. Schwarzenegger is
old. The whole damn thing is old. Its enough to make you wonder if the series shouldnt have been retired years ago. Thats not
the way Hollywood works, though. The heroes prevail, driving
off together into the unknown, while off-screen, on a studio lot,
a sequel to Genisys is born. It wont be new either. l
Terminator: Genisys is rated PG-13 and runs 125 minutes. Now
playing in area theaters.
stage
Borscht Belt Broadway

You really couldnt ask for a show
to be any more shtick-laden
than The Producers
by DOUG RULE
STAN BAROUH
IGHT NOW, OLNEY THEATRE, DEEP IN SUBurban Maryland, is offering the regions first
production of the most-decorated show in Tony
Awards history. Indeed, the original Broadway production of The Producers (HHHHH) hauled in 12 statues in 2001.
So why hasnt Signature or Arena or even Keegan taken it on?
Because its a bitch of a show to stage.
There are a whopping 19 scenes throughout the nearly threehour runtime, taking place in settings as varied as inside and
outside a bustling Broadway theater, a grand Upper East Side
townhouse, a courtroom, a prison cell and a couple of drab, utilitarian offices. At a recent performance, there were several doorslamming moments when it seemed like James Fouchards set was
going to collapse, and there were more than a few times when the
sets many moving parts didnt shift quickly or seamlessly.
Yet The Producers, written by Mel Brooks, who based it on
his 1968 film, is ultimately a success, thanks largely to Michael
Kostroff, a well-established television and stage actor best
known for his work on The Wire, as the charismatic, conniving
Max Bialystock. Once the King of Broadway, Max hasnt had a
hit show in years. So he concocts a scheme to produce an undeniable flop and pocket the money invested by a hoard of amorous
little old ladies.
Michael Di Liberto is eminently likeable as Maxs eager,
awkward cohort Leo Bloom, an accountant willing to risk his
career in order to become a Broadway producer. The pair share
perfect chemistry, and while they may not make you forget the
indelible, inspired pairing of Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, they
more than hold their own.
But its arguably Jason Graae who makes the show sing and
METROWEEKLY.COM
JULY 2, 2015
39
STAN BAROUH
zing, just as his character, director-cum-actor Roger de Bris,

makes Bialystock and Blooms Springtime for Hitler a hit, against
all odds. Graae, a Broadway veteran, is as flamboyant as all-getout in the role, and in another era, or even just another context,
he might come across as offensive, swishing around, belting out
a big production number entitled Keep It Gay.
But thats just the first act. In Act Two, hes forced to fill in at
the last-minute after the character Franz literally breaks his leg
and cant go on playing the lead in Springtime for Hitler. Graees
portrayal of the Fuhrer is as sweet and silly as it was written to
be, and if anyone could make Hitler likeable....
But those are just the three leads in a show with 29 characters
and a production featuring 20 actors. Other standout performers include Jessica Jaros, a knockout as the Swedish bombshell
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JULY 2, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
Ulla that Max and Leo hire as their assistant, Stephen

F. Schmidt, who registers in the role of Franz as earnest and eccentric yet dull, just as youd expect from
a former Nazi playwright now improbably living in
Greenwich Village, and Robert Mintz as Rogers limpwristed assistant.
You really couldnt ask for a show to be any more
outrageous or more colorful, but you might hope that
the costumes paraded out were wilder than those Seth
M. Gilbert designed for the production. You might
also wish for a fuller and more polished sound. Darius
Smith leads the band in a way that is effective, but it
doesnt add anything extra to the evening.
And, depending on your comic sensibilities, you
might long for a few more laugh-out-loud moments,
too. Mel Brooks, known for the films Blazing Saddles,
Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie and High Anxiety, is
a master of shtick-heavy, obvious comedy that doesnt require
or even encourage much intellectual thought. Hes a kneejerk comic; no knowledge of Nietzsche required. The Producers
simply does what its supposed to do: make people laugh. And,
thanks to director Mark Waldrop, it does it well enough that
leave with a smile on their face. Surely thats how audiences will
feel after exiting Olney, too.
When Youve Got It, Flaunt It, Ulla sings to Max and Leo
in her big Act One production number. Clearly, Olney is taking
Ullas advice and flaunting what its got with The Producers. l
The Producers runs to July 26 at Olney Theatre Center, 2001
Olney-Sandy Spring Road in Olney, Md. Tickets are $55 to $65.
Call 301-924-3400 or visit olneytheatre.org.
games
Dark Knight
Batman: Arkham Knight isnt
perfect, but it reminds us just how
good a superhero game can be
WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT
by RHUARIDH MARR
IME DOESNT SEEM TO BE A DEFINITIVE

thing in Batman: Arkham Knight (HHHHH). Over
the course of the games narrative, youre constantly
bombarded with a sense of urgency. Hurry, the plot
will tell you, you must rush to the next task, complete the subsequent objective, and conclude this next chapter in our story!
Thats perfectly acceptable. I like a game where it always feels
as though someone is stoking the furnace that powers the plot.
If it wants me to just get on with things and work through the
story, so be it. However, what developer Rocksteady has done is
provide a gargantuan recreation of Gotham City, cram it full of as
many side missions and distractions as possible, tell you that you
really should be cracking on with the main missions, and then

bombard you with optional objectives like illuminated billboards
in Times Square. Stop swinging about, Bats! they cry. Who
cares about Scarecrow, come solve another Riddler mystery!
I realize, of course, that none of the above even approaches a
legitimate complaint. Its merely a curious side effect of my time
with Arkham Knight, when I realized that Id spent far more
time either dicking around in Gothams criminal-infested streets
or working through its numerous side missions than I had concentrating on the storys main event. Yes, the narrative may be
urgent, by my desire to complete it was anything but.
If you havent played either of Arkham Knights predecessors,
Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, dont worry. Theres a great
deal of backstory and lore, established through those two prior
entries, but its entirely possible for new players to jump into the
narrative, understand whats going on, and still enjoy their time
in Gotham.
It helps that Rocksteady are masterful craftsmen (and women).
Arkham Knight has three intertwining threads to its narrative this
time around. First, theres the Joker. Cremated by Batman after
the antics of Arkham City, his Titan-infused blood was used to
infect the Dark Knight which means that, yes, Mark Hamills
METROWEEKLY.COM
JULY 2, 2015
41
incredible Joker returns. How? Thanks to Scarecrow. Furious

with Bats for thwarting his plans in Arkham City, he returns to
Gotham intending to wreak havoc. After threatening the city
with the release of a toxin that will turn people into savage
beasts, Gotham is evacuated, leaving it to the brave officers of the
Gotham Police Department and a laundry list of Batmans various
nemeses. Batman is exposed to Scarecrows toxin, which combines with Jokers blood to produce hallucinations of the smiling
neerdowell. Hamill claimed he was done with the character after
Arkham City, but his personification of the Joker is so utterly delicious that Im glad he returned.
Intertwined with this is the inclusion of the mysterious and
eponymous Arkham Knight. Commanding a large militia and
with an encyclopedic knowledge of Bruce Waynes moves and
abilities, uncovering his identity is one of the plots core goals.
As Batman fights Scarecrows attempts to spread toxin across
the East Coast, Arkham Knight seeks to end his life at every turn.
Combined with Jokers constant chatterings and comments on
his efforts, it makes for an interesting narrative, to say the least.
Really, though, its entirely arbitrary the Arkham Knight
reveal is teased to the point that I had stopped caring, and
Scarecrow spends most of the game telling you that he will
destroy you, to the point that you wish hed just, well, get on with
it. I wont decry Rocksteadys storytelling its comic book, after
all but its in the side missions that youll derive most of your
enjoyment from Arkham Knight.
That is, at least in part, due to the sheer number of things to
do. There are firefighters to rescue, a serial killer to catch, a mysterious creature to track down, bombs to defuse, and a variety
of villainous actions to thwart, which prompt appearances from
Riddler, Two-Face, Penguin, Deathstroke and Firefly. Riddler
alone has 243 riddles scattered around Gotham an initially
daunting task, until you remember that Arkham City had over
400. Plus, getting 100-percent completion isnt just for achievement hunters. If you want to unlock the full ending to the game,
youll need to completely clear Gotham out of side missions and
optional objectives before you learn everything Arkham Knight
has to reveal.
Tackling that laundry list of missions is aided by the games
immensely fun controls. Yes, Batman isnt the easiest person
to control after all, hes over six feet tall and two-hundred
pounds of muscle but, hes amazingly agile for someone so
hulking. Once youve mastered the numerous button presses
it requires to get Bats into combat or around his environment,
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JULY 2, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
youll be punching, diving, swooping, flying and grappling with the best of them.
Navigating Gotham is perhaps the
games greatest showcase. A city of over six
million, its now eerily derelict, with abandoned vehicles, scattered debris and all the
other hallmarks of a rushed evacuation.
Perhaps more impressive is that, despite
this, the city never feels empty. Criminals
roam the streets, racing cars, fighting with
police, and shooting at Batman as he soars
above them. Theyre joined by drones, in
tank and plane form. In addition, Gothams
incredible police force is still showing face,
with helicopters and squad cars found
throughout the city.
The city itself is rendered beautifully
Rocksteady makes use of the extra power
afforded by the current generation of consoles to really push graphics to their limits. Gothams lights
burst into the cloudy night sky, rain drips down every surface
(including Batmans armor, a seriously cool effect), shadows are
menacingly deep and every inch of the city smacks of the dirty
sheen weve come to expect from Batmans dark, grimy world.
Character models are fantastically rendered, while combat sections are a masterclass in animation, with Batmans body and
cape whipping around in sync as he lands punches on unsuspecting foes.
Audio is impeccable, too, with a surprising amount of ingame chatter on offer. As you navigate Gotham radio signals will
be detected, with criminals and villains offering commentary on
in-game events and hints as to the location of nearby objectives.
Cutscenes feature a solid effort from all voice actors Kevin
Conroy can do little more than gruffly shout Where is she/he/
it! as Batman, but Mark Hamill as the Joker, Wally Wingerts
Riddler and Martin Jarvis Alfred are just a few highlights of the
main cast. Combat audio, in-game score and all other incidental
effects combine to make Arkham Knight a suitably rich, enveloping experience.
While gliding through its streets and marvelling at its content is one thing, it would all fall apart had Rocksteady messed
with this Batman series core hook: an astonishingly deep, rich
gameplay experience. Thankfully, they havent at least when
Batman is on foot (or mid-air).
Combat is as deft as ever, with the usual combo counter and
a slick skillset enabling Batman to produce a stunning variety of
attacks. Use explosive gel to incapacitate enemies, take them out
with a batarang, sneak up behind someone and silently take them
down, string them up from a gargoyles head, slide through ventilation shafts and leap out of grates, or enter slow-motion quicktime events to take down multiple enemies at once known as
the Fear takedown. Using Batmans various gadgets only adds to
the fun, such as an electrical charge gun, or a freezing blast (no
shark repellent, unfortunately). Occasionally, in tighter sections,
the game can get a little messy the camera falters, or its not
entirely clear where villains are facing in gloomier environments, for instance but for the vast majority of the game, youll
enjoy working your way through Gothams criminals.
Theres a wide variety, too, with average joes, heavy brutes,
sword-wielding ninjas and numerous other characters who will
vainly attempt to take down Bats. Winning isnt easy countering is a must, but later battles will require using gadgets,
or Batmans stun ability, before you can finally vanquish a foe.
WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT
Grappling into an environment, opening

up Bats detective vision to scan for body
signatures, then planning your method of
attack offers a constant variety to gameplay. Do you go stealthy, or head in with
Batarangs and grapple attacks? Leave
traps for unsuspecting thugs, or silently
pick them off from larger groups? Its
immensely satisfying.
That is, of course, until youre inevitably forced into the Batmobile, perhaps one
of the most contrived inclusions in gaming
in recent memory. If someone asked me
whether Id like to use a rocket-powered,
armored beast to crash through Gotham,
Id scream an unequivocal Yes! After
my time with Arkham Knight, Im strongly
considering cutting up my drivers license,
as Ive lost all love for piloting a vehicles.
Its not as though there arent some
great ideas here. The Batmobile is an
almost-indestructible tank, which Batman
can use to carry criminals or friends, that
can deploy a winch to tear down walls or
charge up generators, and can transform
into an actual tank, complete with rocket
launcher and machine gun. Gotham City
is surprisingly destructible, and crashing
through city streets tearing up road signs,
walls, pillars and other structures feels
awesome. The Batmobile is badass, and
can be summoned from anywhere in the
city thanks to its remote driving capabilities. Unfortunately, rather than keep its
uses to a minimum, drip-feeding it to
players and keeping its gameplay fresh,
Rocksteady has instead shoehorned it in
at every possible occasion.
On a list of things you dont ever want to do in-game in a
car, platforming is definitely one of them. Using tank mode,
which offers more nimble maneuvering and strafing abilities,
Rocksteady constantly forces you to navigate small ledges,
ramps, jumps and other such things with the Batmobile. Far, far
too many of Riddlers challenges employ the Batmobile as their
central conceit, which quickly becomes utterly tiresome, as you
crash off that third ledge for the fourteenth time. Whats more,
after a few upgrades navigating Gotham isnt any faster in the
Batmobile your grapple and zip line become so overpowered
that you can slingshot around the city like Spider-Man, rendering the Batmobile obsolete. Even blowing up unmanned drones
becomes utterly tedious, as, unlike enemies, whatever new type
is introduced offers little extra challenge beyond taking a few
extra shots to blow up.
That the drones are unmanned fails to mask one glaring
flaw in this game Batman definitely kills people. Im sorry,
Rocksteady, but when I drive into a criminal at what must be
close to 100 miles per hour, youre not fooling anyone by suggesting that his lifeless body was harmlessly pushed out of the way
by an electric field around the Batmobile. Heck, even in combat
I struggle to believe that ninety percent of the people Ive hit
arent dead. Batman socks them with such strength, or leaps
down on them from such great heights, that their bones would
be crushed to smithereens. Rocksteady seems all too aware of
this, as the plot even references Bats destructive tendencies

the Joker also has some highly amusing quips about his nonlethal mantra.
Of course, this is a game, and a game based on a comic book
at that, so perhaps asking for reality is more than a little foolish.
And besides, I couldnt care less as outside of the obvious body
count and the annoying dependence on the Batmobile, Arkham
Knight is still an incredible amount of fun. Even seemingly banal
moments, like using Batmans detective vision to scan through
the layers of a serial killers victim, are infused with such quality
that you cant help but enjoy them.
It seems fitting that Rocksteady should end the trilogy with
Arkham Knight. Its an impressive effort from a series thats
already no stranger to praise. Though Rocksteady could be
accused of dropping the ball in a couple of places, Arkham
Knights positives greatly outweigh any Batmobile annoyances
or questionable morals. Gamers can easily sink thirty hours into
Gotham City and theres incentive to replay its story to test out
different methods of attack. Its an immensely polished, impeccably crafted, utterly enjoyable final entry from a series that has
raised the bar for what we expect from superhero games. l
Arkham Knight is available on PS4 and Xbox One. PC sales have
been suspended at the time of this review due to a botched porting job by Iron Galaxy Studios that has left the game riddled with
technical faults.
METROWEEKLY.COM
JULY 2, 2015
43
NIGHT
LIFE
LISTINGS
THURS., 07.02.15
9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm Multiple
TVs showing movies,
shows, sports Expanded
craft beer selection No
Cover Music videos
featuring DJ Wess
ANNIES/ANNIES
UPSTAIRS
4@4 Happy Hour, 4pm7pm $4 Small Plates,
$4 Stella Artois, $4 House
Wines, $4 Stolichnaya
Cocktails, $4 Manhattans
and Vodka Martinis
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $6 Call
Martini, $3 Miller Lite,
$4 Rail, $5 Call, 4-9pm
$3 Rail Drinks, 10pmmidnight, $5 Red Bull,
Gatorade and Frozen
Virgin Drinks Locker
Room Thursday Nights
DJs Sean Morris and
MadScience Ripped Hot
Body Contest at midnight,
hosted by Sasha J. Adams
and BaNaka $200 Cash
Prize Doors open 10pm,
18+ $5 Cover under 21
and free with college ID
DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Happy Hour, 5-8pm
dcnine.com
DC EAGLE
New Opening Time, 8pm
Jock Night: Men in
jocks drink free, 8-10pm
Mid-Atlantic Kennel Korps
(MAKK) on Club Bar $2
Draughts, 10pm-close
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm
Ladies Drink Free Power
FREDDIES BEACH BAR

Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm
METROWEEKLY.COM
45
46
JULY 2, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
scene
JR.s Monday Night Showtunes
Monday, June 29
scan this tag
with your
smartphone
for bonus scene
pics online!
Photography by
Ward Morrison
Hour, 4-5pm Shirtless

Thursday, 10-11pm DJs
BacK2bACk
JR.S
All You Can Drink for $15,
5-8pm $3 Rail Vodka
Highballs, $2 JR.s drafts,
8pm-close Throwback
Thursday featuring rock/
pop retro hits
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Beat The Clock Happy
Hour $2 (5-6pm), $3
(6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm)
Buckets of Beer $15
NUMBER NINE
drink, 5-9pm No Cover
TOWN
WTF: Birthday Party celebrating WTFs 6th anniversary and the Fourth of July
Doors open 10pm Free
from 10-11pm, $5 after
11pm Featuring DJs
Lemz, Ed Bailey and Aaron
Riggins Performances by
Pussy Noir, Salvadora Dali,
JaxKnife Haunt 21+
TOWN PATIO
Open 5pm No Cover
$3 Drinks and $3 Draughts,
5-9pm
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers
Shirtless Thursday DJ
Tim-e in Secrets 9pm
Cover 21+
FRI., 07.03.15
9 1/2
Open at 5pm Happy
Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink,
5-9pm Friday Night
Videos with resident DJ
Shea Van Horn VJ
Expanded craft beer selection No cover
ANNIES
4@4 Happy Hour, 4-7pm
$4 Small Plates, $4 Stella
Artois, $4 House Wines,
$4 Stolichnaya Cocktails,
$4 Manhattans and Vodka
Martinis Upstairs open
5-11pm
COBALT/30 DEGREES
All You Can Drink Happy
Hour $15 Rail &
Domestic, $21 Call &
Imports, 6-9pm Guys
Night Out Free Rail
Vodka, 11pm-Midnight, $6
Belvedere Vodka Drinks
all night Watch your
favorite music videos with
DJ MadScience in the
lounge DJ Keenan Orr
on the dancefloor $10
cover 10pm-1am, $5 after
1am 21+
DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Happy Hour, 4-8pm
dcnine.com
DC EAGLE
Bear Nonsense Happy
Hour, 6-10pm $1 Rail
and Domestic, 6-10pm
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm $5
Smirnoff, all flavors, all
night long Otter Den DC
presents Otter Crossing,
9pm-close $5 Cover
after 10pm $4 Fireball,
$3 Bud
JR.S
$2 Skyy Highballs and $2
Drafts, 10pm-midnight
Happy Hour: 2-for-1,
4-9pm Retro Friday
$5 Coronas, $8 Vodka Red
Bulls, 9pm-close
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
DJ Matt Bailer Videos,
Dancing Beat The Clock
Happy Hour $2 (5-6pm),
$3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm)
Buckets of Beer $15
NUMBER NINE
Open 5pm Happy Hour:
2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
No Cover
TOWN
DC Bear Crue Happy
Hour, 6-11pm $3 Rail,
$3 Draft, $3 Bud Bottles
Free Pizza, 7pm No
cover before 9:30pm 21+
Drag Show starts at
10:30pm Hosted by Lena
Lett and featuring Miss
Tatianna, Shi-QueetaLee, Epiphany B. Lee
and BaNaka DJ Wess
upstairs, DJs BacK2bACk
downstairs Doors open
at 10pm For those 21
and over, $5 from 10-11pm
and $10 after 11pm For
those 18-20, $12 all night
18+
TOWN PATIO
Open 6pm No Cover
before 10pm Cover after
10pm (entry through Town)
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers,
hosted by LaTroya Nicole
Ladies of Illusion with
host Kristina Kelly, 9pm
DJ Steve Henderson
in Secrets VJ Tre in
Ziegfelds Cover 21+
METROWEEKLY.COM
SAT., 07.04.15
9 1/2
Open at 5pm Happy
3-9pm $5 Absolut &
Titos, $3 Miller Lite after
9pm Expanded craft
beer selection No Cover
Music videos featuring
various DJs
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Drag Yourself to Brunch at
Level One, 11am-2pm and
2-4pm Featuring Kristina
Kelly and the Ladies of
Illusion Bottomless
Mimosas and Bloody
Marys Happy Hour:
$3 Miller Lite, $4 Rail,
$5 Call, 4-9pm Drink
specials all night Doors
open 10pm $7 before
midnight, $10 after 21+
DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Happy Hour, 4-6pm
dcnine.com
DC EAGLE
Onyx on Club Bar, 10pmclose $2 Draughts
JULY 2, 2015
47
FREDDIES BEACH BAR

Diner-style Breakfast
Buffet, 10am-3pm
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Freddies Follies Drag
Show, 8-10pm, hosted by
Miss Destiny B. Childs
No Cover
GREEN LANTERN
Bacardi, all flavors, all
night long
JR.S
$4 Coors, $5 Vodka highballs, $7 Vodka Red Bulls
NELLIES
Guest DJs Zing Zang
Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer,
House Rail Drinks and
Mimosas, $4, 11am-5pm
Buckets of Beer, $15
NUMBER NINE
48
JULY 2, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
TOWN
BombPop! Independence
Day Dance Party featuring
DJ Randy White, 10pmclose Music and video
downstairs by DJ Wess
Drag Show starts at
10:30pm Hosted by Lena
Lett and featuring Miss
Tatianna, Shi-QueetaLee, Epiphany B. Lee and
BaNaka Doors open
10pm Cover $10 from
10-11pm and $12 after
11pm 21+
TOWN PATIO
Open 2pm No Cover
before 9:30pm Cover
after 10pm (entry through
Town)
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
Men of Secrets, 9pm
Guest dancers Ladies
of Illusion with host
Ella Fitzgerald, 9pm
DJ Steve Henderson in
Secrets DJ Don T. in
Ziegfelds Doors 8pm
Cover 21+
SUN., 07.05.15
9 1/2
TVs showing movies,
Cover
COBALT/30 DEGREES
$4 Stoli, Stoli flavors
and Miller Lite all day
Homowood Karaoke,
10pm-close No Cover
21+
DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Happy Hour, 2-6pm
dcnine.com
DC EAGLE
Angus BBQ - Chicken and
Ribs, 4-8pm
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Champagne Brunch Buffet,
10am-3pm Crazy Hour,
4-7pm Karaoke, 8pm1am
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm
$3 Rail vodka all night
Bears Can Party, featuring
Dj Jeff Eletto, 6-10pm
Mamas Trailer Park
Karaoke, 9:30pm-close
JR.S
Sunday Funday Liquid
Brunch Doors open at
1pm $2 Coors Lights &
$3 Skyy (all flavors), all
day and night
NELLIES
Drag Brunch, hosted by
Shi-Queeta-Lee, 11am3pm $20 Brunch Buffet
House Rail Drinks, Zing
Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie
Beer and Mimosas, $4,
11am-close Buckets of
Beer, $15 Guil-Tea Tea
Dance with DJ Shea Van
Horn, 3-8pm DJ Lemz,
8pm-close
NUMBER NINE
Pop Goes the World with
Wes Della Volla at 9:30
pm Happy Hour: 2 for
1 on any drink, 3-9pm
No Cover
ROCK HARD SUNDAYS

@The House Nightclub
3530 Georgia Ave. NW
All Male, All Nude
Dancers Shows at 8 and
10pm Happy Hour Drink
Specials, 7-8pm $10
rockharddc.com
TOWN PATIO
Open 2pm No Cover
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
Decades of Dance DJ
Tim-e in Secrets Doors
8pm Cover 21+
MON., 07.06.15
9 1/2
Open at 5pm Happy
5-9pm Multiple TVs
showing movies, shows,
sports Expanded craft
ANNIES
4@4 Happy Hour, 4-7pm
$4 Small Plates, $4 Stella
Artois, $4 House Wines,
$4 Stolichnaya Cocktails,
$4 Manhattans and Vodka
Martinis
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $2 Rail, $3
Miller Lite, $5 Call, 4-9pm
RuPauls Drag Race
Viewing and Drag Show
hosted by Kristina Kelly
Doors open at 10pm, show
starts at 11pm $3 Skyy
Cocktails, $8 Skyy and Red
Bull No Cover, 18+
DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Happy Hour, 5-8pm
dcnine.com
FREDDIES
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour All Night
Long, 4pm-close
Michaels Open Mic Night
Karaoke, 9:30pm-close
JR.S
Happy Hour: 2-for-1, 4-9pm
Showtunes Songs &
Singalongs, 9pm-close
DJ Jamez $3 Draft Pints,
8pm-midnight
ANNIES
Stella Artois, $4 House
and Vodka Martinis
NELLIES SPORTS BAR

Hour $2 (5-6pm), $3
(6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm)
Buckets of Beer $15
Poker Texas Holdem, 8pm
Dart Boards
COBALT/30 DEGREES
SIN Industry Night
Half-price Cocktails, 10pmclose
NUMBER NINE
2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
No Cover
TUES., 07.07.15
9 1/2
Open at 5pm Happy
5-9pm Multiple TVs
showing movies, shows,
sports Expanded craft
DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Happy Hour, 5-8pm
dcnine.com
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour All Night
Long, 4pm-close
METROWEEKLY.COM
JR.S
Birdie La Cage Show,
10:30pm Underground
(Indie Pop/Alt/Brit Rock),
9pm-close DJ Wes
Della Volla 2-for-1, 5pmmidnight
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Hour $2 (5-6pm), $3
(6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm)
Buckets of Beer $15
Karaoke and Drag Bingo
NUMBER NINE
2 for 1 on any drink,
5-9pm No Cover Safe
Word: A Gay Spelling
Bee, 8-11pm Prizes to
top three spellers After
9pm, $3 Absolut, Bulleit
& Stella
TOWN PATIO
Open 5pm No Cover
Yappy Hour: Happy Hour
for Dogs and their best
friends $3 Drinks and
$3 Draughts
JULY 2, 2015
49
WED., 07.08.15
9 1/2
TVs showing movies,
Cover
ANNIES
Stella Artois, $4 House
and Vodka Martinis
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Wednesday Night
Karaoke downstairs, 10pm
Hosted by Miss Sasha
Adams $4 Stoli and Stoli
Flavors and Miller Lite
No Cover 21+
50
JULY 2, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Happy Hour, 5-8pm
dcnine.com
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm $6
Burgers Drag Bingo
Night, hosted by Ms.
Regina Jozet Adams
Bingo prizes Karaoke,
10pm-1am
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour all night
Boys of HUMP upstairs,
9pm
JR.S
Trivia with MC Jay Ray,
8pm The Queen Amateur
Drag Competition, hosted
by BaNaka, 10-11pm,
with a $200 prize Buy
1, Get 1 Free, 4-9pm $2
JRs Drafts & $4 Vodka
($2 with College I.D./JRs
Team Shirt)
NELLIES SPORTS BAR

SmartAss Trivia Night,
8pm and 9pm Prizes
include bar tabs and tickets to shows at the 9:30
Club $15 Buckets of
Beer for SmartAss Teams
only Bring a new team
member and each get a
free $10 Dinner
NUMBER NINE
TOWN PATIO
Open 5pm No Cover
Half-Price Hump Day
half-price drinks all day
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
Shirtless Night, 10-11pm,
12-12:30am Military
Night, no cover with
military ID DJ Don T. in
Secrets 9pm Cover
21+ l
SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT AT WWW.METROWEEKLY.COM/SCENE
51
52
SEE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT AT WWW.METROWEEKLY.COM/SCENE
METROWEEKLY.COM
JULY 2, 2015
53
To see people gathered...on a beautiful summer night and to feel whole and to feel accepted and
to feel that they had a right to love, that was pretty cool.
BARACK OBAMA, at a press conference Tuesday, referring to Fridays Rainbow White House. I couldnt go out and peek at it
myself, lamented the President, because then I would have had to clear out all the people.... So I could
only reflect on it from a television screen.
From a moral standpoint,

6/26 is now our 9/11.
American Family Radio host BRYAN FISCHER in a Tweet following the Supreme Court ruling legalizing
same-sex marriage nationwide
That is *a lot* of stupid to fit into one tweet.

Congratulations on your achievement.
AUGUST MURPHY-KING (@august_mk), responding to Fischers Tweet. Others were more forthright: Hi Bryan just
letting you know, lots of gay couples are fucking right now in celebration. Want me to
paint a picture for you? Tweeted @sarahlery.
Its a deep-rooted conviction; my conscience wont allow me to do that.

It goes against everything I hold dear, everything
sacred in my life.
Rowan County Clerk KIM DAVIS to the Associated Press on why she is refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses, in defiance
of the Supreme Court ruling. Rowan is one of a handful of clerks defying the courts ruling under the guise of religious conviction.
According to legal experts, Davis has two choices if she continues to refuse: quit or go to jail.
Its an insult that Facebook is sponsoring Pride in SF

[and] helping everyone change their profile picture, when they cannot fix this simple thing.
Facebook employee ZIP CAT over the companys unwillingness (or inability) to allow people to post under the names of their
choosing, a firestorm thats blazed hottest in the transgender and drag communities. Not really helping matters, CEO Mark
Zuckerberg weighed in on the policy during an online Q&A. Real name does not mean your legal name, he said. Your real
name is whatever you go by and what your friends call you.
54
JULY 2, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
METROWEEKLY.COM
JULY 2, 2015
55

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2

OUT ON THE TOWN

Guide to Local Arts

BRAND STRATEGY & MARKETING

NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE

Batman Arkham Knight:

JR.s Monday Night Showtunes

SALES & MARKETING

2015 Jansi LLC.

Compiled by Doug Rule

photography by Ward Morrison

Is Equality Maryland shuttering its doors?

Now online at MetroWeekly.com

New Jersey Seal

N A LANDMARK TRIAL, A NEW JERSEY JURY RULED

utes, a number will stop engaging in conversion therapy, thus

Republican presidential contender must decide whether

EW JERSEY GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R) IS

OPINION Sean Bugg

A Win for History

HEN IT COMES TO POLITICS AND GOVERnance, Im generally overstocked on cynicism

foe, would have predicted. In fact, its worth remembering just

US HELPING US hosts a Narcotics

The DC Center hosts a meeting of its

p.m., and HIV services (by appointment). Call 202-291-4707, or visit

13-21, interested in leadership development. 5-6:30 p.m. SMYAL Youth

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC)

practice session at Takoma Aquatic

DC LAMBDA SQUARES gay and lesbian square-dancing group features

hikes 6.5 moderate miles with 1000

HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker

ADVENTURING also hosts an alternative outing: a one-way 49-mile

IDENTITY offers free and confiden-

LGB PSYCHOTHERAPY GROUP for

tial HIV testing in Gaithersburg,

METROHEALTH CENTER offers

free, rapid HIV testing. Appointment

SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5

adults in Montgomery County offers

TEAM DC hosts a second NIGHT

event at the Nats game against the

p.m., and HIV services (by appointment). 202-291-4707, andromedatransculturalhealth.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice

SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-6

session at Hains Point, 927 Ohio Dr.

4th of July Weekend! Enjoy.

GAY DISTRICT holds facilitated

GAY MARRIED MENS

fidential support group for men who

HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker

free, rapid HIV testing. Appointment

PROJECT STRIPES hosts LGBT-

affirming social group for ages 11-24.

SMYALS REC NIGHT provides

a social atmosphere for GLBT and

celebrates Low Mass at 8:30 a.m., High

BETHEL CHURCH-DC progressive

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UNITED

10:30 a.m., 2111 Florida Ave. NW,

HOPE UNITED CHURCH OF

INSTITUTE FOR SPIRITUAL

age church & learning center. Sunday

TEMPLE UNITED CHURCH OF

progressive faith community every