Metro Weekly's 2020 Spring Arts Preview - March 12, 2020

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March 12, 2020

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CONTENTS

DANCE REVOLUTION

While singing remains at the core of the Gay Men’s Chorus, dance has stepped up to provide visual embellishments.

By Randy Shulman

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW Film (p.25), Stage (p.31), Music: Pop & Rock (p.42), Classical (p.53), Dance (p.59), and Above & Beyond (p.63)

By André Hereford, Rhuaridh Marr, Doug Rule, and Randy Shulman

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Volume 26 Issue 43

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MALE STORM

How do you present Mozart’s problematic, sexist Don Giovanni in the current #metoo climate?

By Kate Wingfield

SPOTLIGHT: HEAD OVER HEELS p.7 OUT ON THE TOWN p.10 THE FEED: HARDLY A SCHOCK p.17 THE FEED: ETERNALLY BOYCOTTING p.18 COMMUNITY: SMART BUSINESS p.19 COMMUNITY CALENDAR p.19 STAGE: EASY WOMEN SMOKING LOOSE CIGARETTES p.69 NIGHTLIFE: AVALON SATURDAYS p.71 NIGHTLIFE LISTINGS p.72 NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS: HOUSE MASTER p.73 LAST WORD p.78 Washington, D.C.’s Best LGBTQ Magazine for 25 Years Editorial Editor-in-Chief Randy Shulman Art Director Todd Franson Online Editor at metroweekly.com Rhuaridh Marr Senior Editor John Riley Contributing Editors André Hereford, Doug Rule Senior Photographers Ward Morrison, Julian Vankim Contributing Illustrators David Amoroso, Scott G. Brooks Contributing Writers Sean Maunier, Troy Petenbrink, Kate Wingfield Webmaster David Uy Production Assistant Julian Vankim Sales & Marketing Publisher Randy Shulman National Advertising Representative Rivendell Media Co. 212-242-6863 Distribution Manager Dennis Havrilla Patron Saint Mart Crowley Cover Illustration David Amoroso Metro Weekly 1775 I St. NW, Suite 1150 Washington, DC 20006 202-638-6830 All material appearing in Metro Weekly is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publishers. Metro Weekly assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials submitted for publication. All such submissions are subject to editing and will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Metro Weekly is supported by many fine advertisers, but we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers, nor can we accept responsibility for materials provided by advertisers or their agents. Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles or advertising in Metro Weekly is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such person or organization.

© 2020 Jansi LLC.

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RJ PAVEL

Spotlight

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Head Over Heels

HEN DEVISING THE SET FOR MONUMENTAL Theatre’s Head Over Heels, James Raymond made a few specific choices: set it in the round and add plenty of sparkle. “There's glitter everywhere,” laughs the 30-year-old designer who last worked on Monumental’s Pippin. “We’re combining Grecian elements with the ’80s. So it was like how do we combine them and make it a special world.” Eschewing realism, Raymond concocted vibrant, colorful trees that flanked a circular stage meant to evoke the idea of the sun.

“The trees are bright green and they have all these different pieces of paper and scraps of fabric,” he says. “Basically, it's another world.”

The show, which originally played for six months on Broadway, is set to the music of The Go-Go’s, the insanely popular ’80s all-girl group whose hits included “We’ve Got the Beat,” “Our Lips Our Sealed,” and the show’s titular number.

“The show is a mix of Go-Go's music from the ’80s and faux Shakespearian language based on Philip Sidney's Arcadia,” says director Jimmy Mavrikes. “It sounds like it wouldn't go together, but it absolutely does in a way that's really beautiful. It’s very funny, it's inclusive, it's about acceptance. The story follows a royal family on a journey to save its beat. Along the way, they realize that their beat is more than just external, but lives within their hearts through acceptance and a more tolerant world.”

Mavrikes brought in Raymond to do the set because “I knew that he was very artsy and his set wouldn't just be Grecian columns. I chose him knowing that he'd create something special within those aspects. He's done some really great things with draping to make everything more magical. And with the trees, he's taken real elements, as well as artsy elements, and turned them into this magical woods. He did a great job of blending reality with magic.” —Randy Shulman

Head Over Heels runs through March 23 at the Ainslie Arts Center in Episcopal High School, 3900 W. Braddock Rd., Alexandria, Va. Tickets are $40. Call 703-933-3000 or visit www.monumentaltheatre.org.

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Spotlight ADA AND THE ENGINE

Playwright Lauren Gunderson (Shakespeare Theatre’s Peter Pan and Wendy) offers a whimsical and inspirational scientific history lesson about Ada Lovelace, best known as the only legitimate child of the poet Lord Byron and also as wife to Charles Babbage, called “the father of the computer.” In fact, Gunderson’s tale posits that Babbage may have invented the hardware, or “analytic engine” of the machine, but Lovelace is responsible for inventing “the language, the song, the soul of the thing, the programming.” Ada and the Engine rotates dates with Suddenly Last Summer.

To April 5. Gunston Arts Center, Theater Two, 2700 South Lang St. Arlington. Tickets are $40. Call 703418-4804 or visit www.wscavantbard.org.

KING KONG

Fathom Events returns the original monster horror flick to big screens, the 1933 classic featuring one of the most iconic creatures and remarkable special effects that forever changed the game. Fay Wray stars as the apple of the giant gorilla’s eye in the black-and-white drama directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, with groundbreaking stop-motion animation by Willis O’Brien and a musical score by Max Steiner. Wednesday, March 15, at 1 and 4 p.m. Area theaters including Regal venues at Gallery Place (701 7th St. NW), Potomac Yards Stadium (3575 Jefferson Davis Highway), and Majestic Stadium (900 Ellsworth Dr., Silver Spring). Tickets are $15. Visit www.fathomevents.com.

CARSIE BLANTON

A feminist, socialist cabaret artist who composes her own smart, catchy, genre-defying music, tours in support of the strong set Buck Up, the title track of which Rolling Stone Country has called “a bright, John Prine-worthy folk song about maintaining a bright disposition in dark times.” With natural appeal to Americana/folk fans, the New Orleans-based artist’s music is steeped in the American Songbook, making her worth seeking out for anyone with a penchant for jazz and pop and progressive politics.

Chris Kasper opens. Friday, March 20. Doors at 6:30 p.m. The Hamilton, 600 14th St. NW. Tickets are $15 to $35. Call 202-787-1000 or visit www.thehamiltondc.com.

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Out On The Town

HILL CENTER GALLERIES: REGIONAL JURIED EXHIBITION

Glenn Strachan - Woman in Recline, Siem Reap Cambodia

Over the years, this exhibition, featuring works in various mediums and subjects, has grown to include 85 artists from D.C., Virginia, and Maryland. This year’s juror is Myrtis Bedolla, owner of Baltimore’s Galerie Myrtis. Bedolla selected 94 pieces of original hanging work, in any medium, submitted by 85 artists, including Kasse Andrews-Weller, Olga Bauer, Katherine Becker, Julie Byrne, Sally Canzoneri, Sam Dixon, Sean Dudley, Christopher Fowler, Charles Gaynor, M. Alexander Gray, Tara Hamilton, Wan Lee, Joey Manlapaz,Khanh Nguyen, Felicia Reed, Robert Weinstein, and Alla Zareva. On display to April 18. At the Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Call 202-549-4172 or visit www.HillCenterDC.org.

Compiled by Doug Rule

FILM FANTASTIC FUNGI

Louie Schwartzberg’s entertaining documentary shines a light on the many ways mycelium and mushrooms can heal and save the planet, as responses to pressing medical, therapeutic, and environmental challenges. Narrated by actress Brie Larson, the film features insights and observations from bestselling authors and journalists Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) and Eugenia Bone (Mycophilia: Revelations from the Weird World of Mushrooms), medicinal fungi advocate Paul Stramets, and best-selling author and alternative medicine doctor Andrew Weil (Spontaneous

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Healing). The AFI Silver Theatre offers a special engagement of Fantastic Fungi, picking it as one of only three films to survive the COVID-19 crisis, which brought down all the others planned for the Environmental Film Festival before organizers canceled that 10-day series earlier this week. Chalk it up as a sign that mushrooms really are the answer to the planet’s survival. Tuesday, March 17, at 7:15 p.m.

AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $11 to $13. Call 301-495-6720 or visit www.afi.com/Silver.

FIRST COW

Kelly Reichardt’s latest western drama focuses on two male drifters who steal their way into a lucrative business during the 19th century

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gold rush in the Oregon Territory.

John Magaro and Orion Lee star in the haunting film, which lingers on the lush scenery and unsettling quietude of the rural Pacific Northwest, before the suspense mounts.

Reichardt co-wrote the screenplay with Jonathan Raymond, who adapted it from his novel The Half Life. Opens Friday, March 13.

Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672 or visit www.landmarktheatres.com.

Also at Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema, 7235 Woodmont Ave. Call 301-652-7273 or visit www.landmarktheatres.com.

and forbidden love with a non-Jewish man. Textured with the unrelenting drama of a Jane Austen novel, director Isaac Cherem’s debut film ratchets up the tension as she juggles familial pressure, precedent, and love and desire. The Edlavitch DCJCC returns Leona, a Spanish-language film presented with English subtitles, for another week of daily screenings after its initial hit run at JxJ 2019. Opens Saturday, March 14. To March 26.

Cafritz Hall, 1529 16th St. NW. Tickets are $9 to $13. Call 202-7773210 or visit www.jxjdc.org.

LEONA

Victor Fleming’s 1939 adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s children’s novel has been called the most-watched motion picture in history. Certainly

A young Jewish woman from Mexico City finds herself torn between her conservative family

THE WIZARD OF OZ

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it’s long captivated gay viewers, by virtue of its star and gay icon Judy Garland as well as its story of a mythical Oz where all misfits are accepted. And then there’s the timeless score by Harold Arlen and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg. Also starring Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, and Margaret Hamilton, The Wizard of Oz returns to Landmark’s West End Cinema more than two years after it helped kick off the venue’s humpday film series “Capital Classics.”

Wednesday, March 18, at 1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 p.m. 2301 M St. NW. Tickets are $12.50. Call 202-5341907 or visit landmarktheatres.com.

STAGE MICHAEL KEY

RASHEEDA SPEAKING

DANCE REVOLUTION

While singing remains at the core of the Gay Men’s Chorus, dance has stepped up to provide visual embellishments.

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e wanted to elevate dance to the level of where the singing has been all these 39 years,” says Thea Kano, Artistic Director of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington.

Movement has always been an integral part of the GMCW’s productions, but in recent years its presence has increased, along with the quality of the performances and choreography. “We have production numbers with Broadway repertoire,” says Kano. “A lot Broadway repertoire you simply can't sing without the production number value if you really want to have fun.”

In early years, the chorus tapped its internal singing membership as its dancers, but eventually, the LGBTQ cultural organization decided to forge an ensemble that would focus more specifically on visual aspects of their concerts. So, in 2016, 17th Street Dance was formed.

Led by the GMCW’s Craig Cipollini, himself a dancer and choreographer (he was with the now-defunct D.C. Cowboys for a time), 17th Street Dance lends lithe, spirited, and vibrant augmentations to GMCW’s productions. “We opened it up so that you don't have to be a singing member to be in the dance group,” says Cipollini. “Actually, most of the guys are not singing members.”

The troupe will be put to the test with this weekend’s upcoming Genderosity, a celebration of glam rock featuring songs by David Bowie, Madonna, Lady Gaga, and, of course, ABBA. The chorus will be joined by special guests Batalá, a local, diverse, all-women percussion group.

“There are 10 numbers in the show that are choreographed,” says Cipollini, who is handling half of those, including “Dancing Queen,” while James Ellzy, Danny Aldous, and Abel Jimenez are overseeing the rest. It’s a larger number than usual because, says Cipollini, “Thea wanted to do a big rock concert spectacle, with an over-the-top kind of a feel. So [she wanted] to just have a big dance numbers on stage.”

“A lot of these songs wouldn't work without dance,” says Kano. “Singing ‘Dancing Queen’ up there, yes, the chorus can be rocking back and forth on the risers, but, as you know, there's not a lot of room on the risers. So we bring out the dancers and they've got these fabulous costumes, and it just becomes this beautiful show. It's going to be visually fabulous as well as sounding fabulous.” —Randy Shulman As we were going to press, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C. decided to postpone this weekend’s performances of Genderosity until a later date to keep its patrons and artists safe from the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Visit www.gmcw.org for updates.

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Two co-workers — one black, one white — are driven apart by the machinations of their boss in a tense workplace thriller by playwright Joel Drake Johnson. The situation spins wildly out of control in this incisive, even incendiary, dark comedy that examines the prevalence of ingrained racism in America, even in a time, and a place, some claim to be “post-racial.” The Ally Theatre Company’s Ty Hallmark directs the show to close out the third season of her young but already Helen Hayes Award-winning organization, one focused on producing theater intended to acknowledge and confront systemic oppression in America. To March 22. Joe’s Movement Emporium, 3309 Bunker Hill Road, Mount Rainier, Md. Tickets are $15 to $25. Call 301-6991819 or visit www.joesmovement.org.

THE 39 STEPS

Actors cast in this comedic adaptation of one of Alfred Hitchcock’s early works certainly can’t phone in their performance — particularly not those, such as Gwen Grastorf and Christopher Walker, cast in Constellation Theatre Company’s new production as what the program simply lists as a “Cast of Dozens” (there are over 100 roles in all). Constellation’s production stars Drew Kopas as a British everyman who gets ensnared in a spy ring, then proceeds to have romantic dalliances along the way to clearing his name. Patricia Hurley does triple duty as his three paramours.

Extended to March 15. Source Theatre, 1835 14th St. NW. Tickets are $19 to $55. Call 202-204-7741 or visit www.constellationtheatre.org.

THE AMATEURS

Up-and-coming gay playwright Jordan Harrison (Marjorie Prime) offers a mind-bending journey from the 14th Century to the present day —- or, in plague terms, from the Black Death to the AIDS crisis by focusing on a troupe of bumbling actors staging “Noah’s Ark.” Unexpectedly timely, we know. Olney’s production stars Emily Townley, Michael Russotto, Evan Casey, Rachel

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BLUE DOT JAZZ TROUPE

Rooted in the music of New Orleans, this modern rhythmic jazz ensemble mixes in blues, funk, Afro-Cuban, and pop to bring the signature American music genre to life in new and dynamic ways, with the intention of getting audiences moving and dancing. And since this past summer, they’ve been doing it three nights a week, performing live at Kramerbooks’ Afterwords Café, in the back of the venue, where patrons can enjoy late-night food as well as a host of literary-inspired cocktails and over 20 craft beers on tap. Thursdays from 9 to 11 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays from 10 p.m. to midnight. 1517 Connecticut Ave. NW. Call 202-387-3825 or visit www.kramers.com.

FXCK SXSW: A LOCAL SHOWCASE

Every year for a week in mid-March, local concert venues and the overall live music scene in D.C. becomes just a wee bit darker and quieter — just enough to make you remember that, indeed, the country’s biggest music festival is now getting underway in Austin. Well, every year until this year anyway. (Organizers last week canceled South By Southwest due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19.) But this year as in previous years, the Black Cat presents a special showcase of local acts, including The OSYX (pronounced “06”), a post-punk, all-female supergroup consisting of Erin Frisby, Ara Casey, Selena Benally, Robzie Trulove, and Maya Renfro, all of whom are also principals in This Could Go Boom!, a record label and presenting organization specifically geared to fellow “womxn and non-binary musicians.” The lineup also includes Too Free, the experimental, improvisational electronic pop trio of Awad Bilal, Don Godwin, and Carson Cox; and Nice Breeze, featuring the “abstract poet punks” Andy Fox, John Howard, and Martha Hamilton.

Friday, March 13. Doors at 8 p.m. Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. Tickets are $12 to $15. Call 202-667-4490 or visit www.blackcatdc.com.

Zampelli, John Keabler, and James Konicek. To April 5. Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab, Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, Md. Tickets are $59 to $64.

Call 301-924-3400 or visit www. olneytheatre.org.

WEEP

Nu Sass Productions, the female-focused local theater company, presents a modern retelling of the Latin folktale “La Llorona,” or “The Weeping Woman,” centered on a woman accused of drowning her two children and the public defense attorney assigned to her high-profile case. Boneza Valdez Hanchock and Carolyn Kashner play the two women who form an unlikely friendship in this psychological thriller, written by D.C. playwright Amanda Zeitler, that touches on hot-button issues of racism, abortion, immigration, and misogyny.

Bess Kaye directs. To March 14.

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Caos on F, 923 F St. NW. Tickets are $20. Call 202-215-6993 or visit www.nusass.com.

MUSIC BILLY WINN’S SENSORYOVERLOAD

A homegrown D.C. R&B/dance artist and veteran performer at Capital Pride, Billy Winn next performs at another installment of the monthly LGBTQ+ Music Residency at Red Bear Brewing Co. that started at the top of 2020. Winn is a performer and host at this third-Thursday showcase featuring other queer musical acts from the area, plus prizes and giveaways for the audience. The March edition puts a spotlight on DJ Honey, an increasingly prominent DJ at bars and clubs around town. Thursday, March 19, at 7 p.m.

209 M St. NE. Call 202-849-6130 or visit www.redbear.beer.

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CONGRESSIONAL CHORUS: VOGUE: RETURN TO THE ’90S

This year’s Spring cabaret takes a trip to the musical era of the 1990s, a decade that launched with Madonna’s ballroom culture-appropriating hit “Vogue.” But that’s only the jumping-off point, not the focus, of an energetic concert with hits veering from a boy band with the right stuff to a Latin heartthrob living the crazy (closeted) life, from a coquetish, baby Britney Spears to a dramatic, all-woman Celine Dion — not to mention a dream-seeking Billy Joel and a friendly, beer-chasing Garth Brooks. Interim Artistic Director Chris Urquiaga directs.

Saturday, March 21, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 22, at 4:30 p.m.

Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G St. NW. Tickets are $39 to $49.

Call 202-347-2635 or visit www. congressionalchorus.org.

GUDELL JAZZ SYNDICATE

A once-familiar presence performing in musical productions around town, Tony Gudell has altered course slowly but surely over the last decade, restyling himself as an increasingly in-demand nightclub singer and jazz vocalist. Case in point: Gudell has spent the past year as a monthly performer with a backing band at Logan Circle’s the Crown & Crow. And with the advent of March, that swanky Victorian-styled venue decided it wants more, inviting Gudell and company to become the “official house band” with performances twice monthly. As before, the exact lineup accompanying Gudell varies, although it usually consists of either Oren Levine or Terry Marshall on piano, Mark Saltman or Gerhard Graml on bass, and Christian Clark on percussion. What doesn’t change is the focus on swinging, crooning classics from the first half of the 20th Century, a golden era for jazz and pop. The repertoire ranges from hits by the Rat Pack to American Songbook standards, and all intended to “evoke a mid-century Vegas vibe.” Saturday, March 14 and March 28, from 9 p.m. to mid-

night. 1317 14th St. NW. No cover or minimum purchase required.

Call 202-763-7552 or visit www. thecrownandcrow.com, or www. tonygudell.com for more details and additional dates.

LIVE FROM HERE WITH CHRIS THILE

Thile, the progressive bluegrass musician who is also a member of Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers, replaced the retiring Garrison Keillor in the fall of 2016 as host of this popular public radio variety show, formerly known as A Prairie Home Companion. The current show has a more youthful energy to it under the direction of the 39-year-old Thile, but otherwise it’s still as folksy and familiar as ever.

This weekend, the show will broadcast live from the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, where Thile and his five-piece house band will be joined by an all-female lineup of guests: acclaimed Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, young pop-soul singer-songwriter Emily King, Rachael Price, lead singer of folk-rock band Lake Street Dive, comedian and author Negin Farsad, and Marion Winik of NPR’s All Things Considered. Saturday, March 14, at 5:45 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets are $49 to $125. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA: DON GIOVANNI

The protagonist in Mozart’s anti-hero classic Don Giovanni fashions himself a real Don Juan, aiming to seduce and conquer all of the beautiful women he encounters, whatever it takes. Eventually, however, “time’s up” for Giovanni in this celebrated tragicomedy. Ryan McKinny takes on the title role in a Washington National Opera production directed by E. Loren Meeker and choreographed by Eric Sean Fogel.

WNO Principal Conductor Evan Rogister leads the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. In Italian with English surtitles. To March 22. Opera House. Tickets are $45 to $299. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

DANCE DANCE PLACE’S NEW RELEASES SHOWCASE

Some of the best new works by the best new or emerging choreographers in the region get the spotlight at this curated annual event.

An array of genres and compelling voices emerge in the six works by six artists chosen for this year’s showcase include Bre Seals, the 2019 New Releases Commission recipient who debuts a deeply intersectional piece focused on the act of removing negative energy and replacing it with light from within. Also on tap is Anastasia Johnson’s Sometimes Y,

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exploring the anxiety and fear often faced by those new to the dance world; Madeline Maxine Gorman’s Me Time, a solo work examining the struggles and stress of being an aspiring corporate woman; Madeline Cantor’s Hidden Stories, a solo memoir work in which the artist richocets between an old family story and a related, recent personal experience; Stephen Lyons II’s Untitled, a physical theater urban dance work about five roommates vying for love; and a Faryn Kelly’s To The Last, exploring the feeling of knowing someone across non-linear time. Saturday, March 21, at 8 p.m. Dance Place, 3225 8th St. NE. Tickets are $15 to $30. Call 202-269-1600 or visit www.danceplace.org.

take on the efforts of the women’s suffrage movement, which culminated in ratification of the 19th Amendment, with a display of items donated 100 years ago by what is now the League of Women Voters, along with materials related to three of the movement’s leaders, Susan B. Anthony, Adelaide Johnson, and Alice Paul. But recent developments in women’s history are also reflected, with items from the 2017 Women’s March and a gavel used by the most powerful women in all of American history (thus far), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Now to March 7, 2021. 14th St. and Constitution Ave. NW. Call 202-633-1000 or visit www.americanhistory.si.edu.

COMEDY

HANAMI: BEYOND THE BLOOMS

COMEDY AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

A show President Trump doesn’t want you to see, Maryland’s Improbable Comedy continues to enlist more immigrants and first-generation comics for another stand-up showcase. Taking the stage at the Silver Spring Black Box Theatre are Pedro Gonzalez, Rahmein Mostafavi, Shelley Kim, and Sofia Javed. Saturday, March 14, at 8 p.m. 8641 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $20 to $30. Call 301-588-8270 or visit www.improbablecomedy.com.

THE QUEER QUEENS OF QOMEDY

Hard-working veteran comedienne Poppy Champlin — named “America’s Funniest Real Woman” on The Joan Rivers Show — has organized a “high octane, high caliber” all-lesbian standup show for a decade now. This year’s lineup, sponsored

by Sapphire Books Publishing, also includes Paris Sashay, a D.C. comic recently transplanted to New York who featured in her own episode of the Wanda Sykes-produced standup docu-series Unprotected Sets on ePIX, and Jen Kober, who played Officer Lafayette on RuPaul’s sitcom AJ and the Queen and can be heard regularly spinning stories on NPR’s Snap Judgment. The queen’s return to Magooby’s Joke House in Baltimore, where some proceeds will benefit the Pride Center of Maryland. Sunday, March 22, at 5 p.m. 9603 Deereco Rd., Timonium, Md. Tickets are $30, or $40 for VIP including preferred seating and a meet-and-greet with the queens and wine and cheese before the show.

Call 410-252-2727 or visit www. magoobysjokehouse.com.

ART & EXHIBITS CREATING ICONS: HOW WE REMEMBER WOMAN SUFFRAGE

The National Museum of American History offers its commemorative

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The innovative, experiential gallery ArTecHouse continues its annual tradition of celebrating springtime and cherry blossoms through several interactive installations spread out in a multi-room experience offering a kind of journey of springtime renewal. This year’s Hanami: Beyond the Blooms features vivid, handmade ink illustrations by New York-based artist Yuko Shimizu that get transformed digitally to follow vibrant cherry blossom flowers on an exciting and interactive journey through land, sea, and air. Shimizu draws on her childhood memories of cherry blossom trees in Japan with the installation In Rapture, while Awakening explores the sound of traditional Japanese taiko drums, reimagined with cutting-edge technology. The exhibition also includes the installations Walking with Petals, which guides guests down a surreal path of cherry trees made entirely out of hand-illustrated elements, and Hana Saku Biome, which engages all five senses, with the scent of cherry blossoms filling the air as you learn what exactly makes a cherry tree grow. As always, the experience ends with a visit to the bar where augmented-reality cocktails and other beverages are available to purchase. Opens Friday, March 13.

To May 25. 1238 Maryland Ave. SW. Tickets for 60-minute, timed-entry sessions are $13 to $20. visit www. dc.artechouse.com.

MIGRATIONS & MEANING(S) IN ART

A new exhibition at the Maryland Institute College of Art features a diverse range of local, national, and international visual artists exploring the timely topic of migration, many of them drawing on historical reference points, from slavery and emancipation, to the Great Migration, to migrant communities in the Caribbean, the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia.

Scholar and artist Deborah Willis of New York University curated

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the show per her role as the visiting chair of photography at MICA. Willis selected works across various media — photography, prints, video, animation, and sculpture — touching on “how identities are realized, rejected, performed, and desired,” as well as to the urgency of the present time. Artists and collectives included in the exhibition are Leslie King-Hammond, Albert Chong, Renée Cox, Carrie Mae Weems, Danny Wilcox Frasier, Tsedaye Makonnen, Nate Larson, Ana Teresa Fernandez, Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, and Hank Willis Thomas. To March 15. Meyerhoff Gallery in the Fox Building, 1303 W. Mount Royal Ave., Baltimore. Call 410-669-9200 or visit www.mica.edu/galleries.

TARGET GALLERY’S MARCH150 ANNUAL EXHIBITION AND ART SALE

The contemporary exhibitions space of Old Town Alexandria’s Torpedo Factory Art Center presents its 10th annual all-media fundraising exhibition. Rughly 200 original works by area artists are featured, essentially only limited by size and prize: with all works created on gallery-supplied 10” X 10” panels and priced at a reasonable $150 (a price that drops to $100 for all unsold artwork the last weekend of March.) Beyond that, the works exhibit a diversity of topics and media, including painting, photography, etching, mixed-media, and fiber. Opening Art Party, including hors d’oeuvres, drinks for purchase, live art demonstrations, and a dance party, is Saturday, March 14, from 7 to 10 p.m. On display until March 31. Target Gallery, 105 North Union St. Tickets to the Art Party are $30, or $50 to $200 for VIP allowing early access to art sales as well as the party. Call 703-838-4565 or visit www.torpedofactory.org.

WHICH YESTERDAY IS TOMORROW?

Artists Dahlia Elsayed and Andrew Demirjian reimagine the Silk Road caravanserai, or central courtyard, as a potential site for exchanging ideas and culture in their immersive, site-specific installation at the Logan Circle gallery Transformer.

Dubbed “a rest stop for the future based on the past,” this multi-sensory installation completely transforms the gallery’s space, embellishing the walls, floors, and ceilings with vibrant textiles, rugs, and furnishings, while a spatialized soundtrack of deconstructed folk instruments is heard throughout, and fragrant mists and Turkish coffee perfume the air. The artists have also curated a group of designers, painters, sculptors, and poets to create mementos to contribute to the experience. And very Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m., they welcome guests in the space for a “Pre-Sunset

Pause,” an opportunity to meditate and reflect on the week. Opening Reception is Saturday, March 14, from 5 to 8 p.m. On display to April 25. Transformer, 1404 P St. NW. Call 202-483-1102 or visit www. transformerdc.org.

ABOVE & BEYOND ERTH’S PREHISTORIC AQUARIUM ADVENTURE: THE MYSTERY OF THE DINOSAURS OF THE DEEP

Dive into the prehistoric world of underwater dinosaurs on stage at Frederick’s Weinberg Center for the Arts from the Australian creators of Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo Live.

The new show, produced by Red Tail Entertainment, is another puppetry-based theatrical display brought to life by Erth Visual & Physical Inc.’s team of creators, makers, and performers, all with an eye toward being entertaining for the whole family while staying true to the real science of paleontology.

Children can watch and learn and also interact with the inanimate, inflatable, and flying creatures in a fun, educational, immersive manner. Friday, March 20, at 8 p.m.

20 W. Patrick St. Frederick, Md. Tickets are $26 to $36. Call 301600-2828 or visit www.weinbergcenter.org.

LA TI DO: THE MUSIC OF NEAL LEARNER

Anya Randall Nebel and Larry Grey co-host the next D.C. iteration of the musical variety cabaret La Ti Do. The March edition presents an evening of original music from Neal Learner, co-creator of the musical Soul Redeemer, which debuted at last year’s Capital Fringe. Guest performers include Jessica Jellish, Cathy McCoskey, Paige Washington, Anthony Williams, and Fernando Luciano Delgado, with music direction by Josh Cleveland. The program also offers spoken word from C. Thomas, the local queer poet of color. Monday, March 16, at 8 p.m.

Le Mirch, 1736 Connecticut Ave. NW. Tickets are $20 at the door.

Call 202-629-3577 or visit www.latidoproductions.com.

POETRY & PASTIES

Every second Saturday of the month, the Anacostia location of Busboys and Poets plays host to a diverse open mike/burlesque event over brunch explicitly designed as a “#queer-affirming, #POC-centered, #femme-focused space.” Poetry & Pasties (@poetryandpasties on social media) is hosted by poet and sex educator Jennifer Eden, who identifies as a Black queer femme.

Saturday, March 14, at 1 p.m. 2004 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE. Call 202-889-1374 or visit www.busboysandpoets.com. l

theFeed

HARDLY A SCHOCK

Former GOP Congressman Aaron Schock comes out as gay, but fails to apologize for virulently anti-gay political record. By Rhuaridh Marr

T

HE FORMER REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN Aaron Schock has come out as gay, saying he regrets “the time wasted in not having done sooner.” The 38-year-old, who repeatedly voted against LGBTQ rights during his six years in office, published a post on his website and social media confirming his sexuality.

“I am gay,” he said. “For those who know me and for many who only know of me, this will come as no surprise. For the past year, I have been working through a list of people who I felt should finally hear the news directly from me before I made a public statement. I wanted my mother, my father, my sisters, my brother, and my closest friends to hear it from me first.

“The fact that I am gay is just one of those things in my life in need of explicit affirmation, to remove any doubt and to finally validate who I am as a person,” he continued. “In many ways I regret the time wasted in not having done so sooner.”

However, Shock refrained from directly apologizing for his record while in office — including voting against adding LGBTQ people to federal hate crime protections, voting against the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and voting for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Schock resigned from Congress in 2015 over allegations of misuse of taxpayer funds, including redecorating his office and taking a member of staff to a Katy Perry concert.

He was indicted in 2017 on 24 counts, including wire fraud, mail fraud, and theft of government funds, though charges were subsequently dropped.

Schock has previously refrained from discussing his sexuality publicly, and in 2015 his father stated that the former congressman is “not gay,” just “a little different.” However, eyebrows were raised last year when Schock was spotted partying at annual music festival Coachella with a group of gay men, including alleged photos of him with his hand down another man’s pants.

Activists and online personalities noted the hypocrisy of Schock seemingly enjoying the hard-won freedoms fought for by other LGBTQ people, while refusing to come out and apologize for his voting record. In his statement, Schock noted that upon reaching Congress he put “ambition over

the truth, which not only hurt me, but others as well.” He also characterized his support of anti-gay positions, such as opposing same-sex marriage in 2008, as “the same position… held by my party’s nominee, John McCain.”

He also referenced former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who both publicly opposed marriage equality in 2008. “That fact doesn’t make my then position any less wrong, but it’s sometimes easy to forget that it was leaders of both parties who for so long wrongly understood what it was to defend the right to marry,” Schock said.

Schock noted those who fought for LGBTQ rights and freedoms, allowing him to attend Coachella with other gay men and party in Mexican gay bars. “As is the case throughout most of human history, those who advance the greatest social change never hold elected office,” Schock said. “I can live openly now as a gay man because of the extraordinary, brave people who had the courage to fight for our rights when I did not: community activists, leaders, and ordinary LGBT folks.

Gay bloggers who rallied people to our cause. I recognize this even in the face of the intense and sometimes vicious criticism that I’ve received from those same people.”

But Schock refrained from directly apologizing for his record, instead saying that if he “were in Congress today, I would support LGBTQ rights in every way I could.”

In his statement, Schock noted his rural, religious upbringing, and said he tried to ignore his sexuality while growing up. He also called out attempts by the media to speculated on his sexuality while in office, including comments on his relationship status, his dress sense, and his physical fitness, as well as comparisons between his office redecoration and period drama Downton Abbey. “It was another way, albeit more sophisticated, to be teased about being gay,” he said. “A dog whistle.”

He also addressed the impact that media coverage of his Coachella visit had on his family. “I made plans to drive to my mother’s for Easter holiday and tell her what I had so long avoided,” he said. “In many ways my mind at that point was also oriented towards making up for lost time, socially.

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theFeed few days later, I got into my car, with all the fear and anxiety that I suppose many feel when they finally head off to have that long-avoided conversation with their family. I think it would be fair to say, life intervened.

“Halfway through the trip, I spoke with my mother,” he continued. “News broke of my weekend at Coachella.

Pictures online made clear what I was en route to tell my mother in person. She told me to turn around and go back to LA. I wasn’t welcome at home for Easter.”

He said that coming out to his family “has not been a case of instant acceptance and understanding.”

“What I had to share was unwelcome news to every single person in my family, out of the blue in some cases, and was

met with sadness, disappointment, and unsympathetic citations to Scripture,” Schock said.

Schock added that he hoped by coming out he can “help shine a light for young people, raised the way I was, looking for a path out of darkness and shame. And maybe aspects of my journey will also give their parents and family some pause before they decide how they’re going to react to the eventual news.”

He said that some family members send “occasional emails trying to sell me on conversion therapy.” “[But] recently at our relative’s wedding, my mother told me that if there is anyone special in my life, she wants to meet them,” he said. “I’m optimistic about the future and ready to write the next chapter of my life.” l

ETERNALLY BOYCOTTING

One Million Moms calls for a boycott of Marvel’s The Eternals for showing same-sex kiss. By John Riley

T

HE CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST ORGANIZATION One Million Moms is asking families with children to refuse to see the Marvel Studios film The Eternals over a scene showing a same-sex kiss. The film, which is set to be released in theaters on Nov. 6 and will be distributed by Walt Disney Studios, reportedly features a same-sex kiss between gay superhero Phastos and his husband, who are raising a child together.

Citing a Christian News article quoting an interview that actor Haaz Sleiman — who plays Phastos’ husband — gave to Logo’s NewNowNext, One Million Moms (1MM) has held up the kiss as yet another example of the entertainment industry trying “to indoctrinate families with the LGBTQ agenda.”

In response, One Million Moms has begun circulating a petition — which has amassed more than 14,000 signatures — asking families to boycott the film or refuse to allow their children to see it.

“1MM wants parents to be forewarned so they are not caught off guard with this upcoming Marvel film. This would surprise most conservative families since it would be unexpected so 1MM needs your help in getting the word out to as many people as possible,” the organization says.

“Marvel has decided to be politically correct instead of providing family friendly programming. Marvel should stick to entertaining, not pushing an agenda,” the petition reads.

“Please share this with your friends and family to make sure they are aware of the gay superhero character in The Eternals and not blindsided by it. As moms, we all want to know when Marvel is attempting to desensitize our family by normalizing 18

MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

the LGBTQ lifestyle.”

One Million Moms, an offshoot of the American Family Association, has become best known for its campaigns attempting to boycott or censor films, television shows, or commercials that show LGBTQ content, as well as companies that show support for the LGBTQ community.

For instance, the group has previously complained about a lesbian kiss briefly featured at the end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, a depiction of a family headed by a same-sex couple in Toy Story 4, and a Chobani yogurt commercial featuring a lesbian couple.

One Million Moms also circulated petitions objecting to the airing of a commercial for the wedding planning business Zola that depicted a lesbian wedding, and calling on the Hallmark Channel to refrain from showing any LGBTQ content, either in commercials or in its Christmas-themed films. Those petitions are believed to have influenced the Hallmark Channel’s decision to yank the ad from the airwaves. The Hallmark Channel later reversed course, but Zola decided to pull its advertising to protest the decision.

One Million Moms has also focused on non-LGBTQ-related issues or content, including objecting to profanity in a recent Burger King commercial; calling for the cancellation of the TV series Lucifer, where the Devil is one of the main characters; and being outraged at a Hotels.com commercial featuring a joke in which two mothers attribute their current unhappiness being saddled with children to their failure to use condoms. l

Community FRIDAY, March 13

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

GAMMA is a confidential, vol-

WOMEN IN THEIR TWENTIES (AND THIRTIES), a social discussion and activity group for queer women, meets at The DC Center on the second and fourth Friday of each month. Group social activity to follow the meeting.

8-9:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www.thedccenter.org.

Weekly Events ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH

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

BET MISHPACHAH, founded

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

DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a

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

HIV TESTING at Whitman-

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

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 703823-4401. www.kiservices.org.

METROHEALTH CENTER

offers free, rapid HIV testing.

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

SATURDAY, March 14 ADVENTURING outdoors

BRADY SCOT

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.

SMART BUSINESS

The Equality Chamber of Commerce of D.C. offers the city’s LGBTQ professionals a way to connect.

O

UR CHAMBER CONNECT EVENTS ARE A GREAT WAY for people within the LGBTQ community and allies to come together and potentially use each other’s business platforms to build relationships,” says Morgen Hunt, president of the Equality Chamber of Commerce of D.C. (formerly CAGLCC).

“Our networking events are fabulous. They’re fun, energetic, very diverse, and engage like-minded individuals from our membership. Every attendee gets two free drink tickets, we have light hors d’oeuvres — sometimes provided by some of our members — and a DJ from within the community.”

In addition to making connections, there are multiple benefits to becoming a member. For instance, ECCDC highlights local businesses and professionals on social media and in its newsletter. The group also distributes business directories at Pride and other events to aid local entrepreneurs with visibility.

“Being part of a growing networking family seems to be a benefit for people,” says Hunt. “You’re able to kind of shine within your own field.”

ECCDC members can become certified as an LGBTQ+ business-owner and will have the certification fee waived if they’re a member of the Chamber. Memberships range from $175 to $750 a year.

Some ECCDC members are currently trying to create an advocacy program where the Chamber would weigh in on important issues or support specific causes, while others are speaking to potential sponsors about staging town hall meetings and fundraising galas.

“It’s a good time to be a member of the chamber,” says Hunt.

“We have increased membership greatly, and our events have really boosted morale.”

The organization holds a monthly “Chamber Connect” networking social, and on April 15, ECCDC will present its annual Mega Networking event at the spacious City Winery in Ivy City. “We’re hoping to bring 400-plus people together,” says Hunt. “It’s the biggest networking event in the D.C. area for the LGBTQ+ community.” —John Riley ECCDC’s monthly “Chamber Connect” networking event is Thursday, March 12 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the St. Gregory Hotel, 2033 M St. NW. The “Mega Networking” event is Wednesday, April 15, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at City Winery, 1350 Okie St. NE. Pre-registration is required. For more information, visit www.eccdc.biz.

group takes a moderate 9-mile round-trip hike over rolling hills on the Seneca Creek Greenway, near Montgomery Village, Md. Bring beverages, lunch, mud-worthy boots, and a few dollars for fees. Carpool at 9 a.m. from the Kiss & Ride lot facing Rockville Pike/Route 355 at the Rockville Metro Station.

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

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

Weekly Events DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a

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

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

DC FRONT RUNNERS running/ walking/social club welcomes runners of all ability levels for exercise in a fun and supportive environment, with socializing afterwards. Route distance will be 3-6 miles. Walkers meet at 9:30 a.m. and runners at 10 a.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW. For more information, visit www. dcfrontrunners.org.

SUNDAY, March 15 CHRYSALIS arts & culture

group holds its annual meeting over dinner at a Metroaccessible restaurant in D.C. All welcome. Plans for springtime museum visits and out-of-town excursions will be reviewed.

For further information, contact Craig, 202-462-0535 or craighowell1@verizon.net, by Saturday, Mar. 14.

Volunteers are needed to help prepare CASA RUBY’S MONTHLY DINNER. Held on the third Sunday of each month, in conjunction with The DC Center and Food

MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

19

Rescue DC, the event provides a hot meal to those housed at Casa Ruby. Homemade or store bought meals welcome. 7-8 p.m. Casa Ruby Shelter, 1216 Kennedy St. NW. For more information, contact lamar@ thedccenter.org, jon@thedccenter. org, or visit www.casaruby.org.

ST. STEPHEN AND THE INCARNATION, an “interracial,

Weekly Events

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF SILVER SPRING

LGBT-inclusive ALL SOULS

celebrates Low Mass at 8:30 a.m., High Mass at 11 a.m. 2300 Cathedral Ave. NW. 202-232-4244, www.allsoulsdc.org.

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

DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a

MONDAY, March 16

MEMORIAL EPISCOPAL CHURCH

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.

DIGNITYUSA offers Roman

Catholic Mass for the LGBT community. All welcome. Sign interpreted. 6 p.m. St. Margaret’s Church, 1820 Connecticut Ave. NW. For more information, visit www.dignitywashington.org.

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST wel-

comes all to 10:30 a.m. service, 945 G St. NW. For more info, visit www. firstuccdc.org or call 202-628-4317.

HOPE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST welcomes GLBT community for worship. 10:30 a.m., 6130 Old Telegraph Road, Alexandria.

Visit www.hopeucc.org.

Join LINCOLN

CONGREGATIONAL TEMPLE – UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST for

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

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

by Rev. Emma Chattin. Children’s Sunday School, 11 a.m. 10383 Democracy Lane, Fairfax. For more info, call 703-691-0930 or visit www.mccnova.com.

NATIONAL CITY CHRISTIAN CHURCH, inclusive church with

GLBT fellowship, offers gospel worship, 8:30 a.m., and traditional worship, 11 a.m. 5 Thomas Circle NW. For more info, call 202-232-0323 or visit www.nationalcitycc.org.

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MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

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

CENTER FAITH, an interdenominational network for LGBTQ people and LGBTQ-affirming churches, holds a monthly meeting at The DC Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www.thedccenter.org.

GLAA, the all-volunteer, nonpar-

tisan political organization that defends the rights of LGBTQ people in the nation’s capital, holds its monthly meeting at The DC Center. 7-8:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www.glaa.org.

Join LGBTQ people from around the D.C. area for a biweekly BOARD GAME NIGHT, hosted by a local Board Gamers Meetup group. 6-9 p.m. Panera Bread, 1350 Connecticut Ave. NW, basement level. For more information, visit www.meetup.com/DC-LGBTBoard-Gamers.

The Metro D.C. chapter of PFLAG, a support group for parents, family members and allies of the LGBTQ community, holds its monthly meeting at The DC Center. 7-9 p.m.

2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit www.thedccenter.org.

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 202682-2245 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, March 17 CENTER BI, a group of The DC

Center, hosts a monthly roundtable discussion around issues of bisexuality. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. Visit www.thedccenter.org.

THE HEALTH WORKING GROUP

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

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

Weekly Events 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. www.inova.org/gmhc

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.

STI TESTING at Whitman-Walker

Health. 10 a.m.-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.

Support group for LGBTQ youth ages 13-24 meets at SMYAL. 4-7 p.m. 410 7th St. SE. For more information, contact Dana White, 202567-3156, or visit www.smyal.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, March 18 BOOKMEN DC, an informal men’s

gay-literature group, discusses The Collected Works of Joe Brainard at The DC Center. All are welcome to attend. 7:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. Visit www.bookmendc. blogspot.com.

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.

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.

THURSDAY, March 19 AGLA BOOK CLUB meets at

Federico’s Ristorante Italiano to discuss Confessions of the Fox: A Novel, by Jordy Rosenberg.

Everyone welcome. 7:30-9 p.m. 519 23rd St. S., Arlington, Va. Please RSVP in advance by emailing info@agla.org.

Join other LGBTQ military, national security, and DoD workers for the monthly DOD PRIDE HAPPY HOUR at Freddie’s Beach Bar. 5-8 p.m. 555 23rd St. S., Arlington, Va. For more information, visit www. facebook.com/DoDPrideEvents.

The DC Center holds a meeting of its POLY DISCUSSION GROUP, for people interested in polyamory, non-monogamy or other nontraditional relationships. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. Visit www. thedccenter.org. l For more events, visit www. metroweekly.com/community/ calendar.

MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

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MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

METRO WEEKLY’S 2020 SPRING ARTS PREVIEW Film... Page 25 Stage... Page 31 Music: Pop, Rock, Folk, Blues & Jazz... Page 37 Music: Classical & Choral... Page 53 Dance... Page 59 Above & Beyond... Page 63 Illustration by David Amoroso

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MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

Film

Wonder Woman 1984

J

MARCH

By Rhuaridh Marr

A QUIET PLACE PART II — A sequel to

AMES BOND MIGHT HAVE NO TIME TO DIE IN HIS LATEST FILM, but apparently he also has no time for reduced box office potential, which is why the tentpole release has been pushed from March to November. As such, this spring there’s a relative dearth of big-budget popcorn films, at least until Marvel’s much-awaited Black Widow drops in May. Perhaps that’s a good thing, as it allows some of the smaller features hitting screens this year space to flourish, from horror fare such as the Guillermo del Toro-produced Antlers, to Janelle Monáe-starring Antebellum, to lighter options such as indie comedy Banana Split or the absolutely bananas-sounding prank comedy Bad Trip. There’s also the usual glut of sequels galore, some from newer franchises — Fast & Furious, Saw, SpongeBob — and some from decades ago — Ghostbusters, Top Gun, Bill & Ted. Plus a couple of questionable options — Legally Blonde 3, anyone? No? What about a fifth Purge?

Amidst the heap, there’s a few releases definitely worth watching out for.

Carey Mulligan lets loose in Brock Turner-inspired revenge flick Promising Young Woman. Pixar is ready to make us feel all the emotions with Soul. Jordan Peele offers his take on horror slasher Candyman. And, perhaps best of all, everyone can grab their hairspray and leg warmers, because Wonder Woman is heading to 1984.

the 2018 horror smash, about a family surviving in silence in a post-apocalyptic world where monsters hunt based on noise. A Quiet Place was acclaimed for John Krasinski’s directing debut and Emily Blunt’s performance — watching her character struggle to silently give birth while being stalked by a creature was an indelible cinematic moment. This follow-up forces the Abbott family out of hiding and into the world, where they soon discover that the monsters aren’t the only thing threatening their existence.

(3/20) THE CLIMB — Michael Angelo Covino’s

comedy dissects the bromance between Mike (Covino) and Kyle (Covino’s co-writer and best friend, Kyle Marvin),

MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

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after Mike reveals that he slept with Kyle’s fiancee. The Climb charts the impact on their friendship as the years roll by, and critics are showering praise on Covino’s direction, which features a number of extended, seemingly continuous shot scenes (think 1917, but with the horrors of war replaced with satirical toxic masculinity). (3/20) MULAN — Disney is no stranger to outcry

over its live action remakes (see: pretty much everything about Aladdin, especially Jafar) but Mulan has been one of its most controversial yet. Not only is it devoid of the animated film’s iconic songs, but filmmakers also removed the sidekick comedy of mini-dragon Mushu (voiced

by Eddie Murphy in the original), and bisexual icon Li Shang (he wanted Mulan when she presented as male Ping, this is a fact, don’t @ us). In their place, we have what looks to be a gorgeous, empowering, if overly serious, action film about Hua Mulan (Liu Yifei), who hides her female identity and takes her father’s place in the Imperial Chinese Army. Despite the changes, initial reactions from the film’s premiere have been pretty glowing. (3/27) BANANA SPLIT — During the aimless sum-

mer between high school and college, April (Hannah Marks) mends her recent heartbreak by starting a powerful friendship with Clara (Liana Liberato). The only problem? Clara is dating her ex. Benjamin Kasulke’s debut film might sound cliché, but critics are sweet on Marks and Liberato’s chemistry and a strong script — which Marks co-wrote — suggesting this could be a delicious way to spend a mere 84 minutes. (3/27)

APRIL THE NEW MUTANTS — After years of

action-adventures laced with comedy, Marvel Comics’ latest film takes a left turn into suspenseful horror. Its titular characters are a group of five young mutants who are being held in a secretive facility as they come to terms with their powers, forcing them to attempt an escape. Originally planned to release in 2018, The New Mutants was shelved while Disney purchased Fox, with rumors that the X-Men spinoff was being partially or completely reshot as Disney sought bigger box office potential. That apparently hasn’t happened, with only minor tweaks leading to an end product that’s reportedly even scarier than originally planned. (4/3) 26

TROLLS WORLD TOUR — Enough people

apparently saw the first Trolls film to warrant this animated sequel. The 2016 original brought the impossibly upbeat earworm “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” from co-star Justin Timberlake, and this follow-up offers groovy bop “The Other Side,” featuring Timberlake and SZA. As for the film itself, who honestly even cares? Stream the song and go see something else. (4/10) MY SPY — Guardians of the Galaxy’s Dave

Bautista follows fellow wrestling stars Dwayne Johnson and John Cena into the world of action comedies. Bautista is a CIA agent who finds himself at the mercy of a nine-year-old (Chloe Coleman) after he’s ordered to spy on her family, and ultimately finds himself blackmailed into teaching her how to be a spy. Director Peter Segal helmed notable duds Nutty Professor II, Grudge Match, and the third Naked Gun film, so don’t expect much from this. (4/17) ABE — After 12-year-old foodie Abe

(Noah Schnapp of Stranger Things) meets Brazilian chef Chico (Seu Jorge), he determines to use cooking to bring his divided family — half Israeli, half Palestinian — together. Documentary filmmaker Fernando Grostein Andrade’s feature debut originally played Sundance Film Festival over a year ago. Initial reviews suggest that, while flawed, it was worth the wait. (4/17) ANTLERS — Guillermo del Toro produc-

es a supernatural horror from director Scott Cooper, about a young boy in rural Oregon who is hiding something terrifyingly dangerous in his home. The boy’s teacher (Keri Russell) and her police officer brother (Jesse Plemons) quickly become embroiled in a trail of destruction and death as they try to figure out what exactly is going on. Something pretty horrific, the trailer suggests. (4/17) PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN — In 2016,

Stanford student Brock Turner was convicted of multiple counts of sexual assault, but received a highly criticized and lenient sentence after the judge described him as a “promising young man.” By now, you can possibly guess what Killing Eve producer Emerald Fennell’s darkly comic revenge thriller is about. Carey Mulligan has been lauded for her tour de force performance as Cassie, a former med student who spends her nights pretending to be drunk at bars to see just how nice the

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“nice guys” who offer to take her home truly are, until she’s afforded the opportunity to right a wrong from college. Critics say Fennell’s bold film has issues, but Mulligan makes every moment of provocative payback worth watching. (4/17) ANTEBELLUM

— The producers of Antebellum, who count acclaimed horrors Get Out and Us in their credits, have deliberately kept details of the film under wraps. Two short teaser trailers have been released, showing successful writer Veronica (Janelle Monáe) seemingly being transported from modern day to a nightmarish, slavery-era South, from which she ultimately has to fight to escape. Monáe has proven herself an accomplished actor, and the credentials behind this film are strong, so hopes are high that the end product matches the hype that the film’s marketing secrecy is creating. (4/24) BAD TRIP — What if Jackass was scripted

like a movie, rather than just a series of strung-together pranks? That’s the premise for Bad Trip, from Eric André and director Kitao Sakurai, which stars André and Lil Rey Howery as two friends on a cross-country trip, with Tiffany Haddish pursuing them as the sister whose car they stole. They act their way through a series of hidden pranks, all of which further the plot and feature apparently real reactions from bystanders — such as those who witness Haddish’s character dig her way out of prison and steal a police car.

We honestly don’t know what to make of this. Will it work? Will it be a car crash?

It’s anyone’s guess. (4/24) JUDY & PUNCH — The Guardian called

debut writer-director Mirrah Foulkes’ film a “brutal and brilliantly bizarre #MeToo fairytale,” and that’s a pretty apt description of Judy & Punch. Set in a fictional 17th-century English town, Mr. Punch (Damon Herriman) is a puppeteer, but also a violent alcoholic. He kills his baby and attempts to kill his wife Judy (Mia Wasikowska), the true talent of his shows. She survives, and naturally switches into revenge mode. A darkly comic drama that blends slapstick with murder — much like the puppet show it’s based on — except here, Mr. Punch might not get the last laugh. (4/24)

MAY BLACK WIDOW — After Bond jumped from

spring to fall, the first big blockbuster

DREAM HORSE — Not in the mood for a

big-budget Marvel film? Consider this drama starring Toni Collette and Damian Lewis, about the residents of a Welsh mining village who breed and sponsor a racehorse to return some hope and pride to the people. Early reviews say it’s a well-trodden but winning tale. (5/1) LEGALLY BLONDE 3 — Little is currently

known about this film, which follows the delightful 2001 original, and the ho-hum 2003 sequel. It’s been 17 years since we last caught up with Elle Woods, and while everyone continues to do the bend and snap, was anyone really hoping for a third film in the franchise? (5/8) THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD — Veep creator Armando

Iannucci offers his take on Charles Dickens’ classic novel in this comedy-drama. Dev Patel (Hotel Mumbai) is David, whose idyllic childhood is upended when his mother remarries and then dies, and who ultimately experiences good fortune when he discovers a wealthy aunt. Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Peter Capaldi, Ben Wishaw, and Gwendoline Christie feature in the large ensemble cast, while reviews in the United Kingdom, where the film opened in January, have praised Iannucci’s fresh and charming spin on the source material. (5/8) THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW — If you

swapped Rear Window’s James Stewart with Amy Adams, Grace Kelly with a bottle of pills, and tense mystery with

heavy psychological drama, you’d have The Woman in the Window, about a pill-popping, alcoholic agoraphobe who believes she’s witnessed something most foul across the street while spying on the neighbors. Based on A.J. Finn’s bestselling novel, naturally no one believes Adams’ Dr. Anna Fox, and things take dark, twisty turns as she questions her own perception of reality while trying to uncover the truth. Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie, and Jennifer Jason Lee also star. (5/15) SPIRAL — The subtitle of this film is

“From the Book of Saw,” making this the ninth entry in the 16-year-old “torture porn” horror franchise. Neither reboot nor remake, instead this film — based on a story by and starring Chris Rock — exists within the Saw universe, as Rock’s police detective investigates a series of gruesome murders with worrying similarities to the Jigsaw traps of old. Even if you have no plans to see Spiral, watch the trailer, if only to hear Samuel L. Jackson — starring as an esteemed police veteran — deliver this instantly iconic line: “You wanna play games, motherfucker?” (5/15) F9 — We only have ourselves to blame.

Like the Kardashians, the Trump administration, and the career of Jimmy Fallon, we allowed this, the ninth film in the Fast & Furious franchise, to happen. It is our collective shame. And don’t think it will end here, in yet another CGI-filled, incomprehensible action movie — there’s already a tenth film scheduled for release in 2021. (5/22) ARTEMIS FOWL — Disney has been some-

what struggling with its live-action efforts of late. If they’re not tied to a franchise — Marvel, Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean — or a remake of a classic, the House of Mouse’s films have been dealt some major blows at the box office: think A Wrinkle in Time, Alice Through the Looking Glass, and the infamous bomb that was John Carter. Eager to find its next billion-dollar franchise opportunity, Disney adapted Eoin Colfer’s sci-fi fantasy novel Artemis Fowl, about a 12-yearold genius descended from a long line of criminal masterminds, who tries to find his missing father. Things aren’t looking great, though — as a “loose” adaptation of the book, fans are already fuming at the changes to story and characters in its first trailer. That doesn’t suggest bums on seats upon release. (5/29)

JUNE WONDER WOMAN 1984 — When Wonder

Woman burst onto screens in 2017, it proved that there was still some life left in DC Comics’ extended film universe — it was just the men who sucked. Anchored

by Gal Gadot’s charismatic performance and Patty Jenkins’ assured direction, it blew away all the negative emotions left

by Superman, Batman, et al. The sequel, as you may have guessed, moves from WWI to the ’80s, with Diana Prince facing off against two separate foes: businessman Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal), and new friend Dr. Barbara Ann Minerva (Kristen Wiig), who becomes supervillain Cheetah after gaining cheetah-like powers and appearance. Add in the potential for a thumping ’80s soundtrack (as teased in the trailer), the mystery of how Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) is both alive and unaged, and the excitement of seeing the normally affable Wiig play a villain, and excitement is high for this one. (6/5) GREYHOUND — Tom Hanks is Commander

Ernest Krause, a career officer tasked with commanding a navy destroyer escorting 37 ships across the Atlantic in early 1942, mere months after America entered WWII. As if that wasn’t enough, the convoy is being hunted by a wolfpack of German submarines, intent on preventing them from ever reaching Europe.

Hanks wrote the screenplay for the film, based on a 1955 book called The Good Shepherd, and it looks to be a tense, dramatic, CGI-heavy affair. (6/12) CANDYMAN — Surprisingly, this isn’t

a remake or reboot, but a direct sequel to the 1992 horror slasher, which invited people to say the titular character’s name while looking into a mirror (spoiler: it doesn’t end well). Desperate artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who survived Candyman’s 1992 rampage, initially uses the story as inspiration for his paintings, but soon starts to question his sanity as the killings resume — and his own role in them. Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us) wrote the script and it’s directed

by Nia DaCosta (Little Woods), so expect good things from this. And maybe avoid mirrors for the rest of June. (6/12) SOUL — In Pixar’s latest effort, music

teacher Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx), who has dreams of performing jazz onstage, finds his soul accidentally removed and sent to the “You Seminar,” where souls gain their passions before being sent to

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of 2020 is also the one with arguably the highest expectations to meet. Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff — aka Black Widow — finally gets her own film, after starring in eight other Marvel Comics efforts. However, the delay in production has led to a curiosity: spoilers if you haven’t seen Avengers: Endgame, but Black Widow dies, meaning this prequel tells the tale of a character who has already bit the dust (somewhat literally). It also means that Black Widow will have zero dramatic tension — we know Natasha survives to be a scene-stealer in other Marvel efforts — so what exactly is the point, other than giving the character her long-awaited dues? And for an added curiosity, this prequel occurs after the events of 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. Confused? You’re not alone.

Hopefully its tale of Black Widow confronting her history as a spy justifies the bizarre chronology of its release. (5/1)

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

newborn children. There, he meets 22 (Tina Fey), whose outlook is dimmed after years trapped at the Seminar. Naturally, Joe must help reignite 22’s passion for life before time — and, presumably, the audience’s tear ducts — runs out. (6/19) TOP GUN: MAVERICK — The notably homo-

erotic Top Gun receives a thoroughly unnecessary sequel some 34 years after the original first brought its shirtless volleyball scene to our screens. In a world where drones have increasingly replaced aerial combat, Maverick (Tom Cruise) is tasked with training a new group of graduates, including Rooster (Miles Teller), son of Goose, Maverick’s best friend who died in the first film. Expect beautifully choreographed fighter jet sequences, lots of macho bravado, and, according to the trailer, an updated shirtless beach scene. (6/26) IN THE HEIGHTS — Years before Hamilton

became an entertainment juggernaut, LinManuel Miranda was winning awards with this witty, energetic musical, which follows residents in the largely HispanicAmerican neighborhood of Washington Heights in New York City. Anthony Ramos (who starred on Broadway in Hamilton) plays Usnavi de la Vega, the musical’s narrator and a key character throughout. In the Heights is produced by Miranda, with a script by Quiara Alegría Hudes — who wrote the book for the original musical — and it’s directed by John M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians), so this could be a pleasant summer escape. (6/26)

JULY GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE — After audi-

ences rejected 2016’s female-led reboot, we’re instead getting a direct sequel to the 1980s films, with original cast members Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts all appearing. The film will follow the grandchildren of one of the original Ghostbusters after they move into the home of their late grandfather (presumably Harold Ramis’ character, following his death in 2014), and uncover his connection to the “Manhattan Crossrip of 1984” when strange events start occurring in their rural Oklahoma town. (7/10) THE PURGE 5 — Reportedly the last film in

this horror franchise, which documents a fictional annual “purge” where America’s citizens are allowed to commit violent crimes for one night per year without repercussions. Enacted in the wake of 28

economic collapse and social unrest, the Purge’s real goal is artificial population control. Like many dystopian works of fiction, it’s all becoming a little too believable in the era of Trump. Oh, and the (currently untitled) film will probably be mediocre, like its four predecessors. (7/10) TENET — Christopher Nolan returns to

once again make our brains hurt with this time-bending action thriller. Its plot, like 2014’s Inception, has been kept under wraps, with only small hints revealed in interviews and the film’s pulsing, moody trailer. What do we know? John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman) is a secret agent tasked with preventing World War III through time travel. What don’t we know? Pretty much everything else, except that the cast includes Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, and Michael Caine. (7/17) BOB’S BURGERS: THE MOVIE — Bob’s

Burgers premiered at the start of last decade in the shadow of The Simpsons, Family Guy, and American Dad in Fox’s animation lineup, but has quickly grown to become arguably the best of the bunch.

Following the lives of the Belcher family as they live and work in the titular hamburger restaurant, over nine seasons Bob’s Burgers has gained a devoted following — and produced hundreds of quotable, meme-able moments. While a film might seem an odd move for a show that still lacks the mass market appeal of its competitors, this isn’t a Simpsons-style bloated mess, years after the show lost its brilliance. Instead, it’s actually a musical comedy, one coming while the show still maintains its zany quality and loveable charm. (7/17) THE FRENCH DISPATCH — The words

“Timothée Chalamet” will be enough to drive some to see this film, but for those of us not obsessed with the Call Me By Your Name star, there’s a lot to like in Wes Anderson’s upcoming comedy-drama. Described as a “love letter to journalists set at an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional 20th-century French city,” the trailer alone displays peak Anderson in almost every scene.

Plus, the cast is a dream: Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, Benicio del Toro, Frances McDormand, Léa Seydoux, Jeffrey Wright, Elisabeth Moss, Saoirse Ronan, and Christoph Waltz all feature.

And yes, Chalamet, too. (7/24) JUNGLE CRUISE — A film based on a

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Disneyland ride — and don’t laugh, Pirates of the Caribbean turned into a multi-billion-dollar (and increasingly terrible) franchise. Jungle Cruise is also the first live action Disney film to feature an openly gay character — a fact somewhat tempered by the reportedly “very camp” McGregor, brother of protagonist Lily, being played by straight comedian Jack Whitehall. As for the film itself, Emily Blunt is Lily, an early 20th century scientist searching for a tree with magical healing properties, Dwayne Johnson is the riverboat captain helping her, and their journey meets a number of perils, including wild animals, a competing German expedition, and the audience probably getting up and leaving halfway through. (7/24) MORBIUS — Jared Leto jumps ship from

DC to Marvel, appearing in Sony’s latest attempt at kick-starting their own darker, scarier extended film universe, following 2018’s Venom. Leto is Michael Morbius, a scientist with a rare blood disease, who is afflicted with a form of vampirism while trying to cure himself. The result is a moral battle between Morbius’ desire to use his new powers to be a hero, and his overwhelming craving for human blood.

Matt Smith stars as antagonist Loxias Crown, who shares Morbius’ blood disorder, while Tyrese Gibson and Al Madrigal are the FBI agents determined to hunt the “Living Vampire” down. (7/31) BARB AND STAR GO TO VISTA DEL MAR —

Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo co-wrote and starred in the Oscar-nominated Bridesmaids, and they’re pairing up again for this comedy — with Mumolo elevating herself to a lead role this time around.

Mumolo and Wiig are Barb and Star, best friends who leave their small Midwestern town for the first time for a vacation in Florida, where they soon find themselves tangled up in adventure, love, and a villain's evil plot to kill everyone in town. If Morbius is a bust, this could do well. (7/31)

AUGUST INFINITE — Mark Wahlberg leads this

action thriller based on D. Eric Maikranz’s novel The Reincarnationist Papers, about the Cognomina, a secret society for people who have total recall of their past lives. Wahlberg stars as a man haunted by memories of his past lives, who stumbles across the society and decides to join their ranks, learning that they have been agents of change throughout history in the process. (8/7)

PETER RABBIT 2: THE RUNAWAY — Much like No Time To Die,

Peter Rabbit hopped down the calendar from his original burrow in April, over fears that COVID-19 coronavirus would affect audience turnout. In this film, irredeemable asshole Peter Rabbit — who in the last film deliberately forced a farmer into anaphylactic shock — decides to run away from home because he wants even more attention, forcing his family into dangerous situations as they try to find him. However will we cope with the added delay? (8/7) THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN — Based on K. A. Applegate’s eponymous

children’s novel, this Disney film follows Ivan the gorilla, who lives in a cage at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and has come to accept his life there. But that all changes when the mall buys baby elephant Ruby, and Ivan determines to obtain a better life for them both. Sam Rockwell, Angelina Jolie, and Danny DeVito lend their voices, while Bryan Cranston stars as the mall owner. (8/14) MALIGNANT — James Wan (Saw, Insidious) directs this horror

and devised the story with his fiance, actress Ingrid Bisu. The plot is being kept under wraps, though some have speculated if there’s a connection to Wan’s 2011 graphic novel Malignant Man, about a cancer patient who discovers that his terminal tumor is actually a parasite granting him otherworldly powers.

We’ll find out in August. (8/14) BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC — Ghostbusters and Top Gun aren’t

the only sequels picking up thirty years after their predecessors left off. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter return as the titular musicians, whose creative output led to a utopian society that mastered time-travel, allowing their Excellent Adventure and Bogus Journey in ’89 and ’91, respectively. Now faced with monotonous middle age, as their marriages fall apart and their kids don’t respect them, Bill and Ted are tasked with writing a song in just 78 minutes. The price if they fail? The entire universe. Woah, dude. (8/21) LET HIM GO — No, this isn’t a curiously gendered take on the

iconic Frozen song, but rather a thriller based on Larry Watson’s eponymous novel. Kevin Costner is a former sheriff and Diane Lane his wife, both determined to rescue their grandson from a dangerous, off-grid family, who refuse to — you guessed it — let him go. (8/21) THE HITMAN’S WIFE’S BODYGUARD — Middling 2017 action-com-

edy The Hitman’s Bodyguard apparently did enough to justify investment in a sequel. In the first film, Samuel L. Jackson was a notorious hitman, and Ryan Reynolds the bodyguard assigned to protect him during a trial. Here, they team up to save Salma Hayek, the hitman’s wife, leading to a presumably equally middling film and an unnecessarily convoluted title. (8/28) UNHINGED — No, not a Donald Trump documentary (last Trump

joke, we promise), but rather a psychological thriller starring Russell Crowe, who decides to enact revenge on Rachel (Caren Pistorius) after she honks her horn at him while stopped at a traffic light. Apparently stalking and attacking her loved ones is the best way to teach a lesson, rather than the easier response of a middle finger and loud expletive. (8/28) l For more Spring Arts Film listings, please visit www.metroweekly. com or follow our new interactive version of the print edition at www.issuu.com/metroweekly.

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SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

Stage

Jesus Christ, Superstar at the Kennedy Center

T

ADVENTURE THEATRE MTC

Compiled by Randy Shulman

HE SECOND HALF OF THE THEATER SEASON IS AS RICH AND potent as the first half, with powerful productions of works by August Wilson, Sarah Ruhl, and Kenneth Lonergan. One of the most anticipated undertakings is Mosaic’s staging of Ifa Bayeza’s epic The Till Trilogy. We also can’t wait to see what The Shakespeare’s Simon Godwin has up his sleeve for Much Ado About Nothing, as well as Woolly’s Teenage Dick, a modern update on Richard III set in a high school. But it’s musicals that dominate the spring and summer, with the return of the drop-dead astonishing Hamilton to the Kennedy Center, as well as a new production of Jesus Christ Superstar, Once On This Island, and the Broadway Center Stage rendition of Bye, Bye Birdie, featuring the legendary Harvey Fierstein. There’s also a sure-to-be boisterous production of Guys & Dolls at Ford’s, Memphis and Hedwig over at Keegan, Pippin at Olney, Fun Home at Studio, and Hair at Signature, which we’re quite sure will retain its infamous nude scene. Signature also makes a rare departure from its Virginia home for a two-week stint at The Anthem, where Eric Schaeffer and company intend to turn us all into “Dancing Queens.”

Please note that some events might be postponed or cancelled due to the COVID-19 coronavirus. Please check ahead with the individual venues.

1ST STAGE

1524 Spring Hill Rd. Mclean, Va. 703-854-1856 www.1ststagetysons.org A NEW BRAIN — William Finn’s musical confronts the author’s encounter with a

neurological disorder (3/26-4/19) • THE WAVERLY GALLERY — An art gallery in a small Greenwich Village hotel is threatened with replacement by a coffee shop.

By Kenneth Lonergan (5/7-6/7)

7300 MacArthur Blvd Glen Echo, Md. 301-634-2270 www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org THE SNOWY DAY AND OTHER STORIES BY EZRA JACK KEATS — This beautiful show

follows the character of Peter and his friend Archie around the neighborhood in four of Ezra Jack Keats’ beloved tales (Now to 4/5) • LYLE THE CROCODILE — When a crocodile turns up in a bathtub in an apartment, he becomes good friends with the folks in the building except Mr. Grumps (4/24-5/31) • MADAGASCAR - A MUSICAL ADVENTURE — Based on the Dreamworks animated film. Directed by Natsu Onoda Power (6/26-8/23) ALLY THEATRE COMPANY

Joe’s Movement Emporium 309 Bunker Hill Road Mt. Rainier, Md. 301-699-1819 www.allytheatrecompany.com RASHEEDA SPEAKING — A tense workplace thriller that examines the realities of "post-racial" America when two co-workers — one black, the other white

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— are driven apart by the machinations of their boss (Now to 3/22) ARENA STAGE

1101 Sixth St. SW 202-488-3300 arenastage.org SEVEN GUITARS — Pittsburgh in the 1940s is the backdrop for August Wilson’s fifth cycle play. Seven lives are interconnected when old friend and blues singer vows to turn his life around after a surprise windfall. Tazewell Thompson directs (4/3-5/3, Fichandler) • TONI STONE — Considered a African-American pioneer, Toni Stone blazed a path in the male-dominated world of baseball in the ’50s (4/23-5/31, Kreeger) BALTIMORE CENTER STAGE

700 N. Calvert St. Baltimore, Md. 410-332-0033 www.centerstage.org WHERE WE STAND — A fable of penance filled with humor, heart, and music (4/24/26) • BAKKHAI — Heads roll in this fresh, new take on a Euripides classic (4/30-5/24) CONSTELLATION THEATRE

1835 14th St. NW 202-204-7741 www.constellationtheatre.org THE 39 STEPS — A cast of four actors embodies over 150 characters in this fast-paced and riotously funny remix of Hitchcock’s 1935 spy thriller. Nick Olcott directs (Now to 3/15) • EURYDICE — Sarah Ruhl’s fresh reimagining of the classic Orpheus myth, told through the eyes of its heroine. Directed by Mary Hall Surface (5/8-5/31) EVERYMAN THEATRE

315 West Fayette St. Baltimore, Md, 410-752-2208 Everymantheatre.org QUEENS GIRL: BLACK IN THE GREEN MOUNTAINS — As the Vietnam War rages

and the Kent State killings ignite college campuses across the country, Jackie arrives in Vermont to begin college where she is forced to confront the space between white and black culture to find her place in the world. A World Premiere commission by Everyman (Now to 4/12) • BERTA, BERTA — In Mississippi, 1920, Leroy returns to the doorstep of his longlost lover, Berta, covered in blood after committing a shocking crime. With his 32

freedom in the balance, the clock is ticking for him to make amends (3/17-4/26) • CRY IT OUT — This no-holds-barred comedy by Molly Smith Metzler holds a microscope and a megaphone to the joys and perils facing new parents (3/31-5/3) • AWAKE AND SING! — A Jewish immigrant family must weigh the costs of holding onto an enduring belief in the American dream. By Clifford Odets (5/26-6/28) FORD'S THEATRE

511 Tenth St. NW 202-347-4833 www.fordstheatre.org GUYS AND DOLLS — Peter Flynn, who knocked Into the Woods out of the park last season, returns to direct this classic, featuring the showstoppers “Luck be a Lady” and “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat” (Now to 5/20) GALA HISPANIC THEATRE

3333 14th St. NW 202-234-7174 www.galatheatre.org

AUNT JULIA AND THE SCRIPTWRITER —

Set in Peru during the 1950s, this funny and tender story of an 18-year-old student who falls for a 32-year-old divorcee is based on the real life experience of Nobel Prize-winner Vargas Llosa (4/23-5/17) KEEGAN THEATRE

1742 Church St. NW 202-265-3767 www.keegantheatre.com MEMPHIS — In the segregated ’50s, a young white DJ n falls in love with an electrifying black singer named Felicia Farrell. The 2010 Tony Award-winner for Best Musical (4/10-5/10) • YOGA PLAY — A provocative comedy about authenticity and enlightenment in a world determined to sell it (6/5-6/27) • HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH — John Cameron Mitchell’s award-winning, one-of-a-kind rock musical (7/24-8/23) KENNEDY CENTER

202-467-4600 www.kennedy-center.org JESUS CHRIST, SUPERSTAR — In cele-

bration of its 50th anniversary, a new mesmerizing production comes to North America from London. Just in time for Easter! (4/14-4/26, Opera House) • BROADWAY CENTER STAGE: BYE BYE BIRDIE — A loving send-up of the early 1960s, small-town America, teenagers, and rock and roll featuring James Van Der Beek, Carly Hughes and Harvey

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Fierstein (4/23-4/26, Eisenhower) •

ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY: THE TAMING OF THE SHREW — Justin Audibert

turns Shakespeare's fierce comedy of gender politics on its head (5/6-5/10, Eisenhower) • TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS — An original Kennedy Center production based on the best-selling book by Cheryl Strayed and adapted by Nia Vardalos (6/2-6/28, Terrace) • HAMILTON — The astounding Tony-winning musical returns for 14 weeks (6/16-9/20, Opera House) • ONCE ON THIS ISLAND — Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty’s musical tells the sweeping, universal tale of a fearless peasant girl in search of her place in the world (6/23-7/12, Eisenhower) • A MONSTER CALLS — A powerful new adaptation by visionary director Sally Cookson (7/21-8/9, Eisenhower) • TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD — Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork which took Broadway by storm (but are we getting Jeff Daniels? Please?) (8/25-9/27, Eisenhower) MONUMENTAL THEATRE CO.

Ainslie Art Center 3900 Braddock Rd. Alexandria, Va. www.monumentaltheatre.org HEAD OVER HEELS — The Greeks meet The Go Gos in this fun and flamboyant musical featuring the band’s greatest hits (Now to 3/23) • THE DROWSY CHAPERONE — A lonely theatre lover listens to the album of his favorite show, which springs to life around him (7/9-7/26) MOSAIC THEATER

Atlas Arts Center 1333 H St. NE 202-399-7993 www.mosaictheater.org INHERIT THE WINDBAG — Liberal Gore

Vidal and conservative William F. Buckley meet to reprise their infamous debate (Now to 3/29) • THE TILL TRILOGY — Ifa Bayeza’s three plays — The Ballad of Emmett Till, That Summer in Sumner, and Benevolence — tell the story and impact of the life of Emmett Till. In rep (4/1-6/21) NATIONAL THEATRE

1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW 202-628-6161 www.thenationaldc.org THE LAST SHIP — Starring Sting! (3/274/5) • ROALD DAHL’S CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY — Get your Golden Ticket (4/7-4/26) • SUMMER: THE DONNA

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SUMMER MUSICAL — The life of the disco

diva with a score featuring more than 20 of her classic hits including “Love to Love You Baby,” “Bad Girls” and “Hot Stuff” (7/22-8/2) OLNEY THEATRE CENTER

2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Rd. Olney, Md. 301-924-3400 www.olneytheatre.org THE AMATEURS — A mind-bending journey from the 14th Century to the present day by Jordan Harrison (Now to 4/5, Theatre Lab) • THE HUMANS — A middle-class American family celebrates a difficult Thanksgiving. Directed by Aaron Posner (4/1-5/3, Mainstage) • PIPPIN — They’ve got magic to do, just for you (6/10-7/19, Mainstage) REP STAGE

10901 Little Patuxent Parkway Columbia, Md. 443-518-1500 www.repstage.org DAMES AT SEA — Rick Hammerly directs this winning musical based on the Hollywood extravaganzas of the ’30s (4/30-5/17) ROUND HOUSE THEATRE

4545 East-West Highway Bethesda, Md. 240-644-1100 www.roundhousetheatre.org COST OF LIVING — Two parallel narratives intersect as a wealthy graduate student with cerebral palsy and his newest caretaker build an uneasy trust, while a truck driver struggles to reconnect with his estranged wife, recently left paralyzed by a car crash in this Pulitzer Prize-winning drama (4/1-4/19) • BIG LOVE — Fifty Greek maidens flee across the sea to Italy and claim refugee status to escape fifty arranged marriages. The fifty Grecian men follow in pursuit (5/20-6/21) SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY

Sidney Harman Hall 610 F Street NW 202-547-1122 www.shakespearetheatre.org THE AMEN CORNER — A Harlem pastor rails at her congregation and her teenaged son for their vices. She must face the music herself when a figure from her own troubled past returns (Now to 3/15, Harman) • TIMON OF ATHENS — Artistic Director Simon Godwin makes his directorial debut at the Shakespeare with a 34

restaging of his recent, acclaimed production, featuring Olivier Award-winner Kathryn Hunter (Now to 3/22, Michael R. Klein Theatre, formerly Lansburgh) • ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS — Two chocolatiers suffering from social anxiety fall in love in this heartwarming musical (4/75/17, Klein) • MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING — Godwin takes the reigns to close the season with one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies (5/5-6/14, Harman)

SYNETIC THEATER

SIGNATURE THEATRE

2020 Shannon Pl. SE 202-241-2539 www.theateralliance.com THE BITTER EARTH — An introspective black playwright finds his lack of activism questioned by his white boyfriend, an impassioned member of the Black Lives Matter Movement (Now to 3/22) • THE BLACKEST BATTLE — A revolutionary hiphop musical written by Psalmayene 24 (5/16-6/14)

4200 Campbell Ave. Arlington, Va. 703-820-9771 www.sigtheatre.org

EASY WOMEN SMOKING LOOSE CIGARETTES — A world premiere come-

dy by D.C. area playwright Dani Stoller (Now to 3/29, Ark) • CAMILLE CLAUDEL — Turn-of-the-century French sculptor Camille Claudel was a groundbreaking artist and a revolutionary free-thinker, but her entire life was determined by the men around her. A new musical (3/244/19, Max) • NIJINSKY'S LAST DANCE — A masterful tour-de-force that delves into the fascinating and troubled genius of the greatest dancer who ever lived (4/145/24, Ark) • HAIR — The joyous, buoyant, and trippy musical that took the ’60s by storm, featuring classics as “Age of Aquarius,” “Let the Sunshine In” and, of course, “Hair” (5/19-7/12, Max) • MAMMA MIA! — The mega-hit musical, set to the soundtrack of ABBA’s greatest songs, directed by Eric Schaeffer in a two-week limited run at The Anthem (6/25-7/5) STUDIO THEATRE

1501 14th St. NW 202-332-3300 studiotheatre.org PASS OVER — A humorous and chilling collision of the Exodus saga and Waiting for Godot about the dreams of generations of young black men marooned in a cycle of violence (Now to 4/5, Milton) • FUN HOME — Studio Artistic Director David Muse directs this heartfelt, powerful musical about coming out, based on the memoirs of lesbian cartoonist Allison Bechdel (5/13-6/14, Mead) • ASPEN IDEAS — The world premiere of a fast-paced and darkly comedic thriller about the poisonous appeal of believing that the best ideas win (6/24-7/19, Milton)

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1800 South Bell St. Crystal City, Va. 800-494-8497 www.synetictheater.org LIFE IS A DREAM — A modern take on Calderon’s Spanish Golden Age classic (4/225/17) • THE SERVANT OF TWO MASTERS — Carlo Goldoni’s commedia dell’arte masterpiece, Synetic style (6/17-7/12) THEATRE ALLIANCE

THEATRE J

1529 16th St. NW 202-777-3210 www.theaterj.org BECOMING DR. RUTH — Naomi Jacobson

returns in an encore performance as “America’s favorite sex therapist” (3/274/19) WASHINGTON STAGE GUILD

900 Massachusetts Ave. NW 240-582-0050 www.stageguild.org SAM & DEDE — Subtitled, “My Dinner with Andre the Giant,” Gino Dilorio’s play chronicles one of the unlikeliest of friendships in history (3/19-4/12) WOOLLY MAMMOTH

641 D St. NW 202-393-3939 woollymammoth.net THERE’S ALWAYS THE HUDSON — Paola

Lázaro’s new work takes an unflinching look at confronting trauma, and how the bonds with our chosen family can carry us through (4/6-5/3) • TEENAGE DICK — Mike Lew’s modern, darkly comic re-telling of Shakespeare’s Richard III set in high school. Bullied because of his cerebral palsy, Richard is willing to crush his enemies in order to become senior class president (6/1-6/28) l For more Spring Arts Stage listings, please visit www.metroweekly.com or follow our new interactive version of the print edition at www.issuu.com/metroweekly.

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SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

Music

Pop, Rock, Folk, Blues & Jazz

Big Freedia at The Anthem

W

Compiled by Doug Rule

E’RE HERE, WE’RE QUEER, AND DARN NEAR EVERYWHERE YET again this Spring, represented in the lineups at a majority of area concert venues, from the Magnetic Fields at City Winery to Laura Jane Grace’s band Against Me! at the Fillmore, Brandi Carlile at Wolf Trap to Brandy Clark at the Birchmere, and Rahsaan Patterson at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Club to Halsey at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Also returning this season: Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon, Big Freedia, Ann Hampton Callaway, and the ever-elusive Mika. Other notable attractions with significant LGBTQ appeal include the return of the original riot grrrl band Bikini Kill, coming to the Fillmore, the inspired pairing of Ani DiFranco with the Indigo Girls at Wolf Trap, and the promise of new music from Janet Jackson to go with her new show at Capital One Arena.

Please note that some events might be postponed or cancelled due to the COVID-19 coronavirus. Please check ahead with the individual venues.

9:30 CLUB

815 V St. NW 202-265-0930 www.930.com LESLIE ODOM JR. — The Tony-winning

star of Hamilton shows off his chops as a singer-songwriter and solo performer (4/1) • MANIC FOCUS, MERSIV + RUSS LIQUID (4/2) • MINNESOTA + OF THE TREES, EASTGHOST, THELEM, ABLATION

— Steez Promo presents a Bass Nation late show (4/3) • PUSSY RIOT + DELI

GIRLS (4/4) • THE GLITCH MOB + IVY LAB — Drink The Sea 10th Anniversary Tour (4/5) • DEAFHEAVEN + INTERARMA, GREET DEATH — 10 Year Anniversary Tour (3/6) • ATERCIOPELADOS, LOS AMIGOS INVISIBLES (4/8) • DELTA RAE + FRANCES CONE, CARRIE WELLING (4/9) • THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS — A concert

honoring the 30th Anniversary of the quirky group’s seminal pop album Flood (4/10) • THE LONE BELLOW W/EARLY JAMES — Half Moon Light Tour (4/11) •

LITTLE DRAGON W/APRIL + VISTA, SIR WAS (4/15) • MARGARET GLASPY + KATE DAVIS — The Devotion Tour (4/17) • DABIN + SPECIAL GUESTS TRIVECTA, NURKO, LAST HEROES — Into The Wild Tour,

a late show presented by AEG and U Street Music Hall (4/17) • LUKAS NELSON & PROMISE OF THE REAL — The Naked Garden Tour (4/19) • HOT COUNTRY KNIGHTS W/RACHEL WAMMACK — One Knight Stand Tour (4/20) • REAL ESTATE W/PALM — The Main Tour (4/21) • KING KRULE W/LUCY (4/22) • WAXAHATCHEE W/OHMME (4/23) • SHALLOU W/SLENDERBODIES (4/24) • JOYWAVE — The Possession Tour (4/25) • ARCA W/TOTAL FREEDOM (4/27) • ARIEL PINK W/CMON (4/28) • TENNIS W/MOLLY BURCH (4/29) • TOKIMONSTA (4/30) • STRFKR W/THE UNDERCOVER DREAM LOVERS — Known for an exclamatory kind of synth pop (5/1) • DAN DEACON W/ED SCHRADER’S MUSIC BEAT (5/2) • ERIC HUTCHINSON (5/2) • ALI GATIE — Young Iraqi-Canadian rapper/singer-songwriter (5/3) • GREG DULLI + JOSEPH ARTHUR — Dulli of the Afghan Whigs and the Twilight Singers (5/5) • EDEN W/KESHI, RENCE (5/6) • POOLSIDE (5/8) • JACOB COLLIER (5/10) • ALEC BENJAMIN W/HARRY HUDSON

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SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

(5/11) • THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH W/COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS (5/13) • NATIRUTS W/4TH & ORANGE (5/15) • STILL WOOZY (5/16-17) • LUTTRELL — A late show part of the Lucky Ones Tour (5/16) • TWO FEET + UPSAHL — Pink Tour Part 1 (5/18) • GIRL TALK (5/22) • MEW — The 15th Anniversary Tour of And The Glass Handed Kites (5/23) • LOVELYTHEBAND W/TESSA VIOLET, VALLEY — loneliness for love tour (5/24) • SVDDEN DEATH W/ PHISO, CURRO, ARCRUX — A Bass Nation night presented by Steez Promo (5/30) • TYCHO W/COM TRUISE — Simulcast Tour (6/1) • MXMTOON W/CLAUD — dawn & dusk tour (6/2) • STORMZY (6/6) • BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB W/LIZA ANNE (6/7) • THE AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT (6/16) • WEYES BLOOD W/ANA ROXANNE — A Lot Has Changed Tour (8/7) THE ALDEN

McLean Community Center 1234 Ingleside Ave. McLean, Va. 703-790-0123 www.aldentheatre.org INTERMEDIATE DJEMBE DRUMMING AND DRUM CIRCLE — Kofi Dennis, a D.C.-based

professional percussionist and music teaching artist originally from Ghana, leads a Friday evening master class in djembe playing geared for families and culminating in a group drum circle (4/24) • JAZZ MASTERS WITH JOHN EATON: COLE PORTER — Veteran and venerated local pianist and musicologist offers an entertaining and insightful afternoon riffing on and performing from the Great American Songbook, specifically the rich, multi-layered contributions from Porter, the musical mastermind and masterful songwriter (4/25) AMP BY STRATHMORE

11810 Grand Park Ave. North Bethesda, Md. 301-581-5100 www.ampbystrathmore.com CROCE PLAYS CROCE — A performance of “Time In a Bottle” and other songs from the catalogs of the piano virtuoso A.J. Croce and of his father, legendary folk singer Jim Croce (3/29) • COCO MONTOYA — Blues guitar powerhouse (3/31) • SUSAN WERNER W/HEATHER AUBREY LLOYD — Queer artist, dubbed the “Empress of the Unexpected” by NPR, performs her latest project, the New Orleans-inspired, piano-driven romp NOLA, plus an opening set by a former journalist and the Grand Prize win38

ner at the 2019 Bernard/Ebb Songwriting Awards (4/17)• JILL ANDREWS — Former frontwoman of lauded Americana group The Everybodyfields gives voice to the unsung moments in women’s lives on Thirties (4/19) • CANNED HEAT — Legendary blues rock band celebrates its 50-plus year history that includes being part of the original Woodstock lineup (4/22) • DAVID BROMBERG QUINTET — The pioneer of “Newgrass Americana” and his band (4/29) • ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY — The lesbian jazz singer-songwriter especially known for celebrating the work of her idols and influences next focuses on “The Linda Ronstadt Songbook” (4/30) • NEWMYER FLYER PRESENTS: JONI MITCHELL & BOB DYLAN TRIBUTES — All-star lineup of

D.C.’s finest musicians come together to honor the albums Blue and Blood on the Tracks from two of the most influential songwriters of the past century (5/9) • BRIA SKONBERG — “Jazz trumpet goddess” (5/10) • N.E.W. ATHENS: A TRIBUTE TO R.E.M. — A Rockville-based cover band picking up where Michael Stipe and co. left off by calling it quits in 2011 (5/16) • THE ENGLISH CHANNEL & BILLY COULTER BAND — “America’s premier British Invasion” cover band with an opening set from the D.C.-based Americana act (5/30) THE ANTHEM

901 Wharf St. SW. 877-435-9849 www.theanthemdc.com THE BEACH BOYS — Still singing about good vibrations and California girls all these decades later (4/7) • NBA YOUNGBOY W/QUANDO RONDO LIVE (4/10) • BIG GIGANTIC W/OOKAY — Free Your Mind 3D Experience (4/11) • DEAD CAN DANCE W/AGNES OBEL — The ‘80s-minted Australian/British band known for medieval Europe-channeling original music dubbed Neoclassical dark wave performs its latest work Dionysus, a seven-movement oratorio reflecting on the history and lasting legacy of Greek mythology (4/19) • DIE ANTWOORD — The South African counterculture-inspired hip-hop duo are on tap to make their postponed debut this spring (4/30) • KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD W/LEAN SENIOR (5/1) • FOR KING & COUNTRY — Two

shows on the “burn the ships | world tour: 2020 Encore” (5/9) • PURITY RING (5/12) • THE 1975 W/PHOEBE BRIDGERS, BEABADOOBEE — A sold-out show (5/23) • AWOLNATION W/ANDREW MCMAHON IN

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THE WILDERNESS, THE BEACHES, BLEEKER (5/26) • LP — The lesbian hard-rocker (5/29) • KESHA W/BIG FREEDIA — The

pop starlet exponentially ups her gay and street cred by tapping the queer Queen of Bounce as a hard-to-follow opening act (6/2) • KRAFTWERK 3-D — One of the seminal forces in the electronic/dance genre returns (7/11) THE BARNS AT WOLF TRAP

1635 Trap Road 877-WOLFTRAP www.wolftrap.org

THE 5TH DIMENSION — Florence LaRue

and company continue to captivate audiences with 50-year-old hits, from “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” to “Up, Up and Away” (3/20) • JIM BRICKMAN (4/1-2) • JOHN WAITE (4/3) • STORM LARGE — The saucy, sassy diva known from her work with Pink Martini (4/9) • JOAN OSBORNE (4/16-17) • CHOIR! CHOIR! CHOIR! — You better come ready to sing in Nobu Adilman and Daveed Goldman’s community-building and fully interactive show of songs (4/18) • JIM MESSINA — A folk legend with a rich legacy as a solo artist and as a member of three supergroups, Buffalo Springfield, Poco, and Loggins & Messina (4/21-22) • JOHN MCCUTCHEON — Described as “folk music’s Renaissance man” (4/23) • KARLA BONOFF (4/24) • A BANDHOUSE GIGS TRIBUTE TO LINDA RONSTADT — Featuring Patty Reese, the

19th Street Band, Caz Gardiner, Ruthie and the Wranglers, Margot MacDonald, Holly Montgomery, and Jon Carroll (5/2-3) • BLAST OFF! (5/24) • TE ADORO: LATIN THEATER SONGS — An afternoon of zarzuela and song with Steven Blier and Joseph Li joined by a quintet of Wolf Trap Opera Soloists (5/30) BETHESDA BLUES & JAZZ SUPPER CLUB

7719 Wisconsin Ave. Bethesda, Md. 240-330-4500 www.bethesdabluesjazz.com RAHSAAN PATTERSON — The well-established gay neo-soul artist, known for thrilling and inspiring live performances, who first came to fame when he was “The Kid” on TV’s Kids Incorporated (4/1011) • RUSSELL THOMPKINS & THE NEW STYLISTICS + EDDIE HOLMAN — A night of falsetto from two R&B acts, one featuring the lead singer on the ubiquitous 1973 hit “You Make Me Feel Brand New,” the other 1969’s “Hey There Lonely Girl” (5/31)

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SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

THE BIRCHMERE

3701 Mount Vernon Ave. Alexandria, Va. 703-549-7500 www.birchmere.com HOWARD JONES W/RACHAEL SAGE — The

’80s hitmaker returns with an acoustic trio featuring Nick Begg and Robin Boult, plus an opening set by the bisexual jazz/folk singing pianist (3/24) • RAUL MALO (3/25) • HOLLY NEAR W/SPECIAL GUEST CRYS MATTHEWS (3/26) • THE MANHATTANS FEAT. GERALD ALSTON (3/27) • JAMES MCMURTRY W/BONNIE WHITMORE (3/28) • THE SECRET SISTERS W/LOGAN LEDGER (3/29) • ROSANNE CASH (3/31-4/1) • THE MUSICAL BOX PRESENTS: A GENESIS EXTRAVAGANZA VOL. 2 — “A journey into

the mythic world of Genesis,” as in the British band, not the Biblical chapter (4/2) • KELLER WILLIAMS (4/3) • THE FOUR BITCHIN’ BABES — Christine Lavin, Sally Fingerett, Debi Smith, and Deirdre Flint are the fabulous folk four dropping by for a “Girls Night Out” concert (4/4) • KATHY MATTEA (4/5) • THE ENGLISH

BEAT W/LADY HATCHET (OF THE SCOTCH BONNETS) (4/6) • ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL W/BRENNEN LEIGH — Ray Benson and

Lucky Oceans first joined forces 50 years ago here in D.C., and celebrate that milestone anniversary along with the other members of the Austin-based band (4/8) • AVERAGE WHITE BAND (4/17-18) • JONNY LANG W/GA-20 (4/21) • SHAWN COLVIN — Performing her Grammy-winning debut album, 1989’s Steady On, acoustically and in its entirety, plus other favorites, no doubt including her biggest hit, 1997’s “Sunny Came Home” (4/30) • BRANDY CLARK — Underappreciated lesbian country artist returns in support of her just-released new set Who You Thought I Was (5/1) • SGGL & THE SHERPAS — The veteran Charlottesville-based acoustic rock four-piece shares the stage with a newer funk/rock indie band from the U.K. (5/2) • JONATHAN COULTON AND PAUL & STORM — Brooklyn-based folk rock artist shares the stage for a geek culture-themed show with the local musical comedy duo of Paul Sabourin and Greg “Storm” DiCostanzo (5/5) • AL STEWART W/THE EMPTY POCKETS (5/7) • PAUL THORN W/ JAMIE MCLEAN (5/8) • GARY TAYLOR — A Mother’s Day Celebration, one day early (5/9) • MOTHER’S DAY WITH MAYSA — Raise a toast to mothers, maybe even your own, with a jazzy soul artist born and raised in Baltimore (5/10) • ANN WILSON OF HEART (5/12) • BOB SCHNEIDER W/ LAUREN CALVE (5/16) • CHICKS WITH HITS: 42

TERRI CLARK, PAM TILLIS, SUZY BOGGUSS (5/17) • HERB ALBERT & LANI HALL (5/19) • TAB BENOIT — “Whiskey Bayou Revue” (5/21) • BILL KIRCHEN & TOO MUCH FUN W/THE GRANDSONS (5/22) • THE SELDOM SCENE (5/23) • DAVE BARNES (5/24) • PURE PRAIRIE LEAGUE & FIREFALL (5/28) • THE SUBDUDES (5/29) • THE DRAATICS FEAT. L.J. REYNOLDS (5/30) • STEVE TYRELL (6/1) • STEEP CANYON RANGERS (6/5) • LEONID & FRIENDS (6/6) • GONE WEST FEAT. COLBIE CAILLAT — Grammy-

winning Myspace-minted pop artist tours as part of a new country-pop group along with her fiancé Justin Young, longtime collaborator Jason Reeves, and Reeves’ wife Nelly Joy (6/7) • GORDON LIGHTFOOT (6/8) • EDWIN MCCAIN (6/9) • KEB’ MO’ (6/10-11) • SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY & THE ASBURY JUKES (6/12) • 4TH ANNUAL WAX MUSEUM/DESPERADOS REUNION — Featuring the Skip Castro

Band and the Good Humor Band, plus other special guests TBA (6/13) • PHIL KEAGGY (6/14) • GAELIC STORM (6/17) • CROWDER (6/21) • THE TAJ MAHAL QUARTET (6/24) • MAC MCANALLY (6/25) • OHIO PLAYERS — The reemergence of a veteran funk/soul band, inducted as part of the inaugural class of the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2013 (6/2627) • DONNELL RAWLINGS (7/3) • JON B. (7/10) • CHRISETTE MICHELE (7/12) • OMAR W/SPECIAL GUEST NAVASHA DAYA (7/16) • NORMAN BROWN (7/22) • ATLANTIC STARR (7/25-26) • 1964: THE TRIBUTE (8/1) • JANIS IAN (8/8) • DON MCLEAN — The music hasn’t died for this “American Pie” hitmaker (8/15) BLACK CAT

1811 14th St. NW 202-667-4490 www.blackcatdc.com CASPIAN W/PIANOS BECOME THE TEETH, MASERATI (4/9) • STEPHEN MALKMUS W/ QAIS ESSAR & THE MAJIK CARPET (4/10) • ANAMANAGUCHI (4/11) • JACUZZI BOYS W/ THE COWBOYS (4/13) • THE DIP W/OH HE DEAD (4/14) • HOCKEY DAD W/GOODBYE HONOLULU, THE RED PAIRS, GYMSHORTS (4/17) • PORCHES W/SASSY 009 (4/25) • THE RADIO DEPT. W/HATER (4/26) • 100 GECS (4/27) • WAVVES W/SADGIRL —

10-year anniversary of King of the Beach (4/29) • THE SOUNDS W/STARBENDERS — Swedish indie-rockers return in support of sixth album, Things We Do For Love, to be released the day after the concert (4/30) • SURF CURSE W/CHOIR BOY (5/1) • ANDY SHAUF W/FAYE WEBSTER (5/2) • NAPALM DEATH W/ABORTED, TOMBS,

MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

WVRM (5/3) • MONOPHONICS W/GHOST FUNK ORCHESTRA (5/7) • SEBADOH W/ VERSUS (5/8) • BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME (5/10) • MILLENCOLIN W/A WILHELM SCREAM, DUNE RATS (5/13) • DIET CIG W/ SAD13, THIN LIPS (5/15) • GARBAGEFEST 5

— The 5th annual music festival and fundraiser for the D.C. chapter of vegan-focused outfit Food Not Bombs, co-presented by This Could Go Boom, and featuring performances by Time Is Fire, Teen Mortgage, Haircuts, and Raccoon Coven (5/23) • AJJ W/XIU XIU FEAT. SPECIAL GUEST JONATHAN MELBURG, EMPEROR X (5/29) • SUB-RADIO W/MYSTERY FRIENDS, THE 5:55 — An EP release show for local

up-and-coming electro-pop band (5/30) • ARCHERS OF LOAF (6/20) • TV GIRL W/ JORDANA — “6 and 1/2 year anniversary” of French Exit (6/27) BLUES ALLEY

1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW 202-337-4141 www.bluesalley.com UNIT 3 DEEP — Featuring Patrick Cooper on keys, David Dyson on bass, and Duane Thomas on drums (4/1) • LEE RITENOUR (4/2-5) • AFRO BLUE — Acclaimed Howard University vocal ensemble (4/6) • GOT MY OWN SOUND BAND (4/7) • EMMET COHEN (4/8) • AKUA ALLRICH — A return engagement of “This Mother’s Daughter,” a concert celebrating Nancy Wilson from prominent D.C. vocalist (4/9) • THE BAD PLUS (4/10-12) • MAKOWICZ-MEDYNADINGLER JAZZ ENSEMBLE — A piano/ bass/sax trio co-presented with the Embassy of Poland (4/13) • ARI HOENIG TRIO (4/14) • CHRISTIAN SANDS (4/15) • THE JOEY ALEXANDER TRIO (4/16-18) • NICK COLIONNE (4/19) • ITALIAN JAZZ SERIES — A week of concerts presented by the Embassy of Italy and featuring: CHIARA IZZI (vocalist) (4/20); SIMONA PREMAZZI TRIO (Piano) (4/21); LETIZIA GAMBI (jazz vocals) (4/22); and ROBERTA GAMBARINI (jazz vocals) (4/23-24) • MAKOTO OZONE TRIO (4/25-26) • U.S. ARMY BAND — “Pershing’s Own” performs a recital of original music of Bud Powell (4/27) • GEORGE MASON JAZZ ENSEMBLE (4/28) • GEORGE WASHINGTON JAZZ ORCHESTRA (4/28) • JOHN PIZZARELLI TRIO — — “Nat King Cole Centennial” celebration from singing guitarist (4/305/3) • TRIO CALIENTE + TRIS IMBODEN — Two Lation fusion/Brazilian pop concerts including the legendary drummer from the band Chicago (5/5) • A SONG FOR YOU: DONNY HATHAWAY TRIBUTE BAND — Featuring Tee “Sylk”

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Harris (5/6) • MONTY ALEXANDER — Legendary Jamaican pianist (5/7-10) •

EDMAR CASTANEDA & GREGOIRE MARET (5/12) • BRAIN SIMPSON (5/13) • BUSTER WILLIAMS “SOMETHING MORE QUARTET”

— Legendary bassist leads his ensemble featuring drummer Lenny White (5/1417) • TODD MARCUS TRIO (5/19) • TESSA SOUTER (5/20) • MOUSEY THOMPSON’S JAMES BROWN EXPERIENCE — Led by the late Godfather of Soul’s drummer, the experience is an ensemble that faithfully performs the most popular songs by the legend, here portrayed by vocalist Greg Cooper(5/21) • EARTH, WIND & FIRE TRIBUTE BAND — Celebrating the album Elements of the Universe (5/22) • LORI WILLIAMS (5/23) • BOB BALDWIN & FRIENDS (5/24) • JOSE RAMIREZ (5/26) • CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE & INSIDE STRAIGHT

— Featuring Peter Martin, Carl Allen, Warren Wolf, and Jaleel Shaw (5/29-31) • HEIDI MARTIN — “Abbey” celebrates the music of Abbey Lincoln (6/2) • MILES OKAZAKI’S TRICKSTER — A guitar/ piano/bass/drums quartet (6/3) • EDDIE PALMIERE — Legendary Latin jazz/salsa pioneer (6/4-7) • CHRISTIAN DRAPKIN &

MIKE GELLAR QUARTET W/TOMMY CECIL & ANITA THOMAS (6/8) • DUKE ROBILLARD (6/9) • SHINE EEG (6/10) • ARTURO SANDOVAL (6/11-14) • ROBERT MWAMBA FEAT. CYNDA WILLIAMS (6/16) CAPITAL ONE ARENA

601 F St. NW 202-628-3200 www.capitalonearena.com BILLIE EILISH W/JESSIE REYEZ — Not

even a year after a sold-out concert at the Anthem, the now multi-Grammy-winning Eilish returns for another leg and a much larger venue of her Where Do We Go? World Tour (3/18) • NIALL HORAN W/ LEWIS CAPALDI AND FLETCHER — Nice to Meet Ya North American Tour featuring the former One Directioner (4/27) • JOJO SIWA W/THE BELLES — The Nickelodeon star on her D.R.E.A.M. Tour (5/8) • TAME IMPALA W/ PERFUME GENIUS — The sharp psychedelic progressive rock act from Down Under with an opening set from queer American rocker, and all just a week before Capital Pride (6/6) • HARRY STYLES W/JENNY LEWIS (6/28) • JANET JACKSON — The Black Diamond World Tour is billed as featuring “brand new music” (still to be announced) as well as a special 30th anniversary performance of Rhythm Nation (7/7) • THE WEEKND W/ SABRINA CLAUDIO, DON TOLIVER — The AfterHours Tour (7/13) • BON JOVI WITH BRYAN 44

ADAMS (7/25) • ROGER WATERS: THIS IS NOT A DRILL — “The creative genius of

Pink Floyd” performs live in the round (7/30) • RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE W/ RUN THE JEWELS (8/4-5) • JUSTIN BIEBER W/KEHLANI, JADEN SMITH (8/21) CITY WINERY

1350 Okie St. NE 202-250-2531 www.citywinery.com DAVE SIMONETT W/ANDREA VON KAMPEN (4/1) • LETITIA VANSANT — Circadian

Album Release (4/2, Wine Garden) • GRACE KELLY (4/2) • JAMES HUNTER SIX (4/3) • HEATHER MAE — Local lesbian singer-songwriter returns to kick off spring intimate and outdoors (4/3, Wine Garden) • MARCUS JOHNSON (4/4) • BRUCE OFF BROADWAY: A UKULELE TRIBUTE TO THE BOSS (4/4, Wine Garden) • BE STEADWELL — Another queer artist kicking it intimate and outdoors for spring (4/5) • SYLVER LOGAN SHARP (4/5) • VYBE BAND (4/7) • THE HADEN TRIPLETS — The Family Songbook (4/9) • PUSH PLAY FEAT. D. FLOYD & PAM WARD (4/9) • TONY LUCCA (4/10) • BELA DONNA — Diverse all-female band launched in D.C. a dozen years ago (4/10) • JUNKYARD BAND (4/11) • GILBERT O’SULLIVAN — “Just Gilbert” (4/12) • ERIC BELLINGER (4/15) • JIMMY WEBB W/ ROBIN SPIELBERG (4/17) • THE BOTTLE ROCKETS & MARSHALL CRENSHAW (4/18) • TINSLEY ELLIS (4/19) • SHEILA E. AND THE E-TRAIN — The Latin funk singing/ drumming dynamo returns for two shows (4/19) • JAMESTOWN REVIVAL — San Isabel Spring 2020 Tour (4/21-22) • ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO FEAT. DON ANTONIO & ALEX RUIZ — Performing songs from The

Crossing, en Espanol, and more (4/21) • ZEPPARELLA (4/23) • PROPER UTENSILS (4/24) • CECE PENISTON (4/24) • MARTIN SEXTON (4/25) • JON TYLER WILEY & HIS VIRGINIA CHOIR — Featuring Jon Wiley of Melodime (4/26) • UNLADYLIKE (4/28) • ZACH DEPUTY (4/29) • HAR MAR SUPERSTAR (4/30) • CRASH TEST DUMMIES — Celebrating 30 Years (5/1) • CAROL RIDDICK (5/1, Wine Garden) • BRENDAN MILLS FEAT. BRYAN MILLS (5/3) • RED WANTING BLUE W/BRAD RHODES — “Ghost Stories & Campfire Songs” Spring Tour (5/3) • DAVID ARCHULETA — Ok, All Right Tour 2020 from the American Idol finalist (5/4) • JACKIE GREENE W/ LESLIE MEDELSON (5/6) • TENILLE TOWNES (5/8) • CEM ADRIAN (5/10, Wine Garden) • MONSIEUR PERINÉ MUNDO PARALELO — Acoustic Tour (5/13) • RAY

MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

WYLIE HUBBARD (5/15) • DELVON LAMARR ORGAN TRIO, ROOSEVELT COLLIER (5/17) • THE MATIS TRIO — Featuring Jason

Lindner, Matisyahu, and Jason Fraticelli (5/21) • JILL SOBULE (6/14) • DC JAZZ

THROWDOWN W/WARREN WOLF AND THE WOLFPACK, JACK KILBY & THE FRONT LINE, AND ROCHELLE RICE — Part of DC JazzFest (6/17) • SUNNY SWEENEY (6/18, Wine Garden) • THE BAYLOR PROJECT — Part of DC JazzFest (6/18) • THE MAGNETIC FIELDS — 2020 Quickies Tour (6/19-21) • LUTHER RELIVES (7/10) • THE WEEKLINGS (7/10, Wine Garden) • VIVIAN GREEN (7/11) • LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III

(7/12) DC9

1940 9th St. NW 202-483-5000 www.dcnine.com WALK THE PLANK — A 10-year celebration

of homegrown hardcore band with current and past members plus a trio of punk acts as special guests, including School Drugs from New Jersey, Ruin by Design from Northern Virginia, and Jared Hart also from the Garden State (3/28) • CRYWANK + CHASTITY — A sad song-focused three-piece DIY folk band from Manchester, England, plus Canadian Brandon Williams’ project channeling the rage of pent-up suburban blue collar youth (3/29) • BLACK BELT EAGLE SCOUT W/MARIEE SIOUX — The queer feminist Native rocker returns to support new sophomore album At the Party with My Brown Friends (4/14) FILLMORE SILVER SPRING

8656 Colesville Rd. Silver Spring, Va. 301-960-999 www.fillmoresilverspring.com MORGAN WALLEN W/JON LANGSTON, ASHLAND CRAFT — Whiskey Glasses Road

Show starring young rising country artist also known from competing on The Voice (3/19) • OH WONDER W/WINONA OAK — The two principals of this U.K. group fell in love after they first started making sweet, poppy music together; oh wonder, indeed (4/3) • WATSKY W/ TRAVIS THOMPSON, G YAMAZAWA (4/5) • SAINT JHN — IGNORANt Forever Tour, presented by Ones To Watch (4/6) • BAD

RELIGION & ALKALINE TRIO W/WAR ON WOMEN (4/7) • TREVOR HALL & BRETT DENNEN (4/9) • PATORANKING (4/10) • TIARA MONIQUE + APEZ LAURENT —

Colors Worldwide presents these two up-and-coming acts as headliners at its

W/NO SAVAGE, JG RIFF, BIG FOOLI (4/17) • BRENT FAIYAZ (4/19) • YOUNG NUDY (4/22) • THE CHATS — High Risk

Behaviour Tour, presented by The Noise & Ones To Watch (5/3) • ALTER BRIDGE W/BLACK STONE CHERRY, SAINT ASONIA (5/4) • TESTAMENT — With special guests (5/5) • MURA MASA W/DEB NEVER — RYC

World Tour, presented by LiveNation & Nu Androids (5/6) • JINJER W/SUICIDE SILENCE, TOOTHGRINDER (5/7) • FETTY WAP (5/13) • THE HU (5/14) • JOJO (5/17) • ASKING ALEXANDRIA + FALLING IN REVERSE W/WAGE WAR (5/19) • MO GILLIGAN (5/21) • DANILEIGH — Presented

by Monster Energy Outbreak Tour & Ones to Watch (5/22) • PARQUET COURTS (5/27) • AGAINST ME! & BARONESS W/ DRUG CHURCH — The punk band led

by Laura Jane Grace, the star of AOL Studios’ True Trans docu-series, returns for a co-headlining show with a heavy metal band from Savannah, Ga. (5/29) • TODD RUNDGREN — SiriusXM presents the veteran multi-genre rocker and technology pioneer in “The Individualist, A True Star: A Show So Big It Takes 2 Nights” (5/30-31) • SIMPLE PLAN + NEW FOUND GLORY W/KNUCKLE PUCK — Pop Punk’s Still Not Dead Tour (6/2) • LENNON STELLA W/KEVIN GARRETT — One half of the Canadian sister act Lennon & Maisy and star of ABC/CMT’s Nashville drops by for a concert with opening set by a young Grammy-nominated contemporary R&B artist who has worked with Beyonce (6/3) • JESSIE REYEZ — A few months after she opens for Billie Eilish at Capital One Arena, the wily, sharp, rising pop star will headline her own more intimate affair (7/1) • YEMI ALADE — Woman Of Steel World Tour (7/11) • CODY JOHNSON W/JON WOLFE — Texas country star (8/15) GMU CENTER FOR THE ARTS

4400 University Drive Fairfax, Va. 703-993-2787 cfa.gmu.edu THE CHIEFTAINS — A thrilling night of traditional Celtic and contemporary songs by this veteran group, chiefly responsible for helping popularize Irish music around the world, on their Irish Goodbye Tour, likely their last (3/19) • AMERICAN FESTIVAL POPS ORCHESTRA: SPOTLIGHT ON BROADWAY — Broadway

veteran Lisa Vroman (The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables) is the featured soloist for a concert, led by Anthony

Maiello, of show tunes by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, and Andrew Lloyd Webber, among others (4/4) •

THE UNIVERSITY CHORALE: CHORALE BROADWAY SHOWCASE (4/18) • MASON JAZZ VOCAL NIGHT — Performances by

Mason Jazz Studio soloists, the Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble, and special guest the Potomac Falls High School Vocal Jazz Choir (4/27) • INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DAY CONCERT (4/30) THE HAMILTON

600 14th St. NW 202-769-0122 live.thehamiltondc.com DWEEZIL ZAPPA — Performing, in sequence and live on stage, his father’s entire album Hot Rats — a 50-year-old set that was dedicated to Dweezil and released one month after his birth — as well as other “Hot Stuff 1969” (3/13) • THE IDES OF MARCH — Beware! Or be there to hear Chicago’s legendary rock band (3/22) • KAT EDMONSON — Touring in support of new set Old Fashioned Gal(3/26) • JUSTIN TRAWICK — Free Late Night Music in The Loft (3/26) • JOSÉ JAMES W/TAALI — “No Beginning No End 2” (3/27) • MOONSHINE SOCIETY — Free Late Night Music in The Loft (3/27) • BRASS-A-HOLICS — NOLA and D.C. meet in this band’s one-of-a-kind mix dubbed “go-go brass funk” (3/28) • HARD SWIMMIN’ FISH — Free Late Night Music in The Loft (3/28) • DUMPSTAPHUNK (4/1) • THE VERVE PIPE (4/2) • KAREN JONAS — Free Late Night Music in The Loft (4/2) • DELLA MAE W/DORI FREEMAN — Nashville’s chart-topping all-female bluegrass string band (4/3) • ASHLEIGH CHEVALIER BAND — Free Late Night Music in The Loft (4/3) • JOHN CAFFERTY AND THE BEAVER BROWN BAND (4/4) • SOUL PROSPECT — Free Late Night Music in The Loft (4/4) • GET THE LED OUT — Dubbed “the American Led Zeppelin,” the Philadelphia-based group bring to life “the essence of the recorded music” of the Plant-Page entity (4/9) • SIMRIT — A band incorporating Greek Orthodox-style dark, mystical chanting with influences from West African drumming, rock, and roots reggae to make original music in the “neo-psychedelic world beat and ethereal wave music” genres (4/28) • STEVE MOAKLER (4/29) • JOSE RAMIREZ (4/30) • COVERED WITH JAM — Free Late Night Music in The Loft (4/30) • NICKI BLUHM W/JEFF ADAMCZYK (5/1) • WANTED MAN — Free Late Night Music in The Loft (5/1) • CRIS JACOBS BAND — Baltimore-based

rocker showcases the sharp new album, Color Where You Are, created with his bandmates, with songs spanning rock, folk, soul, and funk, and featuring sophisticated lyrics reflecting on contemporary life and politics (5/2) • VINTAGE #18 — Free Late Night Music in The Loft (5/2) • WILLIE NILE (5/8) • JACKOPIERCE (5/9) • DARK STAR ORCHESTRA — Carrying on the style and sound of the Grateful Dead and recreating set lists of shows from the Dead’s extensive 30-year run (5/11-12) • BRUCE IN THE USA (5/16) • ORQUESTA AKOKÁN (5/17) • CURTIS STIGERS (5/21) • THE CHUCK BROWN BAND W/PROPER UTENSILS FEAT. JAS FUNK — Still carrying the torch raised by the band’s namesake, the late Godfather of Go-Go (5/24) THE HOWARD THEATRE

620 T St. NW 202-803-2899 www.thehowardtheatre.com SEBASTIAN BACH W/STITCHED UP HEART

— The lead singer of ‘80s hard-rock band Skid Row is out on a 31st Anniversary Tour where he’ll perform the group’s self-titled debut in its entirety (4/13) • DEAD PREZ — Stic and M-1 celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Brooklyn hiphop duo’s debut album Let’s Get Free (4/15) JAMMIN JAVA

227 Maple Ave. E. Vienna, Va. 877-987-6487 www.jamminjava.com BBMAK W/MIDLO — The U.K. pop boy band from the aughts has reunited (3/26) • BEN THORNEWILL W/TEDDY CHIPOURAS — Of Jukebox the Ghost (3/27) • SHENANDOAH RUN — “Folk Music with A Kick” (3/28) • WANDERING LIES — Record Release Show, presented by Aspire (3/28) • VILRAY W/ DAWN LANDES (3/29) • MICHAEL DOUCET & SARAH QUINTANA’S LÂCHER PRISE — A new five-piece band from the founder and head of Cajun band BeauSoleil (3/30) • THE JACKS W/THE CUCKOOS, CARTER LOU (3/31) • ALEX CUBA — Four-time Latin Grammy winner tours in support of Sublime, featuring duets with other singer-songwriters with Latin roots, from Silvana Estrada to Omara Portuondo (4/2) • OKILLY DOKILLY W/STEAKSAUCE MUSTACHE, BLUEWRECK — Billed as “the world’s only Nedal band,” whose lyrics are mostly direct quotes from the character Ned Flanders of The Simpsons (4/22) • ROBYN HITCHCOCK (5/13) • THE BAREFOOT MOVEMENT, COLIN GILMORE

MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

45

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

next R&B Only party (4/11) • YUNGMANNY

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

& NICOLETTE GOOD (5/14) • DAN RODRIGUEZ (5/15) • LIZ LONGLEY (5/17) • PONY BRADSHAW (5/18) • LEE DEWYZE —

The former American Idol finalist returns (5/19) • BAD BAD HATS W/2ND GRADE (5/20) • BLUE WATER HIGHWAY (5/21) • CARGO & THE HEAVY LIFTERS (5/22) • THE CHOIR FEAT. MICHAEL ROE — Deep Cuts 2020 Tour (5/24) • THE SLOCAN RAMBLERS (5/27) • SHEL W/EMMA CHARLES — Wild Child EP Release Tour (5/28) • JEREMIAH LLOYD HARMON — He didn’t win, but the exposure on American Idol last year helped this gay Marylander make the right connections to record his first full-length album, Namesake, dropping later this month (7/21) • GREG HOWE — 2020 Tour feat. Stu Hamm + Joel Taylor (8/19) JIFFY LUBE LIVE

7800 Cellar Door Drive Bristow, Va. 703-754-6400 www.livenation.com WMZQ FEST — 2020 Country Megaticket Concerts: BROOKS & DUNN (5/23);

BRAD PAISLEY W/JORDAN DAVIS, GABBY BARRETT (6/13); KENNY CHESNEY W/ MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD (6/18); CHRIS YOUNG W/SCOTTY MCCREERY, PAYTON SMITH (7/10); TIM MCGRAW W/ MIDLAND, INGRID ANDRESS (7/18); LADY ANTEBELLUM W/JAKE OWEN, MADDIE & TAE (8/8); JASON ALDEAN W/BRETT YOUNG, MITCHELL TENPENNY, DEE JAY SILVER (8/15); LUKE BRYAN W/MORGAN WALLEN, RUNAWAY JUNE (8/23); THOMAS RHETT W/COLE SWINDELL, HARDY (8/29); and RASCAL FLATTS — The hit country

trio will celebrate 20 years together by calling the whole thing off via Farewell: Life Is A Highway Tour (9/12) • SAM HUNT (5/30) • TICKET TO ROCK — A package of four concerts: MEGADETH + LAMB OF GOD (6/12); BREAKING BENJAMIN (7/15); DISTURBED W/STAIND & BAD WOLVES (7/26); and KORN + FAITH NO MORE (8/30) • BRAD PAISLEY (6/13) • THE DOOBIE BROTHERS — 50th Anniversary Tour (6/24) • ZAC BROWN BAND — Roar with the Lions Tour presented by Polaris (6/27) • REBELUTION — Good Vibes Summer Tour 2020 with special guests TBA (6/28) • THE BLACK CROWES — Bluesy rock band from Georgia celebrates 30 years since the release of their debut album Shake Your Money Maker and hits including “Hard to Handle” (7/11) • NICKELBACK (7/17) • BACKSTREET BOYS — DNA World Tour from the former boy, now man band (7/21) 46

KENNEDY CENTER

202-467-4600 www.kennedy-center.org DIRECT CURRENT — The two-week celebration of contemporary culture returns for a third season with a special emphasis on female creators, works new to D.C., and interdisciplinary creations, with events including LIVE FROM HERE WITH CHRIS THILE — A live broadcast of the syndicated radio variety show with an all-female lineup, including Grammy-winning musician Lucinda Williams, pop-soul singer Emily King, comedian Negin Farsad, Marion Winik of NPR’s All Things Considered, contemporary violist Nadia Sirota, and Lake Street Dive’s Rachel Price (3/14, Concert Hall); CAMILA MEZA AND THE NECTAR ORCHESTRA — New York-based singer-songwriter and improvisational guitarist is a vivid musical storyteller as evidenced by her major-label debut Ámbar (3/14, Studio K); AMI DANG — A multi-instrumentalist and composer whose music ranges from North Indian classical fused with ambient electronics to beat-driven psych and experimental dance-pop, all referencing her hybrid identity as a first-generation South Asian-American raised in Baltimore (3/17, Millennium Stage); JANEL LEPPIN — D.C.-area cellist whose sound spans genres from classical to jazz to rock (3/18, Millennium Stage); BLACK ALLEY — A merger of the finest ingredients of funk, jazz, soul, and rock to create a sound and genre they call Hood Rock (3/19, Millennium Stage); STAR AMERASU — Multi-instrumentalist, singer, dancer, actor (3/20, Millennium Stage); and PATTI SMITH, JESSE PARIS SMITH, REBECCA FOON — The punk legend and artist is joined by her composer daughter and a cellist for “an inspiring, interactive evening” of music, poetry and art (3/21, Concert Hall) • THE AMOURS — A soulful duo of sisters from D.C., Jakiya Ayanna and Shaina Aisha (3/19, The Club at Studio K) • CHRISTIAN SCOTT ATUNDE ADJUAH — Jazz trumpeter/composer/producer whose work encompasses a range of cultural influences, from his native New Orleans to West Africa and the Caribbean (3/20-21, The Club at Studio K) • IMMANUEL WILKINS (3/21, Justice Forum) • BIG DADDY WEAVE IN CONCERT (3/22, Concert Hall) • KC JUKEBOX: JEREMY KITTEL’S WHORLS + JOSHUA ROMAN AND THE VERONA QUARTET (3/26, Studio K) • CLARENCE PENN — Drum master leads a

small ensemble showcasing his interpretation of classical, hard-bop, funk, experimental, and jazz styles (4/9, The Club

MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

at Studio K) • KEVIN ROSS — D.C.-native multifaceted soul artist who has toured with Maxwell and written for Jamie Foxx, among others (4/10, The Club at Studio K) • CYRUS CHESTNUT — Acclaimed jazz pianist and composer leads an impressive lineup of guest artists to perform The Saga of the Cross, a large-scale concert mixing jazz, spirituals, hymns, gospel, and blues (4/10, Concert Hall) • RENÉE FLEMING VOICES: RENÉ MARIE — An acclaimed jazz singer who has portrayed Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington on stage and earned a Grammy nomination for the album I Wanna Be Evil: With Love to Eartha Kitt (4/18, Terrace Theater) • THE JOGO PROJECT — D.C. native and saxophonist Elijah Jamal Balbed formed this group with a name, reflecting its sound, merging jazz with go-go (4/18, Venue TBD) • PAN AMERICAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: TANGO OF THE AMERICAS (4/19, Terrace Theater) • KC JUKEBOX: MICHAEL ABELS + ROB GARZA

— Music from the composer of the Oscarwinning film Get Out as well as new work from a Thievery Corporation principal combining psychedelic electronica, lush vocals, and a string octet (4/23, Studio K) • GAELYNN LEA — The 2016 winner of NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest performs a mix of haunting songs and traditional fiddle tunes (4/24, River Pavilion) • JASON MORAN’S FATS WALLER DANCE PARTY (4/25, Club at Studio K) • LYNDA CARTER IN CONCERT (4/25, Terrace Theater) • RENÉE FLEMING VOICES: MARIZA (5/4, Concert Hall) • MARY LOU WILLIAMS JAZZ FESTIVAL: SILVER ANNIVERSARY —

NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater returns to host annual tribute that kicks off this year by honoring Bridgewater’s 70th birthday through performances with several of her closest friends, while the second day features a performance of the supergroup Artemis (5/8-9, Terrace Theater) • ABOVE & BEYOND ACOUSTIC — A U.K.-based trio of house/EDM DJ/ producers, among the world’s most popular, will perform acoustic versions of their club hits along with select vocalists (5/17-18, Concert Hall) • NSO POPS FEATURING TREY ANASTASIO — A reprise performance featuring orchestrations of classic Phish songs and solo compositions by that group’s frontman Anastasio (6/17, Concert Hall) • NSO DECLASSIFIED: BEN FOLDS PRESENTS MICHAEL ANGELAKOS

— A laid-back, late-night concert including symphonic reworkings of hits by the gay Angelakos’ quirky dance-pop group Passion Pit, overseen by conductor Edwin

MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

47

SIXTH & I HISTORIC SYNAGOGUE

ROBERT PLANT & SUZI DIAN W/CATFISH KEITH (5/23) • GAY MEN’S CHORUS OF WASHINGTON: UNBREAKABLE (6/6-7)

of North America with a high-pitched dance-pop chanteuse from Canada and an L.A.-based electronic/dance DJ/ producer (8/4) • ROD STEWART WITH SPECIAL GUEST CHEAP TRICK — Relive the ’80s heyday of your youth and slick power-pop (8/15) • DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES W/SQUEEZE, KT TUNSTALL — A slate featuring pop musicians’ favorite pop musicians, three established pop/ rock acts arguably more popular among their peers than the general public (8/22) • THE BLACK KEYS W/GARY CLARK JR., YOLA — The Ohio duo of singing guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney returns for another summer Let’s Rock Tour, as if these blues rockers were going to do anything but (8/28) • PET SHOP BOYS & NEW ORDER — The Unity Tour is a logical if unexpected pairing of two British acts that helped pioneer and popularize the electronic/dance music genre, each in their own ways — with Neil Tennant becoming one of the first openly gay pop superstars in the process (9/15)

MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION

MGM NATIONAL HARBOR

ly from the D.C. area, under the category “incredibly self-aware emo/folk/ punk” (4/1) • VAGABON W/ANGELICA GARCIA (4/1) • NODIS W/MUSSIE, FRIDAYNITE WITH SOUNDS BY SIEGZ — The alias of Sidon Faris, a D.C.-area native rapper born to an Indian mother and an estranged Lebanese father (4/2) • BLEEDER W/BRADDOCK STATION GARISSON, SHELLES (4/3) • MARIELLE KRAFT W/CRAMER — Women in Tech & Music Tour (4/3) • ALICIA WITT (4/4) • DISQ W/POM POM SQUAD — A young indie-rock band out of Madison, Wisc., touring the new set Collector out on the Conor Oberst/Bright Eyes label Saddle Creek (4/12) • CUB SPORT — The return of the gay couple-led electro-pop group from Down Under (5/16) • LOVING (5/18) • MUTLU — A Philadelphia-native soul/ folk artist who’s served as a support act for Daryl Hall & John Oates and also holds the distinction of having made the most guest appearances on Hall’s Live From Daryl’s House (5/20) • DEEPER (5/21) • JOSIE DUNNE W/WILLIE SHAW (5/30) • TRACE MOUNTAINS (5/30) • THE COATHANGERS (6/4) • SNOTTY NOSE REZ KIDS (6/6) • 99 NEIGHBORS (6/9) • HOLY FUCK (6/11) • DETERIORATION W/NEEDLE, BOTTOMFEEDER, IXIAS (6/14) • JP SAXE — Toronto-born, L.A.-based singer-songwriter tours in support of his new debut EP, Hold It Together (6/19, 6/22) • STAY OUTSIDE (7/10) • BUSCABULLA (7/16)

Outwater (6/19, Concert Hall) • NSO POPS: BERNSTEIN’S ON THE TOWN (6/2528, Concert Hall) • THE HOLLIES — The Road Is Long Tour (7/21, Concert Hall) LINCOLN THEATRE

1215 U St. NW 202-888-0050 www.thelincolndc.com COLIN HAY — Former frontman of the Australian band Men Without Hats (4/4) • LA VOIX — A performance of the drag singing sensation from Britain’s Got Talent, as presented and accompanied by the D.C. Different Drummers (4/17) • JENS LEKMAN W/EDDY KWON AND DC YOUTH ORCHESTRA PROGRAM (4/22) • KURT VILE WITH CATE LE BON (4/24) • MIKA — The gay European pop star offers a rare D.C. concert on the North American leg of his Revelation Tour (5/5) • LIZ PHAIR — Soberish Tour (5/13) • EMILY KING (5/20) • SAVING GRACE FEAT.

10475 Little Patuxent Parkway Columbia, Md. 410-715-5550 www.merriweathermusic.com

ALANIS MORISSETTE W/GARBAGE, LIZ PHAIR — Expect a night of dazzling aural

fireworks at this pre-Independence Day concert featuring three of the fieriest female pop-rockers in the business (7/2) • HALSEY W/BLACKBEAR, PVRIS — The feisty and powerful bisexual headliner offers another summer Sunday sojourn to her dramatic, dark-pop Manic World, with opening sets from an up-and-coming edgy R&B/pop star and an electronic altrock band fronted by gay singer/multi-instrumentalist Lynn Gunn (7/19) • SAM HUNT — A stop on the Southside Summer Tour 2020 with this newer-generation country-pop star, plus opening sets by Kip Moore, Travis Denning, Ernest, and a DJ set from Brandi Cyrus (7/25) • AJR W/QUINN XCII, HOBO JOHNSON & THE LOVEMAKERS, ASHE — A pop trio

of brothers from New York tours with three fellow Millennial acts, including an R&B-inspired pop artist from Detroit, an “emo rap” outfit from California, and a Billie Eilish-esque electropop artist also produced by FINNEAS aka Eilish’s brother (8/1) • LINDSEY STIRLING W/ KIESZA, MAKO — Electronic violinist known for her choreographed performances heads out on the Artemis Tour 48

101 MGM National Avenue Oxon Hill, Md. 844-346-4664 www.mgmnationalharbor.com GILBERTO SANTA ROSA — Puerto Rican bandleader and singer of salsa and bolero (5/1) • THE TEMPTATIONS & THE FOUR TOPS (5/9) • BOYZ II MEN (5/10) • FLASHBACK FUNK FEST — Featuring Morris Day & The Time, Zapp, Dazz Band, and Rose Royce (6/19) • ANTHONY HAMILTON (7/25) • ALICIA KEYS (8/7) • JUDAS PRIEST — 50 Heavy Metal Years (9/9) • RARE ESSENCE REUNION (9/19) PEARL STREET WAREHOUSE

33 Pearl St. SW 202-380-9620 www.pearlstreetwarehouse.com BEN TUFTS & FRIENDS: THE UNSUNG — A

rotating roster of local musicians gather in tribute around the theme of “one-hit wonders, obscure artists, the underrated, critics’ darlings, etc,” all to benefit a scholarship fund for budding young environmentalists (4/17) • STICKY FINGERS: A ROLLING STONES TRIBUTE NIGHT — Classic Stones’ songs will be covered by a bevy of female and female-fronted local acts including Black Betty, Patty Reese, Carly Harvey, Mary-eL, Griefcat, Holly Montgomery, Tula Pisano, and Sunny Trippel (4/23)

MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

600 I St. NW 202-408-3100 www.sixthandi.org VERONICA SWIFT — 25-year-old jazz artist adept at swing, bebop, and the Great American Songbook (3/21) • LAURA MARLING — British folk artist who’s a “subtly virtuosic guitarist with a voice that’s...wise beyond her years” (4/5) • THE STRING QUEENS — