Running for Change: Sarah McBride - Metro Weekly - July 25, 2019

CONTENTS

July 25, 2019

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Volume 26 Issue 12

SEEKING ST. TITUSS

Tituss Burgess drops into the Kennedy Center with a fresh concert program and some fabulous friends.

By André Hereford

RUNNING FOR CHANGE Sarah McBride has spent her life fighting for others.

Now, she’s ready to take her political fight to the next level.

Interview by John Riley

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INTO THE SUNSET Quentin Tarantino offers a fascinating, pop culture-soaked paean to the sixties with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

By André Hereford

OUT ON THE TOWN p.10 WATERGATE WALK: THE NIXON BREAK-IN p.14 THE FEED: SINKING STONE p.19 THE FEED: LEGAL DIVA p.20 COMMUNITY CALENDAR p.21 GALLERY: MID-CENTURY MASTER p.31 FILM: THREE PEAKS p.33 STAGE: ALADDIN AT THE KENNEDY CENTER p.34 NIGHTLIFE: AVALON SATURDAYS p.37 NIGHTLIFE LISTINGS p.38 NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS p.39 SCENE: BEAR HAPPY HOUR AT UPROAR p.44 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 Illustrator Scott G. Brooks Contributing Writers Sean Maunier, Troy Petenbrink, Bailey Vogt, Kate Wingfield Webmaster David Uy Production Assistant Julian Vankim Sales & Marketing Publisher Randy Shulman National Advertising Representative Rivendell Media Co. 212-242-6863 Distribution Manager Dennis Havrilla Patron Saint Andrew S. Cray Cover Photography B Proud Metro Weekly 1775 I St. NW, Suite 1150 Washington, DC 20006 202-638-6830 All material appearing in Metro Weekly is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publishers. Metro Weekly assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials submitted for publication. All such submissions are subject to editing and will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Metro Weekly is supported by many fine advertisers, but we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers, nor can we accept responsibility for materials provided by advertisers or their agents. Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles or advertising in Metro Weekly is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such person or organization.

© 2019 Jansi LLC.

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JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

JEFF MILLS

Spotlight

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Tituss Burgess

ITUSS BURGESS, SERIOUS ACTOR, SINGER, AND writer, seems nothing at all like the voluble, extremely extroverted characters he’s gained much acclaim portraying. And his upcoming role in the comedy Dolemite Is My Name — opposite Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, and Wesley Snipes — probably won’t change people’s perceptions of the self-described introvert.

“Sometimes I think maybe I'll just do a reality TV show to show people just how boring I really am,” Burgess insists, although he understands that fans of his Emmy-nominated role as Titus Andromedon on four seasons of the Netflix comedy Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt might find that hard to believe. Tituss and Titus do both express themselves powerfully through song, and, not unexpectedly, Burgess also appreciates a good laugh.

“I think I have a unique way of seeing the world,” he says.

“But what people call my humor is me calling it the truth. I just sort of put it all out there — the good, bad, and ugly.”

Burgess puts it all out there, with attitude, wit, and heart, in his new pop-rock song “45,” the lead single off his six-track EP, St. Tituss. “[The album tackles] some very personal things that I've experienced,” he says. “I kind of bare it all and talk about everything, from government to homophobia. And I got a chance to perform a bit of an exorcism on myself writing it.

Hopefully I'll get to do that on stage singing it.”

While the lyrics and video for “45” reference the nation’s “nosedive” from Obama to Trump, Burgess clarifies that the song isn’t about bashing our present POTUS. “[It’s] about a call to action for all Americans to make sure that we treat each other as humanely as possible. I suppose, in a way, that is the beginning of my would-be stomping of the grounds and trying to raise awareness of how poorly we treat each other in America. The land of the free, the home of the brave.”

Burgess will raise awareness further in his Kennedy Center concert appearance this Saturday, July 27, alongside special guest Jane Krakowski, his costar from Kimmy Schmidt and fellow Broadway vet. The pair share buzzy onscreen comedic chemistry, so Krakowski should lend ideal support. With plans to take on jazz, soul, pop, Broadway, and Motown, Burgess teases there will be additional surprises and guests, including Charl Brown, Tony-nominated star of Motown the Musical.

Burgess does not plan to premiere new songs off St. Tituss, but he promises an evening full of humor. “I get to do some songs that I've always wanted to do, that I've never done before, and work with some people that I love, who I've known for years. It's going to be a big old love fest and smorgasbord for the ears.” —André Hereford

Tituss Burgess in Concert with Special Guest Jane Krakowski is Saturday, July 27, at the Kennedy Center, Concert Hall.

Tickets are $29-99. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

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Spotlight JOHN SCOTT DANCE: CUNNINGHAM CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

Works by the modern dance pioneer Merce Cunningham take the focus of this program featuring an internationally acclaimed dance company as well as a crew of local dancers.

Presented by Dance Place in collaboration with the Kennedy Center, the celebration features Ireland’s John Scott Dance performing works by its namesake founder as well as three early Cunningham pieces: Totem Ancestor, Night Wandering, and a solo from Second Hand. Saturday, July 27, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, July 28, at 7 p.m. Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Theater, 3225 8th St. NE. Tickets are $25 in advance, or $30 at the door. Call 202-269-1600 or visit www.danceplace.org.

THE FEW

DAVID LEWIS

A drama from playwright Samuel D. Hunter (A Bright New Boise) set in an Idaho town where residents are struggling to connect, relate, and make sense of it all. Baakari Wilder plays a man returning after a few years away, Dawn Thomas Reidy plays his friend and former lover, and Andrew Flurer a newcomer who complicates his future in a changed town. Audrey Cefaly, Ira Joe Fisher, Michael Grenham, and Zach BrewsterGeisz also lend their voiceover talents to this production from Maryland’s Unexpected Stage.

To Aug. 4. Fireside Room in the River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation building, 6301 River Rd., Bethesda. Tickets are $10 to $29.50. Call 301-337-8290 or visit www.unexpectedstage.org.

REBA MCENTIRE

One of country’s top-selling and most influential female artists takes a break from her long-running Las Vegas residency to perform at Wolf Trap. The LGBTQ rights and marriage equality supporter will sing from her bounty of hits with perhaps a nod to her past work on Broadway in Annie Get Your Gun. Sunday, July 28. Gates at 6:30 p.m. The Filene Center at Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $45 to $125.

Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit www.wolftrap.org.

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JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

Spotlight LOONEY TUNES

Every Saturday and Sunday morning over the next six weeks the AFI Silver Theatre screens a different 45-minute program featuring selections of Warner Bros.’ classic cartoons starring the Looney Tunes gang — Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn, Sylvester, Tweety, and more. Program 1 kicks things off this Saturday, July 27, and Sunday, July 28, at 11 a.m.

8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring.

Tickets are $5. Call 301-495-6720 or visit www.afi.com/Silver.

Funk’s The Book of Pride: LGBTQ Heroes Who Changed the World consists of detailed interviews with 75 queer individuals who witnessed or participated in the gay rights movement over the past 50 years, including instrumental figures such as marriage equality pioneer Evan Wolfson, trans icon Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, Stonewall-era rabblerouser and veteran LGBTQ publisher Mark Segal, and anti-Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell activist Grethe Cammermeyer. The details come from OutWords (www.theoutwordsarchive.org), billed as the first national effort to capture, via on-camera, first-person interviews, the stories of LGBTQ pioneers and elders, and to ensure that their work and efforts are not erased or lost to history. Thursday, Aug. 1, at 6:30 p.m. Kramerbooks, 1517 Connecticut Ave. NW. Call 202-387-1400 or visit www.kramers.com.

LEANNA CREEL

MASON FUNK

TERESA CASTRACANE

TIGER STYLE!

An outrageous and cutting satire of AsianAmerican identity, Mike Lew’s latest work closes out the current season at Olney Theatre Center in a production helmed by Helen Hayes Award-winning director Natsu Onoda Power. Regina Aquino and Sean Sekino star as third-generation Chinese-Americans, affluent Millennial siblings who face something of a late-adolescent identity crisis that leads them to try their hand at living in the motherland.

To Aug. 18. Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, Md. Call 301924-3400 or visit www.olneytheatre.org.

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Out On The Town

KATHY GRIFFIN: A HELL OF A STORY

Two years ago, the Emmy- and Grammy-winning comedy queen and TV celebrity suffered a mighty fall after releasing a photo of her holding a bloodied prop resembling the head of President Trump. The documentary shows the hell she went through and all that she lost as a result of that controversial antic, and the globe-spanning comedy tour she embarked on that reignited her star. A hit at its debut during Austin’s SXSW Film Festival earlier this year, Fathom Events and TCM’s Big Screen Classics premieres the documentary at a nationwide screening next week that includes a live, exclusive, post-screening Q&A with Griffin. Wednesday, July 31, at 8 p.m., at various Regal venues, including Gallery Place (701 7th St. NW), Potomac Yards Stadium (3575 Jefferson Davis Highway), and Majestic Stadium (900 Ellsworth Dr., Silver Spring).

Visit www.fathomevents.com.

Compiled by Doug Rule

FILM CABARET

After Chicago, this Weimar Republic-set musical is Kander and Ebb’s most popular. Only a few numbers from the original stage score made the cut in Bob Fosse’s 1972 cinematic take, starring Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli, replaced with new ones written by the composers. Cabaret returns for two nights on the big screen as one of the first offerings in a two-month series at the AFI Silver Theatre titled “The New Hollywood” and focused on the new, disruptive generation of Hollywood filmmakers and stars who emerged between 1969 and 1979 — everyone from Francis Ford Coppola to Jack Nicholson to Steven Spielberg — and revitalized the studio system on their own terms, with baby boomer appeal.

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Other titles in the series include Easy Rider, The Godfather, Jaws, Taxi Driver, and Alien. Saturday, July 27, at 7:15 p.m., and Thursday, Aug. 1, at 7:20 p.m. 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $13 general admission. Call 301-4956720 or visit www.afi.com/Silver.

LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME

Hailed by Variety as “a rich canvas of the Roaring ’20s, with gutsy and excellent performances,” this 1955 musical from Metro-GoldwynMayer starring James Cagney as a vicious, controlling, small-time Chicago criminal who discovers a struggling nightclub dancer played

by Doris Day and proceeds to help her become a hit jazz singer and movie star — as well as his wife. A fictionalized account of the reallife Ruth Etting, aka “America’s sweetheart of song” circa the 1920s and 1930s, Love Me Or Leave Me returns to the big screen as part of the Capital Classics series at

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Landmark’s West End Cinema.

Wednesday, July 31, at 1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 p.m. 2301 M St. NW. Happy hour from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $12.50. Call 202-534-1907 or visit www.landmarktheatres.com.

RA XTRA: QUEER JAPAN

A kaleidoscopic documentary focused on the LGBTQ community in Japan, celebrating the work of queer activists, artists, performers, producers, and politicians, as well as showing the everyday triumphs and struggles they face. Graham Kolbeins’ English-subtitled documentary screens as the next offering in Reel Affirmations’ monthly series. Thursday, July 25, at 7 p.m.

Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Tickets are $14. Call 202-452-7672 or visit www.thedccenter.org.

SEA OF SHADOWS

Billed as “a riveting new documentary with the intensity of a

Hollywood thriller,” the National Geographic production was an audience favorite at Sundance.

The focus is on a team of scientists, conservationists, journalists, and undercover agents, along with the Mexican Navy, who risk their lives to save the last remaining vaquita porpoise on Earth. This most elusive and endangered whale is threatened along with virtually all marine life in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez as a result of the joint efforts of Mexican drug cartels and Chinese traffickers to poach the rare totoaba fish. Sea of Shadows is another documentary eco-thriller from Austrian director/cinematographer Richard Ladkani (Netflix’s The Ivory Game) with Leonardo DiCaprio as an executive producer.

Opens Friday, July 26. Landmark’s E Street Cinema (555 11th St. NW) and Bethesda Row Cinema (7235 Woodmont Ave.). Visit www.landmarktheatres.com.

THE FAREWELL

Awkwafina stars as a Chinese-born, U.S.-raised character who reconnects with her extended family and rediscovers her birthplace on a visit to Changchun to attend a family wedding. The trip is ultimately a rouse to see and smother with love her grandmother, who everyone knows has been given mere weeks to live — everyone, that is, except for the matriarch herself. A funny, uplifting dramedy from writer/ director Lulu Wang (Posthumous) billed as “a richly moving story of how family can unite and strengthen us, often in spite of ourselves.” In English and Mandarin with English subtitles. Opens Friday, July 26. Area theaters. Visit www.fandango.com.

THE MATRIX

The AFI Silver Theatre co-presents a free summer outdoor film series at nearby Sonny’s Green, where patrons can bring blankets and lowrise chairs as well as their own food and beverages. The series continues Friday, July 26, with a 20th anniversary screening of The Matrix. The series continues on Friday, Aug. 2, with Wes Anderson’s stop-motion-animated masterpiece Isle of Dogs, billed as a “BYOD (Bring Your Own Dog) Edition,” albeit one where “dogs must remain on a leash at all times.” Screenings begin at sundown, around 8 p.m. Off the parking lot of the Blairs Shopping

Center, 1290 East-West Highway.

Call 301-495-6720 or visit www.afi. com/Silver.

THE MUPPET MOVIE

Jim Henson’s creations first took to the silver screen in this 1979 caper in which Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, and Miss Piggy lead a road trip to Hollywood with appearances from a “veritable who’s who of 1970s pop culture”: Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahn, Steve Martin, Dom DeLuise, Carol Kane, Richard Pryor, and Bob Hope. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the film, which was directed by James Frawley and spawned the famous song “Rainbow Connection,” Fathom Events brings the original back to screens nationwide on Tuesday, July 30, at 12:30 and 7 p.m. Various Regal venues, including Gallery Place (701 7th St. NW), Potomac Yards Stadium (3575 Jefferson Davis Highway), and Majestic Stadium (900 Ellsworth Dr., Silver Spring). Visit www.fathomevents.com.

THE PARENT TRAP

The 5th annual Georgetown Sunset Cinema carries the theme “Out of Office,” with a five-week run of tripthemed movies as voted on by the public. Next up is the hit remake of a romantic dramedy that introduced the world to Lindsay Lohan, who won critical praise taking on the dual role of separated-at-birth

twins originally played by Hayley Mills in 1961. This 1998 version was directed by Nancy Meyers and co-written by Meyers, producer Charles Shyer, and the original’s director and screenwriter David Swift. The screening takes place on the grassy knoll along the banks of the Potomac River, with the panoramic Key Bridge as backdrop.

Everyone is encouraged to bring a blanket, food and water or soft drinks — just no chairs or alcohol.

Tuesday, July 30, in Georgetown Waterfront Park, near the intersection of Water Street and Cecil Place NW. The area opens at 6:30 p.m., and the screening starts at sunset, around 8:30 p.m. Call 202-298-9222 or visit www.georgetowndc.com/ sunsetcinema.

UNION MARKET DRIVE-IN: JAWS

Union Market’s monthly DriveIn Series continues in its seventh season with Steven Spielberg’s 1975 thriller about a great white shark, which remains one of the most notable monster movies of all time — not least because, as the first (unwitting) summer blockbuster, it helped transform Hollywood into an industry dependent on summer mega-hits (George Lucas sealed the deal two years later with Star Wars). Jaws earns its scares by rarely and barely showing us the killer shark. The opening, in which a young swimmer is vicious-

Capital Fringe Festival - www.capitalfringe.org

ly attacked by an unseen assailant, ranks with Psycho’s shower scene as one of cinema’s most intense moments — one magnified by the iconic two-note ostinato that won composer John Williams an Oscar for Best Score. You don’t have to drive a car to partake in the experience, as you can just nab a viewing spot in the free picnic area.

Food and beer are available from market vendors and neighboring merchants. The DC Rollergirls will also be on hand to sell and deliver candy. Remaining films to screen on first Fridays this summer include Coco, and The Wiz. Friday, Aug. 2, with screening starting at 8:45 p.m.

In the parking lot at Union Market, 1309 5th St. NE. Free for walk-ups or $15 per car. Call 800-680-9095 or visit www.unionmarketdc.com (Randy Shulman).

STAGE A PEOPLE’S HISTORY

Rather than perform just one show as part of a new partnership with Capital Fringe, the provocative stage monologist Mike Daisey, known to Woolly Mammoth audiences for 2016’s The Trump Card and 2011’s The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, is currently performing 18 full-length monologues — nearly one per show during the 21-date run of this production from Capital

easy walking distance of one another. Although festival organizers have curated a few professional shows it will officially present, most Fringe shows are selected through an unjuried, open-invitation process — first-come, first-staged — with works largely created and produced by new or relatively inexperienced theatermakers. And a remarkable 19 out of this year’s 89 productions are billed as having LGBTQ content, including: Sara Emsley’s lesbian space adventure Dust, the experiences of a Filipino-American father and son in Emil Amok! All Pucked Up: Harvard, NPR and more, Nicole Cox’s values-clashing political drama Office of the Speaker, Shaun Johnson’s personal tale about overcoming a difficult childhood with Veneer of Beauty, and sex educator Twanna A. Hines’ We’re All Going to Fucking Die! Shows run in staggered repertory through July 28. Tickets are $20 per show, and multi-show passes range from $72 to $500. Call 866-811-4111 or visit www.capitalfringe.org.

MAGGIE O’NEILL: LET’S PLAY

There’s a lot happening at the Rooftop at Union Market, which has been designed as a new community space by its developer and operator, EDENS. In addition to a 700seat stadium where celebrity members of the Washington Kastles play select games and fans get sweeping views of the action and the Washington cityscape, there’s a one-day experiential, interactive solo exhibit featuring 30 pieces of the D.C.-based artist and designer Maggie O’Neill’s original artwork and merchandise inspired by bingo, ice cream, roller skates, and disco, displayed alongside activities meant to bring to life some of the paintings. A centerpiece of Let’s Play is a life-size bingo game board, on which 75 participants, over the course of three rounds, will play to win limited-edition prints by O’Neill as well as gift certificates to local favorite merchants, including modern Afghan bistro Lapis and the coffee and craft cocktails establishment Lapop. The event also features live music, a roller skate raffle, and food and drink available for purchase from Taco Bamba and other Union Market vendors. The co-founder of the Dupont Circle creative design firm Swatchroom, O’Neill has been working with materials from the classic game as a medium for her artwork for several years, as well as hosting bingo events at her studio and engaging through the game with patients at Children’s National hospital. A portion of art sales from the event will benefit the medical center. Sunday, July 28, from 6 to 9 p.m. 1309 5th St. NE. Free and open to the public, though RSVP recommended; bingo rounds are first-come, first-play. Call 800-680-9095 or visit www.letsplay2019.eventbrite.com.

Fringe. Daisey confronts “the legacy of our nation, our complicity, our responsibility, and the future.”

To July 28. The Cradle in Arena Stage’s Mead Center for American Theater, 1101 6th St. SW. Tickets are $35 for each theatergoer’s first performance, $20 for any subsequent performance. Fringe Festival passes not applicable to this production.

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Call 202-488-3300 or visit www. arenastage.org.

CAPITAL FRINGE FESTIVAL

Southwest D.C. once again serves as the hub for this year’s Capital Fringe, with seven stages set up at venues throughout the neighborhood, including Arena Stage and several area churches — all within

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GREASE

Go for a drive up to Columbia if you’d like to go back in time — all the way back to the 1950s — for Toby’s Dinner Theatre’s production of Grease, the hit musical circa 1971 by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical-writing duo set the show in a mid-20th century American high school — one where even cool kids can’t resist breaking out into the sing-along fun of such hit staples as “Summer Nights,” “You’re The One That I Want,” and “Hopelessly Devoted to You.” Mark Minnick directs and choreographs a that stars Matt Hirsh as Danny and Nicki Elledge as Sandy. To July 28. 5900 Symphony Woods Rd. Columbia, Md. Tickets are $47.50 to $63, including buffet-style dinner and coffee and tea. Call 301-596-6161 or visit www.tobysdinnertheatre.com.

LADYM

Winner of the 2016 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company, the Welders Playwrights’ Collective features a team of emerging local playwrights who collaborate to produce one original show from each member over the course of three years. Now in its final year, the second generation of the collective offers a devised work created by Rachel Hynes and Francesca Chilcote, described as part incantation, part mystery, and part interactive comedy show. Based on interviews with women in D.C. sharing their attitudes toward menstruation, LadyM features three witches making a potion, casting a spell, and sending audiences down a rabbit hole of poetry, horror, ambition, and blood. Drawing on Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the result is billed as a “grotesque comedy [and] highly stylized, absurdist, and radical femi-

nist bloodbath.” Hynes and Chilcote star along with Deidre Staples, Anastasia Wilson, and Vanita Kalra. To July 27. Joe’s Movement Emporium, 3309 Bunker Hill Road, Mount Rainier, Md. Tickets are $18 to $30. Call 301-699-1819 or visit www.joesmovement.org.

LOVE SEX & MARRIAGE: THE STAGE PLAY

Darrin is a rising music superstar who is being encouraged, even compelled, to stay in the closet by management at his homophobic music label — ultimately forcing him to choose between doing what he loves (music) and who he loves (his boyfriend Ken). Writer/ Director/Producer Tre Floyd originally developed Love Sex & Marriage as a web series through his new media production company Elevating Voices, LLC. With a mission of giving “a voice to black LGBT characters through authentic and innovative stories,” Elevating Voices aims to show the diversity of the black gay experience as well as to bridge the gap between gay and straight African-American audiences. Currently on a short, multi-city national tour, the show stops in the D.C. area for two performances but one night only. Friday, Aug. 2, at 6:30 and 9 p.m. Silver Spring Black Box Theatre, 8641 Colesville Road.

Tickets are $30 to $50. Visit www. trefloyd.com.

MATILDA THE MUSICAL

Adapted by Dennis Kelly from Roald Dahl’s book of the same name, the Olivier- and Tony-winning show, with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, centers on a precocious young girl discovering her magical powers while also coming to the realization that ours is a cruel world full of dastardly people. If only she could think of some way to change things.... You’re apt to like this show even more if you see it with kids — or at least kids at heart. Although in the hands of director Peter Flynn, fresh from his wry and whimsical Into The Woods at Ford’s Theatre, adults should find some joy, if not magic, in the Olney Theatre production. The sharp local cast is worth noting too, including Felicia Curry, Rayanne Gonzales, Tracy Lynn Olivera, Michael Mainwaring, and Tom Story as — what else? — a villain in drag. Extended to July 28.

Mainstage, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, Md. Call 301-924-3400 or visit www.olneytheatre.org.

THE BAND’S VISIT

Last year’s Tony-winning musical, scooping up a near-record 10 statues, celebrates the deeply human ways music, longing, and laughter connects us all. Featuring Grammywinning music and lyrics by David Yazbek and a book by Itamar Moses, The Band’s Visit, based on the 2007 Israeli film of the same name, is a joyously offbeat story set in a

town that’s way off the beaten path, where a band of musicians pop up out of the blue. The cast of performers in the touring production is led by Israeli actor Sasson Gabay, reprising his role from the film as well as the Broadway production (as Tony Shalhoub’s replacement), and also includes Chilina Kennedy, best known from her turn in the title role of the Broadway hit Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. To Aug. 4. Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $45 to $149.

Call 202-467-4600 or visit www. kennedy-center.org.

world,” touts the Official ABBA Fan Club. Featuring two original members of the Swedish pop group’s rhythm section, “ABBA - The Concert” is about as close as we may ever get to a performance by the actual band — not counting the digital avatars, dubbed “abbatars,” that have been developed and expected to make their debut “performing” in a TV special later this year. Sunday, Aug. 4. Gates at 6:30 p.m. The Filene Center at Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap Rd., Vienna. Tickets are $30 to $60. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit wolftrap.org.

THE CAT IN THE HAT

He’s headlined multiple concerts at Nationals Park since the ballpark opened a decade ago. And in 2014, the “Piano Man” started playing one show a month at New York’s Madison Square Garden, making him the venue’s first-ever music franchise. Surprisingly, Joel has never played at the famous home stadium for the Baltimore Orioles.

Even more surprisingly, apparently no one else has either. That changes next Friday, July 26, when Joel offers what is billed as the first-ever concert at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Presented by LiveNation, the Orioles Charitable Foundation will donate a portion of the concert proceeds to support music and arts education programs for kids across the Major League team’s territory. The sixth best-selling recording artist of all time and the third best-selling solo artist, Joel is also responsible for a whopping 33 Top 40 hits — or, too many to pack into just one concert. The show starts at 8 p.m. 333 W. Camden St., Baltimore. Only “Verified Resale Tickets” remain, ranging from $177 to $1,000.01. Call 888-848-BIRD or visit www.livenation.com.

A rainy day is turned into a miraculous, mayhem-filled adventure in an adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic imported from across the pond, via the National Theatre of Great Britain. The theater for young audiences production out at Adventure Theatre-MTC in Glen Echo Park is directed by Adam Immerwahr, who has become known for works that are far more serious and adult in his day job as the artistic director of Theater J. Surely The Cat in the Hat is a nice change of pace, maybe even allowing him, to paraphrase from the late Mr. Geisel’s book, “good fun that is funny.” To Aug. 18. 7300 MacArthur Blvd. Call 301-634-2270 or visit www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org.

TREASURE ISLAND

Virginia’s Synetic closes out its season with a high seas adventure full of pirates. The original adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel of the same name is the latest caper from a physical theater-focused company that’s made its name producing wordless variations on classics, particularly those by Shakespeare. Synetic’s impressive crew of athletic actors will bring to life the coming-of-age tale focused on the orphan Jane Hawkins and a ruthless band of buccaneers on a wild hunt for buried treasure. To Aug. 18. 1800 South Bell St., Arlington. Tickets are $35 to $60. Call 800-811-4111 or visit www.synetictheater.org.

MUSIC 1964: THE TRIBUTE

A four-piece band with a self-titled PBS special to its credit and acclaim from Rolling Stone as “the best Beatles tribute ever,” the popular 1964: The Tribute returns for another area show channeling the vibe of the Fab Four’s early ’60s concerts, from the instruments to clothing to onstage banter. Sunday, Aug. 4, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria.

Tickets are $35. Call 703-549-7500 or visit www.birchmere.com.

ABBA - THE CONCERT

“The best ABBA tribute band in the

BILLY JOEL

CHERISH THE LADIES

Formed over thirty years ago as a means to showcase the brightest female musicians in the male-dominated Irish-American folk scene, this group took its name from a traditional Irish jig. Joanie Madden, on flute and tin whistle, leads the group of multi-instrumentalists including Mary Coogan, Mirella Murray, Grainne Murphy, Deirdre Connolly, and Kathleen Boyle, and accompanied by step dancers.

Sunday, Aug. 4, at 3 and 7 p.m. Amp

by Strathmore, 11810 Grand Park Ave. North Bethesda. Tickets are $25 to $35. Call 301-581-5100 or visit www.ampbystrathmore.com.

CREATIVE CAULDRON’S SUMMER CABARET SERIES

The 10th annual summer cabaret series at ArtSpace Falls Church continues with the show “Piano Man” in which Chis Urquiaga performs original tunes as well as pop piano classics, on Friday, July 26, followed by Katie McManus in “My So-Called (Mid)Life,” a swing

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through showtunes, pop, and jazz standards accompanied by Elisa Rosman, on Friday, Aug. 2, at 8 p.m., and a tribute to Nat King Cole from acclaimed local jazz pianist/ vocalist Mark G. Meadows with fellow vocalist Danielle Wertz, on Saturday, Aug. 3, at 8 p.m. All shows at 8 p.m. Series runs to Sept. 14. 410 South Maple Ave. in Falls Church.

Tickets are $18 to $22 per show, or $60 for a table for two with wine and $120 for four with wine.

Call 703-436-9948 or visit www. creativecauldron.org.

JAZZ IN THE GARDEN

WATERGATE WALK

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A local group gives a guided tour of the 1972 break-in that brought down a presidency.

N JUNE 17, 1972, FIVE MEN WERE CAUGHT BREAKING INTO THE DEMOCRATIC National Committee’s offices at D.C.’s Watergate hotel, setting in motion a series of events that would lead to impeachment proceedings against President Richard M. Nixon and his eventual resignation from the Oval Office two years later. To commemorate the 47th anniversary of the burglary, Washington, D.C. History & Culture will hold a guided walking tour of the major historical landmarks involved in the scandal.

“The reason the tour came about is actually the same way a lot of our other programs did: there isn’t anybody else doing anything like this,” says Robert Kelleman, the nonprofit’s founder. “I think most people have a basic understanding of what happened at the Watergate, but when you can actually go down there and see the actual break-in site, and kind of see how everything played out, it’s a lot more impactful than just reading the book or watching All the President’s Men.” The tour typically draws a diverse group of people of all ages and professions. Kelleman is surprised at how many people in their 20s — particularly graduate students studying law, criminal justice, or journalism — and tourists from overseas sign up for the tour.

“We get a lot of people from China, and Japan, and Russia, and France, and Great Britain,” he says. “They come, and they have a lot of questions. It’s interesting, because even though they're not born here, they’re actually really well-versed in it.”

The tour costs $8 per person, with proceeds going to keep some of Washington, D.C. History & Culture’s other events, such as its Underground Railroad walking tour, free of charge.

One thing attendees won’t get from Kelleman is commentary on the current political situation. “Sometimes people come, they want to know how this relates to the President Trump situation. I’m an independent. And so, what I tell people is, ‘Listen, I’m just here to lay out the facts.’

“If you’re a Democrat, you're probably going to think this is exactly the same thing as the Watergate. If you're a Republican, you're probably going to think not at all. So I’m just going to tell you what happened, and you can draw your own conclusions.” —John Riley Washington, D.C. History & Culture’s Watergate Break In/All the President’s Men guided walking tour is Friday, Aug. 2 from 6-8 p.m. Meet at the Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro stop, 2301 I St. NW. Tickets are $8 and are available at www.eventbrite.com.

Search Watergate under events in Washington, D.C. 14

JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

A summertime staple for 19 seasons, the National Gallery of Art offers free outdoor concerts immediately after work every Friday through late August. Bands offering a range of jazz styles, from swing to Latin to ska, perform amidst the museum’s collection of large-scale sculptural works while patrons enjoy food and drinks, including beer, wine, and sangria, as sold by the Pavilion Café. New menu items for 2019 include the popular vegetarian Teriyaki Impossible Burger, a Bahn Mi Turkey Burger with ginger soy aioli, and more traditional sandwiches of pulled pork and beef brisket, all available at grill stations throughout the Sculpture Garden.

The series continues with Incendio, the 20-year-old instrumental world guitar band featuring Jim Stubblefield, Jean-Pierre Durand, Liza Carbé, and Timothy Curle, on July 26, and Cincinnati’s eclectic pan-Caribbean, pan-American Latin dance outfit Son Del Caribe on Aug. 2. Evenings from 5 to 8:30 p.m.

Sculpture Garden, between 7th and 9th Streets NW. Call 202-289-3360 or visit www.nga.gov.

MISS TESS & THE TALKBACKS

The Maryland-reared daughter of swing band musicians performs with her band original retro diner-esque jazzy/folky pop tunes for a free hometown show, on the lawn outside of the Strathmore mansion and part of the venue’s free weekly summer series. Wednesday, July 31, starting at 7 p.m. Gudelsky Gazebo, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda. Tickets are free. Call 301581-5100 or visit strathmore.org.

NSO SUMMER MUSIC INSTITUTE ORCHESTRA

Approximately 70 students from around the world conclude four weeks of rehearsals, lessons, and enrichment courses led by National Symphony Orchestra musicians as part of this annual festival held at the Kennedy Center. These students, all aspiring orchestra players between the ages of 15 and 20, will demonstrate their abilities as well as what they learned in a concert, conducted by the NSO’s Principal Horn player Abel Pereira, centered on a performance of Brahms’ Symphony No. 1. The winner of the

SMI concerto finals competition will also perform. Sunday, July 28, at 6 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Free. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

SARAH MCLACHLAN WITH THE NSO POPS

Over the past decade this pet-rescuing Canadian crooner has been offering dramatically reimagined versions of her quiet-storm ballads in concerts with various American orchestras. The acclaimed singer-songwriter, also celebrated as the founder of the legendary Lilith Fair and Vancouver’s Sarah McLachlan School of Music, returns to the symphonic well next weekend with Sean O’Loughlin conducting the National Symphony Orchestra outside in the summer heat. Saturday, Aug. 3. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. The Filene Center at Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $40 to $90. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit www.wolftrap.org.

SCOTT BRADLEE’S POSTMODERN JUKEBOX

A rotating musical collective founded by the arranger and pianist Bradlee in 2009, PMJ became a YouTube sensation through amusing reworkings of recent pop and rock songs, sung in the style of vintage swing and jazz. Also including original tunes, this “traveling band of throwback minstrels” returns to the area on the “Welcome to the Twenties 2.0 Tour,” a year-long run of shows to help prepare fans for a new decade of music, chiefly by channeling the musical style birthed in the 1920s — namely, jazz.

As Bradlee puts it in the tour’s promotional materials: “Get ready for the most sensational ’20s party this side of The Great Gatsby.” Friday, Aug. 2, at 8 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets are $29 to $69, or $119 for VIP Package with premium seating and tour poster, $169 for VIP Package also including post-show Meet & Greet. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

SIGNATURE THEATRE’S SUMMER CABARET SERIES

Signature presents a cabaret series with seven different shows, most of them featuring musical actors known from productions at the Shirlington complex. The lineup includes Tony-nominated actress Melissa Errico (My Fair Lady) in “Sondheim Sublime,” drawn from her album of the same name, on Friday, July 26, at 8 p.m., and Saturday, July 27, at 2 and 8 p.m.; the Christie Dashiell Quartet, featuring its namesake Billboardcharting singer and pianist Mark G. Meadows, offering a salute to the band “Earth, Wind & Fire” on Sunday, July 28, at 2 and 7 p.m.; Erin Driscoll (Titanic), who “explores the evolution of the Broadway soprano” in “My Favorite Things”

on Wednesday, July 31, at 7:30 p.m.; Awa Sal Secka (Blackbeard, Jesus Christ Superstar) and Christian Douglas (United States Army Chorus) in “Two’s Company,” “a cabaret toast to dynamic duos,” on Thursday, Aug. 1, at 8 p.m.; Wesley Taylor, the gay star of Cabaret four years ago, in the personal romp through his life and career “Finally, A Show About Me,” on Friday, Aug. 2, at 8 p.m., and Saturday, Aug. 3, at 2 and 8 p.m.; and Joel Coleman, the lead vocalist of the Platters (“Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,” “Only You”), and his “No Boundaries” mix of songs that share “the soundtrack of his life,” on Sunday, Aug. 4, at 2 p.m.

The Ark at 4200 Campbell Ave., in Arlington. Tickets are $38 per show, or $175 for an All-Access pass. Call 703-820-9771 or visit www.sigtheatre.org.

SUMMER SPIRIT FESTIVAL

Previously billed as a “one-stop shop for a soulful good time,” this year’s festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion scales down from two days to one. Anthony Hamilton headlines a lineup featuring other, somewhat underrated R&B/soul acts, among them Jhené Aiko, Raphael Saadiq, and PJ Morton. Returning for another consecutive year are local go-go acts BackYard Band featuring Anwan Glover and Sirius & Company featuring Ms. Kim & Scooby. More homegrown go-go is represented via Be’la Dona feat.

Sugar Bear, while two up-and-coming acts round out the bill, the Drake-supported, ’90s-R&B-channeling duo DVSN and the 23-yearold falsetto crooner Kyle Dion.

Saturday, Aug. 3, starting at 2:30 p.m. 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, Md. Tickets are $60 to $250. Call 800-551-SEAT or visit www.merriweathermusic.com.

WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL PIANO FESTIVAL

Now in its 11th year, this weeklong festival — Washington’s first and only piano festival — attracts young aspiring concert pianists from all over the world for its intensive educational programs guided by host organization the Catholic University of America, or CUA — and also for the lure of significant public performance opportunities, including the rare chance to play the Kennedy Center. The performance schedule at CUA’s Ward Recital Hall (620 Michigan Ave. NE) includes: the Winners of the 34th International Young Artist Competition, on Monday, July 29, at 6:45 p.m.; the Winner of last year’s 5th CUA Piano Competition: Aisylu Salyakhova, on Tuesday, July 30, at 7:30 p.m.; the 6th CUA Piano Competition Final Round, on Friday, Aug. 2, at 6:30 p.m.; and a Recital and Award Ceremony featuring the Winners of the 6th CUA Piano Competition, on Saturday, Aug. 3, at 6:30 p.m. The week con-

JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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Opera Studio Artists singing in German with projected English translations. Remaining performance is Saturday, July 27, at 7:30 p.m. The Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $36.

Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit www. wolftrap.org.

DANCE MARYLAND YOUTH BALLET: CINDERELLA

MOSHE ZUSMAN

Repeat recipient of the Best School award from the leading ballet competition in the U.S., the Youth America Grand Prix, the Maryland Youth Ballet presents its latest production of a classic fairytale at Wolf Trap’s serene, kids-oriented amphitheater.

Friday, July 26, and Saturday, July 27, at 10:30 a.m. Theatre-In-TheWoods at Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $10. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit www. wolftrap.org.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE LIVE! 2019

PIZZERIA PARADISO

Next week ushers in two different promotions at the two newest offshoots of the acclaimed local pizza chain that chef Ruth Gresser first launched in Dupont Circle 28 years ago. First up is a drink special to toast the new patio at the pizzeria’s newest location in D.C.’s Spring Valley neighborhood (4850 Massachusetts Ave. NW; 202-885-9101). Starting at 11 a.m. on Monday, July 28, the one-year-old venue will serve Beer Floats for customers or stick to traditional root beer in which to float scoops of ice cream, at a cost of $8 for beer and $6 for root beer.

The month of July concludes with a reasonably priced three-course dinner special at the two-year-old Pizzeria Paradiso in Hyattsville (4800 Rhode Island Ave.; 240467-3210) — geared for those who want something other than pizza. Starting at 5 p.m. “until the food runs out” on Wednesday, July 31, “Momma Ruth” will be serving from the kitchen one of two salad options as a first course, followed by a main course of Herb Roasted Chicken Thighs with succotash and stewed tomatoes, Cod and Crab Cake with succotash and coleslaw, or Dry Rub Pork Shoulder with succotash and broccoli rabe. The special, priced at just $30 per person, concludes with your choice of dessert: tiramisu, chocolate almond cake, seasonal fruit pie, or Dolcezza push pop. Visit www.eatyourpizza.com for more details.

cludes with three free showcases: the Closing Concert of the 2019 WIPF Participants, on Monday, Aug. 5, at 10 a.m., at CUA, framed by two Selected WIPF Participants’ Concerts, on Sunday, Aug. 4, and Monday, Aug. 5, at 6 p.m., at the Kennedy Center. Tickets are $10 to $20 each for the non-free concerts at CUA. Call 202-290-5267 or visit www.washingtonpianofest.com.

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WOLF TRAP OPERA: STRAUSS’S ARIADNE AUF NAXOS

A new production of this soaring opera featuring the beautiful music of Richard Strauss and slapstick comedy from librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, performed simultaneously in a battle of “high” and “low” art based on a Molière comedy. Tara Faircloth directs the production with conductor Emily Senturia and a cast of Wolf Trap

JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

This fall, the hit Fox TV reality competition series offers its traditional post-season tour featuring the Top 10 finalists from the current 16th season — a list to be winnowed down over the next couple of weeks per episodes airing on Mondays at 9 p.m. Nevertheless, tickets will go on sale this Friday, July 26, starting at 10 a.m., for the tour, with stops in late October set for Virginia’s Hylton Performing Arts Center and Maryland’s MGM National Harbor. Directed by Raj Kapoor with Rita Maye Bland, the live show will feature the season’s most-popular routines plus original pieces created specifically for the tour, all overseen by Mandy Moore, the show’s star choreographer — not to be confused with the This Is Us actress and pop star of the same name. In addition to the Top 10, the lineup will also feature two of the show’s All-Stars, to be announced at a later date. Tuesday, Oct. 22, at 8 p.m. Merchant Hall, 10960 George Mason Circle, Manassas, Va. Tickets are $45 to $100. Call 703-993-7759 or visit www.hyltoncenter.org. Also Wednesday, Oct. 23, at 7:30 p.m. The Theater, 7100 Harborview Ave., Oxon Hill, Md. Call 844-346-4664 or visit www. mgmnationalharbor.com.

COMEDY DMV STAND-UP SHOWCASE

This weekend the DC Improv offers four showcases of local comedians presented in its smaller 64-seat lounge space, allowing you to “get up-close with the stars of tomorrow.” Winston Hodges, Alex Scott, and Ross Benoit appear both evenings, joined by Paris Sashay and Tony Woods on Friday, July 26,

and Ty Davis and Matt Brown on Saturday, July 27. Showtimes are 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. 1140 Connecticut Ave. NW. Tickets are $18 for Friday, $20 for Saturday, plus a two-item minimum. Call 202-296-7008 or visit www.dcimprov.com.

IMPROBABLE COMEDY: STAND-UP SILVER SPRING GOES MILITARY!

A showcase of talent from right in our own backyard, the latest from this Maryland-based presenting organization features an all military veterans-cast in a nod to the host venue and the 100th anniversary of the founding of the American Legion. The lineup includes Linette Palladino, Kandace Saunders, Pete Bergen, Stephanie Kline, and Che Rose. Saturday, July 27, at 8 p.m.

Cissel-Saxon American Legion Post 41, 8110 Fenton St., Silver Spring.

Tickets are $20 to $25. Call 301588-8937 or visit www.improbablecomedy.com.

PIFF THE MAGIC DRAGON

John Van der Put’s adopted stage name suits his act, as Piff sports a ludicrous, shiny dragon costume and performs with a sour-sweet bemused manner that is as unique as it is funny. He also performs his comedy magic show with his pet chihuahua, Mr. Piffles, outfitted in a matching dragon suit. “Magic has a strange effect on people,” Van der Put told Metro Weekly in an interview in 2017. “You go to Walmart, and the doors open all by themselves, and nobody ever goes, ‘Oh, my god!

How did they do that?!’ Then, on stage, you make something move without touching it, and people freak out.” Friday, July 26, and Saturday, July 27. Doors at 7 p.m. The State Theatre, 220 North Washington St., Falls Church. Tickets are $32 to $45.

Call 703-237-0300 or visit www. thestatetheatre.com.

THE SECOND CITY: AMERICA; IT’S COMPLICATED

The legendary comedic troupe from Chicago returns to the Kennedy Center for another allnew, made-for-Washington politically minded show mixing sketch comedy, improv, satire, and original music. Mary Catherine Curran, Cody Dove, Jillian Ebanks, Jordan Savusa, Adam Schreck, and Holly Walker are the featured players for America; It’s Complicated. To Aug. 11. Theater Lab. Tickets are $49 to $59. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

READINGS J. RYAN STRADAL

Next week, Solid State Books in the H Street Corridor offers a reading heads above the norm.

Stradal, a contributing editor at TASTE Magazine, will read from his new novel, The Lager Queen

of Minnesota, a followup to the Minnesota native’s bestselling debut Kitchens of the Great Midwest, and one exploring themes of family, fate, Midwestern values, and the secrets of making a worldclass beer. The only thing better than hearing and talking about beer is drinking it, of course. And those who come out for the reading will get to do just that, sampling Midwestern and Midwestern-style beers (if they’re of legal drinking age, that is). Wednesday, July 31, at 7 p.m. Solid State Books, 600 H St. NE. Call 897-4201 or visit www. solidstatebooksdc.com.

NEIL SHISTER

In the name of research this former journalist for Time and the Miami Herald and now professor of sociology at George Washington University participated in the summer desert festival Burning Man each of the last six years. Not surprisingly having drank the koolaid, as it were, the once-skeptical Shister came away from the experience a believer in Burning Man’s ability to change the world as “the vanguard of a crucial new social paradigm.” Through reporting and interviews with key figures, Radical Ritual: How Burning Man Changed the World highlights how the fesetival blends conservative ideals of self-reliance and accountability with progressive notions of inclu-

sion, consensual decision-making, and collaborative activity — or what he suggests is “a postmodern fusion of ’60s humanism and high-tech Digital Era magic.” Tuesday, July 30, at 7 p.m. Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Call 202-364-1919 or visit www.politics-prose.com.

ART & EXHIBITS BIENNIAL EXHIBITION OF THE CREATIVE CRAFTS COUNCIL

This 32nd biennial event showcases some of the finest crafts and craft makers from Maryland, Virginia, and D.C., including handmade jewelry, ceramics, textiles, and woodwork. To July 31. The Mansion at Strathmore, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda. Call 301-581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.

CONTRAST

Maryland’s visual arts gallery Pyramid Atlantic presents an inky and dark-hued show featuring the diverse artworks of three contemporary printmakers working in the intaglio style, which is the opposite of a relief print and most commonly seen today via paper or plastic currency, passports, and postage stamps. To develop his intaglio prints, New York’s Curt Belshe starts by taking photographs of figures that he then digitally sculpts

in 3D software before exposing the images to light-sensitive plates and creating etchings. Meanwhile, Jake Muirhead prints from hand-drawn etching into copper plates and his fellow Maryland-based artist Jenny Freestone works in a mix of styles including drypoint, etching, and gravure. When considered collectively, the prints on display from the three artists have “a velvety and mysterious quality.” Opening Reception is Friday, July 26, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Runs to Aug. 18. 4318 Gallatin St., Hyattsville, Md. Call 301-608-9101 or visit www.pyramidatlanticartcenter.org.

SUMMER INTERLUDE: A CELEBRATION OF COLOR

HOT!

The National Museum of Women in the Arts currently has on display monumental sculptures made from wood and other organic materials, including leather, silk, and hair, all created by this German artist with the intent of evoking the grandeur and power of nature. A wall installation and an additional nine works on paper are included in this, the most ambitious presentation of works to date by von Rydingsvard, one of the most influential sculptors working today. Mark Rosenthal formerly of the National Gallery of Art guest-curated the exhibition, which was organized by Philadelphia’s Fabric Workshop and Museum. On exhibit to July 28. 1250 New York Ave NW. Admission is $10. Call 202-783-5000 or visit www.nmwa.org.

The Focus Gallery of the Arlington Artists Alliance presents a group show featuring member artistic interpretations on the topical — and tropical — theme of summertime heat and humidity. The “sizzling artistry” — per the words of the organizers — will be on display in the air-conditioned comfort of the gallery, which is located in the Crystal City Shops. Also on display: Our National Mall in Color, a show featuring vivid depictions of national landmarks from watercolorist Tony Neville, the gallery’s featured artist of the month. On display through July 26. Gallery Underground, 2100 Crystal Drive.

Call 571-483-0652 or visit www.galleryunderground.org.

For its summer exhibition, Georgetown’s contemporary art gallery Calloway Fine Arts presents “bold and bright” large, abstract paintings on canvas by David Bell, Leslie Nolan, and Karen Silve, plus smaller works on paper from Matthew Langley’s A Painting A Day series, which pull highlights of color from the larger works. Now to Aug. 24. 1643 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Call 202-965-4601 or visit www. callowayart.com.

URSULA VON RYDINGSVARD: THE CONTOUR OF FEELING

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NEAL PRESTON

QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT

Adam Lambert has been fronting the legendary rock band on tours of stadiums the world over for years now. Yet there’s even more momentum in 2019 on account of the Oscarwinning success of Bohemian Rhapsody, now the highest-grossing music biopic of all time.

Lambert and the two founding members of Queen, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, will be joined by three additional musicians on this year’s Rhapsody Tour, which features new staging of all of Queen’s biggest hits. Tuesday, July 30. Doors at 7 p.m.

Capital One Arena, 601 F St. NW. A few official tickets remain for $395 to $625, although reseller sites including VividSeats have tickets available starting around $198. Call 202628-3200 or visit www.capitalonearena.com.

FOOD & DRINK HANK’S PASTA BAR: METRO RUSH HOUR DISCOUNTS Throughout July, Hank’s Pasta Bar in Alexandria is offering two specials “to help ease the rush hour commute,” or at least to help mitigate frustration over delays caused

by Metro’s closure of the Blue and Yellow lines in Northern Virginia.

The first “Beat Your Summer Commute” special grants 10-percent off the entire check per a request for the Blue Line, while a request for the Yellow Line grants a free meal for kids (provided an adult meal is purchased). Available weeknights from 5 to 6:30 p.m. for patrons in the dining room or on the patio. To July 31. 600 Montgomery St., Alexandria. Call 571-312-4117 or visit www.hankspastabar.com.

PEPINO POP-UP AT COTTON & REED

Cotton & Reed, the rum distillery and tasting room in the Union Market District, plays host to a special culinary pop-up over the next month from Christian Irabién, the Mexican-born, D.C.-based chef who spent years working with José Andres and his Mexican outpost

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Oyamel. Pepino is designed as a preview of Amparo (www.amparofondita.com), Irabién’s forthcoming contemporary Mexican restaurant that is set to open this fall as part of the new Latin marketplace La Cosecha. The pop-up features six special ceviches (priced at $7 to $16 each). Meanwhile, Cotton & Reed complements Irabién’s menu with “Prickled Pink,” a specially concocted slushie consisting of white rum, mezcal, prickly pear, and lime ($12).

Now to Aug. 18. Pepino is open from noon to 8 p.m. on weekends and 4 to 10 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays.

1330 5th St. NE. Call 202-544-2805 or visit www.facebook.com/cotton. and.reed.

THE GRAHAM GEORGETOWN: SUNSET CINEMA SERIES COCKTAILS

In conjunction with Georgetown’s Sunset Cinema series, this nearby luxury boutique hotel features a different specialty cocktail available for $14 each Tuesday and inspired by the screening later that evening.

So, for example, on Tuesday, July 30, in advance of The Parent Trap (see separate entry under Film), you can order at the hotel’s openair rooftop bar “I have a brilliant beyond brilliant idea!,” a brilliantly

JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

strong cocktail made with Johnnie Walker Black scotch, ginger liqueur, and orange bitters. The following week, Aug. 6, offers Eat Pray Love down in Georgetown Waterfront Park and at the Graham Rooftop the cocktail “You’re wishin’ too much, baby,” a blend of grapefruit vodka and peach schnapps with cranberry and orange juices. Named after Alexander Graham Bell, the famous American inventor who was also a Georgetown resident, the Graham Georgetown is located near the historic C&O Canal on a quiet side street running south from M Street NW down to the Washington Harbor. In addition to fun, sophisticated alcoholic beverages, the Graham Rooftop, which opens at 4 p.m. weekdays, offers sweeping views of Georgetown, the federal city, and beyond. 1075 Thomas Jefferson St. NW. Call 202337-0900 or visit www.thegrahamgeorgetown.com.

ABOVE & BEYOND AMERICA THE GAME SHOW. F*CK YEAH!

Three years ago, Kate Taylor Davis and Jared Davis concocted a variety show that made light of American

history in the run-up to July 4th — in 2016, just before the country took a dark, dark turn. Since then, the hit show has become darker and more subversive — as well as more popular — adding topical games with names including “Extreme Vetting” and “Grab. That. P**sy!”

This year’s fourth iteration introduces an all-new slate of games, including “The 1 Percent Relay” and “Glory Hole Whack-a-Mole.”

Carlos Bustamante aka Carl Buster returns as show host, accompanied by a bevy of “All-American Girls” for a tongue-in-cheek trip across the country filled with trivia, games, satire, and nudity. The latter especially comes into play in a segment called “Naked Moments in American History” with the character known as “Drunkle Sam,” whose purpose is “to fill in the gaps in America’s public education.” Aiding in the cause are Lucrezia Blozia, Jim Dandy, Kittie Glitter, Eleni Grove, Mehdi Raoufi, J. Brinke, Callie Pigeon, Candy Del Rio, Cherie Sweetbottom, and Andrew Wodzianski. Friday, July 26, and Saturday, July 27, at 8 p.m.

Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave. Baltimore. Tickets are $20 to $23.

Call 410-276-1651 or visit www.creativealliance.org.

FORD'S THEATRE'S HISTORY ON FOOT

A local actor offers the guided tour Investigation: Detective McDevitt, portraying Detective James McDevitt, a D.C. police officer patrolling a half-block from Ford’s Theatre the night President Lincoln was shot. Written by Richard Hellesen and directed by Mark Ramont, the 1.6-mile walking tour revisits and reexamines the sites and clues from the investigation into the assassination. Tours are offered approximately three evenings a week at 6:45 p.m. Ford's Theatre, 511 10th St. NW. Tickets are $17. Call 202-397-7328 or visit www.fords.org.

THE DC GURLY SHOW: OLD TOWN HO-DOWN!

Launched amidst the drag kings at a DC Kings show back in the day, the DC Gurly Show now has top billing as D.C.’s longest-running queer burlesque troupe — 14 years and counting. The show features many types, with a focus on expression and individual performance, no matter gender or gender identity, much less sex or sexual orientation. The next iteration is the organization’s annual country-themed show, one bringing “some rural flair” to D.C. — from cowboy hats to cutoff shorts to cold beer. Organizers “guarantee a rootin’ tootin’ six-gun shootin’ good time!” Thursday, Aug. 1, at 8 p.m.

The Comedy Loft of DC, 1523 22nd St. NW. Tickets are $15, plus twoitem minimum. Call 202-293-1887 or visit www.dccomedyloft.com. l

theFeed

SINKING STONE

Director Oliver Stone calls Russia’s anti-gay law “sensible” while interviewing Putin. By Rhuaridh Marr including the repression of LGBTQ groups, restrictions on media with LGBTQ content, and the attempted suppression of media reports about a crackdown on LGBTQ people in Russia-controlled Chechnya.

Just last week, the European Court of Human Rights ordered Russia to pay damages to three LGBTQ groups, arguing that the country’s anti-gay law had violated their human rights.

Earlier this year, Russian censors deleted all instances of gay sex or same-sex relationships from Elton John biopic Rocketman, to avoid falling foul of the “propaganda” ban. The edits were so severe, a photo of John and husband David Furnish was even excised from the closing credits.

Last year, a Russian teenager was found guilty of violating the “propaganda” law after publishing pictures of half-naked men on a Russian social network site. Authorities argued that the 16-year-old was posting content “whose appearance had the characteristics of propaganda of homosexual relations.”

And Russia has continually downplayed or denied a reported anti-gay “purge” in Chechnya, where gay people have been kidnapped, tortured, and even murdered.

More than 100 gay men in Chechnya were arrested and detained against their will without trial, with survivors reporting they had been tortured and seen compatriots killed while in prison. Those detentions, arrests, and alleged killings occurred at intervals on a continuing basis during the spring and summer of 2017.

Yet despite calls from LGBTQ activists and from European and international leaders for an investigation into the alleged killings, Russian authorities claimed that a state investigation failed to find evidence supporting survivors’ claims of torture and abuse in makeshift detention centers — largely because few people had filed complaints about being arrested and detained against their will.

Reports at the start of 2019 suggested that a crackdown was once again occurring, with several men and women apparently being detained in secret detention facilities. l GAGE SKIDMORE

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ILMMAKER OLIVER STONE HAS PRAISED Russia’s anti-gay ‘propaganda’ law, telling Russian President Vladimir Putin that the law is “sensible.”

Stone, director of films such as JFK, W, and Natural Born Killers, made the comments during an interview with Putin for Stone’s documentary Revealing Ukraine.

According to a transcript of the interview released by the Kremlin, Stone praised the 2013 law — which banned the promotion of “nontraditional sexual relationships” — and complained about the increasing recognition of gender identity.

“As you know, I’ve been very rebel all my life. Still am. And I have to tell you, I’m shocked by some of the behaviors and the thinking of the new generation,” Stone said. “It takes so much for granted. And so much of the argument, so much of the thinking, so much of the newspaper, television commentaries about gender, people identify themselves, and social media, this and that, I’m male, I’m female, I’m transgender, I’m cisgender. It goes on forever, and there is a big fight about who is who. It seems like we miss the bigger point.”

Putin responded that the younger generation “live too well” and “have nothing to think about.” Stone said “it’s not a healthy culture,” to which Putin said, “Well, yes.”

Stone then moved to homosexuality and Russia’s ban on “homosexual propaganda.”

“Years ago when we were talking about homosexuality, you said that in Russia we don’t propagate it,” Stone said.

“Not exactly,” Putin responded. “We have a law banning propaganda among minors.”

“Yes, that’s the one I’m talking about,” Stone said. “It seems like maybe that’s a sensible law.”

Putin then claimed that the ban on “propaganda” — or, informing young Russians about LGBTQ people — allows youth to “reach maturity and then decide who they are and how they want to live. There are no restrictions at all after this.”

That of course flies in the face of reports from Russia that the propaganda ban has led to rises in anti-LGBTQ violence,

JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

19

theFeed

LEGAL DIVA

T

TripAdvisor shuts down ‘Straight Pride’ organizers in spectacularly gay fashion. By Rhuaridh Marr

RIPADVISOR IS NOT IMPRESSED THAT ORGAnizers of a ‘Straight Pride‘ event are using its name on their website. The event, currently planned for Aug. 31 and with links to right-wing trolls, will take place in Boston and follow the same route as the city’s official LGBTQ Pride parade.

But Straight Pride’s website has gotten it into some murky legal waters, after organizers included a number of major companies as “prospective corporate sponsors.”

Netflix sent an email to Super Happy Fun America, organizers of the parade, declaring: “You should know that we’re unafraid of bullies. Our legal department is here, it’s queer, and it’s telling you to steer clear.”

Lyft, which recently updated its app to allow for gender neutral pronouns, denounced Super Happy Fun America’s “regrettable website.”

But it’s TripAdvisor that has really turned the LGBTQ dial up to 11, with a legal threat that is as smart as it is loaded with gay anthems.

Incorporating song titles from Cher, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, and even the Village People, TripAdvisor associate general counsel Bradford Young’s cease-and-desist notice is possibly our new favorite thing.

“I’m Coming Out and saying this clearly: you are infringing upon TripAdvisor’s intellectual property rights,” Young wrote. “To be precise, your use of the TripAdvisor trademark and our Beautiful logo infringes TripAdvisor’s trademark and trade name rights.

“TripAdvisor’s trademarks are protected in many countries around the world and Over The Rainbow, including in

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JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

the United States under Registration Nos. 2727627, 3171193, 4612678 and 4454774,” he continued. “We have become a well-known brand for our reviews of hotels, restaurants, experiences and even the occasional YMCA, but we weren’t Born This Way–we obtained that recognition through significant advertising and promotion since as early as 2000.”

He added: “You Need To Calm Down — you are not sponsored by, associated or affiliated with TripAdvisor in any way, and thus, your use of our marks could confuse the public as to an affiliation with TripAdvisor. These inaccurate statements, which I trust do not show your True Colors, infringe on TripAdvisor’s rights under the Lanham Act, and impinge upon our Freedom! to decide with what organizations we want to associate our brand.

“Have A Little Respect and remove those statements,” Young continued. “TripAdvisor and I Will Survive without being associated with your event.”

But he didn’t stop there (not least because he’d yet to reference Madonna).

“There is nothing Vogue or acceptable about making false claims about others merely to support your own cause,” Young wrote. “If I Could Turn Back Time, I would tell you not to use our name in the first place.

“But now that you have, TripAdvisor demands that you remove all uses of our name, mark and logo from your website (and anywhere else you might use it) within 24 hours and not use them again. You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) disappointment that you thought this might be an acceptable way to do business.”

Bravo, TripAdvisor. Bravo. l

Community THURSDAY, July 25 The DC ANTI-VIOLENCE PROJECT, a group dedicated to combating anti-LGBT hate crimes, holds its monthly meeting at The DC Center. The meeting is open to all and the public is encouraged to attend.

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

The DC Center holds a roundtable discussion as part of its

COMING OUT DISCUSSION GROUP on the second Tuesday and fourth Thursday of each month. This group is for those navigating issues associated with coming out and personal identity. 7-8:30 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.

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 run-

ning/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.

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 202-930-1058 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 or dcscandals@ gmail.com.

SATURDAY, July 27 THE DULLES TRIANGLES

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

For more information, visit www.dullestriangles.com.

HIV TESTING at Whitman-

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

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

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

METROHEALTH CENTER

offers free, rapid HIV testing.

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

STI TESTING at Whitman-

Walker Health. 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 2-3 p.m. at both 1525 14th St. NW and the Max Robinson Center, 2301 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. SE. Testing is intended for those without symptoms. For an appointment call 202-745-7000 or visit www. whitman-walker.org.

people, and the cognitive-behavioral therapy approach to overcoming it. No one will be required to speak or interact at the workshop. 7-9 p.m. The workshop will be held in a private home near the Tenleytown Metro. Details of location will be given after registration. For more information, call 202244-0903 or visit www.socialanxietyhelp.com.

The DC Center holds its

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

Narcotics Anonymous Meeting.

The group is independent of UHU. 6:30-7:30 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. For more information, call 202-446-1100.

FRIDAY, July 26

DC AQUATICS CLUB holds

GAMMA is a confidential, vol-

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.

Larry Cohen, LICSW, offers a FREE WORKSHOP ON SOCIAL ANXIETY, focusing on what causes social anxiety, its special effects on LGBTQ

group hosts level 10-mile hike, mostly along the C&O Canal and through a hunting area, to see thousands of sunflowers in peak bloom. Bring plenty of beverages, lunch, bug spray, sunscreen, and about $7 for fees. Long pants and sturdy shoes are recommended. Meet at 9 a.m. inside the Rockville Metro Station by the attendant’s kiosk to form carpools.

For more information, contact David, 240-938-0375, or visit www.adventuring.org.

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

VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION

session for those interested in volunteering at The DC Center, especially new Support Desk staff. 11 a.m.-1 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

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.

US HELPING US hosts a

ADVENTURING outdoors

a practice session at Howard University. 6:30-8 p.m. Burr Gymnasium, 2400 6th St. NW. For more information, visit www.swimdcac.org.

PROJECT STRIPES hosts

LGBT-affirming social group for ages 11-24. 4-6 p.m. 1419 Columbia Road NW. Contact Tamara, 202-319-0422, www. layc-dc.org.

SMYAL’S REC NIGHT provides

a social atmosphere for LGBTQ and questioning youth, featuring dance parties, vogue nights, movies and games. 4-7 p.m. For more info, email rebecca.york@ smyal.org.

practice session at Montgomery College Aquatics Club. 8:3010 a.m. 7600 Takoma Ave., Takoma, Md. For more information, visit www.swimdcac.org.

SUNDAY, July 28 CHRYSALIS arts & culture

group visits the International Spy Museum at its new location in L'Enfant Plaza. Admission is $25 for adults, $20 for seniors.

Lunch in nearby food mall.

Meet at noon by the box office inside the museum at 700 L'Enfant Plaza SW. For more information, contact Craig, 202-462-0535 or craighowell1@verizon.net.

Weekly Events BETHEL CHURCH-DC pro-

gressive and radically inclusive church holds services at 11:30 a.m. 2217 Minnesota Ave. SE. 202-248-1895, www. betheldc.org.

JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

21

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-

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 welcoming and inclusive church. GLBT Interweave social/service group

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JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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, July 29 Trans Legal Advocates of Washington holds its 7th annual fundraiser, “FUND TRANS LEGAL ACCESS NOW!” with proceeds benefiting TransLAW’s services, which include helping transgender and nonbinary people obtain proper identification documents that reflect their correct name and gender identity. $10 suggested donation at the door, but no one will be turned away due to inability to pay. 6-9 p.m. Trade Nightclub, 1410 14th St. NW. For tickets, visit www.eventbrite.com.

WEEKLY EVENTS DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a

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

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.

TUESDAY, July 30 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 run-

ners 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.

DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds prac-

tice. The team is always looking for new members. All welcome. 7-9 p.m.

Harry Thomas Recreation Center, 1743 Lincoln Rd. NE. For more information, visit www.scandalsrfc.org or dcscandals@gmail.com.

THE GAY MEN'S HEALTH COLLABORATIVE offers free

HIV testing and STI screening and treatment every Tuesday.

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

OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS

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

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

Support group for LGBTQ youth ages 13-21 meets at SMYAL. 5-6:30 p.m.

410 7th St. SE. For more information, contact Rebecca York, 202-567-3165, or rebecca.york@smyal.org.

US HELPING US hosts a support

group for black gay men 40 and older. 7-9 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. Call 202-446-1100. www.ushelpingus.org.

Whitman-Walker Health holds its weekly GAY MEN’S HEALTH AND WELLNESS/STD CLINIC. Patients are seen on a walk-in basis. No-cost screening for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. Hepatitis and herpes testing available for a fee.

Testing starts at 6 p.m, but should arrive early to ensure a spot. 1525 14th St. NW. For more information, visit www.whitman-walker.org.

WEDNESDAY, July 31 Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders hosts its annual LAWYERS FOR SMYAL fundraiser, with proceeds benefiting SMYAL’s enrichment and housing programs for LGBTQ youth.

This year’s guest speaker will be NBC’s Pete Williams, who will discuss recent Supreme Court rulings, current matters in the Department of Justice, and their impact on the LGBTQ community. 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Skadden, 1440 New York Ave. NW. For tickets and more information, visit www.smyal.org/event/lawyers-for-smyal.

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.

FREEDOM FROM SMOKING, a

group for LGBT people looking to quit cigarettes and tobacco use, holds a weekly support meeting at The DC Center. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www.thedccenter.org.

HISTORIC CHRIST CHURCH

offers Wednesday worship 7:15 a.m. and 12:05 p.m. All welcome.

118 N. Washington St., Alexandria.

703-549-1450, www.historicchristchurch.org.

JOB CLUB, a weekly support program 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.

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. l

JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

23

Running for

CHANGE Sarah McBride has spent her life fighting for others.

Now she’s ready to take her political fight to the next level.

UR DEMOCRACY IS AT ITS BEST WHEN government includes the voices of all of us, when everybody matters and everybody has a seat at the table,” says Sarah McBride.

“And our government is best when we have elected officials who look like the communities they are seeking to represent.” If that sounds like the makings of an elected official, you’d be right.

The national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, McBride has spent her life fighting for the rights of others — and, as a transgender woman, herself. Now, she’s ready to take that fight to the next level.

It’s why she’s throwing her hat into the ring for a seat in the Delaware General Assembly, running for the district currently represented by Democratic State Senator Harris McDowell, retiring after 44 years in office. Born and raised in west Wilmington, Del., McBride is quite familiar with the district, which includes parts of Wilmington, Bellefonte, and Claymont.

And while she’s enjoying the campaign trail, particularly canvassing and knocking on doors — “The best part, absolutely, is getting to meet people and getting to know my neighbors even better” — McBride already has her eyes set far beyond election day in 2020.

“Elections are invigorating and exciting, but winning an election is not the end of the hard work,” she says. “It's the beginning of the hard work. I'm eager to have the opportunity to work hard, and work with those who I hope to be my colleagues in the General Assembly, to effect change. I'm eager to hopefully get there and do the hard work to make change.”

Throughout her 28 years, McBride has amassed an impres24

JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

sive resumé, including time as a White House intern under President Obama, stints working on behalf of Democratic candidates in Delaware, at the liberal think-tank the Center for American Progress, and for local and national LGBTQ rights organizations, serving as a board member of Equality Delaware and in her current role as the national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign. Over the years, she’s been the subject of glowing profiles in some of the nation’s top newspapers and magazines, and has earned several awards and honors, including, most notably, a speaking slot at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, making her the first openly transgender person to address a major political party’s convention.

“Throughout all of this it’s never been about the positions, the platforms, or the titles,” McBride says. “It's always been about trying to make change, trying to move the ball forward on a whole host of issues that I care about and that I've fought for. I think that at the end of the day, voters will see a candidate who throughout her life has fought for what she believes to be right, and has had the courage and the authenticity to fight for those principles, to fight for those values. I think that's what they’ll want in a State Senator.”

Those values have been shaped by partly by her life’s work as an activist, and partly by her deep, meaningful relationships with those who have been closest to her, including her parents and her late husband, Andrew Cray, who died at the age of 28 from cancer, mere days after the couple wed in 2014.

“For me, the most formative experience in my life is not my identity, it’s my relationship with Andy and in particular my role as a caregiver to Andy throughout his battle with cancer,” says McBride. “I had never met anyone like Andy, and still

B PROUD

O

Interview by John Riley

JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

25

haven’t. He was the kindest, smartest, funniest, goofiest, person I think I’ve ever met. Andy was someone of unparalleled kindness. Everything he did, kindness was at the heart of his actions and his beliefs.

“He was someone who taught me a lot, and knowing and loving Andy left me profoundly changed. He taught me how to love and be loved,” she continues. “Every single day I wake up, every decision I face, every dilemma I encounter, I question what would Andy do. He was that kind of person, and I think about him pretty much every hour of every day, and would give anything to have him with me. More than anything else, my relationship with Andy underscores to me that change cannot come fast enough.”

Learning from her own experience that life is short and time is precious, McBride vows to bring an activist’s sense of urgency to the problems she will try to solve if elected to public office.

“I think when you’re a woman who’s running [for office], if you’re LGBTQ, if you’re someone who grew up in the middle class — regardless of what your background is — you understand the urgency of change,” she says.

“You understand that these are policies that impact people on a dayto-day basis in their own lives, and that when we ask women, or working people, or people of color, or LGBTQ people, or anyone to sit back and allow for a slow conversation to take place before we ensure them opportunity and dignity, we are asking people to watch their one life pass by without the respect and fairness that everyone deserves. That's too much to ask of anyone.”

Should she win, McBride would be the first transgender person elected to the General Assembly, the only LGBTQ person currently serving, and only the second LGBTQ person to ever serve in the state’s history, following in the steps of the now-retired Sen. Karen Peterson (D-Stanton). But every day that McBride knocks on the doors of her neighbors and talks with would-be constituents, she reaffirms her belief that her gender identity will not be a hindrance in her campaign.

“I am seeing what I’ve already known to be true, that the community 26

“Medical debt remains a significant contributor to personal bankruptcy. In a country as prosperous as ours, NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO GO INTO DEBT SIMPLY FOR TRYING TO SAVE THEIR OWN LIFE OR THE LIFE OF A LOVED ONE.”

JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

recognizes that our differences are our strengths, that our diversity is our beauty, that we judge people on their merits, on their skills, on what they bring to the table and on their kindness, not on their identities,” she says. “At the end of the day, for voters, this campaign isn't about my gender, it’s about what we can do together to make change and to build a community where no one gets left behind.

That is heartening to see.”

METRO WEEKLY: Let’s talk about your

background and family life.

SARAH MCBRIDE: I always say I lucked out in the parent lottery, I’ve got two incredible parents, David and Sally McBride. They still live in the house I grew up in, in west Wilmington, in the First Senate District. I have two older brothers, Shawn and Dan. Shawn is ten years older than me, Dan is eight years older than me.

Shawn lives up in New York with his husband Blake, and Dan lives in Delaware with his wife Jamie and their brand new baby.

I was very lucky in a number of different ways. I was born and raised in a loving, supportive family.

I was born and raised into opportunities that allowed me to get a quality education, both K-12 and then at American University. I was born and raised in a family that taught us from an early age that we should care for one another and look out for one another. I was born and raised in a family that was civically engaged, where we were talking and debating around the dinner table many nights.

I think in many ways the values that I was raised in, the values of hard work and compassion, are the values that guide me in so much of what I do.

MW: When did you first realize your true identity, and what was your coming out process like?

MCBRIDE: I’ve known who I am for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories were of lying in bed at night, praying I would wake up the next day and be myself, that my family would still be proud of me, and that my community would still have a place for me.

As a young person, I was a voracious reader of history. As I read history books, at the same time that I was becoming aware of the fact that there was something about me that society didn’t necessarily didn't approve of,

I would marvel at the scope of social change that filled those history books’ pages. It was such a clear path toward a world of expanded opportunity and dignity for more people, and I hoped one day that could include me and people like me.

I also became very aware that no one like me had ever made it very far, at least no one who was out. I wondered whether the heart of this country was big enough to love someone like me. So I kept my gender identity inside.

It wasn’t until I was at American University, during my term as student body president, that I finally gained the courage, confidence, and insight to finally come out. It was on Christmas Eve, sitting in my church in Wilmington, in Westminster Presbyterian Church, listening to the choir singing and looking up to the stained glass windows, that I recognized I couldn’t spend one more day missing the beauty in this world and watching the world pass by me as someone that I wasn't. So I came out to my parents the next day, on Christmas Day, in 2011, and then I came out to my close friends during the following weeks and eventually came out to my communities both at American and back in Delaware as transgender, in a personal note on Facebook and then in the student newspaper.

MW: What did it feel like to hide your true identity?

MCBRIDE: One of the challenges we have is that people who aren’t transgender can’t understand what it feels like to have a gender identity that’s not seen and affirmed by society. For me, it felt like a constant feeling of homesickness, an unwavering ache in the pit of my stomach that would only go away when I could be seen and affirmed as myself. Growing up, I think in many ways I could compartmentalize, but that homesickness was nearly ever present. The fear of my dreams and my identity being mutually exclusive, my dreams of coming home and welcomed home in Delaware, of starting a career and starting a family in the state that I love, and the fear that it was mutually exclusive with who I am, was something that I thought about nearly every waking hour of every single day.

One of the great things for me,

“Too many people in this country wonder whether the heart of this nation is big enough to love them, too.

AMERICA IS A NATION THAT IS BUILT ON THE CREED THAT EVERY PERSON COUNTS. IT IS A CREED WE HAVE NOT LIVED UP TO.”

one of the reasons why I am as hopeful and optimistic as I am, is that I have seen firsthand that those fears, while understandable, were unfounded. The community that I have always loved is a community that has embraced me and supported me through all of the different parts of my life. One of the reasons why I’m so optimistic and one of the reasons why I’m so passionate about this community is I’ve seen first hand that it is a big-hearted community that has demonstrated that even the smallest places can be big enough for everyone.

MW: You were a 2014 Metro Weekly Next Generation Award winner, you were given a prime speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention, you’ve had a number of big awards or big honors bestowed upon you. If you could pick one of your many accomplishments, which one makes you most proud?

MCBRIDE: The work that I’m most proud of is the work that we did [in Delaware] to pass the Gender Identity Non-Discrimination Act of 2013. When we set out to do that, few people thought it was possible, particularly since we were fighting for both marriage equality and nondiscrimination protections at the same time. But I, along with fellow advocates in Delaware, recognized the urgency of these issues, and recognized that with hard work we could make the impossible possible, and we did in 2013. That’s without question the work I’m proudest of because it’s also the work that very clearly changed things for the better for my neighbors. I’ll bring that commitment to change, that sense of urgency, to all of the issues that I work on as a state senator.

MW: What prompted you to run for political office?

MCBRIDE: A number of different factors led me to decide to run for state senate. The first is that this district, the First District, is the one I was born and raised in. It’s the community that helped shape me into the person that I am, and it’s the community that helped support me and sustain me through some of the most difficult times in my own life.

It’s a great community, and I’ve seen it at its best demonstrating the values of kindness and support and care for one another. I want to make

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sure that I give back to this community, and help us live up to our values as a state of neighbors.

I’m running for the state senate to make sure that we expand access to health care for more Delawareans, to ensure that more working families are able to access paid family medical leave, to help reform our criminal justice system, and to do so much more to make sure that I'm giving back to this community that has offered me so much throughout my life.

Secondly, at the end of the day, this is a critical moment in our politics. One of the things I’ve seen throughout my work in the Human Rights Campaign is that most of the decisions that impact people’s daily lives are made at the state level. State legislatures are where the rubber meets the road when it comes to public policy. And I could no longer fight from the sidelines at this critical moment in our politics. I decided that if I wanted to see a change, as proud as I am of the work that I've done, I had to throw my hat in the ring and run for this seat so that I could contribute from the Delaware State Senate.

MW: What specific issues are you going to be focused on during the campaign?

MCBRIDE: At the end of the day, my neighbors are concerned about making sure that we have an economy that works for everyone, they’re concerned about being able to access affordable, comprehensive health care, they’re concerned about having to give up a day’s wages in order to take care of a sick child.

They’re concerned about the criminal justice system that doesn’t currently serve everyone equally. They’re concerned about the kitchen table issues that I hear about every single day growing up in the community and every single day now that I'm a candidate running for the state senate. Those are going to be my priorities.

MW: Are there any big-ticket items Delaware voters are talking about that haven’t yet been accomplished?

MCBRIDE: That there's a whole host of different issues. We've seen important progress on criminal justice reform: there’s a package of nearly 20 bills supported by the Attorney General, about 11 of them were passed this session. My hope is that we can continue to move forward and pass the remaining bills, and move beyond that to additional reforms that are still needed.

We’ve seen important progress in expanding access to paid family leave for state employees. I’d like to see us continue on that progress and expand that program to include medical leave and to hopefully expand access to paid family and medical leave to more and more working families. Of course, we’ve seen important progress on expanding access to health care, but I want to make sure we continue to move the ball forward.

Particularly when it comes to bringing down premiums and avoiding surprise medical bills for families throughout the state.

MW: Have you had experience with medical debt?

MCBRIDE: Yes. It’s part of what’s fueling me. One of the most formative experiences of my life was being a caregiver and being

by Andy’s side, not just through his treatment but through his fights with the hospital and insurance company, through his fears, through all of it.

MW: Andy was your husband. Let’s pause here for a moment. Tell us about him.

MCBRIDE: Andy and I first met at a 2012 Pride Reception at the Obama White House. I had just come out publicly as student body president of American University, and we bumped into each other. I’m ashamed to say I don’t remember bumping into Andy, but he remembered bumping into me. He reached out to me a few weeks later over Facebook and sent an adorable message that he'd thought we’d get along swimmingly. I thought, 28

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“Who the hell says the word swimmingly?” But it’s someone I want to spend some time with. So we went out in the late summer of 2012, and started dating. I will say that things moved a little slower than either of us would have liked at first, because I was at the White House and my hours were basically 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. every day.

Once my time at the White House was over, we became attached at the hip and quickly fell in love with each other. We moved in with each other, and shortly after we moved in we started working together at the Center for American Progress.

Then, a little over a year after we first started dating, and about a year-and-a-half after we met, Andy was diagnosed with cancer.

MW: And this is where the medical debt comes into play.

MCBRIDE: Yes, and I’ll share this one particular example. In the final month of Andy’s life, the cancer spread from his tongue to his lungs. One of the reasons we realized the cancer was back and had spread was because Andy had developed a persistent cough. Over time it was becoming not just a persistent cough but very difficult to breathe. That was in part because the fluids that had been secreted from the tumors were filling up the cavity in his chest around his lungs. The only way for Andy to be able to breathe was for him to undergo an emergency procedure to drain the fluid from his chest cavity. This was a procedure done very quickly, it was done by a doctor who was in-house at the hospital.

Shortly after Andy died, I’ll never forget getting a bill for thousands of dollars for that emergency lifesaving procedure.

In that case, he had good comprehensive health insurance, but because, without our knowledge, the doctor who was working at this hospital did not accept insurance, I had to pay the hospital bill upfront, and then haggle with the insurance for some kind of reimbursement. But to have the life-saving procedure done, and to assume, with the good health insurance he had, that it would be covered, only to find out that I was on the line of thousands of dollars after Andy died, that’s a profound example of the system coming up short.

The experience that I had is just a glimpse into the experiences that far too many people have. For those who have good health insurance, those who are underinsured, and those who have no insurance, medical debt remains a significant contributor to personal debt and personal bankruptcy. In a country as prosperous as ours, no one should have to go into debt, no one should have to declare bankruptcy simply for trying to save their own life or the life of a loved one.

MW: In recent years, transgender candidates have not only begun running for office, but have won races for state legislature, starting with Danica Roem’s win in 2017.

MCBRIDE: I find so much inspiration and empowerment from Danica and, now, the class of four openly transgender state legislators across the country. They demonstrated that when transgender candidates run, they can win. And what I've already seen, in particular over the last few weeks, is that voters don’t care about my gender. Voters care about whether I’m going to fight for them. Voters care about expanding access to health care and building an economy that works for everyone. Voters care about being able to take care of loved ones if they get sick. We saw that in Danica’s race, and I think we’ve seen that in other races. I’m already seeing it in this race — voters want a state senator who will fight for them, regardless of their gender.

MW: What other political figures do you take inspiration from?

MCBRIDE: I’ve worked for both former governor Jack Markell and former Attorney General Beau Biden, who unfortunately passed away a couple years ago. Both of them are and were men-

tors, friends, and leaders who helped to open the doors of opportunity to so many young people in politics, myself included.

I will always be grateful to have turned 18 [and] been able to cast my first vote in my life for Barack Obama. I will always and forever be grateful to have been able to work in the Obama White House as an intern and to work with the Obama White House as an advocate. Barack Obama is a towering figure in my life, as he is in the lives of so many millennials involved in politics and advocacy in government. He is someone, I think, who called on us to exhibit our best selves, not just in politics but in our daily lives.

MW: How would you categorize yourself, in terms of where you fall on the ideological spectrum?

MCBRIDE: I consider myself as a progressive. I consider myself someone who wants to continue moving our communities forward. I’m someone who believes in change, someone who believes that change is necessary for us to grow and sustain the communities that we love.

I'm someone who has long been involved in the Democratic Party, and like I said, I consider myself progressive. I consider myself a progressive who has a track record of success.

MW: Do you think that's going to come up, either for good or bad in the primary, if you face one?

MCBRIDE: At the end of the day, voters, including primary voters, want someone who has the courage to act, who is clear about their principles. I’ll continue to be clear about my principles moving forward, and I’ll continue to demonstrate that I’m someone who has the courage to act, to make change. I think that’s what voters care about.

MW: How does it personally make you feel when you hear comments like those made

by President Trump, such as, “If you don’t like America, then leave” or “Go back to where you came from”?

MCBRIDE: First off, I think we have to explicitly and vocally reject and denounce the racism of so much of what Donald Trump has said, including those tweets and comments. They are offensive, they are harmful, and they are racist. And I think we have to be clear about that.

Too many people in this country wonder whether the heart of this nation is big enough to love them, too. America is a nation that is built on a creed, which is that everyone matters, which is that every person counts. It is a creed that we have not lived up to throughout too many parts of our history, but the story of this country

“Voters don’t care about my gender. Voters care about expanding access to healthcare and building an economy that works for everyone.

VOTERS WANT A STATE SENATOR WHO WILL FIGHT FOR THEM, REGARDLESS OF THEIR GENDER.”

is a story of an ever-perfecting median and a march toward an expanded understanding of “We the People.” Donald Trump is seeking to stand in that way and is seeking to roll back the clock on some of the precious progress we’ve made as a country.

One of the things that I love about Delaware, and one of the reasons why I’m so passionate about my home state, and I’m so excited about running for the Delaware State Senate, is that we are a state of neighbors. Delaware at its best is a state where people exhibit the kind of values of kindness and care for one another, where we look out for each other, where we recognize that we are each other’s keepers.

Too many of our neighbors still feel left behind, still do not feel included in that moniker of being a state of neighbors. One of the reasons that I'm so excited about running is because I believe that no one is better suited to build a community where no one gets left behind than a state of neighbors. That’s the story of Delaware, that’s the story of this country, that while we have never lived up to the basic creed of this nation, our story has been one of a consistent and constant march toward that basic principle.

MW: Given that you’ll be on the ballot in 2020, do you worry about being overshadowed by the presidential race, the Delaware governor’s race, or other statewide offices? If so, how do you keep people engaged so that they’ll not just turn out for those races, but come out to support you specifically?

MCBRIDE: I’m confident that my neighbors see what I’ve seen, which is that the General Assembly is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to decisions that matter to people. I’m confident that the residents of the First District feel and understand what I have come to see, which is that most of the decisions that impact us are made in Dover, by the General Assembly.

I also think that this campaign is not about me. It’s about the voters, it’s about the residents of the First District. I think that when you make a campaign that’s not about a single candidate, that’s about every person in the community, I think that's the kind of campaign that empowers, excites, and brings people out. That's the kind of campaign I intend on running over the next year-and-a-half. l For more information about Sarah McBride and her campaign, visit www.sarahmcbride.com.

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© THE PICTURE COLLECTION INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Gallery

T

Mid-Century Master: The Photography of Alfred Eisenstaedt

HIS SPECIAL EXHIBITION AT HILLWOOD CONTAINS nearly 50 photographs and ephemera from the Life Magazine artist known for capturing larger-than-life personalities and those among the most notable people of the 20th century — from Marilyn Monroe to Jacqueline Kennedy

Onassis. The show explores the relationship that evolved over the course of photo sessions between Eisenstaedt and Hillwood founder Marjorie Merriweather Post. On display through Jan. 12. Hillwood Estate, 4155 Linnean Ave. NW. Suggested donation is $18. Call 202-686-5807 or visit www.HillwoodMuseum.org. l JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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Movies

Into the Sunset

Quentin Tarantino offers a fascinating, pop culture-soaked paean to the sixties with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. By André Hereford

I

N BILLY WILDER’S SUNSET BOULEVARD, STILL THE ULTIMATE MOVIE about the dark side of Hollywood fame, a struggling screenwriter tells the oncegreat silent film star Norma Desmond, “You used to be big.” Her response, one of the best of many great lines in the movie, encapsulated every aspect of Desmond’s disdain for all that was new in Hollywood since talkies and TV: “I am big. It’s the pictures that got small.”

Quentin Tarantino, the ultimate movie fan of moviemakers, has made his Sunset Boulevard, and it’s called Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (HHHHH). More sweet than bitter — though assuredly bitter and brutal in its violence — the film might encapsulate every aspect of Tarantino’s disdain for a certain new culture in Hollywood. The movie proves, yet again, that the director of Pulp Fiction and Inglourious Basterds knows how to make a picture big, without the aid of comic book superheroes or CGI behemoths.

The film’s primary special effects are its gorgeous widescreen presentation, and the one-two punch of a pair of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars, Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, doing their Butch and Sundance best against the backdrop of one of the most notorious events of the 20th century.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, another pairing of golden movie idols, was the top-grossing film of 1969, a fact certainly not lost on Tarantino. Set in that tumultuous year, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is nothing if not an exhaustive, immersive dip into the sun-kissed pool of movie people in the waning days of a golden age. Golden to some, not everyone — although the movie barely mentions Vietnam or civil rights struggles or the race war Charlie Manson hoped to incite through murder.

But Manson and his family do lurk around the margins of Tarantino’s 1969, until the infamous cult’s horrifying real-life trajectory intersects with the film’s 32

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foreground fiction about fading star Rick Dalton (DiCaprio) and his fiercely loyal stunt double, driver, handyman, and all-around road dog, Cliff Booth (Pitt).

Dalton, formerly the TV cowboy star of his own long-running show, Bounty Law, sees the town and tastes changing. Soured by cynicism and booze, he’s openly insecure about his career and his claim to Hollywood real estate, in the form of both his hillside mansion and his slice of fame.

Dalton doesn’t want to be a “used to be” any more than Norma Desmond did, so he puts real effort into rehearsing for a new gig, playing the heavy on the pilot for a TV western. Tarantino and DiCaprio make sharp, bleak comedy of 44-year old Leo playing an actor’s bone-chilling fear of becoming a has-been. The story is more about Dalton’s genre being put out to pasture, but, effectively, the film deals with the idea of an entire generation of manly men — of gun-slinging, bronco-breaking, John Wayne-dreaming men — being led out of Hollywood.

But before they go, Tarantino delivers a farewell bro-hug, or perhaps indignant celebration of, the good old days of the white All-American Male, by giving them and us their shining example in tough hombre Cliff Booth. The movie revels in his rugged charm. He might be beta to

Dalton’s alpha, but Booth isn’t taking any shit off of anybody else, not even Bruce Lee (Mike Moh), whom he challenges to a fight on the set of The Green Hornet. Booth is The Man when fists are flying, but he’s also still just a guy who chauffers Dalton around in the star’s Cadillac, and does the actor’s bidding before heading home at night to his old Airstream trailer parked behind the Van Nuys drive-in.

Pitt gets to show off his Cali-hunk good looks, as well as his acting chops, capturing the paradox of Booth, a dude who always acts like he’s in charge, even though he’s almost never in charge.

Booth lives in the outmoded days of men who called every woman “honey” or “sweetie” or “pumpkin puss,” and he’s not going quietly into that good night to be replaced by the sensitive New Man, or by a woman. But, as we watch him get fired off a stunt double gig by a female producer, it’s undeniable that even in Tarantino’s 1969, women are rising in Hollywood.

In Tarantino’s problematic 2019, though, women are mere accessories in this film about manhood. Margot Robbie, in particular, is underserved in her role as doomed actress Sharon Tate, who, along with her husband, filmmaker Roman Polanski

(Rafal Zawierucha), happens to be renting the house next door to Dalton’s. Weaving Tate and Manson into his tale about Dalton and Booth — and about the present-day last gasps of the Old Boy network that undoubtedly benefited him — Tarantino offers a fascinating, radio and pop culture-soaked paean to the Sixties, and a fairy tale vision of a changing of the guard. Like most fairy tales, it’s also soaked in blood and death, but offers some glimpse of a happily ever after. l

COURTESY OF GREENWICH ENTERTAINMENT

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is rated R, and is playing at theaters nationwide. Select theaters, including the AFI Silver in Silver Spring, Md., are showing it on film in either 35mm or 70mm. Check your local listings or visit www.fandango.com.

Peaks and Valleys B

Thick with suspense, Jan Zabeil’s thriller Three Peaks yields mostly frustration. By André Hereford

ÉRÉNICE BEJO MIGHT BE THE MARQUEE DRAW IN THE POLYGLOT indie thriller Three Peaks (HHHHH), but the former Oscar nominee for The Artist has not much to do over the course of the film’s very deliberately-paced 90-minute runtime. Then again, not much happens in German writer-director Jan Zabeil’s nominal thriller, set among the snowy peaks of the Italian Dolomites. Seemingly happy couple Lea (Bejo) and Aaron (Alexander Fehling, Showtime’s Homeland) venture into the mountains with Lea’s 8-year old son, Tristan (Arian Montgomery) for a weekend of family bonding at Aaron’s cabin, and, on the surface, everyone appears to get along. Lea’s two special guys hike and play together, and despite a hint of tension, it’s all smiles, hugs, and chopping wood for the fire.

The one annoyance for Lea is that Tristan’s dad, her ex, keeps ringing the boy’s cell phone to check in on how his son is doing. Lea doesn’t want Tris to be confused by the two-dad situation, especially as she and Aaron are planning major moves for

their future. But real dad keeps calling, and maybe the situation is confusing for Tristan. Or, perhaps the perceptive little boy has this situation all figured out.

The harsh, forbidding environment naturally lends an air of danger, and Zabeil confidently, quietly winds the suspense around the potential breaking point for either Aaron or Tristan. A darkly pregnant question looms over their mountain idyll: who feels most threatened here, man or boy? The solid performances, especially by Montgomery, don’t give much away, but add to the mystery. The characters’ fluent switching between German, French, and English, depending on their mood and intent, also subtly reflects the fraught atmosphere of domestic diplomacy.

Zabeil has an eye for staging scenes in the craggy, icy landscape. He and the movie’s cinematographer Axel Schneppat build towards what might happen using bluntly framed shots of the loving couple together, with Tristan, aloof, beside them, or with ominous views of the actual three Dolomite peaks that look down over the cabin. Adding only spare snippets of score, Zabeil stretches the tension to its barest limit before anything remotely thrilling happens.

The story, driven by suspense, starts to feel dragged out long before someone does, finally, hit their breaking point.

Although, the film’s final act plays out with such ambiguity as to obscure who exactly does or doesn’t do what it appears they might have done. And that’s a meager treat for the investment of anticipation. l

Three Peaks is not rated, and opens July 26 at Landmark’s E Street Cinemas. Visit www.landmarktheatres.com/washington-d-c.

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DEEN VAN MEER

Stage

Magic Moments A lively spectacle with more high adventure than heart, Disney’s Aladdin is big, occasionally bland, but never boring. By André Hereford

N

OT A WHOLE NEW WORLD, BUT RATHER AN OPULENT REMODel of the hit 1992 animated movie, Disney’s Aladdin ( ) works hard to bring magical fantasy to life onstage. And the ingenuity put forth in director-choreographer Casey Nicholaw’s touring production of his Tony-winning Broadway staging does appear to make magic carpets fly.

Entire rooms and wardrobes change colors in an instant, and characters materialize or dissipate in a fog. Disney clearly has spent a princely sum on the musical adaptation of the studio’s retelling of the age-old Middle Eastern folk tale. The show, in the midst of a seven-week run at the Kennedy Center, deploys impressive lighting and visual effects and lustrous costumes and sets to conjure the fairy-tale world of “street-rat” orphan Aladdin (Clinton Greenspan), and his ostensibly perilous adventures in the kingdom of Agrabah.

Peril might be the point of some of the action, but danger is not that powerfully evoked in Nicholaw’s light-as-a-feather staging. The action is paced well, with chases scrambling across rooftops, and swordfights laying waste to the busy marketplace, but suspense is faint or fleeting. Setbacks great and small are reversed with little pain or sacrifice, as the story rolls along hitting the beats prescribed by the beloved big-screen version of the orphan thief’s exploits.

Most anticipated among the film’s memorable moments are the spectacular, showpiece musical numbers composed by Alan Menken, with lyrics by both Tim Rice and the late, gay — and Baltimore-born — Howard Ashman. The show builds to the sheer, eye-popping too-muchness of Menken and Ashman’s “Friend Like Me,” set inside the glittering Cave of Wonders, and “Prince Ali,” a dazzling march into the palace throne room, by going very minimal with the action and atmosphere in between.

Unfortunately, those moments in between can feel like filling time between the outsize 34

JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

song-and-dance setpieces.

Some of the additional songs written for the show by Menken and lyricist Chad Beguelin, who also wrote the book for the musical, definitely sound like filler.

“A Million Miles Away,” checks off the box of a starry-eyed first-act duet that isn’t Menken and Rice’s Oscar-winning “A Whole New World,” but doesn’t add anything to the love story of Aladdin and Jasmine (Kaenaonalani Kekoa), headstrong princess of the land, that the pair doesn’t express in other tunes.

Aladdin takes a bigger swing at adding something new by giving two showcase numbers to Aladdin’s ride-or-die besties, Babkak (Zach Bencal), Omar (Ben Chavez), and Kassim (Colt Prattes), characters created for the musical. The threesome combined almost muster as much personality as the movie Aladdin’s monkey Abu, but still they come in handy on occasion. Bencal plays his perpetually famished Babkak with a dry humor that wisely cuts through the character’s buffoonery, while Prattes brings an appealing esprit to Kassim, particularly in the trio’s second-act swashbuckler “High Adventure.”

In that number, and in Aladdin’s “One Jump Ahead,” Nicholaw’s noticeably studly cast capture the excitement of high-octane stunt action, accompanied by the brilliant orchestra. As diverting

DEEN VAN MEER

as those scenes may be, though, they might as well have been dropped in from an old Douglas Fairbanks serial, since they don’t seem connected to this romance, or to Jasmine’s story of asserting her independence, or to the villainous machinations of Jonathan Keir’s evil Jafar and scheming lackey Iago (Reggie De Leon). The friendship between Aladdin and the Genie, portrayed by Major Attaway with audience-pleasing panache, also runs on its own, distinct track.

Attaway spent significant time essaying the role of Genie on Broadway, and it shows in the ease in which he inhabits the meme-quoting, catchphrase-spouting magic man. He also supplies the emotional depth to make the wheels of Genie and Aladdin’s friendship turn.

Similarly, Kekoa’s fiery Jasmine truly fuels the show’s romance. She’s a powerful heroine, whether demanding to know what’s wrong with a woman running the kingdom, or singing with the bright and clear pipes that epitomize a Disney princess.

Jasmine proudly models femininity and strength and stubborn-

ness and courage, and Kekoa’s performance naturally combines the disparate elements of her character. The show, on the other hand, seems cobbled together with market-tested calculation.

Wishing for thrills and thrilling nostalgia, Disney’s Aladdin summons results both brilliant and just blandly entertaining. l

Disney’s Aladdin runs through September 7, at the Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets are $39 to $179.

Call 202-467-4600, or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

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NightLife Photography by Ward Morrison

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Scene

Avalon - Saturday, July 20 - Photography by Ward Morrison See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

DrinksDragDJsEtc...

Thursday, July 25 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-2am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Shirtless Thursday, 10-11pm • Men in Underwear Drink Free, 12-12:30am • DJs BacK2bACk

NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • $15 Buckets of Bud Products all night • Sports Leagues Night NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover PITCHERS Open 5pm-2am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 11pm • 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+

Destinations A LEAGUE OF HER OWN 2317 18th St. NW 202-733-2568 www.facebook.com/alohodc AVALON SATURDAYS Soundcheck 1420 K St. NW 202-789-5429 www.facebook.com/ AvalonSaturdaysDC 38

JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

Friday, July 26

Dance Party, with Nellie’s DJs spinning bubbly pop music all night

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

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

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+

FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $3 Rail and Domestic • $5 Svedka, all flavors all night long • Blush: House and Techno Party, featuring DJ Keenan Orr, 10pm-close • $5 Cover (includes clothes check) NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Open 3pm • Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer, $15 • Weekend Kickoff

FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR 555 23rd St. S. Arlington, Va. 703-685-0555 www.freddiesbeachbar.com GREEN LANTERN 1335 Green Ct. NW 202-347-4533 www.greenlanterndc.com

SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers

Saturday, July 27 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 2pm-3am • Video Games • Live televised sports

NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR 900 U St. NW 202-332-6355 www.nelliessportsbar.com NUMBER NINE 1435 P St. NW 202-986-0999 www.numberninedc.com PITCHERS 2317 18th St. NW 202-733-2568 www.pitchersbardc.com

NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS Compiled by Doug Rule

OTTER HAPPY HOUR AT TRADE Nearly eight years ago, David Brown had the idea for a regular party named after a type of gay man that effectively bridged the gap between two gay archetypes: skinny, smooth twinks on one hand, husky and hairy bears on the other. In 2017, Brown retired the popular monthly party he called Otter Crossing after six years and two venues. But those namesake nimble and furry critters somehow managed to weasel their way back into Brown’s party promoting career — and in a much bigger way — with the launch of the weekly Otter Happy Hour, presented by Brown and Otter Den every Friday from 5 to 11 p.m. at Trade. As before, everyone is welcome, whether hirsute or hairless, and no matter identity, size, expression, label, or spirit animal. The party this Friday, July 26, features groovy tunes spun by DJ Khelan Bhatia starting at 7 p.m., with XL-sized, regularly-priced drinks, as well as beer and wine for only $5 each, until 10 p.m. The party, hosted by otter pinup Derek Mulhern, will also extend onto the back patio. Trade is at 1410 14th St. NW. Call 202-986-1094 or visit www.tradebardc.com.

AVALON SATURDAYS @Soundcheck 1420 K St. NW LGBTQ Dance Party, featuring DJ Drew G, 10pm-4am • $15 Cover, $20 Cover for VIP • Drink specials • Drag Show, 10:30-11:30pm, hosted by Ba’Naka and a rotating cast of drag queens • Open Bar on Tito’s and Jameson, 11pm-midnight • Visit www.dougiemeyerpresents.com FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Saturday Breakfast Buffet, 10am-3pm • $14.99 with one glass of champagne or coffee, soda or juice • Additional champagne $2 per glass • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Freddie’s Follies Drag Show, hosted by Miss Destiny B. Childs, 8-10pm • Karaoke, 10pm-close GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $5

Bacardi, all flavors, all night long • JOX: The GL Underwear Party, 9pm-close • Featuring DJs Chaim, UltraPup, and Pup Phoenix • $5 Cover (includes clothes check) 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 DJs BacK2bACk, 9:30pm

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

VIBEZ VOL. III: CRAZY. SEXY. COOL Referred to as an “LGBTQ R&B Social,” this party, presented by Lush Vibes Entertainment and LezLink Social Club, promises “a night of sexy games” — “Dirty Scrabble, Cuff Cards, Red Flags,” plus Uno and Connect Four — and “new friends” bonding over R&B. It all goes down this Friday, July 26, starting at 10 p.m., on the second floor of Shaw’s hip Italian restaurant Al Crostino, which was rebranded XX+ Crostino a year ago and designated a safe space for “queer womxn,” yet one that’s open to all, “advocating inclusivity, diversity, and community.” XX+ Crostino is at 1926 9th St. NW. Cover is $10. Call 202-797-0523 or visit www.facebook.com/lushvibesent.

JOX: THE GREEN LANTERN UNDERWEAR PARTY It’s not the only recurring underwear party at the Green Lantern, but the monthly Jox event has been a popular stripdown staple for years at the bar, tucked away in a Scott Circle alley. Certainly few others can claim to have enticed as many men to strip to their skivvies as David Merrill, the veteran local promoter who helps throw Jox along with DJ UltraPup. On Saturday, July 27, starting at 9 p.m., UltraPup will be assisted

by DJ Popperz in pumping up the sexy musical vibe while Lumious and Centaurian will be dancing on the boxes. Saturday, July 27, starting at 9 p.m. Upstairs at the Green Lantern, 1335 Green Court NW. Cover is $5, including free clothes check. Call 202-347-4533 or visit www.greenlanterndc.com.

SASHA & DIGWEED Alexander Paul “Sasha” Coe and John Digweed are each legendary DJ/producers in their own right. But together, they comprise one of house music’s first and most famous DJ/production duos. In the decades since their joint residency at New York’s storied, gay-popular nightclub Twilo, the U.K.-native duo hasn’t been seen or heard terribly often on this side of the pond. This Saturday, July 27, starting at 9 p.m., Club Glow presents the duo’s return to the decks at Echostage for an “intimate #AllNightLong set.” While there’s nothing specifically gay about them, the two did get their start in the gay-friendly rave scene of the early 1990s. Over the decades they’ve also DJ’ed at a few gay or gay-popular clubs and events, from Twilo to Montreal’s Black & Blue Festival. And with their central progressive house sound — generally warm, melodic, and emotional — it would be a surprise if their shows didn’t draw a healthy sprinkling of LGBTQ fans. Echostage is at 2135 Queens Chapel Rd. NE. Tickets are $30 plus a fee of nearly $8. Call 202-503-2330 or visit www.echostage.com.

LGBTQ COMMUNITY HAPPY HOUR ROOFTOP SOCIAL IN THE CITY The rooftop of Dupont Circle’s boutique Embassy Row Hotel will be hopping this Sunday, July 28, from 6 to 9 p.m., during a free, special happy hour event hosted by Go Gay DC, described as “D.C.’s LGBTQ+ community hub focused on friendship, leadership, and service.” Intended as a chance to socialize and network with fellow members of the LGBTQ community and allies, the event also allows you to see the spectacular sunset from the property’s 9th-floor rooftop. You can also bring swimwear for a dip in the pool at this casual-themed soiree. And drink specials at the rooftop bar include $9 Froses as well as Tito’s cocktails, $5 for Pride Bud Lite bottles, and $6 for drafts of Stella. The Embassy Row Hotel is at 2015 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Free, but registration required due to limited space. Call 202-265-1600 or visit www.facebook.com/GoGayDC. l

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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 $15 Bottomless Mimosas, 10am-3pm • Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers TRADE Doors open 2pm • 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

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ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS Men of Secrets upstairs, 9pm-close • Guest 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+

juice • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Gayborhood Piano Bar Night, hosted by John Flynn, 5-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm-close • No Cover

sports • Expanded craft beer selection • Pop Goes the World with Wes Della Volla at 9:30pm • No Cover

GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Karaoke with Kevin downstairs, 9:30pm-close

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

A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 2pm-12am • $4 Smirnoff and Domestic Cans • Video Games • Live televised sports

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

FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Ella’s Sunday Drag Brunch, 10am-3pm • $24.99 with four glasses of champagne or mimosas, 1 Bloody Mary, or coffee, soda or

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,

Sunday, July 28

JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Dinner and Drag with Miss Kristina Kelly, 8pm • 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, July 29 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 Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Shaw ’Nuff Trivia, with Jeremy, 7:30pm

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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

Tuesday, July 30 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Taco Tuesday • Karaoke, 9pm

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GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $3 rail cocktails and domestic beers all night long NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer $15 • Drag Bingo with Sasha Adams and Brooklyn Heights, 7-9pm • Karaoke, 9pm-close NUMBER NINE Open at 5pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover PITCHERS Open 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu

till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 11pm 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 • Democratic Debate Watch Party, 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

JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

Wednesday, July 31 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • $6 Burgers • Beach Blanket Drag Bingo Night, hosted

by Ms. Regina Jozet Adams, 8pm • Bingo prizes • Karaoke, 10pm-1am GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4pm-9pm • Bear Yoga with Greg Leo, 6:30-7:30pm • $10 per class • $3 rail cocktails and domestic beers all night long

NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR SmartAss Trivia Night, 8-10pm • Prizes include bar tabs and tickets to shows at the 9:30 Club • $15 Buckets of Beer for SmartAss Teams only • Absolutely Snatched Drag Show, hosted by Brooklyn Heights, 9pm • Tickets available at www.nelliessportsbar.com NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover PITCHERS Open 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 11pm

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 • Democratic Debate Watch Party, 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 l

Scene

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Bear Happy Hour at Uproar - Friday, July 19 - Photography by Ward Morrison See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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LastWord.

People say the queerest things

“[It’s] an extraordinary opening to push for clear and consistent recognition of the natural family.”

— Anti-LGBTQ activist BRIAN BROWN, president of the National Organization for Marriage, in a message to supporters suggesting that the Trump administration’s new Commission on Unalienable Rights could be used to roll back LGBTQ rights globally.

The commission, which will purportedly examine the role of human rights in America’s foreign policy, has been heavily criticized for being staffed with and led by notable anti-LGBTQ figures.

“I’m actually a pansexual.

I didn’t know that. ” — Actress and former Disney Channel star BELLA THORNE, coming out as pansexual on Good Morning America.

Thorne, who previously came out as bisexual, said someone explained pansexuality “really thoroughly” to her. “You like beings.

You like what you like,” she said. “Doesn’t have to be a girl or a guy, or a he or she, or they or this or that.

It’s literally you like personality. You just like a being.”

“If you didn’t like the fact that she was trans, she would give you a piece of her mind.”

— RON’RICO JUDON, friend of murdered South Carolina transgender woman Denali Berries Stuckey, speaking about her to ABC News. Stuckey, who Judon called a “free spirit” and someone “deeply loved” by those around her, became the 12th known trans person to be murdered in the U.S. this year after her body was found shot to death at the side of a road.

“Elizabeth is committed to running an inclusive campaign, and wants every person to know that they are welcome in this movement. ” — ALEXIS KRIEG, spokesperson for Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s campaign for president, after Warren added gender pronouns to her social media accounts. Fellow candidates Julian Castro and Mayor Bill de Blasio have also added pronouns to their Twitter accounts.

“Why aren’t we asking, does he still think that gay people should be called bum boys?”

— British journalist OWEN JONES, speaking on Sky News about new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Johnson has faced calls to apologize to LGBTQ people for past comments, including calling gay people “tank-topped bum boys,” complaining about “encouraging the teaching of homosexuality in schools,” and comparing same-sex weddings to “three men and a dog.”

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JULY 25, 2019 • METROWEEKLY