CONTENTS

NOVEMBER 1, 2018 Volume 25 Issue 26

16 PRICED RIGHT
With over 2,000 works of art for sale, Superfine!
is not your run-of-the-mill art fair.

By Doug Rule

A COMPLETE GUIDE TO
REEL AFFIRMATIONS 25
Reviews by Rhuaridh Marr, John Riley, Doug Rule,
Randy Shulman, and Kate Wingfield
24
33 MERCURY FALLING
Bohemian Rhapsody is a mediocre tribute to an
incredible band and their iconic lead singer.

By Rhuaridh Marr

SPOTLIGHT: AIDA’S SHAYLA S. SIMMONS p.7 OUT ON THE TOWN p.11

RAISING THE DEAD: BEETLEJUICE THE MUSICAL p.12 OUT IN SPACE: DC DIFFERENT DRUMMERS p.14
PRICED RIGHT: SUPERFINE! p.16 FORUM: RESTING PLACE p.20 COMMUNITY CALENDAR p.21
WALKING TO END HOMELESSNESS p.21 COVER STORY: REEL AFFIRMATIONS p.24
FILM: BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY p.33 MUSIC: BARBRA STREISAND AND ELVIS COSTELLO p.35
NIGHTLIFE p.37 SCENE: ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS p.37 LISTINGS p.38 NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS p.39
PLAYLIST: DJ STEVE HENDERSON p.41 SCENE: FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR p.44
LAST WORD p.46

Real LGBTQ News and Entertainment since 1994

Editorial Editor-in-Chief Randy Shulman Art Director Todd Franson Online Editor at metroweekly.com Rhuaridh Marr Senior Editor John Riley
Contributing Editors André Hereford, Doug Rule Senior Photographers Ward Morrison, Julian Vankim Contributing Illustrator Scott G. Brooks
Contributing Writers Sean Maunier, Troy Petenbrink, Bailey Vogt, Kate Wingfield Webmaster David Uy Production Assistant Julian Vankim
Sales & Marketing Publisher Randy Shulman National Advertising Representative Rivendell Media Co. 212-242-6863 Distribution Manager Dennis Havrilla
Patron Saint Georgetown’s Biograph Theatre Cover Photography Richard Peterson

Metro Weekly 1775 I St. NW, Suite 1150 Washington, DC 20006 202-638-6830
All material appearing in Metro Weekly is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publishers. Metro Weekly assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials submitted for publication. All such submissions are subject to
editing and will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Metro Weekly is supported by many fine advertisers, but we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers, nor can we accept responsibility for materials provided by advertisers or their
agents. Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles or advertising in Metro Weekly is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such person or organization.
© 2018 Jansi LLC.

4 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Spotlight
DJ COREY
Aida’s Shayla S. Simmons
I
CAN’T REMEMBER THE LAST TIME I’VE HAD A
chance to play a princess or a queen or anything of that
nature,” says Shayla S. Simmons. “That’s one of the most
exciting things about doing Aida.”
The New York-based, Baltimore-born actress is taking on
the lead in the hit Elton John/Tim Rice musical, currently at
Constellation Theatre. Her intense, resonant performance of
the Nubian princess who, after being forced into slavery, rises
to help her people is being hailed by local critics, including
this publication’s, who called Simmons “a powerhouse when
enacting the drama of Aida’s captivity and reticent romance.”
To prepare for the role, Simmons derived inspiration from
powerful women in history. “Fannie Lou Hamer, Coretta
Scott King, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth — all these
pivotal women of history,” she says. “I really looked to them
Aida runs through November 18 at Source Theatre, 1835 14th St. NW. Tickets are $25 to $55.
Call 202-204-7741, or visit ConstellationTheatre.org.
and read their stories to see how they handled situations.
They were the first of their time. How daunting must it have
been to fulfill those tasks and complete those things in their
time when it was unconventional and unheard of?”
While Simmons, last seen in D.C. in Signature’s produc-
tion of Dreamgirls, would love to one day play Shug Avery in
The Color Purple (“I just love the story and the music — it’s
really one that I can relate to”), she’s presently more interest-
ed in writing, producing, and directing.
“I don’t find myself too interested in most of the shows
that are on Broadway at the moment,” she says, bluntly.
“There’s very few shows for people of color, or shows that
I can relate to, or that are relatable to the current times for
people of color. So I’m interested in creating my own.”
—Randy Shulman
NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 7
 Spotlight
THE ASK RAYCEEN SHOW:
SEXY SEVENTH SEASON FINALE
Rayceen Pendarvis’ free LGBTQ-focused variety
show sends its seventh season out with a bang on
Wednesday, Nov. 7, with performances by Pussy
Noir, Bella La Blanc, Hell O’Kitty, Midori Minx,
Madamme Seduction, plus an opening number by
Pendarvis, who also hosts. Additional attractions
including a fashion show by Dasoul men’s under-
wear, product demos, displays by vendors, free
food (while it lasts), and a cash bar, kicking with at
6 p.m. with music spun by DJ MIM. HRC Equality
Center, 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Free. Call
202-505-4548 or visit AskRayceen.com.

HENRY V
Faction of Fools, D.C.’s com-
media dell’arte theater troupe,
builds on their success with past
spins on Shakespeare to tackle
one of the bard’s most theatrical
plays, and the company’s first
staging of his “history” plays.
Paul Reisman helms the produc-
tion, bringing a little commedia
magic, via masks and bits of witty
improvisation, to the cavalcade
of over 50 characters that appear
in Henry V. To Nov. 11. Gallaudet
University’s Elstad Auditorium,

C. STANLEY PHOTOGRAPHY
800 Florida Ave. NE. Tickets are
$18 to $22. Call 202-651-5000 or
visit factionoffools.org.

AMIT PELED:
TCHAIKOVSKY & BEETHOVEN
Considered one of the most influential classical
musicians today, the renowned cellist joins the
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra to share his artist-
ry with the historic 1733 Gofriller Pablo Casals
COURTESY OF THE FAIRFAX SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

cellos. Peled performs Tchaikovsky’s Variations

on a Rococo Theme as part of a program that
also includes Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4 and
Bruch’s Kol Nidrei. Christopher Zimmerman con-
ducts. Saturday, Nov. 3, at 8 p.m., preceded by a
discussion with the artists and Zimmerman at
7 p.m. The Concert Hall in the George Mason
University Center for the Arts, 4373 Mason Pond
Drive, Fairfax. Tickets are $39 to $50. Call 888-
945-2468 or visit cfa.gmu.edu.

8 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Spotlight
KING JOHN
He may be king, but unlike his older brother
Richard the Lionheart, John has no stirring
nickname or truly loyal following, with every-
one from the Pope to his own court seeming to
think his crown is up for grabs. Aaron Posner
directs a rarely staged but timely history play
by Shakespeare about a toxic era of secret
deals, threats of mass destruction, and shifting
loyalties. Brian Dykstra plays the King in a gen-
der-bending production that also features Kate
Eastwood Norris, Holly Twyford, and Megan
Graves. To Dec. 2. Folger Theatre, 201 East
TERESA WOOD

Capitol St. SE. Tickets are $42 to $79. Call 202-

544-7077 or visit folger.edu.

RAVEN’S NIGHT:
MEMENTO MORI
Local married couple Belladonna and
drag king Ken Vegas co-produce a
wide-ranging show, rooted in Bella’s
primary work as a “tribal fusion belly-
dance” performer and teacher, as well as
her background as a medieval reenactor.
Bella hosts the 7th Annual cabaret, con-
cert, and carnival event with a Day of
the Dead-esque theme about celebrating
and affirming life. Saturday, Nov. 3, start-
ing at 5 p.m. with an alt-World’s Fair-
style exposition and sideshow, including
Tarot readings, magic, and belly dancing,

STEREOVISION PHOTOGRAPHY.
followed by a dinner concert at 6:30 p.m.,
and the Cabaret Melancholia at 7:30 p.m.
The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon
Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $25. Call
703-549-7500 or visit ravensnight.com.

CUB SPORT
Singer-songwriter Tim Nelson leads the moody
alt-pop group from Australia that also includes
Nelson’s husband, keyboardist Sam Netterfield,
along with keyboardist/guitarist Zoe Davis and
drummer Dan Puusaari. The group has picked up
steam since the release of last year’s impressive
Bats, with its atmospheric yet soulful slow-burn
songs in the mold of queer forebears George
Michael and Frank Ocean. Nelson touches on
coming out and commitment in honest, heartfelt
lyrics, from the gospel-inflected first single “O
Lord” to “Crush,” the video for which shows
Nelson and Netterfield shirtless and getting inti-
JACQUELINE KULLA

mate. Monday, Nov. 5. Doors at 7 p.m. Songbyrd

Music House, 2477 18th St. NW. Tickets are $13 to
$15. Call 202-450-2917 or visit songbyrddc.com.

NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 9

DIM SUM MEDIA

Out On The Town

EMPORIYUM
Union Market is a haven for foodies year-round, but one weekend every November it becomes a veritable foodie’s para-
dise. In addition to the regular merchants and food stalls inside the Market proper, over 100 artisans, producers, chefs, and
restaurants from around the Mid-Atlantic also set up booths behind the market to sample and peddle their latest wares and
fares. It’s a good assortment of tasty edibles and thoughtful gifts, for friends and family — and yourself. A sampling of the
more intriguing vendors on hand this year include Hubert’s Lemonade, Ice Cream Jubilee, Hot Little Biscuit, Buttercream
Bake Shop, Republic Restoratives, La Vache “microcreamery,” the deli Call Your Mother, Sweet Sticks pudding, Crude
bitters and sodas, Chick’nCone, Colada Shop, Maryland ChickAn, Ramen Burger, Shouk, True Chesapeake Oyster Co, and
Undercover Quinoa Co. The Emporiyum launches with a preview party Friday, Nov. 9, starting at 6 p.m. The Emporiyum
is Saturday, Nov. 10, and Sunday, Nov. 11. Dock5 at Union Market, 1309 5th St. NE. General admission per day is $25 for
admission at 11 a.m., $20 at 12:30 p.m., or $15 at 1:30 p.m., or $40 for VIP access at 10 a.m. with special bites and sips, and a
gift bag; the Friday party is $50, or $80 with an All-Access Weekend Pass. Call 800-680-9095 or visit theemporiyum.com.

Compiled by Doug Rule

FILM
DAVE
After the President suffers a debili-
tating stroke, his Chief of Staff hatch-
es a plan to replace him with a looka-
like. The film, which stars Kevin
Kline, Frank Langella, and Sigourney
Weaver, hits the big screen in honor
of its 25th anniversary as part of the
Capital Classics series at Landmark’s
West End Cinema. Wednesday, Nov.
7, at 1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 p.m., 2301 M
St. NW. Happy hour from 4 to 6:30
p.m. Tickets are $10 to $12.50. Call
202-534-1907 or visit landmarkthe-
atres.com.
HOCUS POCUS
The 1993 comedy is a particular
treat for gay fans due to its starry
cast: Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica
Parker, and Kathy Najimy. The trio
play witches resurrected three cen-
turies after the Salem Witch Trials
and out for revenge. The film has
gained a ridiculously large follow-
ing. The last offering in the seasonal
Drive-In Series at Union Market.
You don’t have to have a car to take
it all in — just grab a viewing spot in
the picnic area. Food and beer are
available, delivered to you or your
car window. Friday, Nov. 2. Gates at
6 p.m., with the movie starting after
sunset at 8:45 p.m. In the parking
lot at 1305 5th St. NE. Free for walk-
ups or $10 per car. Call 800-680-
9095 or visit unionmarketdc.com.
STAGE
ACTUALLY
What begins as a casual college
hookup turns into a Title IX hear-
ing in which both students have
everything to lose in Anna Ziegler’s
provocative new play about sex-
ual consent and gender and race
politics. Jaysen Wright (Wig Out!)
and Sylvia Kates star in a Theater
J production directed by Johanna
Gruenhut and presented in the
Arena Stage complex while the
company’s home, the Edlavitch
DCJCC, undergoes extensive reno-
vations. To Nov. 18. Kogod Cradle in
Mead Center for American Theater,
1101 6th St. SW. Call 202-777-3210
or visit theaterj.org.
ANASTASIA
From the Tony-winning creators of
Ragtime comes a dazzling musical
taking audiences on a journey from
the twilight of the Russian Empire
to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s.
Darko Tresnjak directs the touring
production of this show from the
composer/lyricist team of Stephen
Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens with a
book by Terrence McNally. To Nov.
25. Kennedy Center Opera House.
Tickets are $49 to $175. Call 202-467-
4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.
AS YOU LIKE IT
A musical adaptation of
Shakespeare’s classic magical
comedy with music and lyrics by
Shaina Taub. Cara Gabriel and Josh
Sticklin direct a large 18-person
cast including Jade Jones, Oscar
Ceville, Patrick Doneghy, Kourtney
Richards, Bianca Lipford, Willie
Garner, and Jennifer Hopkins.
Choreography by Lady Dane
Figueroa Edidi. To Dec. 2. 1742
Church St. NW. Tickets are $48
to $58. Call 202-265-3767 or visit
keegantheatre.com.
CAN’T PAY, WON’T PAY
Touted as “the exact kind of play
we need right now,” the ’70s-era
Marxist political farce by Italian
playwright Dario Foa comedy takes
on rising food costs, wage stagnation,
de-unionization, police overreach,
and political turmoil. Kristen Pilgrim
directs. With Francesca Chilcote,
Mary Meyers, Colin Connors,

NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 11

 While its creators are aware they have some scary big shoes
to fill, they appear more thrilled than intimidated by the task.
Not least Alex Brightman — who’s been down a similar road
before as the Tony-nominated star of screen-to-stage success
School of Rock — who will don the famous striped suit of the
titular role.
“We are not doing the movie on stage,” says Brightman. “We
are taking a source material and elevating it to its highest possi-
ble form, that you only can do this version on stage. And I think
that is what people are not going to expect.”
What audiences will expect is a taste of the macabre vision
and hilarious madness that helped make Burton’s film so memo-
rable. Remaining true to the tale of a crass, cantankerous demon
who’s employed by a sweet ghostly couple to rid their home of
its new living residents, Beetlejuice the Musical is “kind of like a
haunted house show,” says director Alex Timbers. For Timbers,
that meant engaging every trick of the stage trade, from pup-
petry and practical effects to what he describes as a “single-unit
set that transforms, that feels magical.”
For composer Eddie Perfect, addressing the musical magic
MATTHEW MURPHY

of the film’s indelible Danny Elfman score and calypso-flavored

set-pieces meant digging deep into his bag of tricks to find this
production’s own original sound.
“Beetlejuice is like a vessel for thousands of demons,” says
Perfect. “And then things explode out of him. I thought the
Brightman music needed to do that as well. The opening number alone has

RAISING THE DEAD

got a requiem followed by ska, followed by banjo folk, followed
by death metal. The only musical style I didn’t manage to wedge
into the show was Peking Opera.”
Perfect’s score promises several other surprises, including
It’s showtime for the team behind a quieter number that delves inside the mind of Lydia Deetz,
Beetlejuice the Musical. portrayed by Sophia Anne Caruso. In a departure from the

T
he ghost with the most has returned to heckle the living
in a screen-to-stage musical adaptation of Tim Burton’s
1988 hit Beetlejuice. Featuring original music and lyrics
by Aussie songsmith Eddie Perfect and a book by Scott Brown
and Anthony King, Beetlejuice the Musical is the latest movie
reimagining to slide into D.C.’s National Theater before shuf-
fling off to Broadway.
film, Lydia, the ghoulish teenage daughter of the family the
ghosts want out of their house, is as complicated a heroine as
Beetlejuice is a villain. “She is a con man,” Caruso reveals. “They
both are, and that’s part of why they work well together.”
As Brightman points out, “There is a hero and a villain in
everyone in this story. Everybody in the show has demons, I just
happen to be an actual one. But even demons have demons.”
—André Hereford

Beetlejuice runs until November 18 at the National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.
Tickets are $54 to $114. Call 202-628-6161, or visit thenationaldc.org.

Steven Solo, and Aubri O’Connor.
Produced by the women-centered
Nu Sass Theatre. To Nov. 18. Caos
on F, 923 F St. NW. Tickets are $15
to $30, or Pay-What-You-Can on
Monday, Nov. 5, and Tuesday, Nov.
13. Visit nusass.com.
SING TO ME NOW
Iris Dauterman weaves sardonic
humor, poetry, and a deeply con-
temporary voice to create a come-
dy about Calliope, the Greek Muse
of Epic Poetry, and the value in
fighting for beauty while the
world is falling apart. Directed by
Jenny McConnell Frederick, the
Rorschach Theatre production fea-
tures Ian Armstrong, Tori Boutin,
Desiree Chappelle, Erik Harrison,
Cam Magee, Chloe Mikala, and
Jonathan Del Palmer. To Nov.
18. Lab Theatre II in the Atlas
Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St.
NE. Tickets are $19.99 to $29.99. Call
202-399-7993 or visit atlasarts.org.
THE AGITATORS
A look at the 45-year friendship
and occasional rivalry between
two great, rebellious, and flawed
American icons: Susan B. Anthony
and Frederick Douglass. KenYatta
Rogers directs Marni Penning as
the pioneering women’s suffragist
and Ro Boddie as the famed ora-
tor and abolitionist in Mat Smart’s
play that shows how the two met
as young activists in the 1840s and
went on to help shape the course
of American history. Produced by
Mosaic Theatre. To Nov. 24. Lang
Theatre in the Atlas Performing
Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets
are $50 to $65. Call 202-399-7993 or
visit atlasarts.org.
THE CHANGELING
THE DUCHESS OF MALFI
Brave Spirits Theatre holds up
these plays by contemporaries of
Shakespeare as “two of the greatest
tragedies written for the early mod-
ern stage.” A focus on a woman’s
determination to marry for love,
and the consequences she endures
as a result, is at the heart of both
plays, revived in repertory by the
feminist-focused Alexandria-based
company. Thomas Middleton and
William Rowley’s The Changeling
is a dark play that touches on the
manipulation and degradation of
women that evokes the #MeToo
era. Meanwhile, John Webster’s
The Duchess of Malfi deals with the
efforts of a noblewoman to break
free from her family’s constraints
on whom she can marry. Presented
on alternating weekday evenings
and once each on weekends, to
Nov. 18, with post-show artist
talkbacks set for Nov. 9 for The
Changeling and the Nov. 11 matinee
of The Duchess of Malfi. The Lab at
Convergence, 1819 N. Quaker Lane,
Alexandria. Tickets are $20 each.
Call 703-998-6260 or visit braves-
piritstheatre.com.
MUSIC
BSO: THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE
CHRISTMAS
The Baltimore Symphony cele-
brates the fall holidays of Halloween
and Christmas by performing
Danny Elfman’s rambunctious,
colorful score while Tim Burton’s
1993 stop-motion animated musi-
cal fantasy screens overhead. Scott
Terrell conducts. Friday, Nov. 2, at

12 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 8 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 3, at 3
p.m. Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony
Hall, 1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore.
Tickets are $12.50 to $75. Call 410-
783-8000 or visit bsomusic.org.

ELLE KING
As an 11-year-old, Elle King made
her acting debut in father Rob
Schneider’s movie Deuce Bigalow:
Male Gigolo. But King’s career as
an adult has taken a much different
track, as a hard-living blues-fired
rockstar. Nearly four years after
King’s debut album Love Stuff, fea-
turing the unforgettable 2015 hit
“Ex’s & Oh’s,” the 29-year-old bares
her soul on new set Shake The Spirit,
coming clean about the mental
health and substance abuse issues
she’s struggled with in the face of
her musical fame in recent years.
Friday, Nov. 2. Doors at 6:30 p.m.
Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW.
Tickets are $30. Call 202-888-0050
or visit thelincolndc.com.

OUT IN SPACE
FRANK SOLIVAN
& DIRTY KITCHEN
Increasingly regarded as one of the
genre’s best contemporary bands,
the local progressive bluegrass act
DC Different Drummers partners with NASA to celebrate music inspired by earned a Grammy nomination for
science and the solar system. the 2015 album Cold Spell. Solivan
and his Dirty Kitchen crew —

E
banjoist Mike Munford, guitarist
VERYBODY THINKS OF NASA AS BASICALLY OPERATIONS — SENDING PEOPLE Chris Luquette, and bassist Jeremy
to the moon, sending people to space,” says Bob Lutz. “[But] there are also research Middleton — offers a hometown
centers like Goddard [that] build satellites that have gone to Jupiter and Saturn.” show as early promotion for the
forthcoming set If You Can’t Stand
The research and reach of Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, isn’t The Heat. The High & Wides, a
confined to other planets — or even to rocket science. Lutz, a systems engineer at Goddard, self-described “hillbilly string
recently worked on the Joint Polar Satellite System, which is helping to increase the accuracy band,” opens. Friday, Nov. 9. Doors
at 6:30 p.m. The Hamilton, 600 14th
of weather forecasting. “We also have built the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb
St. NW. Tickets are $17.25 to $39.75.
Space Telescope,” he says. Call 202-787-1000 or visit thehamil-
Those scientific advances have not gone unnoticed in today’s tech-driven world. Next tondc.com.
weekend, the DC Different Drummers offers a concert featuring compositions celebrating
LAURA OSNES
science and space. “These are pieces written to try and emulate that sense of wonder, that & SANTINO FONTANA
sense of mystery of exploration that is just inseparable from the study of space and the study Nearly two years after the Tony-
of the natural world,” the LGBTQ arts organization’s Adam Sulewski explains. A highlight of nominated leads of Rodgers and
Hammerstein’s Cinderella were
the concert by the Drummers’ Capitol Pride Symphonic Band is a centennial toast to Holst’s
featured in a National Symphony
The Planets, his seminal work about the solar system. Pops concert, the duo returns to the
The program also includes the “Sunrise” fanfare by Richard Strauss, best known from Kennedy Center for another evening
Stanley Kubrick’s science fiction classic 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as several pieces of musical “pairings,” breathing life
into beloved Broadway standards.
drawing inspiration from space exploration, including Jim Colonna’s To Slip The Surly Bonds And this time out, Osnes (Grease:
of Earth. “It is through the NASA space program that we have come to our current technol- You’re The One That I Want) and
ogy, medicine, and understanding of the human condition,” Colonna writes in a published Fontana (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) will
perform classics by Sondheim as
program note. The composer rightly credits the federal agency for everything from cellular
well as newer tunes by Pasek & Paul
phones and laptop computers, to our knowledge of the broader universe. in a cabaret that reteams them with
DCDD’s science-themed program inspired Sulewski, the ensemble’s vice president, to Cinderella’s music director Andy
reach out to several LGBTQ science organizations, chief among them the NASA Goddard Einhorn, who will accompany them
on piano. Friday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m.
LGBTAC. Lutz, the co-chair of that employee group, will serve as the concert’s emcee. Terrace Gallery. Tickets are $75 to
Lutz is “very happy to be colleagues with [the Drummers] and to partake in something like $149. Call 202-467-4600 or visit
this,” since it allows him to spread the word about a place — open to the public through an kennedy-center.org.
extensive Visitor Center — he clearly can’t get enough of.
POSTCLASSICAL ENSEMBLE:
“I’ve been at Goddard for 35 years — it’s a lifelong job,” he says. “It’s got a campus-like A CELEBRATION OF
atmosphere and you go to seminars, and you’re encouraged to keep on learning. People stay WALT WHITMAN
at Goddard.” —Doug Rule On the eve of the midterm elec-
tion, the noted experimental music
organization, now the Ensemble-
Beyond Our World: Music Inspired by Space and Exploration is Saturday, Nov. 3, In-Residence at the Washington
at 7 p.m., at the Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G St. NW. Tickets are $15 to $25. National Cathedral, offers a
“communal forum with music”
Call 202-403-3669 or visit dcdd.org.

14 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 inspired by the gay, iconic poet,
who was born 200 years ago next
year. Twisting the title to one of
Whitman’s most famous poems, “I
Sing the Body Electoral” touches
on core American values and ideals
— from the Dream to democracy
— that were revered by Whitman
but seem to be under threat today.
Hosted by PBS’s Jeffrey Brown,
the program features world-re-
nowned baritone William Sharp
and pianist Wan-Chi Su perform-
ing famous Whitman songs by Kurt
Weill as well as Ralph Vaughan
Williams’s Three Poems by Walt
Whitman and the world premiere of
Curt Cacioppo’s The Golden Door.
Meanwhile, PostClassical’s execu-
PHOTO COURTESY OF SUPERFINE

tive director Joe Horowitz moder-

ates a panel discussion including
Lorenzo Candelaria, dean of the Arts
at SUNY Purchase, Martin Murray,
researcher and founder of the non-
profit Washington Friends of Walt
Whitman, Brian Yothers, literature
professor at the University of Texas
at El Paso, Peyman Allahvirdizadeh,
a poet and immigrant from Iran,
and Neil Richardson, creator of the

PRICED RIGHT
meditation-focused Walt Whitman
Integral. Monday, November 5, at
7:30 pm. The Bethlehem Chapel,
Massachusetts and Wisconsin
Avenues NW. Tickets are $65. Call
With over 2,000 works of art for sale, Superfine! 202-537-2228 or visit nationalca-
is not your run-of-the-mill art fair. thedral.org.

Y
POSTMODERN JUKEBOX
OU DON’T WALK INTO A STORE AND PICK UP SOMETHING YOU LIKE AND A rotating musical collective found-
go, ‘How about I give you $20 for this?’” says Alex Mitow. “But that’s so common- ed by arranger and pianist Scott
place in the art world, and everybody just kind of accepts it.” Everybody, that is, Bradlee in 2011, PMJ became a
YouTube sensation through its
except Mitow and his partner James Miille. The couple has cultivated a devoted following reworking of recent pop songs
since starting the first Superfine! art fair in Miami in 2015. Its inaugural D.C. edition is now into vintage swing and jazz tunes.
running at Union Market with 2,000 works of art for sale, price tag included. This “traveling band of throw-
back minstrels” returns to the
“We mandate that the prices be shown on every work of art so there’s never that ambig- area on the Back in Black & White
uous space where you don’t know how much something costs and you have to enter one Tour. Monday, Nov. 5, at 8 p.m.
of those weird negotiations,” Mitow says. The policy is key to making the fair “a more fun, Music Center at Strathmore, 5301
more approachable, more accessible space to interact with and hopefully collect art in.” Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda.
Tickets are $35 to $85, or $185 for
Affordability also aids the cause. “We have a very strict price cap of $15,000,” says a Gold VIP package including a
Mitow. “Seventy-five percent of the work in the fair is under $5,000. And every exhibitor premium seat and post-show Meet
is featuring works in the $50 to $1,000 range. But we’re not just throwing a big party with & Greet. Call 301-581-5100 or visit
strathmore.org.
some art on the walls. I feel like that happens everywhere in every city right now. That’s
really not at all what Superfine! is about.” Mitow calls it “highly curated,” thanks to a ded- REBIRTH BRASS BAND
icated 10-person team “fine-tuning everything.” Formed in 1983, this New Orleans
Lauren Fairbanks, a member of the New York-based team, adds that diversity is “baked band has evolved from playing the
streets of the French Quarter to fes-
into the core and DNA of what Superfine! is,” resulting in “a far larger representation of tivals and stages all over the world,
female artists, of artists of color, of LGBTQ artists” than at other established art shows. This in the process leading a revival in the
weekend’s D.C. show also offers an impressive 50/50 geographic mix, with roughly half of Crescent City’s brass band tradition.
The band returns to the Hamilton,
the artists and galleries originating locally. which will set up a dance floor in
It’s also far from the typical “stuffy” environment. “You’re not just going to come front of the stage so patrons can
to Superfine!...to walk around and look at art,” Fairbanks says. For example, there’s an get down and into the groove. Ellis
Ice Cream Social on Friday, an “LGBT Arts Shorts” hour-long film screening and an Dyson & the Shambles, a “playfully
hootin’ and hollerin’ act” from North
“Unsettled” performance arts series presented by Transformeron Saturday, plus panel Carolina, opens the show on Friday,
discussions and music and DJ performances throughout. Nov. 2, at 8 p.m., while Rebirth per-
“There are all these additional components that we tie into Superfine!,” says Fairbanks, forms twice on Saturday, Nov. 3, at
8 and 10:30 p.m. The Hamilton, 600
“because art comes in many different forms.” —Doug Rule 14th St. NW. Tickets are $35 to $45.
Call 202-787-1000 or visit thehamil-
tondc.com.
Superfine! runs Thursday, Nov. 1, through Saturday, Nov. 3, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and
Sunday, Nov. 4, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., at Union Market’s Dock 5, 1309 5th St. NE. Tickets ST. LUCIA
are $12 to $15 per day. Call 800-680-9095 or visit superfine.world. South African singer-songwrit-

16 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY


TANNER ABEL
THE SMITHSONIAN’S
LONG CONVERSATION
RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 9 winner Sasha Velour,
Black Girl Ventures founder and LGBTQ advocate
Shelly Bell, New York Times columnist David Brooks,
NASA astrophysicist and Jupiter mission director
Scott Bolton, Beats by Dre co-founder IZ Avila, fem-
inist grassroots organizer Mily Treviño-Sauceda, and
Google X’s “mad scientist” Rich Devaul are among
the 30 artists, scientists, and influencers touted as
“2018’s Biggest Thinkers” set to converge on the
National Mall next month. Long Conversation is an
unscripted, unmoderated day-long gathering centered
on randomized, two-person, relay dialogues likened
by organizers as an amalgam of “the best dinner party,
TED talk, and speed dating [session] you could ever
put together.” The event is geared toward imagining
a brighter future by exploring game-changing ideas
in areas as diverse as cancer research, democratic
politics, performance art, and the queer community,
among others. The event will be live-streamed via
Facebook and is complemented by futuristic art instal-
lations drawing from science and technology, as well
as culinary pop-ups featuring food from chef/restau-
rateur Spike Gjerde of Rake’s Progress and cocktails
from Republic Restoratives available for purchase.
Wednesday, Dec. 7, from 2 to 10 p.m. in the Art &
Industries Building, 1000 Jefferson Dr. SW. Tickets,
granting entry in staggered, two-hour sessions, will be
available starting this Monday, Nov. 5. Call 202-633-
1000 or visit si.edu/longconvo for more information.
18 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
er Jean-Philip Grobler grew up
singing in the Drakensberg Boys’
Choir, but St. Lucia, his five-piece
project that includes his wife Patti
Beranek, is far more influenced by
pop music than choral. The new
album Hyperion, like those that
came before it, is dramatic synth-
pop through and through, recall-
ing pioneering stylistic forebears
such as Depeche Mode and New
Order. “Paradise Is Waiting,” for
instance, sounds straight out of a
rock musical a la Hair, with shades
of Polyphonic Spree and Prince,
while the rising chorus to “China
Shop” conjures “New York City
Boy” by Pet Shop Boys. SHAED,
The Colonies open. Tickets remain
for the show Tuesday, Nov. 6. Doors
at 7 p.m. Nightclub 9:30, 815 V St.
NW. Tickets are $32.50. Call 202-
265-0930 or visit 930.com.
DANCE
FUEGO FLAMENCO XIV: JOSÉ
BARRIOS & CO.: REDITUM
GALA’s 14th annual festival offers
the D.C. premiere of La Sobremesa,
a mesmerizing new piece from
Spain’s Omayra Amaya Flamenco
Dance Co., which will be performed
the third weekend of November
with bailaor Edwin Aparicio, the
festival’s co-founder and curator.
But Aparicio, the gay D.C.-based
native of El Salvador who has
become a world-renowned cham-
pion of contemporary flamenco,
has opted to kick off this year’s
two-weekend festival with one of
the hottest companies based in the
country where the style originated.
Spain’s Fundación Conservatorio
Flamenco Casa Patas collabo-
rates to present Barrios and Co.
in the U.S. premiere of Reditum,
Dancing Flamenco, an imaginative,
high-spirited work that showcas-
es Barrios’ virtuosity and also fea-
tures music director and guitarist
Isaac Muñoz, singers Caridad Vega
and Sara Coréa, and Diego Villegas
on saxophone, flute, and harmon-
ica. Thursday, Nov. 8, through
Saturday, Nov. 11, at 8 p.m., and
Sunday, Nov. 12, at 2 p.m. GALA
Theatre at Tivoli Square, 3333 14th
St. NW. Tickets are $30 to $48, or
$80 for a Flamenco Pass to both
productions. Call 202-234-7174 or
visit galatheatre.org.
RAGAMALA DANCE COMPANY:
WRITTEN IN WATER
The Acclaimed Bharatanatyam
ensemble, created and run by
the mother/daughter team of
Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna
Ramaswamy, returns to the
Kennedy Center with one of its new-
est productions. Written in Water
is a large-scale multi-disciplinary
work of dance and text set to a live,
original score from South Indian
composer Prema Ramamurthy with
Iraqi American jazz artist Amir
ElSaffar, and also featuring lush
paintings by Chennai-based artist
V. Keshav projected onto the stage
to create a mythic, mystical dance
landscape. An allegory of human’s
constant search for transcendence,
the 65-minute work draws inspi-
ration from the Indian board game
Paramapadam, the 2nd century
precursor to Snakes and Ladders,
and the 12th-century Sufi poem The
Conference of the Birds. Friday, Nov.
2, and Saturday, Nov. 3, at 7:30 p.m.
Terrace Theater. Tickets are $39.
Call 202-467-4600 or visit kenne-
dy-center.org.
THE WASHINGTON BALLET:
CONTEMPORARY MASTERS
“Contemporary Masters is an eve-
ning of three American modern
dance geniuses: Mark Morris, Merce
Cunningham, and Paul Taylor,”
says the Washington Ballet’s Julie
Kent. “These three dance innova-
tors really changed the trajectory
of 20th-century dance, [and] we’re
really excited to introduce this cho-
reography to our company and to
our audiences.” All modern dance
choreographers, their works in this
program are “realized with authen-
ticity and with correct style and
dynamics by artists that are classi-
cally trained” — yet their individual
style shines through, no matter how
traditionally unballetic it may be.
For example, Cunningham’s Duets
is performed by dancers who are
barefoot, while Taylor’s Company
B has them in soft dance shoes; only
Morris’ Drink To Me Only With
Thine Eyes is rendered in pointe
shoes. Remaining performances are
Thursday, Nov. 1, and Friday, Nov.
2, at 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 3, at
1:30 and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Nov.
4, at 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. Harman
Hall, 610 F St. NW. Tickets are $25
to $125. Call 202-547-1122 or visit
washingtonballet.org.
VINCENT E. THOMAS DANCE:
WHAT’S GOING ON
Originally co-commissioned by
Dance Place and the National
Performance Network, the full-
length production is a reflection of
the world today as viewed through
the lens of Marvin Gaye’s music —
specifically the 1971 classic about
life, love and social justice that gives
the show its title. A work featur-
ing modern, jazz, and West African
dance from choreographers Vincent
E. Thomas, Ralph Glenmore, and
Sylvia Soumah, Thomas spearhead-
ed and continues to tour it national-
ly and present it regionally. Friday,
Nov. 2, and Saturday, Nov. 3, at 8
p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 4, at 4 p.m.
Joe’s Movement Emporium, 3309
Bunker Hill Road, Mount Rainier,
Md. Tickets are $23 to $28. Call
301-699-1819 or visit joesmove-
ment.org.
READINGS
& LECTURES
I WROTE A BOOK! NOW WHAT?
PANEL DISCUSSION
A panel of local authors will join
Holly Smith, editor-in-chief of the
Washington Independent Review of
Books to discuss the challenge writ-
ers face in finding a publisher and
promoting their books. The ulti-
mate goal of this discussion, pre-
sented by Kramerbooks in conjunc-
tion with the alumni organization
Harvardwood, is to provide insights
for indie and aspiring writers to
introduce, expand, and redefine
their literary horizons. In addition
to Smith, the panel features liter-
ary agent Laura Strachan, poet/
author Richard Peabody of Gargoyle
Magazine, author and retired colo-
nel J. Michael McNealy, and attor-
ney/author John Adam Wasowicz.
Friday, Nov. 2, at 6:30 p.m.
Kramerbooks, 1517 Connecticut
Ave. NW. Call 202-387-1400 or visit
kramers.com.
LEAH BROOKS: 1968-2018:
D.C.’S URBAN DEVELOPMENT
A public policy professor at George
Washington University drops by
the National Building Museum to
discuss the economic impact of the
1968 riots on retail properties in the
commercial corridors of 7th and
14th Streets NW and H Street NE.
Through maps and data analytics,
Brooks explores the revival of these
areas over the half-century and
what these changes mean for the
future of Washington’s urban devel-
opment. Her talk complements
the museum’s special exhibition
Community Policing in the Nation’s
Capital (see separate entry under Art
& Exhibits). Wednesday, Nov. 7, at
6:30 p.m. 401 F St. NW. Tickets are
$20, or $12 for museum members.
Call 202-272-2448 or visit nbm.org.
ART & EXHIBITS
CHURCHILL’S SHAKESPEARE
The U.K.’s legendary 20th-centu-
ry prime minister was a lifelong
admirer of the 16th-Century Brit
regarded as the greatest writer
in the English language, and the
Bard’s influence can be found in
Churchill’s speeches and ideas. The
Folger Shakespeare Library pres-
ents materials from its collection
as well as those from Cambridge’s
Churchill Archives Centre and
Churchill’s home Chartwell, both of
which collaborated on this special
exhibition. Now to Jan. 6. 201 East
Capitol St. SE. Call 202-544-4600
or visit folger.edu.
FOOD & DRINK
DC BEER FESTIVAL
Eighty breweries fill the concourse
at Nationals Park to help spread
beer cheer the first Saturday in
November — pouring over 200
varieties of beers, with a particu-
lar focus on fall seasonal offerings.
Atlas, Right Proper, and 3 Stars
are among the D.C. craft breweries
represented, with Virginia repre-
sented by Bold Rock, Hellbender,
Jailbreak, Port City, and Old
Dominion,and Maryland with the
Brewer’s Art, Manor Hill, Flying
Dog, and Wyndridge. Over a dozen
of D.C.’s top food trucks will also
be on hand for the annual beer fest,
also offering Bobby McKeys Dueling
Pianos, lawn games, DJs and more.
Saturday, Nov. 3, from noon to 3
p.m. or 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. 1500 South
Capitol St. NE. Tickets are $45 per
session and include unlimited drink
tastings. Visit dcbeerfestival.com.
ABOVE & BEYOND
SMITHSONIAN
FOOD HISTORY WEEKEND
Food world celebrities expected
at the fourth annual event at the
National Museum of American
History are chef/TV personalities
Bobby Flay, Aarόn Sánchez, and
Maneet Chauhan, James Beard
Award-winning chefs Sue Milliken,
Susan Feniger, Traci Des Jardins,
and Edouardo Jordan, and authors
Sandra A. Gutierrez (The New
Southern-Latino Table), Corby
Kummer (The Pleasures of Slow
Food), and Michael W. Twitty (The
Cooking Gene: A Journey Through
African-American Culinary History
in the Old South). This year’s theme
is “Regions Reimagined,” with
a focus on exploring the evolving
concept of region and local connec-
tions. The Food History Weekend
kicks off with a Black Tie Gala at
which the 4th Annual Julia Child
Award will be given to Sue Milliken
and Susan Feniger of L.A.’s Border
Grill, on Thursday, Nov. 1. On
Friday, Nov. 2, comes free round-
tables about the migration of peo-
ple and food throughout American
history with leading researchers,
experts, and thinkers. The weekend
comes to a head on Saturday, Nov.
3, with free activities around the
museum during the day, from book
signings to film screenings to demos
— though no tastings — culminating
with the Last Call evening toast
to the history of American brew-
ing, including craft beer tastings
from Bow and Arrow Brewing out
of New Mexico, Cajun Fire Brewing
from New Orleans, New Glarus
Brewing from Wisconsin, and
Scratch Brewing from Illinois. 1400
Constitution Ave. NW. Tickets are
$500 to the opening Black Tie Gala
and $45 (plus fees) to the closing
Last Call event. Call 202-633-1000
or visit americanhistory.si.edu for
more information. l
NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 19
 Forum
RESTING PLACE
As Matthew Shepard was laid to rest in the National Cathedral, it reminds us
of how important his story is to combat hate.

By Cathy Renna

F
OR A FEW DAYS IN WASHINGTON, D.C. LAST imagining Matt as a child wearing it broke my heart. Seeing
week I felt hope in a way I haven’t for some time, as the note from one of his teachers encouraging him when he
I sat with one arm around my partner and the other was being teased for his small size by saying “good things
around Sara Burlingame, head of Equality Wyoming, at the come in small packages” let us peek into the window of his
interment of Matthew Shepard at the Washington National childhood experience. Hearing Judy and Dennis tell stories
Cathedral. The love was palpable, both in the music and the of their son as a child, reminding us he was both ordinary
words of Bishop Gene Robinson. I was inspired by Dennis and extraordinary.
Shepard’s remarks, and was relieved that Matt finally had I spent a lot of time in the St. Joseph of Arimathea crypt,
a safe resting place where we can where Hellen Keller and Anne
all go to remember, reflect, and Sullivan are interred and where
recommit to making the world a Matt’s remains are now. Hearing
better place for all. noise in the hall, I went to ask
I felt a sense of closure, twenty for quiet and ending up giving
years after learning about a hate a group of docents in training a
crime in Laramie, Wyoming, and Q and A on Matt and his story.
going to help students and the Hundreds of thousands of visitors
local community with the media will hear his story. As Kate Snow
on the ground. from NBC said, a place in the
At the cathedral I reached Washington National Cathedral
into my jacket pocket, feeling the is reserved for “those who have
dirt Sara brought from the spot made extraordinary contribu-
where Matthew was found. She tions to the world.” Choking back
had placed some of it under a tree tears, Judy Shepard simply said,
in front of the National Cathedral, “I guess he has.”
but also given small amounts to And then the hope and inspi-
several of us who have been to that ration of the week was shattered
sacred ground. on Saturday, as the media report-
I spent last week doing what ed yet another mass shooting, this
I feel is more like a vocation than time at a synagogue in Pittsburgh.
“work.” I watched two of my I know in my heart that we are
biggest heroes, Dennis and Judy better than this, that hate cannot
Shepard, do back-to-back inter- Dennis Shepard, Cynthia Dettle, Katie Couric,
win over love, but we are being
views, grateful to bring Matt home Judy Shepard and Renna tested and we are all called to
but also using their platform to action.
urge action, telling the world that our work is far from over. Matthew Shepard’s story will forever live, but we must
I helped producers understand the gravity of our current continue telling the stories of those affected by hate vio-
political climate for LGBTQ people and especially the epi- lence, and those left behind who can turn grief and anger
demic of hate violence against trans women of color. When into love and action. l
we have the media’s attention — not often these past few
years — we must give voice to stories and messages that do Cathy Renna is a longtime LGBTQ activist and works with
not get the attention they deserve. the Matthew Shepard Foundation and other clients as the
There are many moments I took away from last week owner of Target Cue. In 1998, while working for GLAAD, she
but several stay with me in a deeper way. The Smithsonian helped students and the community in Laramie the day after
presentation of Matthew’s personal effects and papers was Matthew Shepard was found. You can find her on Twitter @
extraordinary. As a parent, I cannot imagine how hard it cathyrenna.
was to part with Matt’s childhood possessions. I have art,
clothes, and toys from when my daughter, Rosemary, first The opinions expressed in Forum do not necessarily reflect
learned to scribble to her cartoon drawings of me from last those of Metro Weekly or its employees. Add your voice to
Christmas. Seeing a well-worn, small Superman cape and Forum. Learn how at metroweekly.com/forum.

20 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Community
THURSDAY, Nov. 1
The DC Center holds a meet-
ing of its ASIAN PACIFIC
ISLANDER QUEER SUPPORT
GROUP. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th St.
NW, Suite 105. For more infor-
mation, visit thedccenter.org.

Weekly Events
PHOTO COURTESY OF FRIENDSHIP WALKS

ANDROMEDA
TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH
offers free HIV testing and HIV
services (by appointment). 9
a.m.-5 p.m. Decatur Center,
1400 Decatur St. NW. To
arrange an appointment, call
202-291-4707, or visit androm-
edatransculturalhealth.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB practice

session at Takoma Aquatic

WALKING TO END
Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 300 Van
Buren St. NW. For more infor-
mation, visit swimdcac.org.

DC FRONT RUNNERS run-

HOMELESSNESS
ning/walking/social club
welcomes runners of all ability
levels for exercise in a fun and
supportive environment, with
socializing afterward. Route
Friendship Place’s annual fundraiser seeks to provide distance is 3-6 miles. Meet at
a safety net for homeless LGBTQ youth. 7 p.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW.
For more information, visit

E
dcfrontrunners.org.
NDING HOMELESSNESS MEANS BUILDING SYSTEMS STRONG ENOUGH TO
catch people in time,” says Jean-Michel Giraud, president and CEO of Friendship DC LAMBDA SQUARES, D.C.’s
gay and lesbian square-dancing
Place. “Understanding that is key, because in any economic system, some people are group, features mainstream
going to fall through the cracks, and they’re going to end up homeless or on the brink. But through advanced square
it’s how quickly and effectively you respond, and how person-centric and empowering you dancing at the National City
Christian Church. Please dress
are, that makes the difference.” casually. 7-9:30 p.m. 5 Thomas
Friendship Place looks at a myriad of issues that contribute to homelessness and tries Circle NW. 202-930-1058,
to resolve them — not merely providing temporary shelter to homeless individuals. Their dclambdasquares.org.
“Employment First” model — one that treats the whole person — helps them serve close to
DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds
3,700 people a year. practice. The team is always
To raise money for its numerous programs, several of which are tailored to specific popu- looking for new members.
lations such as veterans, the chronically ill, and youth, the organization will hold a 1.5-mile- All welcome. 7-9 p.m. Harry
Thomas Recreation Center,
long walk along the National Mall. The fourth annual Friendship Walks will feature brief 1743 Lincoln Rd. NE. For more
remarks from past clients and Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), who represents the information, visit scandalsrfc.
ward where Friendship Place is located. Registration fees are $10 for persons under the age org or dcscandals@gmail.com.
of 5, $25 for ages 6 to 22, and $35 for adults 23 and over.
THE DULLES TRIANGLES
Saturday’s walk will focus on the issue of youth homelessness. “Unaccompanied young Northern Virginia social
people living on the street are at greater risk of drug addiction, trauma, suicide, sex-traffick- group meets for happy hour at
ing and other forms of exploitation,” Giraud says. “We are doing a lot of work on the ground, Sheraton in Reston. All wel-
come. 7-9 p.m. 11810 Sunrise
in all eight wards of the city, to reach out to youth, in places where those who are homeless Valley Drive, second-floor bar.
tend to gather.” For more information, visit
Giraud notes that about 40 percent of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ. “These are dullestriangles.com.
people who are being forced out of their homes after coming out to family,” he says. “We
HIV TESTING at Whitman-
cannot allow them to be shut out from society for claiming who they are. Walker Health. 9 a.m.-12:30
“With Friendship Walks, we’re saying: ‘We’re here for you and all people experiencing p.m. and from 2-5 p.m. at 1525
homelessness, and so is the community,’” he continues. “It’s a chance to showcase our mis- 14th St. NW, and 9 a.m-12
p.m. and 2-5 p.m. at the Max
sion, bring volunteers out, and bring attention to the fight against homelessness in the D.C. Robinson Center, 2301 MLK Jr.
Metro area.” —John Riley Ave. SE. For an appointment
call 202-745-7000 or visit whit-
man-walker.org.
Friendship Walks kicks off at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3 at the Lincoln Memorial. Check-
in begins at 9:30 a.m. To register, or for more information, visit friendshipwalks.org. IDENTITY offers free and
confidential HIV testing at

NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 21

 two separate locations. Walk-ins
accepted from 2-6 p.m., by appoint-
ment for all other hours. 414 East
Diamond Ave., Gaithersburg, Md.
or 7676 New Hampshire Ave.,
Suite 411, Takoma Park, Md. To
set up an appointment or for more
information, call Gaithersburg,
301-300-9978, or Takoma Park,
301-422-2398.
METROHEALTH CENTER
offers free, rapid HIV testing.
Appointment needed. 1012 14th
St. NW, Suite 700. To arrange an
appointment, call 202-638-0750.
SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5
p.m., by appointment and walk-in,
for youth 21 and younger. Youth
Center, 410 7th St. SE. 202-567-
3155 or testing@smyal.org.
STI TESTING at Whitman-Walker
Health. 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 2-3
p.m. at both 1525 14th St. NW and
the Max Robinson Center, 2301
Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. SE.
Testing is intended for those with-
out symptoms. For an appointment
call 202-745-7000 or visit whit-
man-walker.org.
US HELPING US hosts a Narcotics
Anonymous Meeting. The group
is independent of UHU. 6:30-7:30
p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. For
more information, call 202-446-
1100.
WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP
INSTITUTE for young LBTQ
women, 13-21, interested in lead-
ership development. 5-6:30 p.m.
SMYAL Youth Center, 410 7th St.
SE. For more information, call 202-
567-3163, or email catherine.chu@
smyal.org.
FRIDAY, Nov. 2
ADVENTURING outdoors group
takes a weekday hike to scenic
overlooks on South Mountain
near Hagerstown, Md. Moderately
strenuous hike will be 7.2 miles
long with about 850 feet of eleva-
tion gain. Some sections will be
rocky and steep. Bring beverages,
lunch, sturdy boots, bug spray, and
a few bucks for fees. Carpool at
10 a.m. from the Frederick Wawa,
1001 West Patrick St. For more
information, contact Edward, 301-
606-3086 or visit adventuring.org.
GAY DISTRICT, a group for
GBTQQI men between the ages of
18-35, meets on the first and third
Fridays of each month. 8:30-9:30
p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105.
For more information, visit gaydis-
trict.org.
22 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
The DC Center’s TRANS
SUPPORT GROUP provides a
space to talk for transgender people
and those who identify outside of
the gender binary. 7-8:30 p.m. 2000
14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more
information, visit thedccenter.org.
SATURDAY, Nov. 3
CENTER GLOBAL, a group that
advocates for LGBTIQ rights and
fights against anti-LGBTIQ laws
in more than 80 countries, holds
its monthly meeting on the first
Saturday of every month. 12-1:30
p.m. The DC Center, 2000 14th St.
NW, Suite 105. For more informa-
tion, visit thedccenter.org.
Weekly Events
DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a prac-
tice session at Montgomery College
Aquatics Club. 8:30-10 a.m. 7600
Takoma Ave., Takoma, Md. For more
information, visit swimdcac.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/
walking/social club welcomes run-
ners of all ability levels for exercise
in a fun and supportive environ-
ment, with socializing afterward.
Route distance will be 3-6 miles.
Walker meet at 9:30 a.m. and run-
ners at 10 a.m. at 23rd & P Streets
NW. For more information, visit
dcfrontrunners.org.
DIGNITYUSA sponsors Mass for
LGBT community, family and
friends. 6:30 p.m., Immanuel
Church-on-the-Hill, 3606 Seminary
Road, Alexandria. All welcome. For
more info, visit dignitynova.org.
SUNDAY, Nov. 4
ADVENTURING outdoors group
holds Fall Potluck Social at a
licensed Dupont Circle establish-
ment. Adventuring supplies ice and
paper/plastic goods. Bring a dish
to share with suitable serving uten-
sils, plus a non-alcoholic beverage.
Alcohol must be purchased inside
the establishment. For further
information, contact Elaine, 215-
510-6121 or visit adventuring.org.
Weekly Events
LGBT-inclusive ALL SOULS
MEMORIAL EPISCOPAL CHURCH
celebrates Low Mass at 8:30
a.m., High Mass at 11 a.m. 2300
Cathedral Ave. NW. 202-232-4244,
allsoulsdc.org.
DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a
practice session at Wilson Aquatic
Center. 9:30-11 a.m. 4551 Fort Dr.
NW. For more information, visit
swimdcac.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/
walking/social club welcomes run-
ners of all ability levels for exercise
in a fun and supportive environ-
ment, with socializing afterward.
Route will be a distance run of 8, 10
or 12 miles. Meet at 9 a.m. at 23rd
& P Streets NW. For more informa-
tion, visit dcfrontrunners.org.
DIGNITYUSA offers Roman
Catholic Mass for the LGBT
community. All welcome. Sign
interpreted. 6 p.m. St. Margaret’s
Church, 1820 Connecticut Ave.
NW. For more info, visit dignity-
washington.org.
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL
UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
welcomes all to 10:30 a.m. service,
945 G St. NW. firstuccdc.org or
202-628-4317.
HOPE UNITED CHURCH OF
CHRIST welcomes GLBT commu-
nity for worship. 10:30 a.m., 6130
Old Telegraph Road, Alexandria.
hopeucc.org.
HSV-2 SOCIAL AND SUPPORT
GROUP for gay men living in the
DC metro area. This group will be
meeting once a month. For infor-
mation on location and time, visit
H2gether.com.
Join LINCOLN
CONGREGATIONAL TEMPLE –
UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST for
an inclusive, loving and progressive
faith community every Sunday. 11
a.m. 1701 11th Street NW, near R in
Shaw/Logan neighborhood. lincol-
ntemple.org.
METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY
CHURCH OF WASHINGTON, D.C.
services at 9 a.m. (ASL interpret-
ed) and 11 a.m. Children’s Sunday
School at 11 a.m. 474 Ridge St. NW.
202-638-7373, mccdc.com.
RIVERSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH,
a Christ-centered, interracial,
welcoming-and-affirming church,
offers service at 10 a.m. 680 I St.
SW. 202-554-4330, riversidedc.org.
UNITARIAN CHURCH OF
ARLINGTON, an LGBTQ welcom-
ing-and-affirming congregation,
offers services at 10 a.m. Virginia
Rainbow UU Ministry. 4444
Arlington Blvd. uucava.org.
UNIVERSALIST NATIONAL
MEMORIAL CHURCH, a welcom-
ing and inclusive church. GLBT
Interweave social/service group
meets monthly. Services at 11 a.m.,
Romanesque sanctuary. 1810 16th St.
NW. 202-387-3411, universalist.org.
MONDAY, Nov. 5
Weekly Events
DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a
practice session at Dunbar Aquatic
Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 101 N St. NW.
For more information, visit swim-
dcac.org.
The DC Center hosts COFFEE
DROP-IN FOR THE SENIOR LGBT
COMMUNITY. 10 a.m.-noon. 2000
14th St. NW. For more information,
call 202-682-2245 or visit thedc-
center.org.
US HELPING US hosts a black gay
men’s evening affinity group for
GBT black men. Light refreshments
provided. 7-9 p.m. 3636 Georgia
Ave. NW. 202-446-1100.
WASHINGTON WETSKINS
WATER POLO TEAM practices 7-9
p.m. Newcomers with at least basic
swimming ability always welcome.
Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van
Buren St. NW. For more informa-
tion, contact Tom, 703-299-0504
or secretary@wetskins.org, or visit
wetskins.org.
TUESDAY, Nov. 6
Weekly Events
DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds prac-
tice. The team is always looking
for new members. All welcome.
7-9 p.m. Harry Thomas Recreation
Center, 1743 Lincoln Rd. NE. For
more information, visit scandalsrfc.
org or dcscandals@gmail.com.
OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS
holds an LGBT-focused meet-
ing every Tuesday, 7 p.m. at St.
George’s Episcopal Church, 915
Oakland Ave., Arlington, just steps
from Virginia Square Metro. For
more info. call Dick, 703-521-
1999. Handicapped accessible.
Newcomers welcome. liveandletli-
veoa@gmail.com.
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 7
BOOKMEN DC, an informal men’s
gay-literature group, discusses
Insult and the Making of Gay Self
by Didier Eribon at the Cleveland
Park Library. All are welcome. 7:30
p.m. 3310 Connecticut Ave. NW.
Visit bookmendc.blogspot.com.
The TOM DAVOREN SOCIAL
BRIDGE CLUB meets for Social
Bridge at the Dignity Center, across
from the Marine Barracks. No
partner needed. 7:30 p.m. 721 8th
St. SE. Call 301-345-1571 for more
information.
Weekly Events
AD LIB, a group for freestyle con-
versation, meets about 6-6:30 p.m.,
Steam, 17th and R NW. All wel-
come. For more information, call
Fausto Fernandez, 703-732-5174.
FREEDOM FROM SMOKING, a
group for LGBT people looking
to quit cigarettes and tobacco use,
holds a weekly support meeting at
The DC Center. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th
St. NW, Suite 105. For more infor-
mation, visit thedccenter.org. l
24 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
 Reviews by Rhuaridh Marr, John Riley,
Doug Rule, Randy Shulman, and Kate Wingfield
All films are showing at GALA Hispanic Theatre,
3333 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.
CRITIC’S PICK
ANCHOR AND HOPE
Thursday, Nov. 1
7:15 p.m.
ttttt
An intimate film set amid London’s bohemian subculture, the
charm in Carlos Marques-Marcet’s Anchor and Hope is largely
the sum of its intriguing parts. There is the wobbling love affair
of Eva and Kat, utterly carefree until they discover what Eva’s
need for a baby will do to their relationship. And then there is
the powerful evocation of place in Kat’s houseboat plying its
way up and down the Camden canal, like a metaphor for the
vagaries of life.
None of it is exactly reconciled, but all of it fits Marques-
Marcet’s sense of rhythm and is as mesmerizing as it is sensual.
One minute we are face-to-face with these two beautiful women,
trying to read their eyes and their silences — you can practically
smell the duvet, their hemp-shampooed hair, and the hands
that pull ropes and push lock gates. The next, we are on deck,
gliding slowly along, listening to a strange old song and studying
the eclectic banks of the canal beneath a changing sky. Deco
apartments mix with ancient houses; gardens mix with graffiti;
industrial infrastructure looms. It is by turns trendy, stylish,
neglected and sinister.
It all feels rather like life itself: a continuum of the utterly
domestic and the momentarily sublime. If this mood works
beautifully, the eye here can be a tad too loving, some scenes too
long. A montage of river water heralding a drama doesn’t quite
work and there are times when the film’s realism begs for more
and franker dialogue.
Still, these women feel immensely real and their presence
lingers long after the film ends. Oona Chaplin is authentic as
Eva, a moody, rather precious young woman unafraid to let her
needs and dismay be unlikeable. In her rendering of the guileless
Kat, Natalia Tena delivers something quietly extraordinary — a
woman with absolutely none of the usual feminine affectation. It
feels less about being masculine and far more about being true to
oneself, and it is beyond refreshing. If only Hollywood realized
how compelling women are when they are free to be people and
not a walking bag of tricks. Bringing a good balance between the
irreverent and the sensitive, David Verdaguer is convincing as
Roger, Kat’s Spanish buddy, while in the small role of Jinx, Lara
Rossi truly shines. Finally, stealing her every scene, Geraldine
Chaplin speaks volumes with the saddest, subtlest of eyes.
A domestic drama played to the rhythms of London’s most
counter-culture canal, this is engaging and poetic storytelling at
its near-best. —Kate Wingfield
CRITIC’S PICK
JUST FRIENDS
Thursday, Nov. 1
9:15 p.m.
ttttt
If Annemarie van de Mond’s romantic comedy about two young
men who embark on a relationship feels a bit like a made for TV
movie, that’s probably because it is. The Dutch film has a gen-
tle, soothing rhythm to it, and even when it serves up conflict
between the two leads, and issues such as racism and homopho-
bia emerge, the movie never abandons its light, frothy air. It’s the
epitome of feel good.
And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. These days LGBTQ
movies frequently try to push the outer limits, so it’s nice to
sit back in what feels like a comfortable armchair and exhale.
There is nothing in Just Friends that seasoned veterans of Reel
Affirmations haven’t seen before, and that’s just fine. Even when
the budding relationship between Joris (Josha Stradowski)
and Yad (Majd Mardo) is tested, and the wounded lovebirds
fly their separate ways, we know they won’t stay apart for long.
Sometimes predictability has its place.
It doesn’t hurt that Stradowski and Mardo are eye-candy of
the highest order, with Stradowski in particular carrying off that
a broody, young underwear model aesthetic, sometimes literal-
ly. Yad is the swarthier of the two and, as such, is the object of
scorn from Joris’ preening, vain, bitter mother, Simone (Tanja
Jess). “He’s a Muslim type,” she says at one point, noting with
scorn that Yad is likely a refugee and can’t be trusted, to which
her own mother, Ans (Jenny Arean) replies, “He’s not a refugee.
He’s Jewish.” The differences between Joris and Yad, and the
way their own mothers respond to their relationship, provides
Just Friends a hunk of topical meat, but director van de Mond
fails to really chew on it, likely because screenwriter Henk
Burger steers clear of any societal deep ends, instead seemingly
content to wade.
On the other hand, the movie beautifully captures the fresh-
ness and electricity of a new romance, all set to the strains of Bon
Iver and Sufjan Stevens. Stradowski and Mardo play off each
other well and feel like a natural pairing. A first kiss, casual yet
intimate, set in a wheat field, is especially lovely.
Special note must be made of Ans, who is one of the most pro-
gressive, supporting grandmothers to grace the screen. When it’s
clear to her that Yad, who cleans her home, is interested in Joris,
NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 25
and vice-versa, she launches into Matchmaker Extreme mode.
It’s adorable and sweet and Arean’s scene-stealing portrayal is a
constant and utter delight. She’s the cherry on a movie made of
sweet whipped cream. —Randy Shulman
EVA AND CANDELA
Friday, Nov. 2
7 p.m.
ttttt
In the battle between style and substance, filmmaker Ruth
Caudeli’s Eva and Candela frequently falls prey to an over-
abundance of the former. And that’s unfortunate, because this
Colombian film about two women whose relationship seems
destined to implode has a number of strong points.
Chief among those are the performances of its two leads,
Silvia Varón as Eva and Alejandra Lara as Candela. Eva and
Candela meet during a casting call for a film Candela wrote and
is set to direct a production she’s told will cement her status
as a cinematic prodigy. Eva nails her audition, but not before
both woman notice their chemistry and strike up a whirlwind
romance. From there, Eva’s star quickly rises — she is the break-
out of Candela’s film, which itself receives less than favorable
reviews.
Eva and Candela thrives on examining the balance of power
in a relationship. While Candela holds the professional power
when they first meet, the film actually opens on Candela at home
with the couple’s child. Lonely, stuck with the mundanities of
homelife, and teaching film at a local university, things quick-
ly become tense when Eva arrives home after two months on
location for her most recent film. It’s a far cry from the couple’s
inception, when Candela held all the cards and it was her star
that was set to ascend. That imbalance, as Eva gains the jetset
life Candela always craved, fuels the film’s various tensions and
movements. Told out of sync, the main thread of the narrative
is the reunion between Eva and Candela in their apartment
after the two-month film shoot, but the timeline jumps around
through the various highlights (and numerous lowlights) of their
relationship leading up to it, including the frequent shifts and
reversals in the couple’s power dynamic.
It’s here that director Caudeli’s excesses negatively impact
the film. Caudeli provides no clear indication of when or where
she’s jumping in the timeline, instead attempting to offer a visu-
al clue in the color grading — the past is shown with a warm,
orange hue, reflecting the better times in the relationship. Later
scenes, and particularly the apartment reunion, are blue and
cold. The problem is that Caudeli’s entire film is overwhelming-
ly shaded in hues of blue and orange, to an extreme that makes
every scene look devoid of any other colors, and makes the
distinctions between past and present harder to spot. With no
clear division between jumps in the timeline, we’re left guessing
which blue and orange moment came before the other, and it
26 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
quickly gets tiresome.
All of this detracts from the amazing work by the film’s
leads, particularly Varón. As Eva, she captures every nuance of
the transition from young ingenue to leading lady, then to frus-
trated (and reluctant) homemaker as the mother of the couple’s
child, to gradually building herself back up to noted star again.
Lara is a step behind Varón, but she’s no slouch, conveying the
complexities of Candela’s emotions — she adores, even craves
Eva, but she’s watching every dream she ever had manifest itself
in the person she (less and less frequently) shares her bed with,
while her own life stutters and falters.
Where Caudeli’s confused timeline does work is in the later
stages of the film, as she upends our assumptions about Eva and
Candela. In one scene, Candela admonishes Eva for never being
home, for not caring about her, for not being aware of the strug-
gles of keeping a house and child. The timeline then winds back
to Eva in the weeks after giving birth to their baby, her fame a
seemingly distant memory, her partner staying out late at work
and leaving her alone to figure out motherhood. It’s clever, even
with the film’s stylistic flaws, and it all leads to a stunning third
act crescendo that pits both women against one another in a
torrid bout of emotions and frustrations.
It’s so powerful, so raw, and so beautifully performed, that
it makes the stylistic and narrative flaws of Caudeli’s 90-minute
film worth sitting through — much like its central couple, it’s far
from perfect, but definitely worth the experience.
—Rhuaridh Marr
TALE OF THE LOST BOYS
Friday, Nov. 2
9 p.m.
ttttt
Oliver Aquino looks as lost as they come, wandering around
Taipei alone and directionless, in the latest feature from noted
Filipino filmmaker Joselito Altarejos. Although we don’t learn
a lot about his character Alex until later in the film, it’s clear
that this native of the Philippines is a fish out of water in the
Taiwanese capital, where a long-lost cousin now lives and where
his mother at least once did. “She’s probably dead,” comes Alex’s
curt response after his cousin suggests he go out looking for her.
Instead, Alex goes out looking for anything else and seem-
ingly nothing in particular. While on a smoke break, he happens
upon a total stranger, a Taiwanese aborigine named Jerry (Soda
Voyu). Moonlighting as a bartender while studying to become a
doctor, Jerry eventually plans to move back to his nearby village
— except that he’s not out to his tribal family, and he’s not sure
he wants to give up the good life he leads with his boyfriend in
the city, solely for the sake of tradition. Voyu spans a range of
human emotions with his complex, carefully realized portrayal
of Jerry.
The two characters strike up an unlikely friendship through
broken English and a few words and phrases in Alex’s native
Tagalog. Once the straight Alex, a mechanic by training, repairs
Jerry’s car, the two set out on a road trip to Jerry’s picturesque
rural hometown. At Alex’s encouragement, an impromptu over-
night visit to Jerry’s kin sets in motion an experience that will
change both men and make them value and appreciate anew
their respective families.
Enriched by rich characters and sharp acting all around, The
Tale of the Lost Boys is a warm, endearing ode to the value of
friendship and family, but especially to the value of human bond-
ing and the willingness to trust a stranger as a friend.
—Doug Rule
CRITIC’S PICK
MR. GAY SYRIA
Saturday, Nov. 3
Noon
ttttt
It’s a telling sign of
how mercilessly and
quickly our news cycle
— and our national
interest — moves that
the plight of Syrian
refugees, particularly
LGBTQ refugees, has
all but vanished from
headlines.
That apathy is
exactly what Mr. Gay
Syria is trying to com-
bat, albeit through the
seemingly frothy sub-
ject of picking a con-
testant to represent Syria at the international Mr. Gay World
competition. Ayse Toprak’s documentary, filmed in Turkey in
2015 and 2016, predominantly focuses on contestants Hussein
and Omar, as well as contest organizer and journalist Mahmoud
Hassino, who gained asylum in Germany in 2014.
All of the men shown in Mr. Gay Syria have their own
heartbreaking story to tell — of fleeing the war, or their own
homophobic family, or of seeing friends murdered, of being
rejected for asylum, of being trapped in Turkey as homophobia
continues to rise, and so on.
Hussein was forced to marry a woman and has a daughter
he adores, but he lives and works an hour away from them in
Istanbul, where he can at least feel more like a gay man. He was
rejected for asylum, even after suffering a homophobic attack,
and fears retribution from his family should they learn his sexu-
ality. But, as he says, “Everything that happened to me is better
than being jailed. Or imprisoning myself.”
Omar fled to Turkey and met his partner Nader in one of
Istanbul’s gay bars. They fell in love, moved in together, and
then Omar had to watch as Nader was granted political asylum
and had to move to Norway, over 2,000 miles away. Gay couples
aren’t recognized in the asylum process, so Omar couldn’t join
him.
Toprak captures the plight of these men without any narra-
tion beyond simple titles for specific locations. The narrative is
unguided, undated, but never difficult to follow. Instead, Toprak
shows the men’s lives in a way that is intimate and immediate,
whether at weekly “Tea and Talk” meetings to discuss LGBTQ
issues, or having meals together, or sharing their fears and hopes
with one another. Through an unfiltered lens, she showcases a
group of people caught between a home that either doesn’t exist
or will actively persecute them, and a future in a more tolerant
country that seems ever further from grasp.
Toprak also doesn’t sugarcoat the facts, or pull the punches
— and there are many. Malta refuses to grant visas to Syrians, so
Mr. Gay Syria can’t compete in the final. Hussein’s family learns
about his sexuality, and the film captures the fear in his eyes as
he unironically says that his father might poison him — there’s
even a tense scene as one of his friends listens through his
phone as Hussein visits his family and faces their wrath. Even an
attempt at a gay Pride parade in Istanbul descends into tear gas
and pellets as armed police shut it down.
In 90 minutes, there is only one happy ending. For everyone
else, the wait for a better future continues. Hussein in partic-
ular seems on the verge of abandoning hope by the film’s end.
Toprak’s camera picks up the sadness in his eyes as he gently
intones, “I wish tomorrow is better than yesterday.” It’s the only
wish he has left. For those watching Mr. Gay Syria, it’s a sobering
reminder that, even in our current dark times, things in America
could be so much worse. And we should be doing so much more
for those elsewhere. —Rhuaridh Marr
WE ARE FAMILY: FAMILY SHORTS
Saturday, Nov. 3
2 p.m.
ttttt
A shorts program dedicated to LGBTQ family issues is all but
guaranteed to offer some interesting topics, and We Are Family
jumps in at the deep end with Concern for Welfare (ttttt),
about a closeted lesbian Muslim who lives at home with her
mother and controlling brother. Nicole Chamoun stars as Ali, a
probationary constable, who is brow beaten by brother Karim
(Sam Alhaje) for not being married with children. She’s des-
perate to escape, until a “Concern for Welfare” call upends the
trainee police officer’s entire perspective of her family. Fadia
Abboud’s short is perhaps the most confidently directed in this
program, and features strong performances from all five mem-
bers of its cast, though it also offers a sobering message behind
its family drama.
Judy Febles’ Happy Valentine’s Day (ttttt) is the per-
fect pick-me-up after the darker tones of Concern for Welfare.
A mother tries to discover who her young daughter is writing a
Valentine’s card for, only to learn something she didn’t expect.
At a mere 90 seconds long, it offers more bang for its buck than
films ten times its length — and that’s no mean feat.
The program stumbles somewhat with Heather Has Four
Moms (ttttt), a comedy in which all the titular fourteen-
year-old Heather wants is to lose her virginity. Standing in her
way (other than the law) is her four moms — her biological
mother, her non-biological mother, and both women’s new
partners. Jeanette L. Buck’s comedy hits several strong notes,
as all four women dance around confronting Heather about safe
sex. Tanya Baskin and D.C. theater star Holly Twyford are the
standouts here, as the new partners urging Heather’s moms to
get serious about “the talk.” Unfortunately, as Heather, Kristen
Popham’s narration falls flat, and at just fourteen minutes long,
Buck doesn’t use her time as effectively as other shorts in this
program, meandering towards an unsatisfying conclusion.
Religion rears its head again in Ablution (ttttt), Omar
Al Dakheel’s powerful short about a gay Muslim man who lives
with and cares for his disabled father. The writer-director also
stars as Waleed, who takes care of his father (Jay Abdo) by day
and by night ventures out into the gay nightlife of their city. Al
Dakheel’s film is stylishly dark, confidently captured, and both
men give strong performances as Waleed’s secret life becomes
fully, uncomfortably known to his conservative elder.
Director Sylvain Coisne has a background in visual effects,
and he uses those skills to intriguing and occasionally spectacu-
