MAL Weekend 2020: Leather Perfect Photos

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January 23, 2020

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CONTENTS

REAL DEAL

Yawar Charlie is the first openly gay season regular on CNBC in the new reality real estate show, Listing Impossible.

By Doug Rule

LEATHER PERFECT Filled with camaraderie and high spirits, Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend 2020 was bigger and better than ever.

By John Riley Photography by Ward Morrison and Todd Franson

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Volume 26 Issue 36

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COLORFUL CAGE

Not even alpacas are safe after an alien meteorite crash-lands on a family farm in Color Out of Space.

By André Hereford

SPOTLIGHT: BRANDON VICTOR DIXON p.7 OUT ON THE TOWN p.10 VIRAL REPORT p.19 LIVE ATTACK p.19 INCREDIBLE IGNORANCE p.20 COMMUNITY: REVEALING PRIDE p.21 COMMUNITY CALENDAR p.21 STAGE: PIPELINE AT STUDIO p.37 NIGHTLIFE: FURBALL p.39 NIGHTLIFE LISTINGS p.40 LAST WORD p.46 Washington, D.C.’s Best LGBTQ Magazine for 25 Years 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 Illustrators David Amoroso, Scott G. Brooks Contributing Writers Sean Maunier, Troy Petenbrink, 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 The Exile Cover Photography Todd Franson 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.

© 2020 Jansi LLC.

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Spotlight

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FEW DAYS AFTER the most polarizing presidential election in modern times, newly elected Vice President Mike Pence thought he’d step out for an edifying night of theater. By all accounts, he got what he came for seeing Hamilton. At the final curtain, the cast assembled on stage, and on their behalf, Brandon Victor Dixon, starring in the role of Aaron Burr, addressed Pence with heartfelt words jointly written by the show’s creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, along with the cast and producer Jeffrey Seller.

Dixon spoke for many in the room and around the nation. “[The] diverse America, who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights,” he said to the Vice President. “We hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us.”

The audience applauded heartily. Trump, predictably, complained the following day that the cast had “harassed” his number two. “[I’m glad the producers] decided to do it,” says Dixon, who had no idea he’d be the chosen messenger until just prior to the evening’s performance. “And I'm glad they chose that very open, positive, nonpartisan message.”

The Gaithersburg, Maryland native is a Tony nominee for originating the role of Harpo in Broadway’s The Color Purple and an Emmy nominee for his superb performance as Judas Iscariot in NBC’s 2018 televised musical Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.

“I love to do roles that can make people feel differently about characters they think they know,” says Dixon, who is co-starring in the Kennedy Center’s Broadway Center Stage production of the Tony and Pulitzer-winning musical Next to Normal.

Appearing in the semistaged concert alongside Tony-winner Rachel Bay Jones (Dear Evan Hansen), Dixon proudly represents his family who still reside in the area, and he continues to represent for the right of citizens to freely address their elected leaders.

“We have to remove ourselves from this idea that our elected officials are nobility, or somewhere stuck behind a veil,” he says. “Everything we do as individuals in this world is political and people need to start to embrace that. [Voters] must take the opportunity — any opportunity — they can to address our elected representatives. You can do it clearly so that they hear you. And we need to do it with respect, because we all need to respect each other, even as we discuss our differences.”

—André Hereford

Brandon Victor Dixon

Broadway Center Stage: Next to Normal runs January 29 to February 3 at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater.

Tickets are $69 to $215. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

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Spotlight CITIZEN K

Alex Gibney’s latest revelatory, topical documentary examines the corrupt state of politics and power in post-Soviet Russia. The focus is on the enigmatic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the oligarch who was once the richest man in Russia — until he started speaking out against Putin and his regime. Khodorkovsky was arrested and sentenced to years in prison without due process, and his assets were seized. Now living in exile in London, Khodorkovsky is Citizen K’s Exhibit A in the destructive effect concentrated wealth and power have on democracy. Opens Friday, Jan. 24.

Landmark’s West End Cinema, 2301 M St. NW. Call 202-534-1907 or visit landmarktheatres.com.

DOM FLEMONS: AMERICAN SONGSTER

TIMOTHY DUFFY

One of the founders of the Grammy Award-winning black bluegrass band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, but now flying solo, Flemons comes to the Kennedy Center to illuminate the history and influence of the early “American Songsters,” or the AfricanAmerican musicians who helped pioneer styles including ragtime, blues, country western, bluegrass, and oldtime string band. Flemons will perform on the banjo, fife, guitar, harmonica, quills, and rhythm bones, in addition to vocals, at this concert, part of the day-long Music From Mount Vernon celebration exploring the roots of American music through a panel discussion and concerts. Sunday, Jan. 26, at 4 p.m. Studio K in the REACH. Tickets are $15. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

DARLINGDANCE: TARGET PRACTICE

MARIAH MIRANDA

Founded a decade ago by choreographer and performance artist Hayley Cutler, darlingdance is a feminist, postmodern dance theater ensemble based in D.C. Target Practice is the troupe’s latest work, offering an intimate exploration of the female experience — and devised in a collaborative environment that prioritizes humor and authenticity over “the glossy traditions of formal theater dance.” The ultimate aim is to develop works that “can help us all come to grips with the realities of womanhood.” Saturday, Jan. 25, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 26, 4 p.m. Dance Place, 3225 8th St. NE. Tickets are $15 to $30. Call 202-269-1600 or visit www.danceplace.org.

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Spotlight

RYAN MAXWELL

A MEASURE OF CRUELTY

Montgomery County’s 4615 Theatre is more determined than ever to become the most daring, adventurous, and unconventional theater company around. Case in point is this play, which is set in a real, fully operational bar: Flanagan’s Harp and Fiddle, one of the oldest pubs in Bethesda. Theatergoers take seats wherever they choose throughout the sprawling space and are immersed in the action as a bar-owning father and his son are forced to confront their demons. The site-specific work is written and directed by Joe Calarco.

Saturday, Jan. 25, and Sunday, Jan. 26, at 2 p.m. 4844 Cordell Ave, Bethesda. Tickets are $16.50 to $20, plus a one-item minimum purchase of food or drink from the bar. Call 301-951-0115 or visit www.4615theatre.org.

MARYLAND LYRIC OPERA: THAÏS

This young, singer-focused company presents Massanet’s Thaïs in a fully staged production directed by Claudia Zahn, with Louis Salemno conducting the MDLO Orchestra and Chorus. Sarah Joy Miller (pictured)leads a cast that includes Louis Otey, Allegra de Vita, Hunter Enoch, and Joe Brent, plus a ballet performed by local dance troupe Sarah Ewing & Dancers. In French with English surtitles. Thursday, Jan. 30, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, Feb. 1, at 2 p.m. Kay Theatre in the Clarice at the University of Maryland, University Boulevard and Stadium Drive. College Park. Tickets are $25 to $50. Call 301-405-ARTS or visit www.theclarice.umd.edu.

RHYTHM & JEWS: JEWS & THE BIRTH OF ROCK AND ROLL

Musicians Daryl Davis and Seth Kibel present an evening of story and song celebrating the Jewish artists who worked behind the scenes in rock music’s first decade and helped propel to stardom Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Elvis Pressley, among others. These unsung heroes were songwriters including Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Doc Pomus, and Carol King, producers such as Leonard and Phil Chess, Jerry Wexler, and Phil Spector, and DJs and promoters like Alan Freed. Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 8 p.m. Cafritz Hall in the Edlavitch DCJCC, 1529 16th St. NW. Tickets are $15. Call 202777-3210 or visit www.jxjdc.org.

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Out On The Town

STORY DISTRICT: 11TH ANNUAL TOP SHELF

An annual best-of showcase featuring some of the best tales told over the past year at the various events around town presented by D.C.’s premiere storytelling organization. Unlike other such outfits, Story District is focused on congenial camaraderie rather than competition — no judged “Story Slams” here. Now in its 11th year at the Lincoln Theatre, Top Shelf is a curated group of eight storytellers, partially winnowed down by a panel of independent judges, all active members of the storytelling community. The lineup this year features Charles McCaffrey, Colleen Clark, Joani Peacock, Darryl Smith, Jason Pangilinan, Lizzie Peabody, Michael McVey, Sufian Zhemukhov, and Whitney Ellenby. Expect stories about “unbridled lust, a trip to the water park, love spells that really work, and more.” Saturday, Jan. 25. Doors at 6:30 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW. Tickets are $30 to $40. Call 202-328-6000 or visit www.thelincolndc.com.

Compiled by Doug Rule

FILM SPIDER IN THE WEB

Based on true events, Israeli filmmaker Eran Riklis (Lemon Tree) offers a spy thriller starring Ben Kingsley as an aging Mossad agent haunted by his past. Itay Tiran and Monica Bellucci co-star as younger agents trailing Kingsley on a secret-service operation across the Netherlands and Belgium.

Performed in English and Hebrew with English subtitles, Spider in the Web is presented as part of the JxJ multidisciplinary art series of the Edlavitch DCJCC, with the screening on Sunday, Jan. 26, at 4 p.m., followed by a Rugelach Reception plus a Q&A with film director Riklis.

Also Thursday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m.

Cafritz Hall, 1529 16th St. NW. Tickets are $13. Call 202-777-3210 or visit www.jxjdc.org.

THE GENTLEMEN

Guy Ritchie returns to form with a star-studded comedic heist caper

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in the spirit of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, Jeremy Strong, Eddie Marsan, Colin Farrell, and Hugh Grant populate The Gentlemen, which online review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes rates favorably — 75 percent, based on 52 reviews — and summarizes as being good enough for die-hards: “It may not win writer-director Guy Ritchie many new converts, but for those already attuned to the filmmaker's brash wavelength, The Gentlemen stands tall." Opens Friday, Jan. 24. Area theaters. Visit www.fandango.com.

THE TURNING

Years in the making, this passion project from executive producer Steven Spielberg is a modern adaptation of Henry James’ classic ghost story The Turn of the Screw from 1898. The setting is a mysterious estate in the ever-scary Maine countryside, where Mackenzie Davis is a newly appointed nanny caring for two disturbed orphans (Brooklynn Prince and Finn Wolfhard). Spoiler alert: Dark secrets

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abound in this supernatural horror film directed by Floria Sigismondi and featuring Joely Richardson as — ooooo! — The Demoness. Opens Friday, Jan. 24. Area theaters. Visit www.fandango.com.

STAGE A NIGHT WITH JACKIE “MOMS” MABLEY

The Kennedy Center presents a free, one-night-only presentation of a Helen Hayes Award-nominated work focused on the woman dubbed “the original queen of comedy.” Written and performed by Charisma Wooten, who is joined by Everett P. Williams as “Luther,” A Night with Jackie “Moms” Mabley shows how the character created by Loretta Mary Aiken helped pave the way for female comics during the 1950s and 1960s. Friday, Jan. 24, at 6 p.m. Millennium Stage. Free. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS

The lives of two Afghan women are inextricably bound together in a play adapted by Ursula Rani Sarma from the best-selling novel

by Khaled Hosseini (Kite Runner).

Carey Perloff directs Hend Ayoub and Mirian Katrib leading a 12-member cast at Arena Stage in a show billed as a “gripping and heart-rending fight for survival [that] will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.” To March 1. Kreeger Theater in the Mead Center for American Theater, 1101 6th St. SW. Call 202-488-3300 or visit www.arenastage.org.

BURIED CHILD

Baltimore’s Theatrical Mining Company offers a production of a play that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama back in 1979 and helped establish the playwright bona fides of its author, Sam Shepard. Set in an old farmhouse in Illinois, the drama reflects the frustrations of the American people and their disillusionment with the American dream. Directed by Barry Feinstein.

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To Feb. 2. Function Coworking Community Gallery, 4709 Harford Rd., Baltimore. Tickets are $10 plus fees. Call 443-885-0020 or visit www.theatricalmining.org.

PILGRIMS MUSA AND SHERI IN THE NEW WORLD

Mosaic Theater Company presents a romantic comedy about Muslim and American identity full of unexpected twists from Yussef El Guindi, the Egyptian-American playwright and recipient of the Steinberg New American Play Award. Shirley Serotsky directs. To Feb. 16. Lang Theatre in the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $20 to $65. Call 202-399-7993 or visit www.atlasarts.org.

SPRING AWAKENING

REAL DEAL

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Yawar Charlie is the first openly gay season regular on CNBC in the new reality real estate show, Listing Impossible.

ADONNA WAS MY WEDDING SINGER.” YAWAR CHARLIE ISN’T KIDDING. HE and husband Jason were among the 33 couples who got married in a very public ceremony featuring Madonna — as well as Queen Latifah, Macklemore, and Mary Lambert — during the 2014 Grammy Awards, broadcast to an estimated 150 million people worldwide. It was a very public coming out for Charlie, who stood out by wearing the traditional garb of a Pakistani Muslim man.

“My mom called and said, ‘Well, everybody knows now,’” Charlie recalls. “It was very touching and heartwarming to get phone calls and emails from people all over the world — from Saudi Arabia to Qatar to Iran.” Many of these strangers conveyed a similar message: Charlie’s wedding “was inspirational to watch, and especially to see someone in traditional clothing."

Charlie, who grew up in San Francisco as part of “a very strict Muslim” immigrant family, was further encouraged by the largely positive reactions of his broader family and community. “When Jason and I had what I call our friends and family wedding, several months after the Grammys, there was a section of my family that didn't attend,” he says. “It was very simple, and I realized why they weren't there and I didn't make a big deal about it. I said, ‘You know what? I'd rather focus on who is here.’ Again, I wore traditional clothing. We had the traditional aspect to it because I felt that I deserved the same as anybody else getting married in my culture.”

Charlie is returning to the public spotlight of television, this time as a member of the cast of Listing Impossible. The new CNBC weekly reality show centers on a team of top-selling realtors in Los Angeles attempting to sell languishing luxury properties. “A lot of real estate shows are drama-oriented or scripted reality,” Charlie says. “This show is not that. This is about business, and it really truly is an organic unfolding of the process.”

With the show, Charlie becomes the first openly gay season regular on CNBC. It’s the chance to once again be a positive LGBTQ role model that motivates him most about the show.

“It's important to see reflections of diversity succeed in a luxury market where you don't necessarily see that representation on TV,” he says. “I really want to show that someone from the LGBTQ community can be a success in business, in a competitive field, in a major city, and still be their authentic self and still be visible. I think that is the biggest gift that I've been given by being on the show.” —Doug Rule

The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Alan Paul makes his directorial debut at Round House Theatre with a production of Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater’s haunting, high-octane, and boundary-pushing rock musical. A Tony-winning adaptation of Frank Wedekind’s prescient 19th-century drama, Spring Awakening focuses on a repressed group of angsty teenagers navigating blindly through their burgeoning sexuality. Evan Daves, Cristina Sastre, Sean Watkinson, Jane Bernhard, and Christian Montgomery lead a youthful cast also featuring Bobby Smith as Adult Men and Tonya Beckman as Adult Women. In previews. To Feb. 23. 4545 East-West Highway, Bethesda. Tickets are $50 to $60. Call 240-644-1100 or visit www.roundhousetheatre.org.

THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR

Aaron Posner helms a Folger Theatre production of the delightful comedy of love, money, deception, and the power of women, as the ladies of Windsor serve Falstaff his comedic comeuppance. To March 1.

201 East Capitol St. SE. Tickets are $27 to $85. Call 202-544-7077 or visit www.folger.edu.

COMMUNITY STAGE BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS

Neil Simon’s semi-autobiographical play about a Depression-era family trying to laugh through tears next lights the stage of Baltimore’s community Vagabond Theatre. Brighton Beach Memoirs is a moving, entertaining comedy focused on a male teen obsessed with girls, baseball, and the idea of becoming a writer. To Feb. 9. 806 S. Broadway, Baltimore. Tickets are $10 to $20.

Call 410-563-9135 or visit www.vagabondplayers.org.

LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST

Listing Impossible airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on CNBC Prime.

Visit www.cnbc.com/listing-impossible.

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Liana Olear directs a contemporary take on Shakespeare’s wittiest

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ist Francisco Vielma, on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 7:30 p.m.; a “Burns Night to remember” with singing fiddler Sean Heely and some of the finest Celtic musicians in the region, on Sunday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m.; “Griefcat” featuring songwriters Louisa Hall and Nardo Lily on Friday, Jan. 31, at 7:30 p.m.; and concluding with a French Soiree featuring Veronneau singing iconic songs of Piaf, Aznavour, Trenet, Django, and more, on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 7:30 p.m. ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 South Maple Ave. Tickets are $20 to $25, or $70 for tables of two with wine, $140 for tables of four with wine. Call 703-436-9948 or visit www.creativecauldron.org.

PRESSENDA CHAMBER PLAYERS

LOCAVORE FILM SERIES: A NIGHT OF SHORTS

The Arlington Cinema ’N Drafthouse offers a special, one-night-only screening of eight short films, an eclectic assortment connected merely by the fact that all are locally-produced. The lineup includes Letter to Niyah, Sharon Wise’s tale of a woman restored after a stint living under a bridge; Swan Lake, Mariagustina Fabara Martinez’s take on the classic fairy tale; A Glint of Hope, Jobvan Zuylen’s three-minute snippet about a widower who finds unexpected consolation at his dearly departed’s graveside; Zebrafish: Practically People, Transforming How We Study Disease, Jennifer Martin’s overview of the surprising and strange genetic similarities between human beings and a particular freshwater fish; Ana, Myself, et Moi, Zeyn Faddoul’s attempt to answer the question, “How do languages affect multilinguals’ personalities?”; Game Master, Daniel Marcinek’s tale of a dinner party gone wrong, with murder as the main course and sides of paranoia and hysteria; Another Day Is Over, Ibrahim Turk and Isa Seyran’s look at the capricious nature of today’s restaurant business, as a waiter, busboy, and manager deal with one unhappy customer’s bad online review; and In Lorton’s Darkroom (pictured), Karen Ruckman’s documentary about the groundbreaking photography workshops offered in the 1980s at Lorton Prison. Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m. Arlington Cinema ’N Drafthouse, 2903 Columbia Pike. Tickets are $10. Call 703-486-2345 or visit www.arlingtondrafthouse.com.

comedy about love, responsibility, and careful use of social media.

Bill Bodie, Linda “Spencer” Dye, Peter Eichman, Joshua Engel, and Christine Evangelista are part of the 15-member cast of this community theater production from Maryland’s rebellious, classics-focused troupe the Rude Mechanicals, a mix of professional and amateur artists. Performances are Friday, Jan. 31, and Saturday, Feb. 1, at 8 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 2, at 2 p.m., and Friday, Feb. 7, and Saturday, Feb. 8, at 8 p.m. Greenbelt Arts Center, 123 Centerway. Greenbelt, Md. Tickets are $12 to $24. Call 301-441-8770 or visit www.rudemechanicals.com.

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MUSIC LIVING THE DREAM...

SINGING THE DREAM

A week after Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and federal holiday comes the annual choral tribute presented by Washington Performing Arts and featuring the men, women and children of the WPA Gospel Choirs. These choristers will be further bolstered by the Choral Arts Society of Washington — 300 voices strong — to perform in honor of King. Sunday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets are $25 to $70. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

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PASSPORT TO THE WORLD OF MUSIC 2020

Curated by Lynn Veronneau and Ken Avis of Wammie-winning jazz samba group Veronneau, the annual festival presented by Virginia’s Creative Cauldron celebrates the music and dance of cultures around the world, with performances by artists representing a broad spectrum of genres: folk to Latin, opera to bluegrass. The 2020 series continues with: the Dave Kline Band’s “Tribute to Jimi Hendrix” along with special guests Veronneau and Avis, on Friday, Jan. 24, at 7:30 p.m.; Italian vocalist Irene Jalenti’s “Anima Latina,” with accompaniment from Grammy-nominated Cuban-Venezuelan pianist César Orozco and Venezuelan percussion-

Named for the Italian Pressenda instruments made in 1844 that are owned by two ensemble members, the Ensemble-in-Residence of the Washington Conservatory offers a program featuring the Duo for Two Cellos by Jean-Baptiste Barriere, Capriccio Sextet by Richard Strauss, and the G Major Quintet by Johannes Brahms. The players will include violinists Aaron Berofsky and Kathryn Votapek, viola players Amadi Azikiwe and Philippe Chao, and cellists Jan Mueller-Szeraws and Tobias Werner, the founding artistic director of the group. After the concert, guests are invited to attend an informal Wine & Words Q&A with the performers over complimentary beverages. Saturday, Feb. 1, at 8 p.m. Westmoreland Congregational Church, 1 Westmoreland Circle, Bethesda. Free, with suggested donation of $20. Call 301-320-2770 or visit www.washingtonconservatory.org.

YUNA

Malaysia’s first international pop star, whose voice draws comparison to Feist and Lorde, is matched by a melodically rich blend of pop, folk, and R&B in her songs. If you think you’ve heard the songs before, you likely have, accompanying performances on So You Think You Can Dance. Yuna drops by City Winery DC for three “Acoustic Evening” shows in support of her fourth critically acclaimed album Rouge.

Wednesday, Jan. 29, with doors at 6 p.m., and Thursday, Jan. 30, with doors at 5:30 and 9:30 p.m. 1350 Okie St. NE. Tickets are $35 to $48.

Call 202-250-2531 or visit www. citywinery.com.

DANCE GREGORY MAQOMA’S VUYANI DANCE THEATRE: CION

South African star choreographer Gregory Maqoma brings his company to the Kennedy Center for the first time performing a piece inspired by Cion, the novel from his compatriot Zakes Mda and danced to Maurice Ravel’s Boléro. Set in a graveyard with the cries of people in

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PASSION FRUIT DANCE COMPANY: DANCE WITHIN YOUR DANCE

“What is the groove? How do you find it? How much weight does it hold in self-expression?” Those are the questions raised by the latest work routed in hip-hop and house dance styles and rhythms from choreographer Tatiana Desardouin and presented by her four-year-old New York-based street dance company, featuring core members Mai Lê Hô and Lauriane Ogay. Passion Fruit Dance Company promotes the authenticity of street and clubbing dance styles, aka social dances, while highlighting and exploring different social issues and individuals. Saturday, Feb. 1, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 2, at 4 p.m. Dance Place, 3225 8th St. NE. Tickets are $15 to $30. Call 202-269-1600 or visit www.danceplace.org.

READINGS & DISCUSSIONS COUNTRY MEGATICKET 2020 AT JIFFY LUBE LIVE

LiveNation has already announced this year’s slate of country superstars coming to Jiffy Lube Live, and the 2020 Country Megaticket package for all 10 shows goes on sale starting Friday, Jan. 24 — weeks before tickets to each individual show become available. The Megaticket offers the same seat at every show plus additional perks with the Platinum and Gold levels. This year’s lineup includes Brooks & Dunn with special guests on Saturday, May 23; Brad Paisley with Jordan Davis and Gabby Barrett on Saturday, June 13; Kenny Chesney with Michael Franti & Spearhead on Thursday, June 18; Chris Young with Scotty McCreery and Payton Smith on Friday, July 10; Tim McGray with Midland and Ingrid Andress on Saturday, July 18; Lady Antebellum with Jake Owen and Maddie & Tae on Saturday, Aug. 8; Jason Aldean with Brett Young, Mitchell Tenpenny, and Dee Jay Silver on Saturday, Aug. 15; Luke Bryan with Morgan Wallen and Runaway June on Sunday, Aug. 23; Thomas Rhett with Cole Swindell and HARDY on Saturday, Aug. 29; and Rascal Flatts with special guests on Saturday, Sept. 12. The package runs $750 to $1,600, or $350 for lawn seats. Visit www.megaticket.com.

mourning and the a cappella music of Isicathamiya singers in the background, Cion is billed as a “powerful requiem” and an “innovative, visually stunning full-length work that brings literature to life.” Friday, Jan. 24, and Saturday, Jan. 25, at 8 p.m. Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $25 to $79. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

MATTHEW BOURNE’S NEW ADVENTURES: SWAN LAKE

dazzling designs, and more often than not, profound LGBTQ content.

Bourne, who has won every major theatrical award imaginable — from Tonys to Oliviers — sometimes multiple times over, returns with his dance company New Adventures for an updated spin on his classic all-male Swan Lake in its Kennedy Center debut. To Jan. 26. Opera House. Tickets are $29 to $109. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

Matthew Bourne’s choreographed works are internationally celebrated for their unique, bold approaches to familiar material, elaborate,

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JAMES MANN: THE GREAT RIFT

The Great Rift: Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, and the Broken Friendship that Defined an Era tracks how two towering figures in both Bush administrations went from allies in one to adversaries in the other. Mann, a fellow of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, draws on dozens of original interviews and deep research in presidential archives to show the different sensibilities and ideologies of Cheney and Powell, as well as the effect their differences had on recent American history, in foreign policy overall and within the Republican party. Saturday, Jan. 25, at 3:30 p.m.

Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Call 202-364-1919 or visit www.politics-prose.com.

ART & EXHIBITS BONNARD TO VUILLARD: THE INTIMATE POETRY OF EVERYDAY LIFE Over 60 rarely seen works by a leading group of European post-impressionist artists who worked together in the 1890s under the name the Nabi Collection, a transliteration of the Hebrew word for prophet.

Pierre Bonnard, Édouard Vuillard, Maurice Denis, Aristide Maillol, Paul Ranson, Ker-Xavier Roussel, and Félix Vallotton are all represented in this temporary exhibition at the Phillips Collection, which ranges from painting and prints to stained glass to ceramics, and showcases how the Nabis used flat colors, decorative patterning, and silhouetted forms to convey their responses to the world. To Jan. 26.

The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW. Tickets are $12. Call 202387-2151 x247 or visit www.phillipscollection.org.

IN MEMORIAM: TONI MORRISON, 1931-2019

In recognition of the significant cultural loss with the recent passing of Toni Morrison, the National Portrait Gallery displays Robert McCurdy’s painted portrait of the Pulitzer Prize- and Nobel Prizewinning author of Song of Solomon and Beloved. McCurdy’s portrait, based on an expressionless photograph he captured of Morrison “that has no implied past or future but exists in the eternal present,” has been added to the larger exhibition Twentieth Century Americans: 2000 to Present on the museum’s third floor. To Jan. 31. 8th and F Streets. NW. Call 202-633-8300 or visit www.npg.si.edu.

ABOVE & BEYOND KENNEDY CENTER’S LUNAR NEW YEAR 2020 CELEBRATION

For the traditional Chinese calendar, the new year begins on the new moon — which in 2020 appears on Saturday, Jan. 25, when the Kennedy Center presents its popular Family Day to celebrate the Year of the Rat with free activities for children of all ages, capped off by a free performance at 6 p.m. on the Millennium Stage of the Beijing Bamboo Orchestra, featuring more than 30 types of instruments made entirely out of bamboo. The traditional celebration lasts two weeks, and the Kennedy Center mostly follows suit with its 5th annual Lunar New Year slate of (mostly free) activities, with showcases of both Chinese and Korean culture. This year’s celebration is centered in the complex’s new outdoor campus the REACH, festooned with 100 stunning Winter Lanterns consisting of 10,000 LED lights depicting the Chinese Four Symbols and 12 Zodiac Signs, Panda Grove, and Mushroom Garden. The display of lanterns will be enhanced Thursday, Jan. 23, through Sunday, Jan. 26, with performances celebrating China — ranging from a Magician from Shenzhen, a sugar painting, shadow puppet demonstration, and calligraphy; and then Thursday, Jan. 30, through Sunday, Feb. 2, with performances celebrating Korea, from a drum and spinning-dishes show from Freelak Company, to a group Mural Painting led by Julia Chon, to kite-flying led by a South Korean master. The festivities kick off with a special concert by the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra, led by Muhai Tang and featuring specialized instruments including erhu or Chinese violin, dizi or bamboo flute, sheng or multi-reed wind instrument, ruan or moon guitar, and zheng or zither. Wednesday, Jan. 22, at 8 p.m. Concert Hall. Tickets are $15 to $59. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org. l

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theFeed

VIRAL REPORT

Baltimore is city with highest STD rates, D.C. ranks in top 20. By John Riley

A

NEW STUDY CLAIMS THAT BALTIMORE HAS the highest rate of sexually transmitted diseases in the United States and that D.C. ranks 17th overall.

The Innerbody study analyzes data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report on the number of reported STD cases across the United States.

Based on that list, researchers compiled a list of the top 100 cities with the highest STD rates, along with key trends, such as whether the STD infection rate is increasing in a particular city.

In 2018, there were more than 115,000 syphilis cases nationally, over 580,000 gonorrhea cases and more than 1.7 million cases of chlamydia — constituting an “all time high” and marking the fifth consecutive year that the number of cases increased, according a report by the CDC. The CDC attributes the rise in STDs, in part, to higher rates of drug use, poverty, stigma around testing, and unstable housing, all of which can hinder the ability of people to access treatment or prevention methods.

Other factors include decreased condom use among vulnerable groups, particularly among youth and gay and bisexual men, and cuts to STD programs at both the state and local level that forced clinics offering STD prevention and treatment services to close or cut their hours, lay off staff, and cut back on follow-up services, which are often

instrumental in preventing future infections.

Unsurprisingly, given their (generally) high poverty rates, higher number of uninsured or under-insured individuals, and the lack of available resources, especially for those living in rural areas, cities in the American South generally have higher STD rates, with nearly half of the cities with the top 25 STD rates located in the South.

California had the most cities in the top 100, with seven overall, while Ohio and Texas each had six cities in the top 100.

In Baltimore, now ranked as the city with the highest STD rates (per every 100,000 people), there were 207 new cases of HIV infections reported in 2018, as well as 4,231 cases of gonorrhea, 7,636 cases of chlamydia, and 210 cases of syphilis.

In D.C., which ranked 17th overall, reported 630 cases of new HIV infections, 6,803 cases of gonorrhea, 17,480 cases of chlamydia, and 426 cases of syphilis.

The top 20 cities with the highest STD rates are, starting with the highest: Baltimore, Md.; Jackson, Miss.; Philadelphia, Pa.; San Francisco, Calif.; Montgomery, Ala.; Augusta, Ga.; Milwaukee, Wis.; Killeen, Texas; Shreveport, La.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Bronx, N.Y.; Fayetteville, N.C.; Manhattan, N.Y.; Tallahassee, Fla.; Columbus, Ga.; Peoria, Ill.; Washington, D.C.; Columbia, S.C.; Denver, Colo.; and Birmingham, Ala. l

LIVE ATTACK

Mike Pence attended an anti-gay sermon.

The White House livestreamed it. By Rhuaridh Marr

T

HE WHITE HOUSE’S OFFICIAL YOUTUBE CHANnel livestreamed a sermon in which a pastor called homosexuality “demonic” and said that “the devil” is trying to destroy the traditional family.

The sermon, at Holy City Church of God in Christ in Memphis, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 19, was attended by Vice President Mike Pence, who gave a speech during the service.

Pence honored civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., calling for those in attendance to “rededicate ourselves to the ideals that he advanced, if we strive to open doors of opportunities for every American and if we more faithfully follow the one that he followed, will see our way through

these divided times.”

Following Pence, Bishop Jerry Wayne Taylor proceeded to praise the notoriously anti-LGBTQ vice president, before launching into an anti-gay sermon that slammed gay relationships and gay people.

Of Pence, Taylor said he could “see God’s spirit in him. I believe that he is a man of God.” Taylor then claimed “the devil” was attacking people’s foundations, including the traditional view of family, saying, “Two men can’t have a baby. Two women can’t have a baby.”

He continued: “It’s a demonic spirit that causes another woman to want to lie with another woman. It’s a demonic

JANUARY 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

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theFeed spirit that causes another man, a man to be attracted to another man.”

To laughter from those in attendance, Taylor then said, “And then the man gets attracted to me and he’ll get in trouble — don’t put your hands on me.”

“God didn’t make us for that. He made a man to be a man,” he added. “Somebody said, if you want to know what God made you, when you go to the bathroom check your plumbing. What kind of plumbing are you using?”

He then falsely claimed that there are no homosexual relationships between animals in nature, while discussing a documentary about elk fighting.

“You never see two male animals coming together,” he said.

“Animals have not left the place that God calls them to be in.”

Taylor concluded his sermon by urging his congregation to “expose what the devil is doing.”

Pence is no stranger to anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. Last June, he said that Donald Trump banning American embassies

from flying LGBTQ Pride flags during Pride Month was “the right decision.”

In a statement on his congressional campaign website in 2000, he argued for resources to be directed away from “organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus” and instead go towards “those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior.”

As governor of Indiana, Pence supported the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” which allowed businesses and individuals to discriminate against LGBTQ people.

In addition, Pence opposes same-sex marriage, once telling Congress it would bring “societal collapse.” He opposed the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. He opposed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would have banned discrimination against people based on sexuality.

And in 2017, a New Yorker column alleged that Trump joked about Pence wanting to “hang” every gay person. l

INCREDIBLE IGNORANCE Trump allegedly fumigated Mar-A-Lago after visit from man with AIDS. By Rhuaridh Marr

D

ONALD TRUMP ALLEGEDLY TOLD GUESTS AT Mar-A-Lago that he had items at the resort fumigated after a visit from a man with AIDS. The man in question was Roy Cohn, Trump’s longtime “fixer,” who died from complications due to AIDS in 1986.

Cohn was a lawyer who worked for Sen. Joseph McCarthy and outed gay people in the federal government during the Lavender Scare — despite allegedly being gay himself. He was also Trump’s personal lawyer during the ’70s and ’80s.

In 1984, he was diagnosed with AIDS, and according to journalists Joe Palazzolo and Michael Rothfield, “after Cohn became sick with AIDS in the 1980s, Mr. Trump distanced himself, steering business elsewhere.”

In their new book The Fixers: The Bottom-Feeders, Crooked Lawyers, Gossipmongers, and Porn Stars Who Created the 45th President, they allege that Trump told guests at Mar-A-Lago in 2016 about a visit from Cohn not long before his death.

Trump, planning his new administration in the weeks after winning the 2016 election, was reportedly “sentimental” about Cohn, according to the book.

Following his win, he reportedly told those at Mar-ALago, “We sure miss Roy, don’t we?”

But the book also shows Trump’s apparent ignorance surrounding HIV/AIDS, particularly during the ’80s, in a description of his remarks to those at Mar-A-Lago about Cohn’s visit.

Cohn was reportedly hosted for dinner, with guests paying “tribute to the dying lawyer,” at a meal that included “ornate” place settings and a gold candelabra.

But, per the book. “Trump recalled to his guests that after

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JANUARY 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

Cohn had left, ‘I had to spend a fortune to fumigate all the dishes and silverware.'”

If true, it’s a stunning admission from Trump in 2016, weeks before assuming the presidency. While such attitudes might have been sadly commonplace in the ’80s, The Fixer suggests Trump felt comfortable sharing his response even after decades of medical and scientific advancement in treating and combating HIV. It also reflects the somewhat mixed record of Trump’s administration with regards HIV. In his State of the Union address last year, Trump pledged to reduce the rate of new HIV infections in the United States by 90% by 2030.

“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to end the HIV epidemic in the United States,” he said. “Now is the time.”

But Trump’s administration has also sought to discharge HIV-positive servicemembers from the Air Force, a policy that a federal court recently blocked and called “outmoded and at odds with current science.”

The administration was also forced to clarify its policy of separating migrant children from their HIV-positive parents at the border, after Customs & Border Protection Chief Brian Hastings suggested HIV status could be used to justify separation. And in 2018, the Trump administration also suspended access to materials being used in research towards an HIV cure.

Outside of direct policy, Trump adviser Jenna Ellis, senior legal adviser to the Trump campaign, recently said that HIV was “God’s moral law” for gay people. And Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff blamed “repugnant” gays for the spread of HIV/AIDS in a 1992 column that was unearthed last year. l

Community FRIDAY, Jan. 24

HIV TESTING at Whitman-

Walker Health. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at 1525 14th St. NW. For an appointment, call 202-7457000 or visit www.whitman-walker.org.

GAMMA is a confidential, vol-

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

untary, 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 www.gammaindc.org.

2019 Capital Pride Reveal

The DC Center holds its

CENTER AGING MONTHLY LUNCH for members of D.C.’s

senior community. Lunch is potluck, so attendees are encouraged to bring their favorite dish to share. 12-2 p.m.

2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105.

For more information, visit www.thedccenter.org or call 202-682-2245.

The DC Center’s TRANS SUPPORT GROUP provides a space to talk for transgender people and those who identify outside of the gender binary. 7-9 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www.thedccenter.org.

WOMEN IN THEIR TWENTIES (AND THIRTIES), a social

discussion 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 www. thedccenter.org.

Weekly Events ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH

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

BET MISHPACHAH, founded

by members of the LGBT community, holds Friday evening Shabbat services in the DC Jewish Community Center’s Community Room. 8 p.m. 1529 16th St. NW. For more information, visit www.betmish.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a

practice session at Barry Farms Aquatic Center. 6:30-8 p.m. 1230 Sumner Rd. SE. For more information, visit www.swimdcac.org.

REVEALING INFORMATION Two pride reveal parties offer a sneak peek at events that celebrate and honor the local LGBTQ community.

T

HIS BEING DC BLACK PRIDE’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY, WE wanted to do things a little bit differently,” says Kenya Hutton.

As such, the organization is hosting its first-ever “reveal” party on Monday, Jan. 27 at Number Nine, where it will be announcing this year’s theme and anchor activities, such as the annual awards reception.

As DC Black Pride’s program director, Hutton says it’s all part of ongoing efforts to increase community involvement so that more people will take on leadership roles and invest in seeing DC Black Pride flourish. As an example of those efforts, he points to expanded events in recent years to appeal to certain segments within the LGBTQ community.

“Last year was the first year we actually had a gender-nonconforming event,” he says. “And we had specific events for men, women, older individuals, and individuals who are nonbinary. We are just creating more spaces for all aspects of our community.”

DC Black Pride, which coincides with Memorial Day Weekend, has always offered an informational or educational component — a tradition that will continue this year. “DC Black Pride is more than just parties,” says Hutton. “So we’re creating and building up all of our non-party activities. We want to create opportunities for individuals to learn and network with other individuals from around the world who are coming here to take part in the celebration.”

It might be DC Black Pride’s first reveal party, but for the Capital Pride Alliance, such events are old hat. That doesn’t mean that organizers are mailing it in on Thursday, Feb. 6, when the group reveals its 2020 Pride season theme at City Winery. And expectations are high, as the annual reveal parties have “turned into a tradition to get people pumped and excited for all of Pride throughout the year,” says executive director Ryan Bos. The nine days of Pride festivities kick off Friday, June 5 with the Capital Pride Honors at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and conclude Sunday, June 14 with the Capital Pride Festival and Concert on Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Capital Pride will continue to support a number of pride-themed celebrations geared toward specific segments of the LGBTQ community, such as Youth Pride, Capital Trans Pride, Silver Pride, API Pride, and Latinx Pride.

Says Bos, “We’re working together to provide folks within the national capital region — and beyond — spaces to show up and experience pride the way they feel comfortable.” —John Riley The DC Black Pride 2020 Reveal party is Monday, Jan. 27, from 6-8 p.m. at Number Nine, 1435 P St. NW. Visit www.dcblackpride.org.

Capital Pride’s Reveal party is Thursday, Feb. 6, from 7-11 p.m. at City Winery, 1350 Okie St. NE. Bronze tickets are $30 per person, with silver, gold, rainbow and platinum options also available. Visit www. capitalpride.org/pride-reveal-2020.

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 703823-4401. www.kiservices.org.

METROHEALTH CENTER

offers free, rapid HIV testing.

Appointment needed. 1012 14th St. NW, Suite 700. To arrange an appointment, call 202-8498029. www.metrohealthdc.org.

PROJECT STRIPES hosts LGBTaffirming social group for ages 11-24. 4-6 p.m. 1419 Columbia Road NW. Contact Tamara, 202319-0422, www.layc-dc.org.

SATURDAY, Jan. 25 Join The DC Center as it volunteers for FOOD & FRIENDS, packing meals and groceries for people living with serious ailments. 10 a.m.-noon. 219 Riggs Rd. NE. Near the Fort Totten Metro. For a ride from the Metro, call the Food & Friends shuttle at 202-669-6437. For more information, visit www. thedccenter.org or www. foodandfriends.org.

The DC Center holds a

FACILITATOR TRAINING

session for those interested in leading or facilitating discussions for The Center’s many support groups. 12 a.m.-2 p.m.

2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105.

For more information, email justin@thedccenter.org or visit www.thedccenter.org.

Weekly Events DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a

practice session at Deanwood Aquatic Center. 9:15-10:45 a.m.

1350 49th St. NE. For more information, visit www.swimdcac.org.

DC FRONT RUNNERS running/ walking/social club welcomes runners of all ability levels for exercise in a fun and supportive environment, with socializing afterwards. 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 www. dcfrontrunners.org.

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SUNDAY, Jan. 26 Weekly Events BETHEL CHURCH-DC progressive and radically inclusive church holds services at 11:30 a.m. 2217 Minnesota Ave. SE. 202-248-1895, www.betheldc.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a

practice session at Wilson Aquatic Center. 9:30-11 a.m. 4551 Fort Dr. NW. For more information, visit www.swimdcac.org.

DC FRONT RUNNERS running/

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

Route distances vary. For meeting places and more information, visit www.dcfrontrunners.org.

FAIRLINGTON UNITED METHODIST CHURCH is an open, inclusive church. All welcome, including the LGBTQ community. Member of the Reconciling Ministries Network. Services at 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. 3900 King Street, Alexandria, Va. 703-6718557. For more info, visit www. fairlingtonumc.org.

FRIENDS MEETING OF WASHINGTON meets for worship, 10:30 a.m., 2111 Florida Ave. NW, Quaker House Living Room (next to Meeting House on Decatur Place), 2nd floor. Special welcome to lesbians and gays. Handicapped accessible from Phelps Place gate.

Hearing assistance. Visit www. quakersdc.org.

INSTITUTE FOR SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT, God-centered

new age church & learning center.

Sunday Services and Workshops event. 5419 Sherier Place NW. Visit www.isd-dc.org.

LUTHERAN CHURCH OF REFORMATION invites all to

Sunday worship at 8:30 or 11 a.m.

Childcare is available at both services. Welcoming LGBT people for 25 years. 212 East Capitol St. NE. Visit www.reformationdc.org.

METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH OF WASHINGTON, D.C.

services at 9 a.m. (ASL interpreted) and 11 a.m. Children's Sunday School at 11 a.m. 474 Ridge St. NW. For more info, call 202-638-7373 or visit www.mccdc.com.

RIVERSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH,

a Christ-centered, interracial, welcoming-and-affirming church, offers service at 10 a.m. 680 I St. SW. For more info, call 202-5544330 or visit www.riversidedc.org.

UNITARIAN CHURCH OF ARLINGTON, an LGBTQ welcom-

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JANUARY 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

ing-and-affirming congregation, offers services at 10 a.m. Virginia Rainbow UU Ministry. 4444 Arlington Blvd. For more info, visit www.uucava.org.

UNIVERSALIST NATIONAL MEMORIAL CHURCH, a welcom-

ing and inclusive church. GLBT Interweave social/service group meets monthly. Services at 11 a.m., Romanesque sanctuary. 1810 16th St. NW. For more info, call 202-3873411 or visit www.universalist.org.

MONDAY, Jan. 27 AGLA hosts a monthly board meeting open to the larger community.

Come and meet the board as it discusses upcoming events and plans for LGBTQ activism. 7-8:30 p.m.

Federico’s Ristorante Italiano, 519 23rd St. S., Arlington, Va. For more information, visit www.agla.org.

MONDAY NIGHT SKATING

brings together members of the LGBTQIA+ community and allies for roller skating on the last Monday of every month. Come in your underwear, onesie, lingerie, pajamas, jockstrap, boxers, boxer briefs, or a combination of all the above. All people welcome and celebrated, though children are advised not to attend. Couples/ trios/group skate, Ghostbuster Mayhem, Limbo, Conga lines, Corners Game, 50/50 Raffle, and Door Prizes. 7:30-10:30 p.m. The Laurel Roller Skating Center, 9890 Brewers Ct., Laurel, Md. For more info, visit www.meetup.com/ MondayNightSkating or email MondayNightSkating@gmail.com.

Weekly Events DC’S DIFFERENT DRUMMERS

welcomes musicians of all abilities to join its Monday night rehearsals.

The group hosts marching/color guard, concert, and jazz ensembles, with performances year round.

Please contact Membership@ DCDD.org to inquire about joining one of the ensembles or visit www.

DCDD.org.

The DC Center hosts COFFEE

DROP-IN FOR THE SENIOR LGBT COMMUNITY. 10 a.m.-noon. 2000

14th St. NW. For more information, call 202-682-2245 or visit www. thedccenter.org.

US HELPING US hosts a black

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

Visit www.ushelpingus.org.

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 www.wetskins.org.

The DC Center. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www.thedccenter.org.

TUESDAY, Jan. 28

gram for job entrants and seekers, meets at The DC Center. 6-7:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105.

For more info, email centercareers@thedccenter.org or visit www.thedccenter.org/careers.

GENDERQUEER DC, a support and

discussion group for people who identify outside the gender binary, meets at The DC Center on the fourth Tuesday of every month.

7-8:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www.thedccenter.org.

Weekly Events

JOB CLUB, a weekly support pro-

NOVASALUD offers free HIV

testing. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. 2049 N. 15th St., Suite 200, Arlington.

Appointments: 703-789-4467. Visit www.novasaludinc.org.

THE GAY MEN'S HEALTH COLLABORATIVE offers free

WASHINGTON WETSKINS WATER POLO TEAM practices 7-9

OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS

THURSDAY, Jan. 30

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. www.inova.org/gmhc 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. 29 DC LAMBDA SQUARES, the

LGBTQ line-dancing group, hosts a class for new dancers on Wednesdays. Students will be taught and learn the basics of modern Western square dance. Cost is $90. 7:30-9:30 p.m. Calvary Baptist Church, 755 8th St. NW. For more information, call 202-930-1058 or visit www.dclambdasquares.org.

The LAMBDA BRIDGE CLUB meets for Duplicate Bridge at the Dignity Center. No reservations needed.

Newcomers welcome. 7:30 p.m. 721 8th St. SE (across from the Marine Barracks). Call 202-841-0279 if you need a partner.

Weekly Events 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.

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC)

holds a practice session at Dunbar Aquatic Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 101 N St. NW. For more information, visit www.swimdcac.org.

FREEDOM FROM SMOKING, a

group for LGBT people looking to quit cigarettes and tobacco use, holds a weekly support meeting at

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 www.wetskins.org.

Weekly Events DC AQUATICS CLUB practice

session at Takoma Aquatic Center.

7:30-9 p.m. 300 Van Buren St. NW. For more information, visit www. swimdcac.org.

DC FRONT RUNNERS running/

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

Route distances vary. 7 p.m. For meeting places and more information, visit www.dcfrontrunners.org.

DC LAMBDA SQUARES, D.C.’s

LGBTQ square-dancing group, features an opportunity to learn about and practice various forms of modern square dancing. No partner required. Please dress casually. 7:30-9:30 p.m. National City Christian Church, 5 Thomas Circle NW. For more info, call 202930-1058 or visit www.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 www.scandalsrfc.org.

THE DULLES TRIANGLES

Northern Virginia social group meets for happy hour at the Cosmopolitan Lounge inside the Sheraton Hotel in Reston. All welcome. 7-9 p.m. 11810 Sunrise Valley Drive, Second Floor. For more info, visit www.dullestriangles.com. l For more events, visit metroweekly. com/community/calendar.

JANUARY 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

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JANUARY 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

Leather Perfect Filled with camaraderie and high spirits, Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend 2020 was bigger and better than ever.

By John Riley • Photography by Ward Morrison and Todd Franson Additional reporting by André Hereford • Additional photography by Randy Shulman

JANUARY 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

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M

AL CAN BE SLIGHTLY OVERWHELMING IF YOU don’t know what you’re doing. I don’t really know where I’m supposed to go,” says Seth J., a first-time attendee of Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend. On Saturday afternoon, the 34-year-old wrestling and bondage enthusiast, arrived at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill for the annual convention of leather, fetish and BDSM communities. The New Yorker casually wandered through the leather marketplace on the basement level, looking to purchase a few toys and some gear.

“I like the freeness and openness of MAL,” he says. “It seems like people are having good, consensual fun, which is nice.”

Held each year on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday weekend, Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend brings together leather and kink enthusiasts from around the globe, providing a space where people can socialize, make connections, and express themselves without fear of judgment. In the hotel’s main lobby, D.C. area residents and out-of-town visitors clad in leather harnesses, chaps, rubber, or singlets convene cordially while sipping cocktails and beers. Throughout the weekend, the Hyatt’s main ballroom magically transforms itself into spaces for S&M demonstrations, puppy play parks, cocktail parties, and specially-themed dances. Those with their own hotel rooms host private parties where they can gather in smaller groups, away from the larger crowds.

The weekend’s central event, the Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather Contest, brings together contestants competing for the honor to serve as the face of Centaur MC, the leather/Levi club that hosts the weekend, as well as the larger leather community.

Competitors undergo a pre-contest interview with a panel of judges, attend several receptions and meet-and-greets throughout the weekend, model clothing looks for various occasions, and

“There were three different reasons why I was running for the title,” says Spivey. “Legacy, history, and obligation were really something that compelled me to do it. I knew last year, from seeing some of the inner-workings of the event, meeting a bunch of the Centaurs, talking to the contestants, I really wanted more.

I wanted to be involved in the leather community in a way that I hadn’t before.”

Spivey thinks the presence of his mom, Eleanor Spivey, and the positive impression she made supporting her son, may have assisted him in winning. At one point, when asked to respond what his role in a cheerleader-themed horror film would be, he joked that his mother should “prepare herself” for his answer.

“All the contestants have to answer a question on stage,” he says. “Of course, it’s supposed to be sexy and fun. So Mom was sitting in the front row of the audience listening to all these sexy, fun answers. I think it was a bit of a shock to her that it wasn’t homo home improvement all the time. But she rolled with the punches. She was excited to be part of the event and took it all in good fun.”

Eleanor Spivey attended to show her son that he had support from his family, in addition to the people at MAL and his friends from Pittsburgh. She plans to attend the International Mr. Leather contest and cheer him on there, as well.

“I think David was very comfortable,” she said by phone the day after the contest. “He was very proud of me being there. He turned around and told me it made up for all the tennis matches I missed in high school.”

Spivey’s duties for his new title include serving as a representative of Centaur MC and as an ambassador who will help welcome newcomers to join the leather community. He will return to D.C. several times over the next six months to attend various events, including Centaur MC’s annual Scarlet’s Bake Sale on Feb. 9.

“I’m excited and honored to hold the title,” he says. “You’re expected to serve as an ambassador. You get to meet and greet people and smile and have a really good time and make sure that they're having a great time as well. I think this next year is going to be a blast.”

SPANDEX FANTASIES

answer questions from the judges to demonstrate their poise and ability to think on their feet. The winner earns a chance to compete for the title of International Mr. Leather, a similar event held each May in Chicago.

“I think leather is sexy. I think it's fun. I think it's powerful,” says David Spivey, winner of this year’s Mr Mid-Atlantic Leather title, and also the reigning Mr. Pittsburgh Leather Fetish 2020.

“It’s a really wonderful way to express yourself outside of work, outside of the everyday sort of humdrum business suit lifestyle that a majority of us have to experience. It’s a way to be all of the above and have a really good time doing it.”

Spivey’s win marks the second year in a row the Mr. MAL winner has hailed from Pittsburgh, following Emërson Anicëto’s victory last year.

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Of course, MAL weekend would not be complete without its niche events. On Friday night, in a pair of adjoining conference rooms, a spandex-sporting throng kicked off their MAL weekend at the annual Superhero Meetup.

In one corner, a leggy, red-bearded Poison Ivy lamented the fact there was no Batman to pose or play with (although there were a couple of Robins). On the far side of the room, Black Panther made out with a Disney character yet to appear in the MCU: Donald Duck in a jockstrap. And nearby, Thiktool, a.k.a. rope bondage artist Tom Roper, wearing a clinging Superman tee, tied up a scantily clad Spider-Man sub.

Presiding over the activity was chief organizer Pup Indigo, assuming the role of “the Val-Zod version of Superman from Earth 2,” complete with a flowing white cape.

“I've always liked geek things and superhero things and stuff like that,” he says. “And so this is something that is kind of a natural extension of my personality.”

Pup Indigo acknowledged the sex appeal that comes with the superhero fantasy, pointing to the spandex and skin-tight clothing donned by some of the superhero fetishists. “However you identify, whatever gender you identify with, everyone generally looks good in what they're doing.

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Especially, have you not read comic books? Almost everyone looks really good at what they're wearing.”

PUPPIES IN THE PIT

On Saturday morning, at the 12th annual Puppy Park, several dozen “puppies” gathered in the hotel’s basement conference rooms, where gym mats were laid out to create a play space.

Within minutes, the mats were full of wriggling, prancing pups clad in dog-shaped masks, harnesses, collars, and various colored singlets, knocking around balls, playing with squeaky toys, and growling and piling on top of each other.

Alongside the mats stood an inflatable pit filled with brightly-colored rubber balls where the pups could frolic. At one point, stuffed dogs, cats, rabbits, and unicorns were tossed into the mix, prompting the puppies to howl with delight.

Leonard Carlton Bennett, of Martinsburg, W.V., is both a pup and a master. He says this year’s MAL was the first time he’d been in a ball pit. Accompanied by his trusty sidekick, Pupp Wolfgang, the two enjoy letting loose and entering a space without cares.

“I enjoy playing, allowing myself to not be so serious half the time,” Bennett says. “It allows both of us to put our normal lives on ‘paws,’ and get back to the primal nature of things, like ‘Eat, sleep, play.’ It’s nice to get a moment to put on the hood, put on the paws, and just relax.”

Milesade Crank-Brock, a female trans pup attending her second year of MAL, who goes by the moniker Pup Cinnamon, likes the idea of getting into a headspace where things aren’t as focused on her gender identity and where she is more on an equal footing with other pups.

Crank-Brock appreciates that MAL provides a quiet space off to the sides for pups who don’t necessarily want to be at the center of a puppy pile or where pups can rest when they get tired.

“In the mosh, there can be some aggression,” she says. “I’m more of a very passive, peaceful kind of pup. I’m not the kind that’s going to wrestle you real rough or anything, because I also have a disability. But outside of that, I don't really get pushed around. Sometimes, I'll show up at a pup scene and accidentally fall into little space, so I'll start hanging on to my daddy. Some people definitely will get like, ‘What the fuck are you doing?’ but it’s like, ‘Hey. We’re all here to have fun, enjoy ourselves. Let me do my thing.’"

Crank-Brock says puppy moshes are getting better about including female-identified pups, but some pups still have bad attitudes and only want to play with male pups, especially sexually.

“I enjoy the fact that MAL has this event, and that it’s open, because I know that there are other events in other parts of the country that are very much male-only spaces,” Crank-Brock says. “They won’t allow either women or won’t allow trans men, that sort of thing. Here, there’s a space where everybody can play and socialize.”

FUN WITH FETISHES

An hour after the ball pit was deflated and the puppies scattered, the ballroom became a play space for kink enthusiasts, who got to watch members of SigMa, a D.C.-based, volunteer-run, BDSM/kink/fetish nonprofit co-op, demonstrate how to engage in BDSM play. Different stations were set up for mummification, e-stim play, tactile play, ropes and suspension, flogging, and spanking, as curious passersby looked on.

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munications and marketing for the club, was involved in the spanking demonstration, something he had always been interested in but was able to learn the nuances of through SigMa’s regularly scheduled play parties.

“For this event, I’ve been focused on giving [the crowd] a taste of the breadth of it all,” he says. “I am hoping they get to see the kind of connection and relationship that gets formed when you are spanking someone and being spanked, and understand that’s it’s not just hitting away.”

SigMa President Mark Hegeman, who was demonstrating various aspects of “tactile play” on volunteers, says that sometimes people have to be coaxed out of simply being voyeurs and into participating, as they may want to take part, but are shy at expressing their desires when it comes to BDSM play.

“I’ve seen steady [levels of] interest,” he says. “Though I will say that the pup community is growing, and virtually every pup is into BDSM. So in those terms, I think the BDSM is growing.”

Regarding his preference for tactile play, Hegeman acknowledges it is’t as visually stimulating as other forms of kink, but people generally enjoy it once they jump in.

“There’s not as much happening, as, say, suspension. It’s not as actively visual. You’re doing things, lots of times you’re just rubbing on the person’s body. Other people may not see their reaction. For some people it’s very hard to tell what their reaction is, but others will literally arch their back off the table, or their mouth will open up and they’ll give a silent sigh. Others just get hard. So you kind of watch and if they are wiggling and seem like they’re enjoying something, you try to do more of that.”

HOSPITALITY FIRST

Todd White, president of Centaur MC, says that the hotel took steps regarding crowd control that made the entire weekend feel more organized and gave attendees a fair deal of space to walk around without stepping on toes or crashing into people, as in past years.

“It made it more manageable to navigate and get through to where you wanted to go,” says White. “The crowd seemed more controlled and didn’t seem quite as packed, which has been a problem for us in the past.”

Noting that the Centaurs were celebrating their 50th anniversary as a club, White believes the special anniversary added an extra sense of excitement throughout the weekend. Many people expressed a desire to come back next year — something that was bolstered by the fact that rooms for next year sold out within 40 minutes after the Hyatt allowed people to begin booking reservations online.

White says the popularity of the event may also indicate that the Centaurs may have to look at how to find additional space for would-be attendees, just as they had to when the event moved from the Washington Plaza Hotel to the Hyatt in 2011.

“We can’t be any prouder,” he says. “I don’t know any other leather event that can sell out in 40 minutes. It says to me that the community loves us as much as we love them. Yes, it’s a huge event, but the base of it all is it’s like a family reunion. We don’t do classes or workshops and put that layer of protocol in, because we want it to be your event. It’s what you make of it.” l For more information on next year’s MAL, visit www.leatherweekend.com.

For more information on the Centaur MC, visit www.centaurmc.org.

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RLJE FILMS RELEASE. PHOTO BY GUSTAVO FIGUEIREDO

Movies

Colorful Cage

Not even alpacas are safe after an alien meteorite crash-lands on a family farm in Color Out of Space. By André Hereford

B

E PREPARED TO ACID-TRIP DOWN A RABBIT HOLE WITH NICOLAS Cage in the horror spectacle Color Out of Space (HHHHH), for ahead lies twisted imagery that even the most seasoned horror fans might never unsee. Based on the H.P. Lovecraft short story — published in 1927 and adapted several times for the screen, including the 1965 Boris Karloff chiller Die, Monster, Die! — the film traffics more in rising dread and suspense than gore and violence. Ultimately, there’s plenty of all four as a hapless Massachusetts farm family finds their land, their home, their minds and bodies invaded by an entity, or entities, of otherworldly origins.

First, a rock crashes down from the night sky, dousing the Gardners’ modest alpaca farm in a concussive blast of almost magenta light. Almost, because this hue of light is, according to patriarch Nathan (Cage) and everyone else who glimpses it, “not like any color anyone has ever seen before.” The smelly, glowing meteorite emanates that light, and within days, the strange color sprouts from the ground and the trees in the form of flowers that blanket the family’s backyard. Soon, the color radiates at will from the bottom of an old stone well, where some malevolent force now seems to reside. Whatever rode that meteor down to the Gardner farm spreads like poison in the air and water, disrupting the family’s cell phone signals, their wifi, and their sanity.

The invasion afflicts Nathan, his day-trader wife Theresa (Joely Richardson), and their three children — teens Lavinia (Madeleine Arthur) and Benny (Brendan Meyer), and 8-year old Jack (Julian Hilliard) — like a sickness. Writer-director Richard Stanley and co-screenwriter Scarlett Amaris amplify the point by dropping Lovecraft’s meteorite on a family that’s healing from Theresa’s recent, nearly catastrophic bout with cancer. The Gardners have already been invaded, and hardly any of them have much strength or patience left, least of all Theresa and Nathan.

Real-world horror, wrapped in a ruby grapefruit-colored nightmare, Color Out of Space crescendos from melancholy family drama to jaw-dropping sci-fi freakout with a steady flow of effective jump scares and startling reveals. The unknown looms larger

and larger, in bursts of mesmerizing intensity — interrupted occasionally by leaden dialogue, and one or two lackluster supporting performances. There’s also a dash of campy humor throughout, mostly for the better, easily detected in a sequence in which the local news comes out to interview a bedraggled and drunk-looking Nathan about the mysterious meteorite.

And then there are the alpacas. Nathan is dead-serious about his woolly livestock, leading to consistently amusing instances of Nicolas Cage yelling the word “alpacas” with the fervor of a Shakespearean tearing into Lear. “I want those alpacas back in the barn by ten o’clock!”

Yet, the Oscar-winner’s robust oratory never overshadows the film. Cage is intense, as usual, but the movie — produced by SpectreVision, the team that made the actor’s bonkers 2018 grindhouse revenge thriller Mandy — is even more intense, augmented by well-deployed CGI, practical effects, animatronics, and puppetry. Colors are hyper-vivid, the sounds that accompany the gore are as haunting as the images, and Colin Stetson’s booming score casts its own mesmerizing effect.

The intensity of emotion is matched by impressively committed performances from Richardson and Arthur as Theresa and Lavinia, a mother and daughter so often at odds, it’s like they don’t even realize they’re on the same side.

A budding witch, restless Lavinia is

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RLJE FILMS RELEASE. PHOTO BY GUSTAVO FIGUEIREDO

introduced casting a spell chosen from her dog-eared copy of The Necronomicon, Lovecraft’s fictional primer for mastering magic that appears in a number of the author’s stories. She finds a skeptical ally and romantic interest in a handsome hydrologist named Ward (Elliot Knight), who happens to be in the area conducting a water study. Knight’s blank performance doesn’t engender much rooting interest in the pairing, but he does have a nice scene with Tommy Chong, playing Ezra, a pot-smoking hippie who’s squatting on the lush, wooded property. Ezra might foresee the terrifying fate that awaits the besieged Gardner family, as he connects this creeping cosmic malignancy to the poisoning of the earth, noting how the color is “sucking the life out of everything,” a merciless enigma intent on “changing everything into something like the world it came from, into what it knows.” l Color Out of Space is not rated, and opens January 24 at Landmark’s E Street Cinemas.

Visit www.landmarktheatres.com/washington-d-c.

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C. STANLEY

Stage

Lines Crossed

A stark, straightforward production of Pipeline draws out nuances of a tricky conversation about race. By André Hereford

I

N DOMINIQUE MORISSEAU’S POIGNANT DRAMA PIPELINE (HHHHH), high schooler Omari (Justin Weaks), one of the few black or Latino students at his private school, feels constantly singled out to speak for an entire people. He feels the burden of representing to his peers and even his teachers the so-called black perspective on culture, literature, violence, everything. In a blazing speech to his concerned single mom Nya (Andrea Harris Smith), he tells her about feeling probed and provoked to unleash a rage that everyone seems to expect he’s carrying.

In his raw performance, Weaks cracks open that monologue to reveal the paradox that all the scrutiny of Omari’s rage is in itself enraging. Morisseau, whose Skeleton Crew was mounted in a powerful 2017 production at Studio, writes characters with a way of expressing themselves so an audience can understand what they’re experiencing. She writes good rants, and actors love a good rant. Directing Studio’s crisp new production, Awoye Timpo allows the cast space on scenic designer Arnulfo Maldonado’s sterile-white classroom and breakroom set to let it all out. Pilar Witherspoon does so with exuberant comic fury, as Laurie, Nya’s fellow teacher at a public high school, where, she ruefully suggests, “half these kids suffer from mental illness.” But Nya can’t resign herself to such glib assessments of her students, or her son.

The issue of kids’ mental health and well-being is more complicated for Nya, who

must deal with the aftermath when Omari is involved in a violent incident at his school. Nya expresses herself more roundly, in softness and in anger, with confusion and with urgency, and Harris finesses the character’s way forward in what threatens to become a lose-lose situation for her dear boy. She is the character we might come to know best beyond their bluster — including Omari’s Latina girlfriend Jasmine (Monica Rae Summers Gonzalez), also a student at his school, and his barely-there dad Xavier (Bjorn DuPaty).

As much as they all are given an opportunity to stake out a position on Omari’s future, only Nya comes fully into view as a protagonist in the story. Like shards of a broken mirror, the other characters reflect fragments of insight or human vulnerability, but the pieces don’t coalesce into a complete picture. The whole story here — exploring the school-to-prison pipeline that ensnares so many young black men — remains somewhat obscure, even as individual scenes bare searing glimpses of one black family trying to plot a safe course around the worst expectations. l

Pipeline runs through Feb. 16, at the Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20 to $90.

Call 202-332-3300, or visit www.StudioTheatre.org.

JANUARY 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

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NightLife Photography by Ward Morrison

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Scene

Furball at DC Eagle - Friday, Jan. 17 - Photography by Ward Morrison See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

DrinksDragDJsEtc...

Thursday, January 23 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-2am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports DC EAGLE $4 Rail and Domestics for guys in L.U.R.E. (Leather, Uniform, Rubber, Etc.) • Lights Dimmed at 8pm FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm-close GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Shirtless Thursday, 10-11pm • Men in Underwear Drink Free, 12-12:30am • DJs BacK2bACk

NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • $15 Buckets of Bud Products all night • Sports Leagues Night NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover • ThurSlay, featuring DJ Jack Rayburn, 10pm 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 • Thirst Trap Thursdays, hosted by Venus Valhalla, 11pm-12:30am • Featuring a Rotating Cast of Drag Performers • Dancing until 1:30am

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 Bottles of Wine, 5pm-close TRADE Doors open 5pm • XL Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass is served in an XL glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $5 ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS All male, nude dancers, 9pm-close • “New Meat” Open Dancers Audition • Music by DJ Don T. • Cover 21+

AVALON SATURDAYS Soundcheck 1420 K St. NW 202-789-5429 www.facebook.com/ AvalonSaturdaysDC

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A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-3am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports DC EAGLE Meaty Fridays Happy Hour 5-9pm • Free Hot Dogs all night and Pizza at 7:30pm • $2 off all drinks until 9pm • $5 Cover starts at 7pm, $10 after 9pm • Birds of Prey Drag Show at 10:30pm • DJ Moka follows the drag show • Open until 3am FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm-close GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $3 Rail and Domestic • $5 Svedka, all flavors all night

Destinations A LEAGUE OF HER OWN 2317 18th St. NW 202-733-2568 www.facebook.com/alohodc

Friday, January 24

long • Kicks & Giggles Go Fresh: A Queer All-LewksConsidered Dance Party, 10pm-close • Featuring DJs Ben Norman and Phil Reese • 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 • Friday Night Videos, 9:30pm • Rotating DJs 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 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 • XL Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass is served in an XL glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $5 • Otter Happy Hour with guest DJs, 5-11pm ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS Men of Secrets, 9pm • Guest dancers • Rotating DJs • Kristina Kelly’s Diva Fev-ah Drag Show • Doors at 9pm, Shows at 11:45pm • Music by DJ Jeff Eletto • Cover 21+

DC EAGLE 3701 Benning Rd. NE (202) 455-6500 www.dceagle.com

NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR 900 U St. NW 202-332-6355 www.nelliessportsbar.com

FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR 555 23rd St. S. Arlington, Va. 703-685-0555 www.freddiesbeachbar.com

NUMBER NINE 1435 P St. NW 202-986-0999 www.numberninedc.com

JANUARY 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

GREEN LANTERN 1335 Green Ct. NW 202-347-4533 www.greenlanterndc.com

PITCHERS 2317 18th St. NW 202-733-2568 www.pitchersbardc.com

Saturday, January 25 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 2pm-3am • Video Games • Live televised sports AVALON SATURDAYS @Soundcheck 1420 K St. NW LGBTQ Dance Party, 10pm-4am • Opening set by DJ Conner Curnick • Featuring DJ Brett Oosterhaus • $15 Early Bird, $20 Cover, $25 VIP • Drag Show, 10:3011:30pm, hosted by Ba’Naka and a rotating cast of drag queens • $4 Absolut Drinks, 10pm-midnight • 21+ DC EAGLE Open at 5pm • Brother, Help Thyself Grants Reception in the Exile, 5-9pm • Saturday Kink

with DJ Chris Adam in the Main Bar, 9pm-close • $5 Cover • BOUND and DC SMACK in the Exile, 10pm-close • Serving until 3am 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 • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Freddie’s Follies Drag Show, hosted by Miss Destiny B. Childs, 8-10pm • Karaoke, 10pm-close GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $5 Bacardi, all flavors, all night long • JOX: The GL Underwear Party, 9pm-close • Music by DJs Chaim, UltraPup, and Pup Phoenix • $8 Cover (includes clothes check)

SHAW’S TAVERN 520 Florida Ave. NW 202-518-4092 www.shawstavern.com TRADE 1410 14th St. NW 202-986-1094 www.tradebardc.com ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS 1824 Half St. SW 202-863-0670 www.ziegfelds.com

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 playing pop music all night NUMBER NINE Doors open 2pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5 Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close • Jawbreaker: Music of the ’90s and 2000s, featuring VJs BacK2bACk, 10pm PITCHERS Open Noon-3am • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 2am SHAW’S TAVERN Brunch with $16 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 • Noche Latina, 11pm-2am • Food and Drink specials TRADE Doors open 2pm • XL Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass is served in an XL glass for the same price, 2-10pm • Beer and wine only $5

ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS Men of Secrets upstairs, 9pm-close • Fully nude male dancers • Ladies of Illusion Drag Show with host Ella Fitzgerald in Ziegfeld’s • Doors open at 9pm, Show at 11:45pm • Music by DJs Keith Hoffman and Don T. • Cover 21+

Sunday, January 26 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 2pm-12am • $4 Smirnoff and Domestic Cans • Video Games • Live televised sports DC EAGLE Open at Noon • Happy Hour until 9pm • Food served 4-7pm, $10 a plate • Cigar Sundays and Cruisy Sundays • $3 off all Whiskeys & Bourbons, $5 Chivas Regal, $15 bottomless Bud/Bud Light, $20 Bottomless Premium Drafts • Serving until 2am FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Fabulous Sunday Champagne Brunch, 10am-3pm • $24.99 with four glasses of champagne or mimosas, 1 Bloody Mary, or coffee, soda or juice • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Gayborhood Piano Bar Night, hosted by John Flynn, 5-8:30pm • Karaoke, 9pm-close GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Karaoke with Kevin downstairs, 9:30pm-close

NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Drag Brunch, hosted

by Chanel Devereaux, 10:30am-12:30pm and 1-3pm • Tickets on sale at nelliessportsbar.com • House Rail Drinks, Zing Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer and Mimosas, $4, 11am-1am • Buckets of Beer, $15 • Guest DJs NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5 Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close • Multiple TVs showing movies, shows, sports • Expanded craft beer selection • Pop Goes the World with Wes Della Volla at 9:30pm • No Cover PITCHERS Open Noon-2am • $4 Smirnoff, includes flavored, $4 Coors Light or $4 Miller Lites, 2-9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm SHAW’S TAVERN Brunch with $16 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 and Drag with Miss Kristina Kelly, 8pm • No Cover • For reservations, email shawsdinnerdragshow@gmail.com TRADE Doors open 2pm • XL Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass is served in an XL

glass for the same price, 2-10pm • Beer and wine only $5

Monday, January 27 DC EAGLE Manic Mondays • Food served, 2-6pm • Happy Hour until 9pm, $2 off all drinks • Free Pool play • $2 Bud & Bud Lights, $15 bottomless premium drafts FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Singles Night • Half-Priced Pasta Dishes • 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 SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail

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Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Shaw ‘Nuff Trivia, 7:30pm

FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Taco Tuesday • Karaoke, 9pm

TRADE Doors open 5pm • XL Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass is served in an XL glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $5

GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $3 rail cocktails and domestic beers all night long • Tito’s Tuesday: $5 Tito’s Vodka all night

Tuesday, January 28 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports DC EAGLE 2-4-1 Tuesdays • All Drinks, Buy one, Get one free • First Drink Free for Guys in Jockstraps

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NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer $15 • Drag Bingo with Sasha Adams and Brooklyn Heights, 7-9pm • Karaoke, 9pm-close NUMBER NINE Open at 5pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover

• Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 11pm 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 • Schitt’s Creek Watch Party, 9pm TRADE Doors open 5pm • XL Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass is served in an XL glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $5

PITCHERS Open 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games

JANUARY 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

Wednesday, January 29 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports DC EAGLE Happy Hour until 9pm • Karaoke by D&K Sounds from 9pm-1am • $4 Rails, Wines & Domestic Drafts 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 • Karaoke, 9pm NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR SmartAss Trivia Night, 8-10pm • Prizes include bar tabs and tickets to shows at the 9:30 Club • Absolutely Snatched Drag Show, hosted by Brooklyn Heights, 9pm • $3 Bud Light, $5 Absolut, $15 Buckets of Beer 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 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 and Karaoke, 8pm TRADE Doors open 5pm • XL Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass is served in an XL glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $5 • Women’s Crush Wednesday: A Monthly Happy Hour for LBT women/Non-GenderConforming/Nonbinary Folx who enjoy the company of women, 5-10pm

Thursday, January 30 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-2am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything

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until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports DC EAGLE Happy Hour until 9pm • After 9pm, $4 Rail and Domestics for guys in L.U.R.E. (Leather, Uniform, Rubber, Etc.) • Lights Dimmed at 8pm • No Cover FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm-close GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Shirtless Thursday, 10-11pm • Men in Underwear Drink Free, 12-12:30am • DJs BacK2bACk NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • $15 Buckets of Bud Products all night • Sports Leagues Night

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NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover • ThurSlay, featuring DJ Jack Rayburn, 10pm 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 • Thirst Trap Thursdays, hosted by Venus Valhalla, 11pm-12:30am • Featuring a Rotating Cast of Drag Performers • Dancing until 1:30am 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 Bottles of Wine, 5pm-close

TRADE Doors open 5pm • XL Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass is served in an XL glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $5 ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS All male, nude dancers, 9pm-close • “New Meat” Open Dancers Audition • Music by DJ Don T. • Cover 21+

Friday, January 31 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-3am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports

JANUARY 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

DC EAGLE Meaty Fridays Happy Hour 5-9pm • Free Hot Dogs all night and Pizza at 7:30pm • $2 off all drinks until 9pm • DJ Popperz spins • $5 Cover starts at 7pm, $10 after 9pm • Birds of Prey Drag Show in the Exile at 10:30pm • $10 Cover • Open until 3am FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm-close GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $3 Rail and Domestic • $5 Svedka, all flavors all night long 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

NUMBER NINE Open 5pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover • Friday Night Piano with Chris, 7:30pm • Friday Night Videos, 9:30pm • Rotating DJs

TRADE Doors open 5pm • XL Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass is served in an XL glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $5 • Otter Happy Hour with guest DJs, 5-11pm

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

ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS Men of Secrets, 9pm • Guest dancers • Rotating DJs • Kristina Kelly’s Diva Fev-ah Drag Show • Doors at 9pm, Shows at 11:45pm • Music by DJ Jeff Eletto • Cover 21+ l

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 • Live Music with Luke James Shaffer, 9pm

For more specials not featured in print, visit www.metroweekly.com/ nightlife/drink_specials.

DJs spinning bubbly pop music all night

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LastWord.

People say the queerest things

“Overall, in terms of the way that film was received it was too early. It was like 10 years too early, I guess, and it completely ended my career.”

— Actor HARRY HAMLIN, speaking to “It Happened in Hollywood,” a podcast produced by The Hollywood Reporter, about his iconic role in the 1982 movie Making Love. In the movie, Hamlin played a gay writer who has an affair with a married “straight” man exploring his sexuality.

“Homosexuals were wrongly maligned for centuries as perverts and deviants.

Modern left-wing gay people seem determined to keep up the public displays of debauchery that keep this stereotype alive.

”

— Washington Examiner writer BRAD POLUMBO, in an op-ed claiming that Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend promotes negative perceptions of the gay community. Polumbo called the event “disgusting,” saying it is “eminently harmful to gay progress and acceptance.”

“Bayard Rustin’s criminal prosecution and registration as a sex offender are part of a long, ugly history of society’s criminalization of gay men and LGBTQ people generally.”

— California State Sen. SCOTT WIENER, in a statement calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to posthumously pardon civil rights leader Bayard Rustin for a 1953 conviction for “vagrancy” for engaging in consensual sex with two white men, neither of whom were prosecuted for the same crime.

“[W]e can make whatever choices we want. Unfortunately, we don’t always get to choose the consequences.”

— Idaho State Rep. BARBARA EHARDT (R), defending her decision to introduce a bill prohibiting transgender student-athletes from competing in sports based on their gender identity.

like a Mastercard or any other company — whether or not “I think an organization we march in a gay pride parade every day, the truth is, it’s like: what happens after the parade?”

— SHAMINA SINGH, the executive vice president of sustainability at Mastercard, speaking during a panel on LGBTQ inclusion in the workplace at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Singh suggested that if an LGBTQ person is working for a company that does not make them feel accepted, “you’re not working in the right place.”

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JANUARY 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

JANUARY 23, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

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