Metro Weekly - Jan. 10, 2019 - John Gidding of Trading Spaces

CONTENTS

JANUARY 10, 2019

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Volume 25 Issue 35

JUST JUDY

Signature’s cabaret series celebrates a legend’s life and music with Judy Garland: A Star Is Born.

By André Hereford

WHITMAN-WALKER’S BIG CHANGE

Whitman-Walker is splitting into five connected entities, to better deliver its services and to secure its long-term future.

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By John Riley

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WELL DESIGNED

John Gidding is smart, disarmingly humble, and passionate — if you don’t love the Trading Spaces designer, chances are your cats will.

Interview by Doug Rule

SPOTLIGHT: MATTHEW BOURNE’S CINDERELLA p.7 OUT ON THE TOWN p.12 COMMANDING CHAOS: CAPERNAUM p.14 JUST JUDY: A STAR IS BORN CABARET p.16 THE FEED: WHITMAN-WALKER’S BIG CHANGE p.23 COMMUNITY CALENDAR p.25 COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: STONEWALL YOGA p.25 COVER STORY: JOHN GIDDING p.28 NIGHTLIFE: BENT AT 9:30 CLUB p.37 BAR & CLUB SPECIALS p.38 NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS p.39 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 Chris Hyndman Cover Photography Joshua Thomas 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.

© 2019 Jansi LLC.

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JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

JOHAN PERSSON

Spotlight

Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella

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Interview by Randy Shulman

HOREOGRAPHY,” SAYS SIR MATTHEW BOURNE, “is the toughest job in the business. Because there is nothing at the start. With a play on day one, or a musical, you can sit in a circle and you can have a read-through or singthrough, and half of it is already there — you have just got to stage it. With dance, it's like nothing. The performance comes to you sometimes with no knowledge.”

Indeed, Bourne has fashioned an enviable career spinning magic out of nothing. His works are internationally celebrated for their unique, bold approaches to familiar material, elaborate, dazzling designs, and more often than not, profound LGBTQ content. He has won every major theatrical award imaginable — from Tonys to Oliviers — sometimes multiple times over, and in 2002 founded his own dance company, New Adventures, which thrives to this day.

“I just decided to be true to what I loved,” says the choreog-

rapher, who turns 59 on Sunday, and whose Cinderella arrives at the Kennedy Center on Tuesday. “I have created my own genre that just comes from things that I love. I think everyone can do that — you have just got to listen to yourself.”

METRO WEEKLY: The Cinderella playing at the Kennedy Center is a

revival of your acclaimed 1997 production, set in wartime London.

Why revive something? Why not do something completely new?

SIR MATTHEW BOURNE: I love reviving, actually, because I think you can always be better, you can always be richer. And the new cast has contributed to it as well — they've got something to add to it, rather than just a carbon copy of what has gone before.

And it has been substantially reworked and redesigned from the 1997 version.

MW: What is it like to revisit one of your iconic shows? How do you know what to change?

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JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

were not happy about it. Move forward 23 years, we are doing a production in London at the moment — sold out! It's a “Bring the family Christmas treat! Bring the kids!” So I think things have changed massively. I think people, especially young people, are very different to how we were when growing up. If you tell them someone's gay, it's not a big deal.

MW: Is there any dream ballet that you want to stage that you haven't as of yet?

BOURNE: Thinking of gay things, I would love to do a version of Maurice, the E.M. Forster novel.

MW: That would be something. Do that, please do that.

BOURNE: It would be good wouldn't it? I would love to do that, I love that period and everything.

MW: When you put so much effort into something, so much work, how do you cope with it when, despite all your best efforts, things go south, either with the critics or the audience?

BOURNE: In the short term it's very tough, very difficult, because you put all your thoughts and all of your instinct into it, and you feel what you are presenting is something you are happy with.

And somebody is telling you it's not quite working or it’s not getting the reaction you wanted.

But I have never let up, I will never give up, I will come back to that piece, because I know deep down there is something there in it that really does work, and I have not quite got it all right yet.

MW: You’re were knighted in 2016. I’m curious how that honor feels to you?

BOURNE: You know, it's such an ancient thing. It really goes back to the Knights of the Round Table, and you feel very connected to history in a way. It's kind of amazing, I still can't quite get over it. It's a lovely thing that I never thought would happen and, I have to be honest, I love it, I love it. I am not going to pretend and be blasé about it — it's a very great honor. I feel it's your country saying thank you to you. And it also gives me a voice for my profession of dance and choreographers. It gives me extra authority.

So I try to use that for the good of the profession I work in.

MW: So what advice would you give to young, aspiring choreographers?

BOURNE: I’d say it's great to be inspired by the greats of the past or the present, that we all get inspired by people in the world that we are in, but don't try to be like them. It’s the mistake a lot of people make — you end up being a second rate someone, when you want to be a first rate who you are. So do something that comes directly from you. Use all your inspirations, but don't ape what was already there too much, because there is always somebody out there already doing it very well. Try to find your own voice and be true to yourself. l HUGO GLENDINNING

BOURNE: You can only use your instincts. But you also have all the knowledge that you have gained from talking to audiences [the first time around] and seeing what they reacted to. I feel some directors don't do this enough. Once the show is on, they disappear. But there is so much you can learn from how audiences respond to the piece. Also, you change as a person, you mature as an artist. As I've gotten older, my views on my pieces is different — I want them to be more meaningful now, I want them to touch people more, I am more interesting in moving people than making people laugh.

MW: It’s fascinating to see new viewpoints expressed within the confines of such a familiar fairy tale. Setting Cinderella during World War II, for instance.

BOURNE: I don't see the point for me in doing them unless I find something new in them. It's a wordless medium I am working in, so it's very useful that people have some connection to the story, and Cinderella is one that everyone knows. It means you can play around with it quite a lot. That's the beginning of the journey for me — what are we going to do with this famous story and how we are we going to play with what people know of it?

It’s incredibly fun and creative.

MW: You are well-known for traversing between Broadway musicals and classical work.

BOURNE: I don't see them as being that different. It's all about telling a story. If it's a musical, you have the means of words and lyrics, as well. In a dance piece, you don't — you have to tell the story just through the music. I haven't done that many musicals, really. I have done the ones that felt I had something to give to and I really wanted to do.

MW: Such as Mary Poppins. Which I have a bone to pick with you on: You didn't include dancing penguins! It seemed like such a natural tap number.

BOURNE: [Laughs.] Dancing penguins are something that animation does very well, in that they are the right size. It was talked about quite a lot, and very much dismissed early on as something we wouldn't want to [adapt from] the film. I was actually quite disappointed to see dancing penguins in Mary Poppins Returns, because I felt they were part of the old movie. Do something different, you know? We can watch them in the old movie. [The filmmakers] needed to be more bold about their ideas and do something different that we didn't have to compare with the original film.

MW: How important is it for gay artists to introduce positive LGBTQ subtext or themes into their work, even if it's not the central component.

BOURNE: I think it's terribly important. I've done it for thirty years, put gay situations, stories, romances within the pieces that I have done that play to a very wide audience. Swan Lake was an interesting example. When I first did that production 22 years ago, and the Male Swan and the Prince danced together in a seemingly romantic way, we had people walk out. Some people

Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella, set to music by Prokofiev, plays the Kennedy Center Opera House from Tuesday, Jan. 15 through Sunday, Jan. 20. Tickets are $29 to $129. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

Spotlight AMERICAN MOOR

CHRIS LANG.

Keith Hamilton Cobb’s passionate and poetic exploration of Shakespeare, race, and America examines implicit bias in American theater and culture through the experience and perspective of black men and the metaphor of William Shakespeare’s character Othello. The play focuses on the audition of a seasoned African-American actor (Cobb) for a young white director (Josh Tyson) who presumes to know better than he how to maximize the iconic black character for believability. Weekends to Feb. 3. Anacostia Playhouse, 2020 Shannon Place SE. Tickets are $40 plus applicable charges. A special presentation, including discussion and reception for area teachers in partnership with the Folger Shakespeare Library, is Sunday, Jan. 13, at 3 p.m. Call 202290-2328 or visit anacostiaplayhouse.org.

JOHN OATES AND THE GOOD ROAD BAND

John Oates is the slightly less well-known half of Hall & Oates, the ’80s-minted pop/R&B hitmakers touted as the best-selling duo of all time. He will perform songs from throughout his career, including from his most recent roots-focused project, Arkansas, backed by his current band. Adam Ezra opens. Thursday, Jan. 17, and Friday, Jan. 18, at 8 p.m. The Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna.

Tickets are $42 to $47. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit wolftrap.org.

SORAYA CHEMALY: RAGE BECOMES HER

Kramerbooks offers an inspiring reading for activists on the eve of this year’s Women’s March. The focus is a new book that heralds the value of personal anger and also rails against the societal and cultural belittlement of the emotion, revealing it as a cunning way of limiting and controlling one’s own power.

In Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger, Chemaly, the director of the Women’s Media Center Speech Project, argues that anger, when “approached with conscious intention...is a vital instrument, a radar for injustice and a catalyst for change.” Friday, Jan. 18, at 6:30 p.m. 1517 Connecticut Ave. NW. Call 202-387-1400 or visit kramers.com.

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Spotlight

TURANGALÎA-SYMPHONIE

In Sanskrit, “turanga” means movement and rhythm and “lîla” refers to a cosmic game. The composer Messiaen combined the two concepts to form the title of what is now considered one of the most innovative works of the 20th century. Marin Alsop leads the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in a performance of the exotic work, which features a dazzling part for piano, played by Jean-Yves Thibaudet, as well as one for the eerie, sci-fi-sounding instrument called Ondes Martenot, to be played by Nathalie Forget. All in all, the piece is billed as a “mind-blowing” journey of extreme dynamic contrasts and “a lifetime event to hear!” Sunday, Jan. 13, at 3 p.m. Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda.

Tickets are $25 to $90. Call 877-276-1444 or visit bsomusic.org.

ROOPKOTHA PHOTO EXHIBIT

Vibrant images captured by various photographers, along with historical artifacts and personal memorabilia, tell the story of Xulhaz Mannan and Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy, two Bangladeshi LGBTQ activists and artists who were savagely murdered in their home two years ago. The Center Arts Gallery in the DC Center for the LGBT Community has set up this powerful installation as part of an ongoing campaign to protest the inaction of the Bangladeshi government to investigate the murders. 2000 14th St. NW. Call 202-682-2245 or visit thedccenter.org.

EDDIE FROM OHIO

Neither the singing percussionist Eddie Hartness nor any other Virginiabred member of Eddie From Ohio actually has any ties to the Buckeye State. The folk act’s name is simply an obscure tribute to “Ed From Ohio” Crawford, the lead singer/guitarist of ’80s-era alt-rock act Firehose.

Since its founding over a quarter century ago, Eddie From Ohio has gone on to tour regularly throughout the U.S. But the Wammie-winning act remains particularly popular in its native region. As of press time, tickets remain only for shows Friday, Jan. 18, and Sunday, Jan. 20, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $42.50. Call 703-549-7500 or visit birchmere.com.

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JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

ANGELISA GILLYARD

Out On The Town

THE INSERIES: FROM U STREET TO THE COTTON CLUB

KenYatta Rogers returns to direct this toe-tapping hit first presented in 2009. The cabaret production features music by Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, and more from 1920s and ’30s jazz-age America, performed amidst tales of African Americans from the era woven together by playwright Sybil Williams. And two hours before every show, the In Series has partnered with local historian Timothy Wright for a guided walking tour into the music, mural art, and life along U Street, once known as D.C.’s Black Broadway, that ends with a discounted dinner at Ben’s Chili Bowl. Runs to Jan. 20.

Source, 1835 14th St. NW. Tickets $20 to $45, or $15 for the pre-show walking tour. Call 202-204-7763 or visit inseries.org.

Compiled by Doug Rule

FILM CITIZEN KANE

Soon after Landmark’s West End Cinema reopened in a refurbished state in 2017, it launched a new hump-day series. And one of the first Capital Classics films offered was Orson Welles’ 1941 magnum opus, still widely considered one of the greatest films — if not the greatest — ever made. Now the theater offers another run of the Welles classic, in which the director plays a newspaper tycoon who has everything, yet not enough to make him happy. Citizen Kane remains a strange, moving and sometimes funny drama, propelled by the mystery of “rosebud.” Screenings are Wednesday, Jan. 16, 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 $12.50. Call 202-5341907 or visit landmarktheatres.com.

IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

Tish is an African-American woman determined to clear the name of her husband Fonny, wrongfully accused

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of rape, before she gives birth to their child. The latest film from Moonlight screenwriter and director Barry Jenkins adapts James Baldwin’s 1974 novel, its themes of racism and injustice still concerningly relevant today. If Beale Street Could Talk stars Kiki Layne as Tish and Stephan James as Fonny.

Critics are already heaping praise on the film, which won a Golden Globe for Regina King last Sunday, so don’t be surprised to see it reappear come awards season. Now playing. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com. (Rhuaridh Marr)

ON THE BASIS OF SEX

Notorious RBG makes her big screen debut. Felicity Jones is a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a brilliant lawyer fighting for equal rights for women, including in arguments before the Supreme Court that she would eventually come to have a seat on. Armie Hammer co-stars as Ginsburg’s husband, Martin, and Emmy-winning director Mimi Leder is at the helm. This is about as close as it gets to perfect Oscarfodder, but should also hopefully make for compelling viewing —

JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

Ginsburg’s incredible life achievements deserve it. Now playing. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com. (RM)

RA XTRA: THE HEIRESSES

Descendants of wealthy families in Paraguay, Chela (Ana Brun) and Chiquita (Margarita Irún) have been together for over 30 years.

Yet their relationship faces challenges like never before as a result of a worsening financial situation and new realities for each, including Chela’s encounter with a younger woman. Rayceen Pendarvis hosts a screening of Marcelo Martinessi’s drama, presented in Spanish with English subtitles, as part of Reel Affirmations’ monthly series.

Friday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m. at the HRC Equality Center, 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Tickets are $12, or $25 for VIP seating as well as one complimentary cocktail, beer or wine and popcorn. Call 202-682-2245 or visit thedccenter.org.

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW

Landmark’s E Street Cinema presents its monthly run of Richard O’Brien’s camp classic, billed as the

longest-running midnight movie in history. Landmark’s showings come with a live shadow cast from the Sonic Transducers, meaning it’s even more interactive than usual. Friday, Jan 10, and Saturday, Jan. 11, at midnight. Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672 or visit landmarktheatres.com.

STAGE 19: THE MUSICAL

In this still-developing musical, writers/lyricists Jennifer Schwed and Doug Bradshaw tell the story, through jazz and hints of gospel composed and performed by pianist Charlie Barnett, of the fight for women’s right to vote led by suffragists Alice Paul, Ida B. Wells, and Susan B. Anthony. In the week leading up to this year’s Women’s March comes three concert-style performances with receptions and talkbacks about the work, all to generate buzz for next year’s centennial of the 19th Amendment and the developing 2020 One Woman, One Vote Festival, during which a full production of 19: The Musical is being planned. Friday, Jan. 11,

and Saturday, Jan. 12, at 8 p.m.

1st Stage, 1524 Spring Hill Rd., McLean. Tickets are $20. Also Friday, Jan. 18, at 6:30 p.m. Hill Center, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Tickets are free but few remain as of presstime. For more details, visit 19themusical.com.

SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

OH, GOD

COMMANDING CHAOS

Nadine Labaki talks about capturing truth in her moving drama Capernaum.

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OR HER THIRD FEATURE FILM AS WRITER-DIRECTOR, NADINE LABAKI SET out to obliterate the line between truth and artifice. The film, Capernaum, would be about a boy making his way on the streets of Beirut, and she knew she wanted the story to feel as real as possible. “I just wanted to really be true to the voices of those kids,” Labaki says. “Those children that stand next to your car window that you don’t look at most of the time, because you think it’s too hard, because you don’t know where to start or how to help, so you decide to just keep going because this is the only way. You don’t look.”

Labaki’s mission was to make it impossible for her audience to look away from the realistic, albeit fictional, story of Zain, a 12-year old street kid who sues his parents for the affront of having him in the first place. “I’m tired of people who don’t take care of their kids,” he tells the judge.

Speaking with the authority and attitude of a youngster who’s seen the depths of poverty, neglect, and deprivation, Zain is portrayed by real-life Syrian refugee Zain al Rafeea, who gives an unforgettable debut performance. The film went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.

After seeing hundreds of children while casting the film, Labaki instinctively knew al Rafeea was the one. “The casting process was a very wild, street casting process,” she says, adding, “He was on the streets playing with his friends and fighting with his friends and [the casting director] saw that personality, so she interviewed him and then when I saw the interview...he stood out with everything.”

One way he stood out was in his ability to be himself on-camera, and transmit his own pain and experience, his own story, in the film. “Maybe some child actors can do it but I didn’t want anyone to act, I just wanted them to be and to represent,” says the director. “Which doesn’t mean that I don’t like actors or I don’t believe in actors.”

Reminded that she herself is an actor, and a rather successful one in France and her native Lebanon, Labaki insists, “Yes, but in this particular situation I just wanted something else. I wanted to take it maybe further in the realism and further in the truth of what they were saying.

And I did that.”

Shot in the slums of Cola and Beirut, Capernaum pulsates with the sights, sounds, even smells of the film’s real-life locations. “The shoot was the most challenging thing we’ve ever done, all of us,” she says. “But we did it. We did it and it changed us all. We’re not the same people. Psychically and emotionally and psychologically we changed after the film. There’s a before and after.” —André Hereford Capernaum is rated R, and opens January 11 at Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinemas and at the Angelika Mosaic in Fairfax, Va. Visit landmarktheatres.com/washington-d-c or angelikafilmcenter.com/mosaic.

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JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

A psychotherapist gets a visit from a new and desperate patient — God — in a witty and touching work

by Anat Gov, billed as the “Wendy Wasserstein of Israel.” Kimberly Schraf is the therapist who must talk the divine one (Mitchell Hébert) off the ledge of despair over the state of humanity in Mosaic Theater’s winter holiday production directed by Michael Bloom that launches the 18th season of the annual Voices From a Changing Middle East Festival. As part of the festival, select performances will be followed by free post-show discussions exploring resonant themes in the work with experts in religion, psychotherapy, and comedy.

To Jan. 13. Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $20 to $65. Call 202-399-7993 or visit mosaictheater.org.

SOUL REDEEMER

In the style of Dreamgirls and Motown: The Musical, this new work, set in 1979, follows the travails of a former R&B superstar who tries to make a comeback in the hip new genre he loathes: disco. Don Michael Mendoza and La Ti Do Productions presents a world-premiere staged reading of Soul Redeemer, featuring original music and lyrics by Neal Learner and a book by Paul Handy, in the long-running variety show’s home venue in Dupont Circle. Kevin Sockwell directs the reading with Matthew Dohm leading an accompanying musical ensemble. Friday, Jan. 18, and Saturday, Jan. 19, at 7 p.m. 1727 Connecticut Ave. NW. Tickets are $15. Call 202-328-1640 or visit latidoproductions.com.

VISIONS OF LOVE

Pointless Theatre Company’s latest spectacle blurs the lines between puppetry, theater, dance, music, and the visual arts in a “nostalgic valentine” to Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights. Considered the highest accomplishment of Chaplin’s career and also featuring his first-ever film score, the 1931 silent classic follows the misadventures of The Tramp, who falls in love with The Blind Woman and develops a turbulent friendship with an alcoholic millionaire. Kerry McGee and Sharalys Silva lead a seven-member acting ensemble. Previews begin Friday, Jan. 11. Weekends to Feb. 9. Dance Loft on 14, 4618 14th St. NW, 2nd Floor. Tickets are $32, or $20 in previews. Call 202-621-3670 or visit danceloft14.org.

MUSIC ARNAUD SUSSMANN, PAUL NEUBAUER, AND DAVID FINCKEL TRIO

A violinist, a violist, and a cellist step into the Barns at Wolf Trap to perform three chamber masterworks written for their combination of stringed instruments: Beethoven’s Opus 9, No. 1 Trio in G Major, Dohnányi’s romantic Serenade in C Major, and Mozart’s quintessential classical Viennese Divertimento in E-flat Major. Friday, Jan. 11, at 7:30 p.m. The Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $40.

Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit wolftrap.org.

BOBBY SANABRIA AND THE MULTIVERSE BIG BAND

JUST JUDY

Signature’s cabaret series celebrates a legend’s life and music with Judy Garland: A Star Is Born.

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OMEWHERE BEYOND “OVER THE RAINBOW” AND STONEWALL AND EVERY GAY stereotype of the last 70 years, Judy Garland soldiers on in the hearts of music lovers everywhere, belting about “The Man That Got Away.” The incomparable performer might be celebrated this year, which marks the 50th anniversary of her death, but there’s no need for a special occasion to pay tribute to Garland’s artistry.

Anytime might be right for Signature Theater’s new Cabaret Series production Judy Garland: A Star Is Born, featuring two fabulous vocalists familiar to D.C. theatergoers — Awa Sal Secka (Ford’s The Wiz) and Katie Mariko Murray (Signature’s Passion), accompanied by pianist and music director Chris Urquiaga. And, in director Matthew Gardiner, the show boasts a guiding force who knows all about Judy.

“I have been obsessed with Judy Garland ever since I was very little,” says Gardiner. “The joke in my family is that when I came out to my mother in my 20s, she laughed at me and said, ‘Matthew you’ve owned every Judy Garland album since the age of seven.’ I was like, ‘That’s a horrible stereotype! And a true one.’”

Even though he knew all her songs “at a very young age,” Gardiner still discovered new, inspiring details about Garland’s career as he developed the cabaret set. “[T]here are songs that I didn’t know the history of,” he says. “For example, we’re going to do a couple of Johnny Mercer songs because Johnny Mercer was so in love with Judy Garland that the subject of many of his songs is Judy. Several of them she recorded.” These include the standards, “Old Black Magic” and “Blues In The Night.”

Gardiner says the aim of the cabaret is to relay Garland’s emotion and storytelling, and a message that connects her to today’s audience.

“Somebody sent me a video the other day of Judy at the end of one of her Judy Garland Shows, just saying to the audience Happy New Year and hopefully we can all be a little kinder and a little gentler, and maybe next year we’ll like each other a little bit more,” Gardiner recalls.

“I think that Judy carried that sort of heart in her music and in her life. She brought all of us, I mean me certainly, so much joy. I think that’s not to be taken for granted. That bringing a little bit of joy and laughter and heart to what we do is what we need right now, reminding us why we’re human, and that’s what Judy did so well, was remind her audience of that.” —André Hereford Judy Garland: A Star is Born runs through January 26, 2019 at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington. Tickets are $38. Call 703-820-9771, or visit sigtheatre.org.

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JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

West Side Story Reimagined, a 2019 Grammy nominee for Best Latin Jazz Album, is a lively, all-new instrumental orchestration of the Leonard Bernstein classic musical based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that is, according to NPR Alt Latino’s Felix Contreras, “what the music for West Side Story should have sounded like, sparkling with the music of El Barrio.” The electrifying percussionist and educator Sanabria will bring the music to life at the Kennedy Center in a performance with his Latin jazz band as part of organization’s The Human Journey collaboration with National Geographic and the National Gallery of Art. Friday, Jan. 18, at 7 and 9 p.m. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Tickets are $35 to $40. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

DANTE’ POPE

A few years ago the singing multi-instrumentalist performed as part of a trio with Dom Flemons, a founder of the Grammy-winning black bluegrass Carolina Chocolate Drops.

Now Pope kicks off a series of concerts featuring the 2019 class of Artists in Residence at Strathmore, hoping to follow in the footsteps of AIR alumni, including Grammynominated Christylez Bacon, The Voice contestant Owen Danoff, and Prince- and Stevie Wondercollaborator Frédéric Yonnet, to name three of the 80-plus young musicians mentored through the program since 2005. Pope showcases his soulful sound, infused with elements of gospel, jazz, and R&B and incorporating vocals, piano, guitar, and drums, in two concerts this month on Wednesday, Jan. 16, and Jan. 30, at 7:30 p.m.

The Mansion, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda. Tickets are $17.

Call 301-581-5100 or visit strathmore.org.

KEVIN JANG WITH HUI-CHUAN CHEN

A former Strathmore Artist In Residence and current faculty mem-

COMEDY IMPROBABLE COMEDY: COMEDY AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

A show that President Trump doesn’t want you to see, the Maryland presenter Improbable Comedy has recruited more immigrants and first-generation comics for its second Comedy As A Second Language program. Performers on tap are Pedro Gonzalez, Davine Ker, Simone, and Anna Tirat-Gefen.

Saturday, Jan. 12, at 7:30 p.m. Silver Spring Black Box Theatre, 8641 Colesville Road. Tickets are $16 to $22. Call 301-351-2096 or visit improbablecomedy.com.

JAY PHAROAH

JOSEPH PULITZER: VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

Over a century ago, a penniless Jewish immigrant became a press baron fighting the dangers that the suppression of news augured for democracy long before our present “fake news” threats to press freedom. Oren Rudavsky’s riveting look at a founding father of modern journalism explores the complicated legacy of a man who fought the good fight, but also busted unions, engaged in some questionable practices and had fraught family relations. Narrated by Adam Driver and featuring voice work from Liev Schreiber, Rachel Brosnahan, Hugh Dancy, and Lauren Ambrose, the documentary gets a local screening per the Washington Jewish Film Festival, followed by a conversation with Rudavsky.

Thursday, Jan. 17, at 7:30 p.m. Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema, 7235 Woodmont Ave. Tickets are $13.50 in advance. Call 202-777-3250 or visit wjff.org.

The six-season alum from Saturday Night Live, well known especially for his impressions of President Obama, Jay Z, and Kanye West, has more recently shown his dramatic abilities via Showtime’s White Famous and Steven Soderbergh’s Unsane. He’s currently working on his second stand-up special by trying out and perfecting his material performing at nightclubs and college auditoriums around the country. Friday, Jan. 11. Doors at 8 p.m.

9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $30 for this seated show. Call 202265-0930 or visit 930.com.

JOE ZIMMERMAN ber of the Washington Conservatory of Music offers a recital accompanied by fellow faculty member Chen, a native of Taiwan. The program, part of an informal one-hour classical concert series to end the work week, features works for violin and piano by Sarasate, Chopin, Kreisler, and Dvořák. Friday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m. Westmoreland Congregational Church, 1 Westmoreland Circle, Bethesda. Tickets are free, donations welcome. Call 301-320-2770 or visit washingtonconservatory.org.

UNNAUGURAL CONCERT: CHERYL WHEELER, CATIE CURTIS

On the eve of this year’s Women’s March on Washington comes the third annual anti-Trump UnNaugural concert featuring five artists performing and raising money for five local advocacy nonprofits in an event headlined “Playing It Forward, Voices for Social Justice.”

In addition to the veteran queer folk artists Wheeler and Curtis, this year’s lineup includes performances from John Flynn, Elena & Los Fulanos, and Tom Prasada-Rao. The beneficiaries are the Montgomery Housing Partnership, the Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse, Interfaith Works, Trash-Free Maryland, and UMttr. Friday, Jan. 18, at 7:30 p.m.

Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center, 7995 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring. Tickets are $75, or $250 for

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VIP granting premier seats, reserved parking, and post-show reception with the performers. Call 301-3626525 or visit UnNaugural.org.

WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA: AMERICAN OPERA INITIATIVE FESTIVAL

“Catch a glimpse into the future of opera” goes the tagline for this festival, WNO’s commissioning program for contemporary American opera now in its seventh season. This year’s festival includes two different programs featuring four world premiere operas, performed in concert with Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists accompanied by a small chamber orchestra and followed by a Q&A with the artists and creative teams. Program One focuses on Taking Up Serpents, a new hourlong opera from composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Jerre Dye that spins an engrossing tale about the controversial world of religious snake-handling, and focused on the estranged daughter (performed by Alexandria Shiner) of a fire-andbrimstone preacher who is dangerously bitten by one of his snakes.

Performances are Friday, Jan. 11, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 13, at 2 p.m. Program Two centers around “Three New 20-Minute Operas,” including 75 Miles, with music

by Matt Boehler and a libretto by Laura Barati focused on a family in rural Pennsylvania who grapple

JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

with faith, beliefs, and economic limitations in the face of an unexpected teen pregnancy; Relapse, with music by Molly Joyce and a libretto by James Kennedy about a woman struggling with her addiction after a serious drug overdose; and Pepito, with music by Nicolas Lell Benavides and libretto by Marella Martin Koch, a tale about a lonely shelter dog and the troubled young married couple eager, maybe a bit too eager, to adopt.

Performances are Saturday, Jan. 12, at 7 and 9 p.m. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Tickets are $19 to $45 per program. Call 202-4674600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

DANCE IDEA: AN EVENING OF INDIAN DANCE

Wolf Trap presents a dazzling showcase by the Arlingtonbased Indian Dance Educators Association promoting classical and folk dance styles. Expect vibrant costumes, lively music, and elaborate movement featuring professional dancers both local and from India. Saturday, Jan. 19, at 8 p.m.

The Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $25 to $27. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit wolftrap.org.

This West Virginia native, whose “calming vocalization and inventive writing [is a] thing of magic,” according to BuzzFeed, comes to the area as the first comedy night of 2019 at AMP by Strathmore co-presented by Comedy Zone. Erica Spera, named a 2017 TBS Comic to Watch, opens the show. Thursday, Jan. 17, at 8 p.m. 11810 Grand Park Ave. North Bethesda. Tickets are $14. Call 301-581-5100 or visit ampbystrathmore.com.

JOKES THAT GIVE BACK

Every third Thursday at the comedy club a few blocks from Logan Circle comes a standup show featuring comics from the area and beyond and all geared as a fundraiser for a different charity each month. Comics Gigi Modrich and Andie Basto produce and host the first event in 2019 with the beneficiary Dreams for Kids DC, which provides life-changing activities for children with physical and developmental disabilities. Thursday, Jan. 17, at 7 p.m. Drafthouse Comedy, 1100 13th St. NW. Tickets are $10.

Call 202-750-6411 or visit drafthousecomedy.com.

WASHINGTON IMPROV THEATER: ROAD SHOW

D.C.’s leading company for longform improv offers a run of shows at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, each presenting a series of vignettes featuring different ensembles, with plots developed on-the-fly, spurred

Marta Pita curated the local reprise.

Through Jan. 13. WPA Annex, 1921 8th St. NW, Ground Floor. Call 202234-7103 or visit wpadc.org.

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

ALLISON MICHAEL ORENSTEIN.

COMMUNITY POLICING IN THE NATION’S CAPITAL

AUDRA MCDONALD AND BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL IN LET FREEDOM RING!

FABERGE REDISCOVERED

NW. Tickets are $15, or $30 including one book, $40 for two tickets and one book. Call 202-408-3100 or visit sixthandi.org.

The late heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post has a renowned collection of pieces from the firm of Carl Fabergé, the legendary jeweler to the last court of Russia. A special exhibition at Post’s Hillwood Estate, nestled in a leafy section of Upper Northwest a few blocks from Van Ness, unveils new discoveries relating to the collection of about 90 Fabergé works, including two imperial Easter eggs. In conjunction with the exhibition, Hillwood’s holiday decorations, most notably five Christmas trees, reflect the opulence and splendor of Fabergé through jeweled ornaments, live flowers, and brilliant treasures. To Jan. 13. 4155 Linnean Ave. NW. Suggested donation is $18. Call 202-686-5807 or visit HillwoodMuseum.org.

ART & EXHIBITS

HILL CENTER GALLERIES: REGIONAL JURIED EXHIBITION

“I would hope that we could look back on this period and go ‘Wow, that was a time where we all had lessons to learn and learned them, and were forever changed in the right way from what happened,’” Audra McDonald told Metro Weekly last year. The longtime LGBTQ champion, who is also the most-awarded stage actress in Tony history, returns to the Kennedy Center next weekend along with fellow Broadway superstar Brian Stokes Mitchell to lead this year’s free musical celebration honoring Martin Luther King, Jr’s legacy. Also on the bill is the Let Freedom Ring Choir with music director Rev. Nolan Williams Jr. Monday, Jan. 21, at 6 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Free tickets will be given away two per person on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 4:30 p.m. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

by audience suggestions. The run also features the debut production from WIT ensemble The Fourth Estate, offering a keen look at the media in the 21st century directed

by Kate Symes. Opens Thursday, Jan. 10. Weekends to Jan. 27. 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $15 in advance, or $20 at the door. Call 202-3997993 or visit atlasarts.org.

READINGS ARENA CIVIL DIALOGUES: MUST WE BE TRIBAL?

Arena Stage presents this series of discussions for the broader Washington community focusing on topics and questions in today’s headlines. The next dialogue focuses on “the role of community in our personal and collective future” and also serves as a 90th birthday celebration for The George Washington University’s Amitai Etzioni, the series’ curator. Other “Dialogue Starter” panelists this round include the Brookings Institution’s William Galston (author of Anti-Pluralism: The Populist Threat to Liberal Democracy) and Isabel Sawhill

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(author of One Percent for the Kids: New Policies, Brighter Futures for America’s Children), with Xolela Mangcu, a South African public intellectual and GW sociology professor, serving as moderator.

Monday, Jan. 14, starting with a pre-discussion reception at 5 p.m.

1101 6th St. SW. Free, but reservations are required. Call 202-4883300 or visit arenastage.org.

JEAN CASE: BE FEARLESS

Be Fearless: Five Principles for a Life of Breakthroughs & Purpose is a hotoff-the-press book by the head of the philanthropic Case Foundation who three decades ago was the marketing director for a startup that grew into the once-mighty Internet empire America Online, or AOL, co-founded by her husband Steve Case. Publisher Simon and Schuster touts Be Fearless as “a call to action for those seeking to live extraordinary lives and bring about transformational change.” Case will read and sign copies of the book as part of a discussion at Sixth and I led

by Andrea Mitchell of NBC News.

Thursday, Jan. 17, at 7 p.m. 600 I St.

JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

Organized as part of a citywide commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination, this exhibition uses original documents, maps, posters, and other materials to shine a light on a local experiment in community policing. “The Pilot District Project, 1968-1973” was a program with good intentions, an innovative experiment in community policing that had success but also more than its share of failures, and its legacy continues in citizen police reform efforts today. Co-presented by the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. Through Jan. 15. National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Tickets are $10 for admission to all current exhibitions. Call 202-2722448 or visit nbm.org.

BESTUÉ-VIVES: RALF & JEANNETTE

The Washington Project for the Arts has set up this video projection, in an empty storefront a block south from where Town once stood, with the intention of making viewers reflect on chance encounters with strangers on the street as well as on changing social dynamics in the area. The story of a romantic relationship, artists David Bestué and Marc Vives originally presented Ralf & Jeannette as a one-time-only performance in 2010 on a crowded sidewalk in Times Square — from where the seemingly everyday interaction, lasting just over nine minutes, was projected onto a massive overhead digital billboard, with a multi-camera video feed of the event presented nationwide on MTV with subtitles in English.

D.C.-based artist and arts manager

Over the years, this exhibition, featuring works in various mediums and subjects, has grown to include over 80 artists from D.C., Virginia, and Maryland. This year’s juror is Caitlin Berry of Hemphill Fine Arts.

Artists represented include: Lory Ivey Alexander, Katherine Altom, Fabiola Alvarez Yurcisin, Kasse Andrews-Weller, Kimberley Bursic, Elizabeth Casqueiro, Marilyn Christiano, Kim DiDonato-Murrell, Christopher Fowler, Ric Garcia, Paul Hrusa, JoAnn Lamicella Laboy, Phet Lew, Rashad Muhammad, Khanh Nguyen, Zachary Reid, Judy Searles, Carol Ward, and Acquaetta Williams. Opening Reception is Wednesday, Jan. 16, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. On display to March 3. Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Call 202-549-4172 or visit HillCenterDC.org.

MARK BRADFORD: TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY

The Baltimore Museum of Art showcases the work of the gay African-American artist specifically through an installation of painting, sculpture, and video first presented at the 2017 Venice Biennale.

The installations on display in Tomorrow Is Another Day weave a complex, multi-layered narrative incorporating themes and figures from Bradford’s personal life as well as from Greek mythology and the universe. One example is Spoiled Foot, a behemoth collage installation inspired by the story of Hephaestus, the god of artists and makers, that hangs from the ceiling and literally bears down on visitors, pushing them to the periphery of the room. The exhibition also conveys a belief in art’s ability to expose contradictory histories and inspire action in the present day, particularly among those in traditionally marginalized communities — by featuring silk-screened t-shirts and tote bags created by local youth from Baltimore’s Greenmount West Community Center with support and guidance from the Los Angelesbased artist, all available for purchase in a pop-up shop adjacent to the exhibition. To March 3. 10 Art Museum Dr. Baltimore. Call 443573-1700 or visit artbma.org.

NEW NATURE BY MARPI

Polish-born, San Francisco-based digital artist Mateusz “Marpi” Marcinowski has developed an immersive audiovisual experience featuring a colorful digital menagerie of nature-inspired creatures and plant life that react in real time to users’ gestures and actions. Inspired by early multiplayer online gaming systems such as Super Mario Brothers, Marpi’s New Nature is the latest installation at D.C.’s unique art-meets-technology gallery ArTecHouse. To Jan. 13.

1238 Maryland Ave. SW. Tickets for timed-entry sessions are $8 to $15, with evening admission for those over 21 years of age and including

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exhibit-related Augmented Reality Cocktails available for purchase.

Visit artechouse.com.

NORDIC IMPRESSIONS

The Phillips Collection offers a major survey spanning nearly 200 years and featuring works by 53 artists from Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, as well as the self-governing islands of Åland, Faroe, and Greenland.

Without specifying what exactly constitutes a distinctively Nordic artistic approach aside from place of origin/geography, the art in the exhibition retains a certain mystique and focus on themes that hold a special place in Nordic culture: light and darkness, inner life and exterior space, the ties between nature and folklore, and women’s rights and social liberalism.

Artists represented range from Golden Age/Romantic era painters Akseli Gallen-Kallela and Helene Schjerfbeck to today’s Eija-Liisa Ahtila and Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir.

To Jan. 13. 1600 21st St. NW. Tickets are $10 to $12. Call 202-387-2151 x247 or visit phillipscollection.org.

PICTURES OF THE YEAR: 75 YEARS OF THE WORLD’S BEST PHOTOGRAPHY

The Newseum celebrates one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious photojournalism competitions with a show featuring just a sampling of the more than 40,000 award-winning images in the archives of Pictures of the Year International.

Tracing the evolution of photojournalism from World War II to today, the images on display depict the people and events that have defined the times, capturing war and peace, disaster and triumph, and the social and cultural shifts that have shaped the past 75 years. Founded in 1944 at the University of Missouri, POYi recognizes excellence in photojournalism as well as multimedia and visual editing. To Jan. 20.

Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Tickets are $22.95 for general admission. Call 888-NEWSEUM or visit newseum.org.

JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

TORPEDO FACTORY’S 2018 POST-GRAD RESIDENTS

A display of works from the four residents this year at the Torpedo Factory Art Center. Through the Post-Grad Residency, housed in Torpedo’s Studio 319, recent college graduates with art degrees are given the opportunity to create and sell work, interact with the public, and build a network outside of the academic setting. The 2018 residents — interdisciplinary artists Lyric Prince and Alexis Gomez, and sculpture/installation artists Sara Roberts and Kelly Johnston — are the featured artists in this latest group exhibition at the Old Town complex’s contemporary Target Gallery. On display through Jan. 21. 105 North Union St. Alexandria.

Free. Call 703-838-4565 or visit torpedofactory.org.

ABOVE & BEYOND CARTOGRAPHY

The Kennedy Center co-commissioned this world premiere production for young audiences that explores how the world is alive with movement and migration. Inspired by young refugees around the world, Cartography fuses map-making, dance, film, and sound sensor technology to explore the tragedy and wonder of lives in motion. From the effects of climate change to war and poverty, the story examines the forces that send youth into unsure waters of their future, and invites audiences to consider their own maps and journeys. Intended for ages 12 and up. Friday, Jan. 11, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, Jan. 12, and Sunday, Jan. 13, at 1:30 and 4 p.m.

Kennedy Center Family Theater.

Tickets are $20. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

ELVIS’ BIRTHDAY FIGHT CLUB

Elvis Presley hosts an underground fight club in what is billed as a comically lowbrow theater event from Astro Pop Events (Countdown to Yuri’s Night, America The Game Show). Now in its ninth year, the production features the King (Jared Davis), accompanied by his sardonic sidekick Kittie Glitter (Jei Spatola), plus “a little more conversation” in the form of hilarious color commentary during seven comical, choreographed matchups full of cartoon-like violence and below-the-belt comedy, as burlesque dancers keep the audience “all shook up” between fights. The cast includes Andrew Wodzianski, Lucrezia Blozia, Carlos Bustamente, DD Cupcakes, Patrick M. Doneghy, Matt Grant, Nona Narcisse, Callie Pigeon, Candy Del RIo, Christian Sullivan, Cherie Sweetbottom, and Stephon Walker. Saturday, Jan. 11, at 7:30 and 10 p.m., and Saturday, Jan. 12, at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Creative Alliance at the Patterson, 3134 Eastern Ave. Baltimore. Tickets are $25 to $35. Visit astropopevents. com.

PRETTY BOI DRAG: 3RD ANNIVERSARY PARTY

Former DC King Pretty Rik E has managed to help keep alive the art of drag kings in D.C. with this regular series of shows, over brunch or during nighttime parties, featuring nearly two dozen local performers.

For the next event, a Sunday afternoon anniversary party, patrons can win tickets to future shows as well as new “Pretty Boi Swag” including limited-edition anniversary t-shirts available in gold and silver foil print and Pretty Boi Drag shot glasses that grant purchasers’ a special discount on shots at the bar. Sunday, Jan. 20, from 2 to 5 p.m. Bier Baron Tavern, 1523 22nd St. NW. Tickets are $20 in advance, or $25 at the door, or $40 for an anniversary package with ticket, t-shirt, and a shot glass. Call 202-293-1887 or visit prettyboidrag.com. l

WWH

theFeed

Whitman-Walker’s Max Robinson Center with a mural by No Kings Collective.

WHITMAN-WALKER’S BIG CHANGE

Whitman-Walker is splitting into five connected entities, to better deliver its services and to secure its long-term future. By John Riley

W

HITMAN-WALKER HEALTH IS UNDERGOING a massive reorganization. The venerable healthcare provider, a mainstay of D.C.’s LGBTQ community for 41 years, wants to better focus on fundraising, research and education, and long-term sustainability.

“After the move to 1525 14th Street, there was a frustration of the board that we didn’t have enough time to get to research and policy and education,” says Harry Fox, chair of the board of the newly created Whitman-Walker Health System. “We weren’t able to raise enough money because we didn’t have time as a board to focus on that. And it began to be clear that the structure that got us here didn’t work.”

That structure, which contains numerous requirements that Whitman-Walker must meet as a federally-qualified health center, all came under the banner of WhitmanWalker Health. Which meant other aspects of running and maintaining a vibrant health system were overshadowed by patient services and direct health care.

“We really began to talk through the need to break these things out, to give them their own home, to give them their own board with people who are focused on policy and research,” Fox says. “A board that’s focused on helping raise money. And then let the health center have a board that’s really focused on the delivery of care.”

Under the reorganization, the Whitman Walker Health Center will continue to provide direct patient services,

including culturally competent primary health care, HIV and STD testing, legal services, and insurance assistance to patients. The Health Center will also oversee the Hearth Foundation, an organization with its own board of directors that provides housing services to individuals at risk of homelessness.

The health center’s new CEO will be Naseema Shafi, formerly the deputy executive director of Whitman-Walker Health. Shafi will report directly to the Whitman-Walker Health board of directors, comprised of about 25 members, 51% of whom must be patients who receive care from the health center.

A newly established sibling company, the WhitmanWalker Health System, will be created to address the other facets of running a successful health organization, with an eye toward long-term sustainability. In charge will be CEO Don Blanchon, who will report to a separate board of directors.

The three components of the Health System include: the Whitman-Walker Foundation, which will specialize in fundraising and philanthropic efforts to support the health center; the Whitman-Walker Health System Real Property Holdings, which will leverage money raised from the rental of space at Whitman-Walker’s Elizabeth Taylor site, at 1701 14th St. NW, to help fund future endeavors; and the Whitman-Walker Institute, which will expand Whitman-Walker’s research,

JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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theFeed educational, and policy advocacy capabilities.

“In reading about this, it might seem to people is that Whitman-Walker is splitting into five different pieces, but it’s all in the service of being able to deliver the best quality care we can,” says Sandy James, board chair of the Whitman-Walker Health Center. “These are sibling organizations, working together toward similar goals. We have different missions and carry out different work, but it’s all towards the same end.”

Another part of the restructuring involves the expansion of Health Center services east of the Anacostia River, with the aim of eventually migrating services over the next decade from the current Max Robinson site, at 2301 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. SE, to a new, larger building.

That building would be equal in size to the Health Center’s 1525 building in the Logan Circle neighborhood, part of a recent expansion and redevelopment of Whitman-Walker’s Northwest D.C. facilities.

“We’ve had a presence in Anacostia for quite some time,” says James. “But we know that we don’t have the same services over there and we want to at least be able to have the same sorts of services that we have that we’re able to offer on 14th Street at Max Robinson. The new building will allow us to do that.”

Sometime in 2020 or 2021, that new Anacostia-based building would house expanded youth programming, primary and urgent care, and behavioral health services for people in Wards 7 and 8.

“It’s best to think about the three projects — 1525, Elizabeth Taylor, and then what we plan to do in Anacostia — as one 10-year initiative,” Blanchon says. “The idea was that we could unlock the value of Elizabeth Taylor [through renting out parts of the property] by redeveloping that, and generating a financially sustainable income stream that also provides us some ability to access capital to either rebuild Max Robinson Center, or expand Max Robinson Center and put in a new facility east of the river. So they’re really different phases of the same project.

Naturally, any expansion requires significant capital investment. The new Anacostia campus is expected to cost up to $20 million to complete, meaning the WhitmanWalker Foundation, as the philanthropic arm of the Health System, has set an ambitious goal of raising a minimum of $5 million in 2019.

“I remind people all the time that fundraising is the place where we have discretionary dollars that come in, that allow us to do new or expanded programs that serve the trans community, or LGBTQ seniors,” says Blanchon. “We could go through a list of programming, but the reality of it is, for us to realize those dreams, we’re going to have to figure out a way to inject more money into the organization.”

Blanchon notes that the passage of the Affordable Care Act has, in some people’s minds, lessened the urgency of fundraising for HIV-related research or primary care. That then forces Whitman-Walker to prioritize what it raises by funneling it into direct patient services, which, in turn, takes away money that could be earmarked for more ambitious future projects the health system wishes to undertake.

“If we think about the last 10 years, we’ve had relatively flat fundraising. Government funding has kind of bounced around,” notes Blanchon. “We’ve always had great commu24

JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

nity support. Our average gift is somewhere around $100.

We have close to 20,000 donors through all of the events and activity we do here. And it’s amazing.

“What’s missing for us is really this major donor component. We’ll still need government, but we’ll need a bigger increase from corporations, foundations and major donors, which is a place where we rightly still need to put some more time,” he adds. “And, depending on the outcome of those efforts, we’ll be able to provide more service to the community. The more we can generate from this model, the more we’re able to tackle some of the issues that exist.”

From her perspective as head of the Health Center (sometimes referred to as “the clinic”), Shafi sees benefits in the restructuring that will enable her to focus on the quality of care offered at Whitman-Walker’s sites, particularly east of the river.

“The clinic board is really going to be able to focus on care delivery,” she says. “And the kind of board membership, where 51% of the clinic board members are patients, helps us have a really robust conversation about what the community needs and what the emerging trends are in the community.”

Besides the expansion of services for youth and seniors, and the continuation of Max Robinson’s medically-assisted treatment program for those suffering from addiction, Shafi also sees opportunities for expanded HIV and STI testing and greater promotion of PrEP as a tool to reduce the risk of HIV transmission. Shafi hopes to be able to reach out to and engage communities where PrEP has historically not been marketed.

“We’re trying to expand the way we communicate about PrEP,” she says. “We’re going to have a major push this year. We have a PrEP clinic that runs out of the 1525 Health Center. We’re also going to be building one at the Max Robinson Center, now that the pharmacy is open.”

Shafi says that while current health care services won’t be drawn back under the restructuring she would eventually like to see patients feel the tangible benefits that will come from increased investment.

“I think, over the next several years, especially for folks living in Wards 7 and 8, they’re going to see more of an investment, they’re going to see their experience improve, and us offering more services,” she says.

Reflecting on his 13 years with Whitman-Walker, Blanchon is excited about the new chapter and the changes taking place within the organization that will ultimately be for the better.

“I couldn’t think of a better person to work side-by-side with than Naseema on the health center side,” he says. “We have an amazing supportive board who understands that to be really impactful on the lives of the people we serve, we have to stay relevant and responsive, and we have to do things differently sometimes.”

Blanchon also emphasizes that continued support from the greater D.C. community will be as important as it was in Whitman-Walker’s earliest days, not only in terms of financial support, but in constructive feedback that allows Whitman-Walker to improve all of its services.

“This organization has never been able to do it all on its own,” he says. “It has always needed community, and once again we will need their support going forward.” l

Community a.m.-5 p.m. Decatur Center, 1400 Decatur St. NW. To arrange an appointment, call 202-291-4707, or visit andromedatransculturalhealth.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB practice

session at Takoma Aquatic Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 300 Van Buren St. NW. For more information, visit swimdcac.org.

DC FRONT RUNNERS run-

ning/walking/social club welcomes runners of all ability levels for exercise in a fun and supportive environment, with socializing afterward. Route distance is 3-6 miles. Meet at 7 p.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW. For more information, visit dcfrontrunners.org.

Thurman

ASSUMING THE POSITION

Stonewall Yoga offers classes for people who want to get in shape and improve their mental focus.

S

TONEWALL YOGA WAS STARTED BY A GROUP OF GAY YOGIS IN D.C. WHO decided we were bored of practicing in different studios by ourselves,” says John Thurman. “We thought it would be nice to find a space for the LGBTQ community to practice together that was inclusive of all people and all body types, and have some fun as well.”

One of the group’s instructors, Thurman says yoga can have a myriad of positive health and emotional benefits. “It’s good for helping reduce muscular and lower back pain, increases flexibility, and makes you less prone to injury. Our members also report feeling calmer in general and more productive at work.”

The group currently hosts classes at Pitchers sports bar in Adams Morgan on Sundays. To entice new members, this month Stonewall Yoga will hold a 10:30 a.m. class for beginners and a noon class for intermediate-level yogis. Those interested in exploring yoga can attend on a drop-in basis for $10 per session, or register for an 11-week session for $65.

Stonewall offers an affirming environment where beginners gradually ease themselves into shape, under the guidance of helpful and patient instructors.

“When you attend a class, you’ll find a community of people focused on improving their minds, bodies, and spirits, or just looking for a space to calm down and meditate.”

—John Riley Stonewall Yoga’s beginners class is held on Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m. at Pitchers, 2317 18th St. NW. For more information, or to register for a full season of classes, visit stonewallyogadc.net.

THURSDAY, JAN. 10

Weekly Events

OutWrite DC hosts its inaugural QUEER BOOK CLUB meeting, where members will discuss Dodging and Burning

by John Copenhaver. The DC Center, 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org/ outwrite.

AIDS HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION offers free walk-

in HIV testing by appointment from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1-5 p.m. at its Blair Underwood Wellness Center, 2141 K St. NW, and its AHF Healthcare Center, 4302 St. Barnabas Rd., Suite B,

Temple Hills, Md., and from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at its Benning Road location, 1647 Benning Rd. NE, Suite 300. For more information, visit hivcare.org.

ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH

offers free HIV testing and HIV services (by appointment). 9

DC LAMBDA SQUARES, D.C.’s gay and lesbian square-dancing group, features mainstream through advanced square dancing at the National City Christian Church. Please dress casually. 7-9:30 p.m. 5 Thomas Circle NW. 202-930-1058, dclambdasquares.org.

DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds

practice. The team is always looking for new members.

All welcome. 7-9 p.m. Harry Thomas Recreation Center, 1743 Lincoln Rd. NE. For more information, visit scandalsrfc. org or dcscandals@gmail.com.

THE DULLES TRIANGLES

Northern Virginia social group meets for happy hour at Sheraton in Reston. All welcome. 7-9 p.m. 11810 Sunrise Valley Drive, second-floor bar.

For more information, visit dullestriangles.com.

HIV TESTING at Whitman-

Walker Health. 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 2:30-5 p.m. at 1525 14th St. NW, and 9 a.m-12 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. at the Max Robinson Center, 2301 MLK Jr. Ave. SE. For an appointment, call 202-745-7000 or visit whitman-walker.org.

KARING WITH INDIVIDUALITY (K.I.) SERVICES, 20 S. Quaker Lane,

Suite 210, Alexandria, Va., offers $30 “rapid” HIV testing and counseling by appointment only. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Must schedule special appointment if seeking testing after 2 p.m. Call 703-823-4401.

METROHEALTH CENTER

offers free, rapid HIV testing.

Appointment needed. 1012 14th St. NW, Suite 700. To arrange an appointment, call 202-849-8029.

JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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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 without symptoms. For an appointment call 202-745-7000 or visit whitman-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 202-4461100.

FRIDAY, JAN. 11 GAMMA is a confidential, volun-

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/

Join AGLA members and LGBTQ people from the D.C. metro area for the organization’s monthly AFTERNOON COFFEE JOLT, an hour of coffee and conversation at Detour coffee shop, next to Jiffy Lube. Organizer Eric will be wearing gold and purple Mardi Gras beads for easy identification.

2:30-3:30 p.m. 946 N. Jackson St., Arlington, Va. For more information, visit agla.org.

DIGNITYUSA sponsors Mass for

sion and activity group for queer women, meets at The DC Center on the second and fourth Friday of each month. Group social activity to follow the meeting. 8-9:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

SATURDAY, JAN. 12 ADVENTURING outdoors group

walking/social club welcomes runners of all ability levels for exercise in a fun and supportive environment, with socializing afterward.

Route distance will be 3-6 miles.

Walkers meet at 9:30 a.m. and runners at 10 a.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW. For more information, visit dcfrontrunners.org.

LGBT community, family and friends. 6:30 p.m., Immanuel Episcopal Church on the Hill, 3606 Seminary Road, Alexandria. All welcome. For more information, visit dignitynova.org.

SUNDAY, JAN. 13 Weekly Events BETHEL CHURCH-DC progressive and radically inclusive church holds services at 11:30 a.m. 2217 Minnesota Ave. SE. 202-248-1895, betheldc.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-

hikes a moderate 6-mile circuit around Clopper Lake in Seneca Creek State Park in Montgomery County, Md. Bring beverages, lunch, mud-worthy boots, and $5 for fees. Carpool at 10 a.m. from the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro Station. For more information, contact Joe, 202-276-5521, or visit adventuring.org.

nity for worship. 10:30 a.m., 6130 Old Telegraph Road, Alexandria. hopeucc.org.

CHRYSALIS arts & culture group

Join LINCOLN

holds bimonthly dinner at Metroaccessible restaurant in suburban Maryland. Non-members welcome.

Plans for wintertime museum visits and out-of-town excursions will be reviewed. 7-9 p.m. RSVP by Friday, Jan. 11 to learn restaurant location.

For more information, contact Kevin, 571-338-1433 or kgiles27@ gmail.com.

JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

Weekly Events

tary, peer-support group for men who are gay, bisexual, questioning and who are now or who have been in a relationship with a woman.

7:30-9:30 p.m. Luther Place Memorial Church, 1226 Vermont Ave NW. GAMMA meetings are also held in Vienna, Va., and in Frederick, Md. For more information, visit gammaindc.org.

WOMEN IN THEIR TWENTIES (AND THIRTIES), a social discus-

26

The DC Center hosts a monthly meeting of UNIVERSAL PRIDE, a group to support and empower LGBTQIA people with disabilities, offer perspectives on dating and relationships, and create greater access in public spaces for LGBTQIA PWDs. 1-2:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, contact Andy Arias, andyarias09@gmail.com.

HSV-2 SOCIAL AND SUPPORT GROUP for gay men living in the

DC metro area. This group will be meeting once a month. For information on location and time, visit H2gether.com.

CONGREGATIONAL TEMPLE – UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST for

an inclusive, loving and progressive faith community every Sunday. 11 a.m. 1701 11th Street NW, near R in Shaw/Logan neighborhood. lincolntemple.org.

METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA services at 11 a.m., led

by Rev. Emma Chattin. Children’s Sunday School, 11 a.m. 10383 Democracy Lane, Fairfax. 703-6910930, mccnova.com.

NATIONAL CITY CHRISTIAN CHURCH, inclusive church with

GLBT fellowship, offers gospel worship, 8:30 a.m., and traditional worship, 11 a.m. 5 Thomas Circle NW. 202-232-0323, nationalcitycc.org.

ST. STEPHEN AND THE INCARNATION, an “interra-

cial, multi-ethnic Christian Community” offers services in English, 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., and in Spanish at 5:15 p.m. 1525 Newton St. NW. 202-232-0900, saintstephensdc.org.

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF SILVER SPRING

invites LGBTQ families and individuals of all creeds and cultures to join the church. Services 9:15 and 11:15 a.m. 10309 New Hampshire Ave. uucss.org.

MONDAY, JAN. 14 The DC Center’s YOUTH WORKING GROUP meets on the second Monday of each month to discuss issues important to LGBTQ youth. 6-7 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

TEN PIN PRIDE, a social bowling league of 4-person teams, meets on Monday evenings. Singles and teams welcome. 8-10 p.m. Bowl America Falls Church, 140 S. Maple Ave., Falls Church, Va. To register or for more information, email tpp. secretary@gmail.com.

Weekly Events 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 thedccenter.org.

TUESDAY, JAN. 15 CENTER BI, a group of The DC Center, hosts a monthly roundtable discussion around issues of bisexuality. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. Visit thedccenter.org.

THE HEALTH WORKING GROUP

of The DC Center hosts a “Packing Party,” where volunteers assemble safe-sex kits of condoms and lube.

7-9 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

Weekly Events DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds practice. The team is always looking for new members. All welcome.

7-9 p.m. Harry Thomas Recreation Center, 1743 Lincoln Rd. NE. For more information, visit scandalsrfc. org or dcscandals@gmail.com.

THE GAY MEN’S HEALTH COLLABORATIVE offers free

HIV testing and STI screening and treatment every Tuesday.

5-6:30 p.m. Rainbow Tuesday LGBT Clinic, Alexandria Health Department, 4480 King St. 703746-4986 or text 571-214-9617. james.leslie@inova.org.

OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS

holds an LGBT-focused meeting every Tuesday, 7 p.m. at St. George’s Episcopal Church, 915 Oakland Ave., Arlington, just steps from Virginia Square Metro. Handicapped accessible.

Newcomers welcome. For more info, call Dick, 703-521-1999 or email liveandletliveoa@gmail.com.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 16 BOOKMEN DC, an informal men’s gay literature group, meets at The DC Center to discuss pages 1-165 of Becoming a Londoner, by David Plante. All welcome. 7:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. Visit bookmendc.blogspot.com.

men’s evening affinity group for GBT black men. Light refreshments provided. 7-9 p.m. 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. 202-446-1100.

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.

WASHINGTON WETSKINS WATER POLO TEAM practices 7-9

Weekly Events

US HELPING US hosts a black gay

p.m. Newcomers with at least basic swimming ability always welcome.

Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van Buren St. NW. For more information, contact Tom, 703-299-0504 or secretary@wetskins.org, or visit wetskins.org.

WHITMAN-WALKER HEALTH HIV/AIDS SUPPORT GROUP

for newly diagnosed individuals, meets 7 p.m. Registration required.

202-939-7671, hivsupport@whitman-walker.org.

AD LIB, a group for freestyle con-

versation, meets about 6-6:30 p.m., Steam, 17th and R NW. All welcome. For more information, call Fausto Fernandez, 703-732-5174.

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 information, contact Tom, 703-299-0504 or secretary@ wetskins.org, or visit wetskins.org. l

JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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WELL Designed

John Gidding is smart, disarmingly humble, and passionate. If you don’t love the Trading Spaces designer, chances are your cats will.

J

OHN GIDDING HAD BEEN ON TRACK TO becoming the architect he’d always told people he wanted to be. But a funny thing happened on his way to Harvard.

“Somebody came up to me on the street and said, ‘Hey, we’re doing a [modeling] shoot. We’re looking for college-age kids,’” says Gidding, who didn’t let his real age at the time — mid-twenties — stop him. “I went to it and the photographer gave me the number of an agency. That’s what led to the TV stuff, because I did a bunch of castings and one of them ended up being for a TV show that I got.”

That show — 2003’s Knock First on ABC Family — quickly led to others, snapping into action Gidding’s unexpected career as a go-to designer and style guru on the small screen. You’ve likely seen Gidding if you’ve watched a home-design or howto reality TV show in the past dozen years or so, from HGTV’s Curb Appeal to Logo’s Secret Guide to Fabulous to Fox’s Home Free. He’s also a regular design guest on Rachael Ray’s syndicated talk show.

Last year, Gidding joined the revamp of a show that essentially pioneered the genre nearly two decades ago. The 42-year-old is one of three new faces rotating with a half-dozen “legacy” designers featured on Trading Spaces, whose next season will air on TLC in “early 2019” — likely in April, or a full year after the reboot’s premiere.

It’s not hard to see why Gidding, who stands at 6 feet 2 inches, was scouted for modeling. He fits the classic description: tall, dark, and handsome. What made him even better suited for design TV, though, is the fact that he’s also smart, sharp, and sophisticated, as well as multilingual, multicultural, and 28

JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

open-minded. On top of all that, he comes off — on screen and in interviews — as polite, genial, and disarmingly humble, with charm to spare.

An American of Turkish and Greek descent, Gidding’s British surname was “picked off a list at Ellis Island” by a paternal Jewish ancestor believed to have immigrated from Poland.

Gidding is conversant in French and German and fluent in English and Turkish, which was his first language.

“I grew up in Turkey until I was 15, and then I went to Switzerland for boarding school — as you do,” Gidding says.

“Then I came to the states for college and never left.” He went on to earn degrees from both Yale and Harvard — though the ever-humble Gidding mentioned neither during an hour-long phone interview, simply referring to “architecture school” and “grad school” instead. In the U.S., Gidding has mainly rooted himself in New York, with multiyear sojourns to Atlanta, while he worked on HGTV’s Designed to Sell, and to San Francisco, where he’s currently overseeing a major, non-televised renovation of a client’s home.

Gidding also travels extensively to take part in home shows, such as next weekend’s Home + Remodelling Show at the Dulles Expo Center. There, he will lead several discussions focused on “how art can work inside the home,” and more broadly to inspire people to “think about their interior space as an artistic expression of their own personality.”

“These home shows are a great opportunity for me to see what people are thinking about for their own spaces,” he says.

“They are also a great way of seeing what new products come out, which definitely helps my day-to-day job as well.”

Gidding is hoping to find insight and inspiration in other

JOSHUA THOMAS

Interview by Doug Rule

JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

29

ways while in town for the show. For starters, there’s the Women’s March on Washington being planned over the same weekend. His last trip to D.C., in fact, was for the massive 2017 women’s rally that royally eclipsed Trump’s inauguration.

“Now that I know there’s another women’s march, I would love to try to get involved,” he said.

Then there are the many fetish festivities associated with Mid-Atlantic Leather. Gidding, who, as it happens, is a recent divorcé, sounded sold and ready to go upon his first-ever hearing about MAL at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill. “That sounds fun,” he says. “And I just bought a harness! Maybe I’ll meet you there?”

METRO WEEKLY: Let’s start with Trading Spaces, which ultimately helped pave the way for your career. It must be a bit of a heady experience, now working on the seminal show.

JOHN GIDDING: Yeah, it’s surreal. It was the show that introduced me to design television along with the rest of the country. I remember waiting in line for hours trying to get an autograph from Vern Yip ten years ago. When I was first watching Trading Spaces I was in grad school.

I thought I was on the traditional architecture track, but that turned out not to be the case.

MW: What changed exactly?

GIDDING: Well, my first job out of grad school was a TV job. Even though I went back into architecture for a while afterwards, once you do a little bit of television, that kind of stays in the ether. And I got pulled back in a couple of years later and never looked back.

MW: You do still dabble in architecture, though.

GIDDING: Yeah, I’m currently building a house for some clients in San Francisco. It’s a beautiful residential project. It’s a Victorian house, as is classic for San Francisco, but the back of the house is very modern. So, yeah, I still have a foot in the world of architecture. I’m not a licensed architect. I just do some from time to time when the right client comes along.

MW: Growing up what did you want to do?

GIDDING: It was always architecture, but it was more of an answer just to keep whatever adult was asking me the question happy rather than anything that had sort of welled up from within. I was good at math, I was good at art, and someone once told me that architecture would be a good fit for me. So that’s kind of how the self-fulfilling prophecy started. And then that’s just what I kept telling people.

Graduating from architecture school, you get a lot of interior design jobs as your first commissions. So I was already doing interiors, and then when TV came along, it sped-up the process.

In the real world it takes months, sometimes years to complete projects. On TV, it takes days, sometimes weeks. So I got addicted to that faster pace. It’s a much better pace for me.

MW: You grew up in Turkey. Do you go back often?

GIDDING: I was just there over the New Year, actually. I try to

go twice a year because my mother still lives there. She loves it there. She really thrives in that country. It’s her home country.

It’s weird. Sometimes the politics can be a little tricky trying to get back. I remember about six months ago they were unhappy with various things that the [Trump] administration had done, and I decided not to go back. It just becomes one big conflated mess at some points. But in all, it’s a super-friendly country, and I have few concerns.

MW: Do you have dual citizenship?

GIDDING: I don’t. American only.

MW: When did you realize you were gay? I’m imagining coming out was a struggle for you in Turkey.

GIDDING: I knew probably early childhood, but I didn’t have words for it per se, especially in Turkey, which does not have the most progressive outlook on this. In middle school it became clear to me, and then in high school even clearer. But I didn’t actually come out of the closet until graduate school. I was a late bloomer in that regard partially because of my cultural background and my family being more conservative, and [me] wanting to play a certain role specifically for them more than myself. I think that a lot of growing up gay in Turkey has to do with trying to reconcile how you’re gonna fit your life in with how your family wants you to live your life. But eventually I was able to break out of that. It took five years of being in the states for me to do it, but I got there.

MW: Did you grow up in a religious family? A conservative family?

GIDDING: I grew up Jewish, but not religious per se — culturally Jewish.

There was a certain level of conservatism. It’s a hard question to answer.

Yes, I would say, although we were also liberal in many ways. My mom, for example, had lots of gay friends, but when it came knocking on her door she was less excited about it.

MW: When did it come knocking on her door?

GIDDING: Grad school is when I came out to the world. I think the whole concept of pride had finally sunk in.

When it dawned on me that I was gonna come out, I did it to everyone very quickly — within a few weeks everybody knew. We didn’t talk, my mom and I, for about a year afterwards. And then 9/11 happened. Nothing like a traumatic event to make you realize what’s important in life. My mom and I actually started talking on 9/11 because one of the planes had taken off from Boston, and that’s where I had been at the time. “Okay, let’s put this petty stuff aside and reconnect.” I wouldn’t say that my mom has fully come around, but she’s gotten much better.

MW: Did you come out to her by phone?

GIDDING: No, I went to Switzerland. We were visiting family for New Year’s, and I told her face-to-face. I wanted to do that for

“Turks love trans performers. It’s always been a part of Turkish culture to exalt very visible trans singers while at the same time using TERRIBLE HOMOPHOBIC SLURS FOR PEOPLE TRYING TO LIVE THEIR LIVES AS GAY MEN.”

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JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

JOSHUA THOMAS

her, or for myself maybe. She and my dad, I went to tell them both face-to-face. I thought it was important. My dad took it very well. He had already written out a little piece of paper in his pocket. It was waiting. So when I told him I was gay he pulled it out of his pocket and quietly handed it over to me. This was at a time when The Lion King was very popular. And it just said, “Hakuna matata.”

MW: “No worries.” That’s rather nice.

GIDDING: Yeah. In his own way.

MW: How would you characterize your experiences in Turkey?

GIDDING: I was actually just mentioning to a friend of mine the other day, I have kind of a schism between my childhood and my adulthood, where my childhood is kind of in a haze.

I would always speak Turkish — and I don’t have siblings, so there wasn’t a lot of reinforcing of memories from that time.

And then I kind of became more Americanized especially in middle school and high school. I’d never been around so many Americans as when I matriculated into an American school in Istanbul. And from that point on I was the Turk in an American school even though I had American citizenship. I didn’t really speak English. So for the first couple of years, it was a struggle trying to learn English and pretend to be American and try to assimilate.

This has come back as a question often because, especially now as a designer, I have a lot of eclectic influences that I appreciate. I was taught modernism in school, and if anything my interior design was kind of minimalist when I first started because everything had to be about function before form. But my Turkish background kind of made its way back into my design work, and these days I would say I have a strong inclination towards ornamentation and decoration.

MW: Is there a sizeable Jewish community in Istanbul?

GIDDING: Yes, but percentage-wise it’s minuscule. There’s definitely a group of Jewish ladies that my mother knows, and I do, too. But it’s a tiny group.

MW: Did you feel bias or prejudice because you were Jewish?

GIDDING: No. In that regard Turkey is a great mixing pot of cultures, religions. And Istanbul is really a luminary in terms of cities that have embraced various religions. It’s always been that way. When Jews were expelled out of Spain, for example, five, six hundred years ago, the Ottoman Empire welcomed them in.

To this day it’s not a city that I would say is unwelcoming to other religions. But of course things are changing. It’s becoming a bit more right-wing, it’s becoming a bit more conservative.

There are a lot more mosques being built, and that has its conse-

quences I guess. But I would say most people feel welcome there in terms of different religions.

MW: The gay thing, that’s a bit more problematic, though.

GIDDING: For sure. There’s a lot of homophobic rhetoric on television, which is unfortunate.

It’s also highly hypocritical because Turks love trans performers.

They love transvestite and transsexual singers, performers, dancers, actors. It’s always been a part of Turkish culture to exalt even some of these very visible trans singers while at the same time using terrible homophobic slurs for people trying to live their lives as gay men.

In Turkey, homosexuality is less of an identity and more of an event that might happen. Two men might, behind closed doors, do something, and that can be forgotten about and compartmentalized. And it’s shocking to them that that would impact their identity. They don’t want that to happen, so they embrace these outdated tropes of how negative homosexuality is as an identity. In Turkey you’ll find men holding hands and kissing frequently.

It’s not a problem at all.

It’s showing brotherly love. But that has a hard time coexisting with homosexuality as an identity.

The words for homosexual and gay are either clinical or derogatory. There isn’t really sort of a neutral word for gay, and therefore the gay community in Turkey has adopted the [English] word “gay” themselves. And I think it’s picking up more steam as a kind of neutral term these days.

MW: From your vantage point, has the gay scene in Turkey changed at all?

GIDDING: There are gay bars now. There are gay communities that assemble. It’s a little more welcoming. I don’t know too much about it, to tell you the truth. When I go to Turkey it’s just me and my mom, and I see it as my family’s purview. It’s their home turf, so I try not to make too many waves when I go.

MW: Do they acknowledge and accept your sexuality now?

GIDDING: Within the family, yeah. At this point I’ve hammered it in that I’m not gonna pretend to be straight, so, yeah, people ask me about my boyfriends, et cetera. But it’s all within the compound, within the family home. It’s not really expressed outside of it.

MW: Are they aware of your work in TV? Are they able to see it?

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31

GIDDING: Yes. I send back DVDs and stuff, but it’s hard to stream American content outside of America, so they usually have to wait a while before they can see it.

MW: So you’re not known in Turkey at all.

GIDDING: No, not at all.

MW: Would you like to be?

GIDDING: I don’t know. I don’t think so. I think part of my neutral coexistence with Turkey is being relatively anonymous with my stuff. It helps certainly my mother and the conservative side of my family deal with it. You can tell it’s conflicted. It’s not the easiest road for any of us, especially as the world shows us it’s not necessarily arching towards justice everywhere equally. There’s still a lot of danger out there.

You hear terrible news of murders or beatings, and it’s just the reality in Turkey. I remember last year when I visited, an out and gay Turkish entertainer was critical of somebody in the government, and the Turkish community came down hard on him. I think he was beaten up at an airport trying to escape the country, and then they didn’t let him escape. It was dark.

These are the kinds of things that the conservative groups in Turkey like to expose and publicize so that people don’t get too comfortable.

MW: Those sorts of things, have they motivated you in any way to speak up or become an LGBTQ or human rights activist?

GIDDING: My main motivations politically are here in the States. This is where I live. This is my home. This is the country that I’m trying to create the change in. Turkey is where I go to visit my mother, and that’s it.

MW: On that front, do you get recognized on the street in the U.S.?

GIDDING: Not really. Part of it is that my biggest shows were four or five years ago at this point. I was on the show Secret Guide to Fabulous on Logo, and I got some recognition in New York, but it’s not like that show was a huge hit all over the States. It’s kind of an urban show. And now with Trading Spaces, there’s some recognition that happens. For example, at airports now and then somebody will say something. But I have so many different hair styles and facial hair styles that it takes a lot for somebody to be able to recognize me.

MW: You change your look a lot?

GIDDING: Yeah. It’s part of the joy of being a guy, I feel like. You can just grow some facial hair, try something else out. It doesn’t help my recognizability, but to tell you the truth the lack of privacy that comes with having a television presence rubs me the wrong way. I like my privacy, and I don’t know if my different looks is a defense mechanism or just because I like costuming, but I’m not as recognizable [with] that. I feel like in the future people are gonna be wanting 15 minutes of anonymity rather than fame. People will be dreaming, “Oh my gosh, when will my 15 minutes of anonymity be?”

MW: How are you looking right now? Are you sporting a beard or a mustache?

GIDDING: Fully bearded. So bearded in fact that when I came

home with this massive beard, my mom said, “Are you gonna trim that?” The implication being that it looked like a Muslim beard for her. Because in Turkey, for many Muslims, the beard is a religious expression. It’s weird, just the cultural sort of flavors of your looks can be so different country to country. You don’t want to be seen as too religious in my family.

MW: I wanted to ask you how you’re dealing with your recent divorce. Are you dating or seeking out love or intimacy?

GIDDING: The marriage thing was an interesting experience for me. I would say I’m still reeling from the divorce. It’s been three years since it began, three months since it was finalized. Not that it was a bad divorce but I got swept up in the enthusiasm for marriage once it became legalized and hadn’t really thought it through, I would say. Now I am a little more cautious. I used to kind of leap into things. Long story short: I’m single and dipping my toe in dating.

MW: Aside from the occasional date, what else do you do in your free time?

GIDDING: I play the piano quite a bit these days. I have reconnected with this instrument, which I used to play in my childhood. It’s great. At 35, I bought myself a piano in New York.

I just shipped it to California. It was the only thing I shipped actually — that and some clothes. And two cats.

That’s what I came to California with.

MW: How old are your cats?

GIDDING: They are now 16. They’re rescues. I got them from Petco in Brooklyn. It’s these two sister cats, Kansas and Utah. Petco had named them that way, and I thought that was really cute. They don’t look senior at all. They’re healthy little cats.

“I feel like in the future people are gonna be wanting 15 minutes of anonymity rather than fame. People will be dreaming, ‘OH MY GOSH, WHEN WILL MY 15 MINUTES OF ANONYMITY BE?’”

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I have a new project in my life that has everything to do with cats, actually. I’m going to people’s homes, and I’m designing cat houses for them.

You know, you see where people have designed their whole house around their cat? Not quite that bad, but something inspired and artistic — not just levels and scratch pads and ramps but kind of an artistic approach to what a cat residence can be. I’m going to try to create a YouTube channel around it.

MW: You mention YouTube. Are you an active user of other social media sites?

GIDDING: I’m on Instagram and I’m on Twitter, but take two very different approaches. I don’t do Facebook because of what a mess that turned into — I haven’t been on Facebook in over a year, maybe more.

Instagram, I think, is very inspirational, and I have a great time with it, both following the artists and creators that I admire, but also sharing a little bit of my personal life. Nothing crazy, but I wouldn’t say it’s a business Instagram account. It’s a personal Instagram account.

Then Twitter is my political outlet. I feel like Twitter is a great place for politics because it’s so current and immediate. It’s also a dangerous place for politics because the sources are never fully cited, so you kind of have to make sure that you’re curating well for yourselves. It’s also a great place to build an action committee of your own. I have 10 friends that I immediately reach

out to when I feel an important thing has occurred, or when funding needs to go to a certain candidate, or when we need to call our senators before a certain vote.

The other thing I like is the snark, to tell you the truth. The reading of politics can be so dense that I have now come to rely on certain voices that digest what’s happening well — for example, Preet Bharara, who was the Attorney General for the Southern District of New York. When Trump fired him, he started a podcast called Stay Tuned and it’s brilliant. He’s such a hero to me because, after he was ejected from the system, he turned into such a calm, measured voice who can actually speak in full sentences. It’s such a rare thing that I yearn for the insight that he can bring, week after week, to the things that are going on.

MW: Where are you registered to vote these days?

GIDDING: In California now.

MW: So Kamala Harris is your senator.

That’s exciting.

GIDDING: That’s right. It is exciting.

She’s great. I hope that she’ll run.

MW: Is that who you are championing to run for president — at the moment, anyway?

GIDDING: I’m championing any and all. An extended primary is not a bad thing. I’m super into Elizabeth Warren running. I feel like she’s a real scrappy fighter. She has some interesting takes on social media. She’s got a really smart brain and she’s been fighting for people’s rights her entire life. I feel like she’s going to put up a strong fight against Trump early on.

And of course he’ll attack her.

MW: Do you think she can beat him, though?

GIDDING: I don’t know. Somebody recently tweeted that the first female president might very well be Republican, in the form of Nikki Haley. We’ll see. We’ll see what happens in the next few months as Trump’s world unravels around him and Elizabeth Warren starts fighting back, hopefully with some real teeth. Who knows what that dynamic will be like?

I think a third of the country is always going to vote counter to what, I would say, is a good way to vote. But with the kind of turnout that Democrats pulled off in the midterm elections, it could only increase. I don’t think that that third of the country is going to be the deciding voter bloc.

The real problem is going to be this interference we’re getting with Russians and how reliant we are on social media for our news. If [Mark] Zuckerberg is able to alleviate some of the problems that his platform has caused, we might be able to save the country.

MW: I guess that’s the mess of Zuckerberg’s Facebook that you were referring to.

GIDDING: Yeah. It’s a profit-minded bullshit enterprise, frankly.

As you look into it, it just shows that it’s a pit of iniquity. These people, they’ve created a moneymaking machine using metrics that have nothing to do with reality. Making money hand over fist and hoping to do it for as long as they can until they start getting regulated.

MW: Of course Instagram is now a part of that.

GIDDING: For sure. They’re owned by Facebook. But it’s harder

to take advantage of — the advertising system in Instagram isn’t quite as corruptible, I don’t think. You can’t push advertising towards demographic groups. It’s also so visual that, it’s more of a creative place than Facebook.

MW: Do you ever think about getting into politics yourself?

GIDDING: More and more lately, but I don’t know. I’m turned off by it, too. The other day I looked at the Elizabeth Warren volunteer page, but I didn’t end up signing up. So I’m flirting with it. I wouldn’t be the face of it, but I should definitely be more involved, at least volunteer. How can I not? We’re on the precipice of global meltdown. I feel like we have to be involved. We’ve got an ex-coal industry lobbyist [Scott Pruitt] leading the EPA right now. That alone should be enough reason for everybody to get involved.

MW: Do you hope the reboot of Trading Spaces continues for several more seasons?

GIDDING: The thing with Trading Spaces is, there are so many of us.

And because they correctly give more episodes to the OG designers, I only get one episode per season. But I am hoping it continues and I can do many more, because it’s so fun and it totally ties in with my concept of considering the space you live in as an art project, rather than an interior design project.

I love having to design using unexpected materials that are easily found and very inexpensive. It’s really an art project show more than an interior design show.

MW: Do you have your own product line like Vern Yip, among others from the show?

GIDDING: Actually, I do, with window dressings. Blinds Chalet has a line of John Gidding blinds that I’m pretty proud of. They’re based on men’s fabrics and sweater knit techniques. But, no, I don’t have a fabric line or anything like that.

MW: Is that something you would like to consider cultivating?

GIDDING: Never say never, but I haven’t been drawn to fabrics.

Furniture, perhaps. I do a lot of custom furniture for my clients.

They’re hard to recreate — difficult techniques to build. I like fabrication techniques that are technologically minded — therefore, they come with a bit of a higher expense right off the bat, so they’re hard to mass-produce. But maybe in the future, if I can find some manufacturer that I like to work with.

MW: Maybe a line at IKEA. GIDDING: Yeah, that’d be great. I’m telling you, though, it’s going to be the cat thing that launches my product line. I’ll be in Petco before I’ll be in IKEA. MW: And you’re cool with that? Of becoming known as The Cat Man? GIDDING: 100 percent. The Cat Dude. I love it. Honestly, I love it. l

“We’re on the precipice of global meltdown. I feel like we have to be involved. We’ve got an ex-coal industry lobbyist leading the EPA right now. THAT ALONE SHOULD BE ENOUGH REASON FOR EVERYBODY TO GET INVOLVED.”

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The Home + Remodeling Show is Friday, Jan. 18, and Saturday, Jan. 19, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 20, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Dulles Expo Center, 4320 Chantilly Shopping Center, in Virginia. John Gidding will appear on Friday, Jan. 18, at 4 p.m., and Saturday, Jan. 19, at noon and 3 p.m. Tickets are $9 to $12 per day. Call 703-378-0910 or visit capitalhomeshow.com.

NightLife Photography by Ward Morrison

JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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Scene

Bent at 9:30 Club - Saturday, January 5 - Photography by Ward Morrison See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

DrinksDragDJsEtc...

Thursday, January 10 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

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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 • Paint Nite, Second Floor, 7pm TRADE Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4 ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS All male, nude dancers • Open Dancers Audition • Urban House Music by DJ Tim-e • 9pm • Cover 21+

JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

Friday, January 11 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-3am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $3 Rail and Domestic • $5 Svedka, all flavors all night long • Phucker: Hanky Code Party, 10pm-close • Featuring DJ Ryan Doubleyou • No Cover NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Open 3pm • Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer, $15 • Weekend Kickoff Dance Party, with Nellie’s

DJs spinning bubbly pop music all night NUMBER NINE Open 5pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover • Friday Night Piano with Chris, 7:30pm • Rotating DJs, 9:30pm PITCHERS Open 5pm-3am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 2am • Visit pitchersbardc.com SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers

TRADE Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4 ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS Men of Secrets, 9pm • Guest dancers • Rotating DJs • Kristina Kelly’s Diva Fev-ah Drag Show • Doors at 9pm, Shows at 11:30pm and 1:45am • DJ Don T. in Ziegfeld’s • Cover 21+

Saturday, January 12 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 2pm-3am • Video Games • Live televised sports

NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS Compiled by Doug Rule BOWIE BALL The Chicago-based DJ Heaven Malone started an annual glam and drag dance party toasting David Bowie over a decade ago that got to be so popular, even the Thin White Duke gave it a shoutout a couple of years before he passed into stardust in 2016. This year, the 12th annual Bowie Ball in Chicago will be followed the next night by the first-ever D.C. edition of the party, set for three days after what would have been the glam rock legend’s 72nd birthday. Malone and Simon Pattee will trade off spinning Bowiesque musical sets, with a live Bowiesque performance from Max Goldstein of Yoko & The Oh No’s. Bowie fans are encouraged to “glam it up, dress like a dandy and...love the alien with some glitter on top” — and will get assistance in the cause from a Glitter and Glam Makeup Booth as well as additional enticement from a Bowie Costume Contest. Friday, Jan. 11, at 9 p.m. U Street Music Hall, 1115A U St. NW. Tickets are $10. Call 202-588-1880 or visit ustreetmusichall.com.

FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Saturday Breakfast Buffet, 10am-3pm • $14.99 with one glass of champagne or coffee, soda or juice • Additional champagne $2 per glass • World Tavern Poker Tournament, 1-3pm • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Freddie’s Follies Drag Show, hosted by Miss Destiny B. Childs, 8-10pm • Karaoke, 10pm-close GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $5 Bacardi, all flavors, all night long • Freeballers Party, 10pm-close • Featuring DJs BacK2bACk • No Cover NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Drag Brunch, hosted

by Chanel Devereaux, 10:30am-12:30pm and 1-3pm • Tickets on sale at nelliessportsbar.com • House Rail Drinks, Zing Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie

Beer and Mimosas, $4, 11am-3am • Buckets of Beer, $15 • Guest DJs NUMBER NINE Doors open 2pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5 Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close • Pop Tarts, featuring DJs BacK2bACk, 9:30pm PITCHERS Open Noon-3am • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 2am • Visit pitchersbardc.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

COUNTRY WALTZ WITH THE DC RAWHIDES The DC Rawhides showcase their boot-scootin’ brand of social dancing every other Saturday at Ziegfeld’s/Secrets, the large, two-story LGBTQ entertainment complex in Southwest. The focus of the first dance of 2019, on Saturday, Jan. 12, is a line dance style known as “Like it Rough.” Starting at 7 p.m., any and all are welcome for an hour-long session of lessons in the beginner-level dance, as well as in two-step and west coast swing. The evening continues with open dancing to Rawhide DJ David until 10:50 p.m. — roughly an hour before Ella Fitzgerald and her Ladies of Illusion take to their regular perch accompanied by DJ Don T. By then, there will also be fully exposed “freestyle” dancers upstairs and music

by DJ tim-e upstairs, if that’s more to your liking. Ziegfeld’s/Secrets is at 1824 Half St. SW. Cover is $5 until 9 p.m., and $10 after. Call 202-863-0670 or visit facebook.com/DCRawhides.

PIANO BAR WITH JOHN FLYNN A Philadelphia native, Flynn is a regular presence pretty much year-round in his adopted hometown of Rehoboth Beach. Most nights of the week, you’ll find him tickling the ivories at popular dining and drinking establishments, everywhere from Café Azafrán to Murph’s Beef & Ale to Blue Moon, all to inspire and accompany patrons in singing along to show tunes, standards, and piano-led renditions of pop hits new and old. But on the second and last Sunday of each month, the gay pianist ventures inland to our neck of the woods, to incite to chorus the colorful patrons at a venue that outbeaches ’em all — all the way in Northern Virginia, no less. Sunday, Jan. 13, from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Freddie’s Beach Bar, 555 South 23rd St., Arlington. Call 703-685-0555 or visit freddiesbeachbar.com.

SLAY MY NAME WITH KC B. YONCÉ From Donna Slash’s Gay/Bash to Pussy Noir and Sissy That Tuesday, Trade is making its stock in trade next-generation drag artists putting on next-level drag shows. This month, the Logan Circle haunt introduces yet another sure-to-be hit spectacle, the star of whom is KC Cambrel, better known by his Queen Beyinspired drag alias. Patrons are invited to come dressed as their favorite diva and prepared to “strut your stuff and snatch the crown” in a Slay Off Contest. Miss LaBella Mafia will also perform as a special guest, while DJ Kris “Butch Queen” Sutton is the diva on decks duty. Sunday, Jan. 13, at 8 p.m. Trade, 1410 14th St. NW. Call 202-986-1094 or visit tradebardc.com.

TRADE YARD SALE: LEATHER WEEKEND On Sunday, Jan. 13, from 2 to 6 p.m., Trade will host an event for those into a different kind of drag: leather and fetish wear. This “yard sale” will feature a few vendors ready to sell you on just what you need to get in gear for next weekend’s Mid-Atlantic Leather festivities. Trade, 1410 14th St. NW. Call 202-986-1094 or visit tradebardc.com.

JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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 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, January 13 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 • Piano Bar with John Flynn, 6-9pm • Karaoke, 9pm-close GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Karaoke with Kevin downstairs, 9:30pm-close

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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

JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

PITCHERS Open Noon-2am • $4 Smirnoff, includes flavored, $4 Coors Light or $4 Miller Lites, 2-9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining 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

Monday, January 14 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 PingPong Tables NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover

JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Shaw ’Nuff Trivia, with Jeremy, 7:30pm TRADE Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4

Tuesday, January 15 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Taco Tuesday • Poker Night — 7pm and 9pm games • Karaoke, 9pm GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $3 rail cocktails and domestic beers all night long NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer $15 • Drag Bingo with Sasha Adams and Brooklyn Heights, 7-9pm • Karaoke, 9pm-close

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NUMBER NINE Open at 5pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover PITCHERS Open 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 11pm • Visit pitchersbardc.com SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Half-Priced Burgers and Pizzas, 5-10pm

JANUARY 10, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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

Wednesday, January 16 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • $6 Burgers • Beach Blanket Drag Bingo Night, hosted

by Ms. Regina Jozet Adams, 8pm • Bingo prizes • Karaoke, 10pm-1am

GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4pm-9pm • Bear Yoga with Greg Leo, 6:30-7:30pm • $10 per class • $3 rail cocktails and domestic beers all night long NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR SmartAss Trivia Night, 8-10pm • Prizes include bar tabs and tickets to shows at the 9:30 Club • $15 Buckets of Beer for SmartAss Teams only • Absolutely Snatched Drag Show, hosted by Brooklyn Heights, 9pm • Tickets available at nelliessportsbar.com NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover

PITCHERS Open 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 11pm • Visit pitchersbardc.com SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Piano Bar with Jill, 8pm TRADE Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4 l

LastWord.

People say the queerest things

“I am grateful to those before me who struggled for equal rights, who made difficult sacrifices and worked towards a brighter future. ” — Colorado Gov. JARED POLIS, in a speech after he was sworn into office, becoming the first openly gay governor in U.S. history, and only the second openly LGBTQ governor after Oregon’s Kate Brown, who is bisexual. “There were many brave people over the years who made it possible for someone like me to be standing here, giving a speech like this,” he said.

“He’s a true queer hero, an icon, and Norman, this is for you. ” — Actor BEN WHISHAW, accepting the Golden Globe for best supporting actor in a limited series or movie for A Very English Scandal. Whishaw portrayed Norman Scott, the target of a failed murder plot allegedly orchestrated by his lover, British politician Jeremy Thorpe, played by Hugh Grant. Whishaw noted that Scott “took on the establishment with a courage and a defiance that I find completely inspiring.”

“There’s no more conversation about it.

I’m over that, I’m over the moment, and I’m about today. ” — KEVIN HART, confirming in an interview with Good Morning America that he won’t be returning to host the Oscars. Hart stepped down from hosting duties last month following criticism after tweets between 2009 and 2012 containing homophobic jokes resurfaced. He told GMA: “I have explained how I evolved, which makes me say: ‘I’m over it.’”

“Do you need a man in your life?”

— Part of an alleged series of comments by JAY DEE HARP III, a 34-year-old man from Washington state who has been charged with second-degree assault and malicious harassment for attacking a lesbian couple at an NFL game. Harp is accused of groping one of the women, and then punching her wife in the face when she tried to intervene, after making a series of homophobic and sexual remarks during the game.

“Those whom I feared rejection from exceeded my expectations in their support for me; it was my own doubt and intolerance that made life intolerable.”

— CHRISTIAN ZEITVOGEL, a football player at Michigan’s Kalamazoo College, coming out as gay in an essay for Outsports. Zeitvogel struggled to cope with his sexuality during high school — “I was a leader of the football team, valued by my team. On the other hand, I was also gay, something I thought was an unforgivable sin to my coaches and teammates” — but attending college made him realize “nothing is more essential than one’s love and acceptance for themselves.”

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