lar effect in the bleak Dylan Dylan (ttttt). After suddenly
losing their adopted son, Dylan, couple Yanis and Hugo are
struggling to cope — with each other’s grief, with the homopho-
bic abuse they continue to endure, with news media eager for a
story on the boy’s death. Coisne’s film doesn’t offer much, and
leaves most explanation of Dylan’s life and death until the end,
but Dylan Dylan offers some arresting scenes as Hugo (Vincent
NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 27
Marie) starts to hallucinate images that remind him of Dylan —
particularly his favored toy plane. As a narrative, Dylan Dylan
doesn’t have much to offer, but its moments of dark fantasy are
beguiling. —Rhuaridh Marr
TRANS YOUTH
Saturday, Nov. 3
4 p.m.
ttttt
Simple yet effective, Rebecca Adler’s 2017 documentary feels
perfectly timed for viewing at Reel Affirmations. As the Trump
administration erodes transgender rights, Adler’s film follows
seven trans young adults in Austin, Texas, documenting their
transitions, their relationships, their education and employment
prospects, and offering fascinating and heartfelt insight into
their lives.
Take Ursula, the headstrong “It Girl” of Austin and leader of
punk band Mom Jeans. By day, she’s pursuing a career in human
resources while living out and proud, a far cry from the small
town in Alabama where she grew up. By night, she’s surrounded
by friends, a chosen family, and people she loves.
Or there’s Elliott, who details their struggle with coming out
and accepting themselves. Elliott agreed to go to college as a
buffer to figure out what to do, but has found themselves being
dead-named and misgendered, which leads to one of the film’s
longest and most poignant scenes, as Elliott comes out to their
parents by phone — hands shaking, voice wavering, uncertain
of the reaction on the other side. It’s brutal, powerful viewing.
Or there’s Forest and Faron, both transgender women of
color, who exemplify the economic hardship that many trans-
gender people — particularly trans women of color — face. Both
women have submitted countless applications and resumes, but
neither can find paying work. There’s even a semi-serious dis-
cussion about pursuing sex work, a fate too many transgender
women are forced to consider, as a means to fix their monetary
issues.
Adler’s documentary doesn’t offer additional narrative on
the lives of its subjects, and she never steps out from behind the
camera to ask a question or press a matter. Instead, tight editing
and strong camerawork make its 83-minute runtime feel incred-
ibly brief. These are snapshots of lives in progress, followed over
a matter of months to provide updates — such as Winn’s first
visit to the endocrinologist, or Peter’s top surgery.
But what Adler’s film lacks in length or depth it more than
makes up for in impact. As a window into the trans youth
experience, it offers insight into the everyday struggles — from
being misgendered or dead-named, to relationship troubles and
dealing with school — to long-term decisions, such as whether
28 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
to pursue hormone therapy, or when to come out to parents, or
where they’re going to live. There’s Seb, who is in a relationship
with Winn until it falls apart prior to Winn graduating college,
and is soured on the human experience after years of people
breaking promises to her. Contrast that with Peter, who docu-
mented his transition publicly and gets married to his partner
on camera.
Trans Youth isn’t the most innovative documentary, but it’s a
necessary one. And its real impact comes when the credits roll,
as you reflect on the varied, incredible lives of the film’s subjects,
and remember that our president wants to invalidate their very
existence. —Rhuaridh Marr
FUN IN GIRLS SHORTS
Saturday, Nov. 3
6 p.m.
ttttt
This year’s Girls Shorts are like a lucky dip — a veritable grab-
bag of surprises, some to treasure, others not so much. So, crack
your metaphorical knuckles, hope for the best, and dive in. First
up is the absolute gem of this collection, Marguerite (ttttt),
a quietly heartbreaking story told in the way of all great film-
making — through the synergy of fine performance and a subtle,
yet unwavering vision. In just a few scenes, lyrically conceived
and executed, director Marianne Farley evokes a small, beauti-
fully drawn world in which tenderness is the currency and then
the ultimate gift. Beatrice Picard delivers the elderly and ailing
Marguerite with mesmerizing nuance and depth, while Sandrine
Bisson captures perfectly her nurse Rachel, an unassuming
woman who finds herself a last, final bridge to lost dreams. Get
out your hankies but take note: Farley’s is a name to watch.
Almost too small to get hold of is Ayaka Furukawa’s Freedom
(ttttt), a mere snippet of an idea. Perhaps it suggests that
family life can feel like a trap and teenage love (or sex) the key
to freedom. Or maybe it’s the kernel of a full-length movie in
which a rural white girl raised in a crazy-ass cult finds liberating
and thoroughly-forbidden love with an understanding black girl
— at least until the cult elders find out. Either way, if not quite
riveting, this mini-moment begins to capture something of a hot
Southern summer and the joy of escape.
Too featureless to get hold of and exuding the disposable
feel of a network comedy is Lisa Donato’s mini-rom-com Foxy
Trot (ttttt), in which a bickering couple tries a lesson in
ballroom dancing and ends up treading on more than their own
toes. If the premise has promise, the corporate feel here dulls the
humor and the leads never find their comic flair. Matters aren’t
helped by Donato’s choice to make everyone except the lesbian
couple either caricatures or virtual zombies, slotted in to play
throwaway foils. At least it’s short.
You’ll be forgiven for not knowing quite what to make of the
next offering. Remember those films they used to show in high
school health class? The kind that induced bored, shuffling feet,
narcolepsy and desk graffiti, and begged for one of the usual sus-
pects to make a well-timed utterly unacceptable and completely
hilarious comment? Well, that about sums it up here. From the
stilted dialogue to the final scene at the beach in which it looks
like the two leads are about to turn to the camera and recap some
common misconceptions about life as a disabled lesbian, Getting
Started (ttttt) is basically an immensely earnest public
service message.
Last but not least, and just a few clicks away from being
funny, is Jana Heaton’s Lesbehonest (ttttt). Billed as a
“pilot” and looking like it wants to grow up one day to be a
sitcom, this is all about the madcap romantic adventures of
the irrepressibly irresponsible Blair and her roomie sidekick
Michael, on call with a sympathetic ear and a fair dose of wit.
Though Ivy Hong offers a magnetic Blair and Michael Ring gets
high marks for his deadpan Michael, this never gets airborne.
The comedy is too slack, the story too loose (even accepting the
verité style) and the people too vacuous. The bottom line is that
there is a fine line between a cute and funny airhead and the
type who expects to stay adorable even when they never clean
up after a party. —Kate Wingfield
CRITIC’S PICK
1985
Saturday, Nov, 3
8 p.m.
ttttt
Writer/director Yen Tan works in references to Madonna’s
Virgin Tour and Back to the Future in a feature that puts those
cultural touchstones from its namesake year in stark relief to the
plight of its young gay protagonist. Rendered in stylized black
and white, 1985 focuses on Adrian’s first trip back to his Texas
hometown in three years. There’s far more to the story than
what the New York City-based Adrian tells his conservative
Christian family — but then his parents know or intuit more than
they let on, too.
Tan’s evocative portrait shows just how hard and complicat-
ed coming out was, at least for many gay men, in the homophobic
early years of the AIDS epidemic — a time when the present
was bleak, and the future, uncertain at best. A Malaysian-born,
Dallas-based filmmaker whose previous gay-themed works
include Ciao and Pitstop, Tan weaves an astute, time-sensitive
tale with 1985, which plays out in an intriguing style that leaves
plenty left unsaid and even more uncertain and unresolved.
It’s the kind of simmering, quietly powerful story that can
be a challenge for actors to bring to compelling, convincing
life. Cory Michael Smith (Fox’s Gotham), for instance, portrays
Adrian a little too coolly here and there for a character who oth-
erwise seems to burn bright. Yet Smith does seem to grow into
the role as 1985 rolls on.
The feature itself is likely to grow on you, especially by the
time of its three climatic, one-on-one scenes — each more mov-
ing than the last — between Adrian and his homophobic father
(Michael Chiklis), his childhood friend Carly (Jamie Chung),
and his doting mother (Virginia Madsen).
The three characters, each in their own way, show love and
empathy to Adrian. In the process, they give this tender, bitter-
sweet story, set during a dark chapter in gay history, its own kind
of happy ending. —Doug Rule
FUN IN BOYS SHORTS: THE ART OF THE HOOKUP
Saturday, Nov. 3
10 p.m.
ttttt
Several of the films in this relatively dull collection of shorts
detailing hookups between men are about as explicit as you can
get in a festival setting. In simpler terms: There’s a lot of penis
on display.
The collection opens with First Time (ttttt), about a
personality-free young man (Trentice Leonard) who embarks
on his first Grindr hookup. Everything is a bit of a metaphorical
jumble, as director Jared C. Collins thinks intercutting scenes
of sex in a dimly lit, seedy room with shots of nature makes an
original metaphorical point. (It doesn’t.) The movie has a dumb
twist ending that is as potent as a shrug.
Silverlake Afternoon (ttttt) tells the same story as First
Time, but with even less imagination and no twist ending. It’s an
ineptly made movie about nothing, ten minutes of a stiltedly-act-
ed awkward encounter between a nerdy guy who’s arrived at a
hyperactive stranger’s home for a sexual tryst. They smoke pot.
They make out. They grope each other. Twice the nerd blurts
out, “I should go,” and you wish he’d do just that.
Routine (ttttt) at least tries to make its idea of a first-
time hookup interesting. A stand-up comic (Churaqui Mosley)
recounts to an audience his first date with a random guy (Adam
Razavi) he met on an app, and the movie intercuts between his
jokes and the harsh emotional reality of the situation itself. In
not much more than six minutes, filmmaker Wes Akwuobi packs
in a surprising amount of nuance, substance, grit, and emotional
punch. The performances aren’t great, but the filmmaking is.
Fish Tank (ttttt) is a cautionary tale about why you
shouldn’t let your first-time hookup blindfold and bind you. Or
give you water with mysterious sediment in it. Especially when
you notice his furniture is covered in protective plastic. Director
Neal Mulani captures a strong sense of paranoia, and if the story
doesn’t pay off in a conclusive way, it at least leaves us with lin-
gering unease.
The next two films in the program are both testaments to the
fact that you can never have enough nudity, sex, and semi-erect
penises in a 22-minute movie. In the Brazilian-produced The
Daytime Doorman (ttttt), a resident lures his (initially
reluctant) married doorman into a massively torrid affair. The
film seems overlong by at least ten minutes, and features an
interminable minute of the resident dancing in the kitchen in
his underwear for no other reason than to dance in the kitchen
in his underwear. This is followed by a three-minute montage of
soft-core pornographic flip-fucking. Conflict ensues when the
resident has a party and the doorman has to shut it down. Ooooh.
It’s followed by Just Past Noon on a Tuesday (ttttt),
another Brazilian entry that devotes even more of its 22-min-
utes to sex. Let’s just say that the two actors, who meet up in the
apartment of a mutual fuckbuddy who has OD’ed, truly commit
to their craft, to the point where one wonders if the techniques
of Method Acting extend to pressing one’s mouth into your
scene partner’s naked crotch. The filmmaking is strong, in all
fairness, and Travis Matthews captures a powerful erotic mood.
The script even dispenses some wisdom between the moments
of sex, including profundities like “Relationships are built on a
mutual pretending that endings don’t exist.” It makes you won-
der why all tricks can’t be better philosophers.
Finally, there’s the crudely animated throwaway Hairy Tales
(ttttt), in which a werewolf has sex with a man on a
street corner. The animation, which is surprisingly explicit, is
occasionally amusing, and the dialogue appears to revel in its
own stupidity. But the film leaves you wondering why time was
expended making Hairy Tales in the first place. Maybe it was
best left a notion in the director’s head. —Randy Shulman
NO CHOCOLATE, NO RICE
Sunday, Nov. 4
Noon
ttttt
It starts off as riotously and ribald as you’d hope from a comedy
intended to satirize today’s “app-filled world where racism is
just another preference.” First we meet Phil (Donovan Trott)
in flagrante with a white trick slapping and calling him a varia-
tion of the N-word. Immediately after that we meet Dre (Ricky
NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 29
Mempin), fresh from seeing yet another production of Madama
Butterfly with a white man who has a pronounced Asian fetish.
Yet No Chocolate, No Rice begins to lose steam, and then
focus, as we meet Dre’s co-workers at the hottest gay dating app,
Squirm — with the equally perfect parody of a tagline, “Bringing
You Closer.”
The topic of racial bias and discrimination in the LGBTQ
community and online is timely and important — and ripe for
exploration via a full-length feature film. Unfortunately, this
is not that film. Written by Trott and directed by Lee Michael
Sheridan, No Chocolate, No Rice only scratches the surface of the
issue before straying into the territory of farce by inadvertently
shifting the focus to a different topic of concern: the meaning
and value of friendship.
Dre and Phil certainly don’t know it. You can find frenemies
who convey more mutual love and respect than these so-called
best friends, who gleefully mock and belittle each other for sport.
Naturally, the two eventually become competitors, battling for
the affections of their new white neighbor. With best friends
like these....
It doesn’t help matters that the actors sometimes seem out of
their element, or unsure whether to play it up or play it (seem-
ingly) straight. There are moments when even Trott seems to
stumble in delivering lines of dialogue — lines that he, as the
screenwriter, wrote. It’s enough to make you, well, squirm. —
Doug Rule
DC BLACK PRIDE: ANSWERING THE CALL
Sunday, Nov. 4
2 p.m.
ttttt
“Black Pride came into existence because of AIDS, the need
to raise money for AIDS, and not to have a party,” Michael
VanZant, pastor of the Faith Temple Church, intones in the very
first minutes of DC Black Pride: Answering the Call. “I don’t want
us to forget that, because I do believe that if we forget the past,
we’re doomed to repeat it.”
VanZant’s warning, especially to younger generations with
no emotional or personal connection to the devastation that
AIDS wreaked on the black LGBTQ community, is the crux of
the nearly 50-minute film. A project of DCN TV by executive
producer Angie M. Gates, Answering the Call serves as more of
a historical record for future generations and reads more like a
public access television special than a riveting drama.
The film follows host Marvin Bowser, brother of Mayor
Muriel Bowser, as he interviews a number of influential figures,
chronicling the evolution of DC Black Pride from a one-day
festival at Ward 1’s Banneker Field in 1991 to a multi-day event
attracting thousands of revelers from around the country each
Memorial Day weekend.
Bowser’s interview subjects are a “Who’s Who” of the local
black LGBTQ community, from co-fonder Ernest Hopkins to
Charles “Chuck” Hicks, chair of the the D.C. Black History
Celebration Committee, to Earl Fowlkes of the Center for Black
Equity, which organizes the celebration. And the list goes on:
Ron Simmons, the former head of Us Helping Us; Rayceen
Pendarvis, host of the Ask Rayceen Show; June Crenshaw of the
Wanda Alston Foundation; Imani Woody of Mary’s House for
Older Adults; Earline Budd, of Empowering the Transgender
Community; and Sheila Alexander-Reid, founder of Women
in the Life Association, now heading up the Mayor’s Office of
LGBTQ Affairs.
Bit by bit, the interviewees reveal the roots of one of the
30 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
District’s most popular celebrations, and the extent to which
it is inextricably tied to the fight against HIV. The epidemic,
both past and present, is addressed throughout the film, which
meanders down several related tangents such as LGBTQ youth
homelessness, transgender rights, gay adoption and foster par-
enting, and ballroom culture, before circling back to HIV/AIDS
and current-day DC Black Pride.
Bowser, who also serves as a co-producer along with writer
Brenda Mallory, performs well as host, prompting his subjects to
hit the film’s major talking points while providing an in-depth,
well-rounded evaluation of the LGBTQ community’s historical
victories and the challenges it still faces.
If Answering the Call sounds preachy at times, it doesn’t mean
to be. There’s certainly merit in preserving the community’s
oral history for posterity, and the film leaves it up to the viewer
to contemplate whether DC Black Pride’s mission needs to be
redefined, given the changing shape of the external threats to
LGBTQ communities of color. In short, the film likely won’t earn
rave reviews for technical mastery or subject matter, but don’t be
shocked if, someday, the National Archives or the Smithsonian
come calling. —John Riley
CRITIC’S PICK
FUN IN GENDERQUEER/GENDER NON CONFORMING SHORTS
Sunday, Nov. 4
4 p.m.
ttttt
If any program of shorts is going to leave viewers feeling empow-
ered, uplifted, and thoroughly entertained, it’s the genderqueer
and gender non-conforming shorts. Whether comedy or drama,
bubbly fun or deeply insightful, the four films on offer here are
among the strongest in this year’s festival.
Things get off to a good start with Mrs McCutcheon
(ttttt). Charming, quirky, and, on at least one occasion,
laugh-out-loud funny, John Sheedy’s film is part childhood
dreamscape, part social commentary. A ten-year-old who always
felt they were born into the wrong body chooses the name Mrs
McCutcheon and starts presenting as female at school, to the
delight of some and horror of others. Get past the hokey script,
occasionally stilted acting, and the ludicrous (albeit sweet) end-
ing, and there’s a lot to like here.
“You’re too femme.” Three words that can carry so much
weight, particularly depending on the person saying them, are
the focus of Femme (ttttt), a wonderful comedy from
writer Corey Camperchioli. New Yorker Carson (Camperchioli)
examines his own masculinity after a Grindr hookup rejects him
for not being masc enough, sending him on a journey of self-ac-
ceptance that involves an existential crisis and a drag queen
fairy godmother (Drag Race’s Aja). As much a rejection of the
toxic assholes who put “no fats, no femmes, no Asians” on their
profiles as it is an examination of our own perception of what
defines masculinity, this funny, well-acted, confidently directed
film is a glorious way to spend 17 minutes, even if it runs out of
steam towards the end.
If you want something that keeps on truckin’ until the credits
roll, try Mimicry (ttttt). Billed as a road movie without the
cars, writer-director Jennifer von Schuckmann’s short examines
the rarely covered world of “girlfags” — people assigned female
at birth who identify with gay male culture and are attracted to
gay, bisexual and transgender men. Freya Kreutzkam is capti-
vating as Mimi, whose journey of self-discovery takes her from
unfulfilling straight hookups to a no-holds barred, anything goes
orgy, as she figures out who she is, what she likes, and where she
can find fulfillment. Oozing with style, dripping in sexuality, and
backed by a pulsating soundtrack, Mimicry is utterly engrossing.
The highlight of this strong package of films comes with clos-
er Pre-Drink (ttttt). French writer-director Marc-Antoine
Lemire’s film is simple in premise: friends for 17 years, Alexe
(Pascale Drevillon), a trans woman, and Carl (Alex Trahan), a
gay man, are pre-drinking before a night out when they decide
to have sex for the first time. What makes this such compel-
ling viewing is the chemistry between its leads — if Lemire
said they’d truly known one another for almost two decades,
we’d believe him. Their acting is natural, their dialogue fluid,
and anytime they come close together, sparks fly. It helps that
Lemire revels in the powerful eroticism of the moment when
they finally have sex — every touch, every breath, every kiss is
captured as the film slows to a crawl to allow viewers to drink in
its pleasures. Whether one night of passion will forever alter the
friendship is left unsaid, but everything else about this outstand-
ing film demands your fullest attention. —Rhuaridh Marr
CRITIC’S PICK
MAPPLETHORPE
Sunday, Nov. 4
6 p.m.
ttttt
“Are you gay?” a young, as-yet-undiscovered Patti Smith asks
of the lanky, as-yet-undiscovered Robert Mapplethorpe she
has just randomly befriended on a park bench. “No,” he replies.
“Why? Do I seem gay?”
Maybe not at the outset, but the starving artist’s budding
work, and the proclivities and curiosity fueling those works,
are pretty damn gay. That innate curiosity, at first childlike, and
later more calculated and manipulative, is one of many aspects
explored by Ondi Timoner in her brilliant, masterful biopic,
Mapplethorpe.
An award-winning documentary filmmaker, Mapplethorpe
is Timoner’s first narrative feature, and she brings a documen-
tarian’s aesthetic to the work that serves it perfectly. While the
film’s tropes may seem standard-issue, the mood and atmo-
sphere is anything but. The story glides absorbingly between
interpretative, critical moments of the great photographer’s life,
punctuated by extra-fine grace notes of illumination and deep
understanding.
The film stretches across two decades, from 1969 to 1989,
the year of Mapplethorpe’s demise from AIDS. Watching the
film, which frequently feels like a private showing of some of
the artist’s most provocative, arresting works, you get a sense of
the loss Mapplethorpe’s death was to the cultural community,
LGBTQ and otherwise. Mapplethorpe didn’t just push the enve-
lope, he was the envelope, and his works were sharp, stinging
paper cuts. Like all visionaries, he found beauty in virtually every
moment, but his legacy remains his alluring flowers, his glorious,
kinked-up explorations of the ’70s leather community, and his
unabashed celebration of men’s sexual organs. “You’ve gotta
have a cock in the show,” he tells one curator late in his career.
“People will be expecting a cock.”
Mapplethorpe wasn’t just creating art for shock effect, the
movie puts forth, because he found art in all possible circum-
stance. “Put your dick in that champagne glass,” he tells one
subject, instructing him to then pee. The ensuing photograph is
art at its most raw, robust, and red hot.
Casting the role of such an outsized legend must have been
an unforgiving task, but in Matt Smith (The Crown, Doctor
Who), Timoner has found the quintessential vessel to embody
Mapplethorpe’s charm, petulance, egomaniacal self-
ishness, magnetism, and stark, feral sexuality. It’s a
brazen, finely detailed performance, unforgiving and
unapologetic, and despite the fact that Mapplethorpe is
not all that likable a guy, Smith manages to makes the
portrayal deeply moving, sympathetic, and, at times,
otherworldly. Not since Julian Schnabel’s Basquiat
have we had a cinematic portrait of an artist that’s this
revealing of what sparks creativity and, more to the
point, how that creativity is fostered and achieved.
The supporting cast is superb, but standouts include
Marianne Rendón’s Patti Smith, Brandon Sklenar’s
Edward Mapplethorpe, who idolizes his older broth-
er and eventually works as his assistant, and John
Benjamin Hickey as Mapplethorpe’s patron and boy-
friend, Sam Wagstaff. “You’re the Jekyll and Hyde of
photography,” Sam says to Robert, after another gal-
lery turns down the artist’s work. Sam then comes up
with a solution that appeases Mapplethorpe’s need to
show all his work or none of it.
The film feels like a time capsule, entering both the pre-AIDS
and early-AIDS days with a headlong, eyes open wide documen-
tary rush. But it remains very much rooted in dramatics and
narrative flow, and it leaves you yearning to know even more
about its subject and to revisit his work. Mostly, though, it leaves
you with a sense of loss — loss of the photographs never made,
the spark of creativity snuffed out by a man’s sexual desires that,
at one point, make him out to be as cold as ice: before going out
on a sexual encounter, his brother exclaims, “Don’t you care
about spreading it?” to which Robert darkly replies, “That’s
up to them, not me.” The honesty and lack of sugar-coating is
unsettling.
One can only hope that Timoner finds more subjects to give
this kind of respectful, brutally honest treatment to. Regardless,
in Mapplethorpe, she has created a masterpiece of her very own.
—Randy Shulman
Reel Affirmations 25 runs from Thursday, Nov. 1 to Sunday, Nov.
4, at the Gala Hispanic Theatre, 3333 14th St. NW. Single show
tickets are $12. Festival passes range from $35 for a three-film
pass to $65 for a six-film pass to $150 for all films. Passes include
priority and reserved seating. Additional options available that
include entry to the filmmaker receptions. Visit thedccenter.org/
reelaffirmations for more details or to purchase tickets or call 202-
682-2245.
NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 31
ALEX BAILEY;TM & © 2018 TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM CORPORATION
Movies

works every inch of the platform, convey-

Mercury Falling
ing Mercury’s swagger, his confidence,
and his sexuality, all while doing some of
the tightest lipsyncing in recent memory.
(Malek has been coy about the film’s sing-
ing, but it’s a mix of him, Canadian singer
Bohemian Rhapsody is a mediocre tribute to an incredible band and Marc Martel, and Mercury’s vocals.) Off-
their iconic lead singer. By Rhuaridh Marr stage, he delivers Mercury’s development

T
from shy but talented singer to world-con-
HERE IS A PARTICULAR MOMENT THAT STANDS OUT IN BOHEMIAN quering star — one enveloped in his own
Rhapsody ( ), Bryan Singer’s biopic about the legendary rock band confidence and absolutely sure of what
Queen and its equally iconic lead singer Freddie Mercury. At the end of a he deserves. Even with a giant set of false
raucous party in his giant mansion, Mercury sits alone with a waiter who asks why teeth to mimic Mercury’s overbite, Malek
Mercury throws such lavish affairs, given he doesn’t seem to like most of the people never strays into parody, instead deliv-
who attend and they all leave him at the end of the night. Freddie, pausing for a moment ering a researched, rehearsed and fully
to think, responds that they’re useful to fill the “in between moments” — a distraction realized characterization. Malek’s perfor-
that quells the darkness of his life when he’s not on stage with the band. mance drives Bohemian Rhapsody, even
It’s a poignant reminder of the dark side of fame, that those who crowd around when the wheels are threatening to come
celebrities are not often their closest friends or family. It’s also an insight into Mercury off the tour bus and send the whole thing
the showman, whose stage bravado gave way to someone who yearned simply for com- hurtling into a ravine — which is sadly
panionship and family of his own. quite often.
Unfortunately, it’s also an apt metaphor for Bohemian Rhapsody. Though billed as a
Queen biopic, it also follows Mercury’s story with the band, but never truly settles on Not helping matters is that every other
which aspect it favors more — Queen, or Queen’s frontman. Instead, Mercury’s side is character is essentially a 2D impression of
relegated to the “in between moments,” filling time when Queen’s electrifying stage a person, all moving in and out of scene
performances, its inventive studio sessions, and its band meetings and squabbles aren’t around Mercury to advance the plot
on screen. As such, neither aspect of the story truly wins out, resulting in a bland retell- through the years. Gwilym Lee gives a
ing of a truly incredible tale. stunningly accurate portrayal of lead gui-
What’s baffling is that, somewhere in here, it feels like there’s the makings of a tarist Brian May, but it’s wasted because,
great film, a fact only enhanced by Rami Malek’s stunning performance as Mercury. unless they’re on stage, the band is really
Bohemian Rhapsody charts the band’s inception in the early 1970s to its performance only here to serve Mercury, or to occasion-
at Live Aid in 1985, and throughout Malek utterly convinces as Mercury. On stage, he ally provide friction against him. The only

NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 33


ALEX BAILEY;TM & © 2018 TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM CORPORATION
other person given proper treatment by the script is Mary Austin,
Mercury’s fiance and lifelong friend. Lucy Boynton wonderfully
captures their initial burst of love, which slowly bleeds away as
she watches Mercury come out of his shell as Queen’s star rises
— and it all crashes down when he ultimately comes out to her.
But really, the biggest flaws here are behind the camera, both
in Bryan Singer’s direction and Anthony McCarten’s screenplay
— especially the latter.
For starters, McCarten’s script is riddled with trite, cheesy,
and unnatural dialogue, which not even Malek’s performance
can save. He injects cartoon villains, such as Paul Prenter (Allen
Leech, in an appropriately insidious performance), Mercury’s
personal manager, who in this telling manages to isolate the
star and convince him to break up with Queen and go solo. And,
together with Singer, McCarten includes constant, fourth-wall
breaking references to the success of the band’s most iconic
hit, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” even though critics and record label
executives said it would fail.
Perhaps his most egregious problem is that McCarten doesn’t
stick to an exact representation of the facts. Instead, this is an
embellished history, one that follows Mercury’s path, but fre-
quently diverts from or fictionalizes aspects of it — for instance,
Bohemian Rhapsody is rated PG-13 and opens nationwide on Friday, Nov. 2. For tickets visit fandango.com.
34 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
Mercury learned he had HIV in the late 1980s, but
by McCarten’s telling it was right before the band
played at Live Aid, giving him a poignant reason to
reunite with Queen and give the performance of
his life. Sure, it’s rare for a biopic to stick exactly to
the facts, and filmmakers are granted some license
to jazz up a historical figure’s story to keep viewers
intrigued or to help advance a plot, but what’s most
surprising is that the alterations made here have
produced something so insipidly dull and fami-
ly-friendly.
Singer and McCarten have taken Mercury, an
iconic LGBTQ figure, and so thoroughly sanitized
him as to almost be accused of straightwashing.
Mercury’s most prominently portrayed relation-
ship is with Mary — it’s not until almost the ’80s
that his sexuality is referenced beyond subtle nods.
Bohemian Rhapsody’s most convincing Mercury-
specific scene is a powerful mashup of the band
performing on stage laid over footage of Mercury
descending into the bowels of a gay club, one filled
with Tom of Finland characters bedecked in leather,
mustaches, and muscles. It’s scintillating, invigorat-
ing, and entirely an outlier in this tame, unsexy film.
Why was this the exception, and not the rule?
It also contrasts with any scene in which the band
is creating their iconic music. Here, Singer creates
genuine energy, showcasing the unique methods
the foursome went to in order to generate their spe-
cific sounds, the perfection they aimed for, and the
hours they spent cranking out hit after hit after hit.
In these moments, if you’ll pardon the pun, the film
truly rocks.
But that ultimately makes Bohemian Rhapsody
difficult to recommend — at least without advising
that expectations be set low. For fans of Queen’s
music, scenes where the band is rocking out in front
of audiences across the world will thrill and delight
in equal measure. Bohemian Rhapsody is a love letter to Queen’s
specific brand of rock, and one that begs for it to be seen in a
theater with excellent sound. But off-stage, the historical inac-
curacies will annoy, and true fans will nitpick at the details and
the lack of focus on the other band members.
Fans of Mercury, perhaps expecting a film that showcases
one of music’s greats, as well as a cultural and queer icon, will
instead find a great actor relegated to delivering uninspiring
dialogue while dancing around Mercury’s sexuality. And anyone
who wanders into a theater looking for an engaging music biopic
will instead walk out wondering why they spent over two hours
watching Singer’s film crash around between elated concert sets
and dreary moments of exposition. A stunningly recreated Live
Aid performance, which occupies the latter fifteen or so minutes
of the film, may lift spirits, but some will still leave disappointed.
What makes all of this worse is that Bohemian Rhapsody isn’t
a bad film. The music is great, Malek is a powerhouse onscreen,
Singer offers visual flairs as we move from ’70s to ’80s, and that
Live Aid set really is something to behold — complete with a CGI
Wembley Stadium filled with screaming fans. But neither Queen
nor Mercury deserved a film that was merely okay. Sadly, that’s
what we got. l
 Music

Back in the
cy, when the executive branch’s slippery
relationship with the facts has become a
daily, numbing reality, it is a message that
rings hollow at best and almost offensively

Limelight
tone-deaf at worst. Her sincerity is a small
saving grace, but even her anger rarely
amounts to more than simply being scan-
dalized at the constant dishonesty.
Two legendary artists find themselves pulled back Aside from the heavy-handed messag-
into the recording studio. By Sean Maunier ing, Walls is a welcome collection of new
Streisand tracks. “The Rain Will Fall” and

B
“Love’s Never Wrong” are fantastic songs
ARBRA STREISAND IS ANGRY, AND SHE WANTS YOU TO KNOW IT. that are well worth the price of admission.
Walls (HHHHH) is her first album of original work since 2005. It is, for the Streisand herself is known to be outspo-
most part, classic Streisand, heavy on ballads with mostly minimal orchestration ken, passionate and politically active, and
to get in the way of those unmistakable vocals, but this time with an edge that reflects her iconic voice could have been an effec-
the frustration that she and many others have felt since November 2016. tive vehicle for a message of resistance or
If the album’s title left any ambiguity around the target of her anger, the opener a vision of the future. Instead, it feels like
“What’s On My Mind” makes it apparent enough. Streisand’s main preoccupation is a missed opportunity. The themes she
with truth in a world that she sees as having largely abandoned it. Her frustration and returns to over and over again on Walls are
sense of powerlessness are both palpable, although she does offer up a bit of hope on so blunt and myopic that it is difficult to
“The Rain Will Fall,” a triumphant ballad that is a contender for best song on the album, imagine the album providing much inspi-
assuming its heavy-handed pun can be forgiven. Subtlety has never been high on the list ration to anyone.
of reasons to love Streisand, but many of the lyrics, particularly the ones to “Don’t Lie
to Me,” are a little much, even for her. WHEN ELVIS COSTELLO SWORE OFF
The album’s major downfall is not so much that its political message is blatant and recording in 2010, he sounded so convinc-
incessant, but that it is ultimately a shallow one. It can be boiled down to, “the president ing that it was hard to imagine him ever
is a liar and we are no longer civil to one another.” Two years into a Trump presiden- returning. Since then, however, he has

NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 35


STEPHEN DONE
come out with two albums, the latest of which marks yet another
evolution in his style. The songs on Look Now (HHHHH) have
a feeling about them that is part no-nonsense piano pop, part
sultry jazz bar, a musical theme that lends itself well to the nar-
rative style of his lyrics.
Look Now revisits many aspects of Costello’s career, but
calling it a return to form would be misleading. Coming from
Look Now and Walls can be purchased on Amazon.com and iTunes, and are available on most streaming services.
36 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
someone who has worn so many hats and
whose work has drawn on so many different
influences, one would have to ask, which form
is he returning to, exactly? Costello himself
has mentioned wanting to recapture some of
the feeling of 1982’s Imperial Bedroom and
1998’s Painted from Memory. The musical and
thematic resemblances to those two albums
are instantly recognizable, probably owing a
lot to Burt Bacharach’s co-writing credit on
“Don’t Look Now,” “Photographs Can Lie,”
and “He’s Given Me Things.” The album is
also notable for reuniting Costello with his
backing band, The Imposters, as well as fea-
turing “Burnt Sugar is so Bitter,” a collabora-
tion with Carole King 20 years in the making.
As its title suggests, Look Now insists it
is grounded in the present. While the album
does have a sense of immediacy about it,
Costello cannot help hearkening back to his
past career. If one had to nail down which
form he is returning to here, it would be Costello the storyteller.
He fills this album with small yet arresting flourishes, like the
woman in “Stripping Paper” who tears down a sheet of wallpa-
per to find where she and her cheating husband marked their
daughter’s height in happier times. Always a gifted lyricist, he
is at his strongest form yet on Look Now, telling the stories of
living, breathing characters with sympathy and nuance. l
NightLife Photography by
Ward Morrison

NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 37

Scene Ziegfeld’s / Secrets - Saturday, October 27 - Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

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

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

38 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY


Saturday, GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $5
November 3 Bacardi, all flavors, all
night long • REWIND:
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Request Line, an ‘80s
Open 2pm-3am • Video and ‘90s Dance Party,
Games • Live televised 9pm-close • Featuring
sports DJ Darryl Strickland •
No Cover
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Saturday Breakfast Buffet, NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
10am-3pm • $14.99 with Drag Brunch, hosted
one glass of champagne by Chanel Devereaux,
or coffee, soda or juice • 10:30am-12:30pm and
Additional champagne $2 1-3pm • Tickets on sale
per glass • World Tavern at nelliessportsbar.com
Poker Tournament, 1-3pm • House Rail Drinks, Zing
• Crazy Hour, 4-8pm •
Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie
Freddie’s Follies Drag Beer and Mimosas, $4,
Show, hosted by Miss 11am-3am • Buckets of
Destiny B. Childs, 8-10pm Beer, $15 • Guest DJs
• Karaoke, 10pm-close
NUMBER NINE
Doors open 2pm • Happy
Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink,
2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5
Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close
• Time Machine and
Power Hour, featuring DJ
Jack Rayburn, 9:30pm
NIGHTLIFE HIGHTLIGHTS
DECADES OF DANCE
Dancing through the decades is the theme at three parties over the
next week that collectively span the past 40 years in pop music. First
up is Can’t Feel My Face, a party at U Street Music Hall featuring
music from the last eight years and named after the 2015 hit from
The Weeknd. DJs Will Eastman and Ozker will take turns spinning
through hits from the current decade by Beyonce, Drake, the Justins,
Kanye, Katy, Rihanna, and Taylor, among others, while Kylos adds a
little visual magic. Friday, Nov. 2, starting at 10 p.m. at 1115A U St.
NW. Tickets are $12 in advance, or $15 at the door. Call 202-588-
1880 or visit ustreetmusichall.com.
The next night, the Black Cat offers Take Me Out, a party celebrating
the indie synth-rock and punky pop sound of the 21st century’s first
decade and named after the biggest hit from Franz Ferdinand. Expect
LCD Soundsystem, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Killers, Hot Chip,
Interpol, Gorillaz, and M.I.A. on the playlists of DJs Matt Walter and
Craig Boarman. Saturday, Nov. 3, starting at 9:30 p.m. at 1811 14th
St. NW. Tickets are $10. Call 202-667-4490 or visit blackcatdc.com.
WASHINGTON RENEGADES’ RUCK THE RUNWAY 2
Members of the gay-inclusive amateur rugby team, founded 20 years
ago, will ditch their cleats for heels at this second annual drag affair,
aided and abetted by show hosts Kristina Kelly and Ba’Naka. Friday,
Nov. 9, at 8 p.m. at Cobalt, 1639 R St. NW. Call 202-232-4416 or visit
cobaltdc.com.
DUPLEX DINER: ELECTION NIGHT DRAG BINGO
Stop by the 18th & U diner on Tuesday, Nov. 6, for the weekly Beer
& Burger Night deal of half-priced patties and $4 domestic brews as
you watch the results of the midterm elections trickle in. Duplex will
add further appeal by presenting free rounds of bingo from 7 to 10
p.m. Goldie Grigio hosts this game night offering shots and prizes.
Duplex Diner, 2004 18th St. NW. Call 202-265-9599 or visit duplex-
diner.com.
REWIND: REQUEST LINE
Darryl Strickland was one of the most prolific DJs in gay D.C. in the
’90s, which makes him eminently qualified to serve as VJ for this
first-Saturdays party focused on playing the best video hits of the
’80s and ’90s. There’s drink specials on offer and even the ability to
make requests all night long — obviously this isn’t quite a regular
night out. Saturday, Nov. 3, starting at 9 p.m. at the Green Lantern,
1335 Green Ct. NW. No cover. Call 202-347-4533 or visit greenlan-
terndc.com.
FREDDIE MERCURY CONVENTION
To coincide with the opening of Bohemian Rhapsody, the gay-friend-
ly Wonderland offers one more costume contest this season — a
Freddie Mercury lookalike competition. The ultimate goal is “to pack
as many Freddies into our bar as possible,” which any ’70s-porn-lov-
ing Queen fan can get on board with. The patron who best captures
Mercury’s regalia and splendor wins $250, while second prize takes
home $100. Third prize is “a ripped $10 bill and bag of chips.”
Saturday, Nov. 3, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Wonderland Ballroom, 1101
Kenyon St. NW. Call 202-232-5263 or visit thewonderlandballroom.
com. — Compiled by Doug Rule
NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 39
40 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

PITCHERS
Open Noon-3am • Video
Games • Foosball • Live
televised sports • Full
dining menu till 9pm •
Special Late Night menu
till 2am • Visit pitchers-
bardc.com
SHAW’S TAVERN
Brunch with $15
Bottomless Mimosas,
10am-3pm • Happy Hour,
5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite,
$4 Blue Moon, $5 House
Wines, $5 Rail Drinks •
Half-Priced Pizzas and
Select Appetizers
TRADE
Doors open 2pm • Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cock-
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
2-10pm • Beer and wine
only $4
ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS
Men of Secrets, 9pm-4am
• Guest dancers • Ladies
of Illusion Drag Show
with host Ella Fitzgerald
• Doors at 9pm, Shows
at 11:30pm and 1:45am
• DJ Don T. in Ziegfeld’s
• DJ Steve Henderson in
Secrets • Cover 21+
Sunday,
November 4
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
Open 2pm-12am • $4
Smirnoff and Domestic
Cans • Video Games •
Live televised sports
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Ella’s Sunday Drag Brunch,
10am-3pm • $24.99 with
four glasses of champagne
or mimosas, 1 Bloody
Mary, or coffee, soda or
juice • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm
• Freddie’s Monthly Zodiac
Drag Contest, hosted by
Ophelia Bottoms, 8pm •
Karaoke, 10pm-close
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm •
Karaoke with Kevin down-
stairs, 9:30pm-close
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Drag Brunch, hosted
by Chanel Devereaux,
10:30am-12:30pm and
1-3pm • Tickets on sale
at nelliessportsbar.com
• House Rail Drinks, Zing
Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie
Beer and Mimosas, $4,
11am-1am • Buckets of
Beer, $15 • Guest DJs
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut
and $5 Bulleit Bourbon,
9pm-close • Multiple TVs
showing movies, shows,
sports • Expanded craft
beer selection • Pop
Goes the World with Wes
Della Volla at 9:30pm •
No Cover
PITCHERS
Open Noon-2am • $4
Smirnoff, includes flavored,
$4 Coors Light or $4 Miller
Lites, 2-9pm • Video
Games • Foosball • Live
televised sports • Full din-
ing menu till 9pm • Visit
pitchersbardc.com
SHAW’S TAVERN
Brunch with Bottomless
Mimosas, 10am-3pm •
Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 House Wines, $5 Rail
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
and Select Appetizers
• Dinner-n-Drag, with
Miss Kristina Kelly, 8pm
• For reservations, email
shawsdinnerdragshow@
gmail.com
TRADE
Doors open 2pm • Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a
cocktail glass served in a
huge glass for the same
price, 2-10pm • Beer and
wine only $4 • Glam Box:
A Monthly Dress-Up Dance
Party, 9pm • Walk-off
contest, 10:30pm • Music
by Joann Fabrixx • Special
guest hosts
Monday,
November 5
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm •
Singles Night • Half-Priced
Pasta Dishes • Poker Night
— 7pm and 9pm games •
Karaoke, 9pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm •
$3 rail cocktails and
domestic beers all night
long • Singing with the
Sisters: Open Mic Karaoke
Night with the Sisters
of Perpetual Indulgence,
9:30pm-close
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Beat the Clock Happy Hour
— $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of
Beer, $15 • Half-Priced
Burgers • Paint Nite, 7pm
• PokerFace Poker, 8pm •
Dart Boards • Ping Pong
Madness, featuring 2 Ping-
Pong Tables
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
SHAW’S TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 House Wines, $5 Rail
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
and Select Appetizers •
Playlist
DJ STEVE HENDERSON
SECRETS
SHALLOW
BARRY HARRIS MIX
Shaw ’Nuff Trivia, with Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga
Jeremy, 7:30pm
TRADE MOVES
Doors open 5pm • Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
SEBASTIAN PEREZ MIX
normally served in a cock- Olly Murs
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
5-10pm • Beer and wine SECRETS
only $4 TOY ARMADA AND GRIND MIX
Pink
Tuesday, HEY KAY HEY
November 6 CLUB MIX
Chemical Surf
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
Open 5pm-12am • Happy
Hour: $2 off everything GIMME! GIMME! GIMME!
until 9pm • Video Games BARRY HARRIS MIX
• Live televised sports
Cher
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Taco SHINED ON ME
Tuesday • Poker Night —
7pm and 9pm games • Praise Cats
Karaoke, 9pm
ELECTRICITY
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4pm-9pm DIRTY DISCO MIX
• $3 rail cocktails and Dua Lipa
domestic beers all night
long
NEED YA
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR TwoDB
Beat the Clock Happy Hour
— $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of EGO
Beer $15 • Drag Bingo
Lee Dagger ft. Mary Kiana
with Sasha Adams and
Brooklyn Heights, 7-9pm •
Karaoke, 9pm-close BEAUTIFUL
NUMBER NINE EDX MIX
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any Bazzi ft. Camila Cabello
drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
PITCHERS Steve Henderson is the resident DJ at
Open 5pm-12am • Happy Secrets in Washington, D.C. He also
Hour: $2 off everything holds many residencies across the
until 9pm • Video Games country, including clubs in Chicago,
• Foosball • Live televised
sports • Full dining menu
Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore.
till 9pm • Special Late Stream his mixes at
Night menu till 11pm • mixcloud.com/djstevehenderson.
Visit pitchersbardc.com
Listen to this Playlist at
Metroweekly.com.
NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 41
 SHAW’S TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 House Wines, $5 Rail
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
and Select Appetizers
• Half-Priced Burgers
and Pizzas all night with
$5 House Wines and $5
Sam Adams • DC Bocce
League: Indoor Bocce,
Second Floor, 6:30pm •
Election Results Watch
Party
TRADE
Doors open 5pm • Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cock-
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
5-10pm • Beer and wine
only $4
42 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
Wednesday, bar tabs and tickets to
shows at the 9:30 Club •
November 7 $15 Buckets of Beer for
SmartAss Teams only •
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Absolutely Snatched Drag
Open 5pm-12am • Happy Show, hosted by Brooklyn
Hour: $2 off everything Heights, 9pm • Tickets
until 9pm • Video Games available at nelliessports-
• Live televised sports bar.com
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR NUMBER NINE
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • $6 Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
Burgers • Beach Blanket drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
Drag Bingo Night, hosted
by Ms. Regina Jozet PITCHERS
Adams, 8pm • Bingo prizes
• Karaoke, 10pm-1am
Open 5pm-12am • Happy
Hour: $2 off everything
until 9pm • Video Games
GREEN LANTERN • Foosball • Live televised
Happy Hour, 4pm-9pm • sports • Full dining menu
Bear Yoga with Greg Leo, till 9pm • Special Late
6:30-7:30pm • $10 per Night menu till 11pm •
class • $3 rail cocktails Visit pitchersbardc.com
and domestic beers all
night long SHAW’S TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
SmartAss Trivia Night, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail
8-10pm • Prizes include Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
and Select Appetizers •
Piano Bar and Karaoke
with Jill, 8pm
TRADE
Doors open 5pm • Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cock-
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
5-10pm • Beer and wine
only $4
Thursday,
November 8
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
Open 5pm-2am • Happy
Hour: $2 off everything
until 9pm • Video Games
• Live televised sports
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm •
Karaoke, 9pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm
• Shirtless Thursday,
10-11pm • Men in
Underwear Drink Free,
12-12:30am • DJs
BacK2bACk
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Beat the Clock Happy Hour
— $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) • $15 Buckets
of Beer all night • Sports
Leagues Night
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
PITCHERS
Open 5pm-2am • Happy
Hour: $2 off everything
until 9pm • Video Games
• Foosball • Live televised
sports • Full dining menu
till 9pm • Special Late
Night menu till 11pm •
Visit pitchersbardc.com
SHAW’S TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 House Wines, $5 Rail
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
and Select Appetizers • All
You Can Eat Ribs, 5-10pm,
$24.95 • $4 Corona and
Heineken all night
TRADE
Doors open 5pm • Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cock-
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
5-10pm • Beer and wine
only $4
ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers •
Open Dancers Audition
• Urban House Music by
DJ Tim-e • 9pm • Cover
21+ l
 Scene Mugs!
YOUR FAVORITE SCENE PHOTO ON A MUG
Your photo selection will be printed on
an 11 oz. white coffee mug, with the
Metro Weekly logo on the back.

Please allow up to 2 weeks for delivery.

Makes a Great
Holiday Gift!
Visit metroweekly.com/scene to order yours today!
Scene Freddie’s Beach Bar - Saturday, October 27 - Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

44 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 45
 LastWord.
People say the queerest things

“I hope people do not feel that the film does a disservice to the community, and if it were me,
I would’ve loved to have incorporated more.”
— RAMI MALEK, telling USA Today that he campaigned for more focus on Freddie Mercury’s sexuality in Queen biopic Bohemian
Rhapsody. The film has been accused of straightwashing Mercury, but Malek said there were “conversations left and right” about
including Mercury’s “beautiful relationship with Jim Hutton,” who was his partner in the years leading up to his death.

“Playing politics with civil rights of a vulnerable

population has consequences.
But moments like this are exactly why Trans Lifeline exists.
”
— Trans Lifeline executive director SAM AMES, speaking to Teen Vogue after the suicide hotline received four times its normal
number of total callers following the New York Times’ revelation that the Trump administration is floating a policy that would
erase transgender people from the federal government, including removing them from civil rights protections
and denying them federal benefits.

“Hate mongering has no place in America,

especially in political campaigns.
”
— Democratic Congressional candidate PERRY GERSHON, running in New York’s first district, in a statement to Patch after more
than two dozen campaign signs were defaced with phrases including “gay lover.” Gershon, who is trying to unseat an incumbent
Republican, urged his opponent to condemn “hate-based violence, intolerance, and related vandalism” and said,
“I am proud to stand with the LGBTQ community in fighting for equality.”

“I hated going to school every day.

I wanted out of there so bad.
”
— RYAN DURANT, former high school classmate of Doug Wardlow, the Republican candidate for Minnesota attorney general,
speaking to The St. Paul Pioneer Press. Durant claims that Wardlow repeatedly bullied him for his sexuality, a claim Jason Kopp,
a friend of Wardlow’s in high school who later came out as gay, backed up, saying he and Wardlow would call Durant “fag” and
“faggot.” Durant even claimed that, after a failed suicide attempt, Wardlow welcomed him back to school by saying,
“What, you couldn’t even get that right?”

“That’s not how we drive in America.

Trump’s deporting your stupid cousins today,
bitch!”
— CHARLES GEIER, a 58-year-old gay man from Houston, Texas, in a viral racist rant aimed at Janet Espejel and her daughter.
Espejel, who filmed the encounter and has reported it to police, Queerty reports, said Geier pulled alongside her at stop lights
and started shouting abuse at her. Twitter users quickly identified Geier, who has since deleted
his social media accounts and gone into hiding.

46 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY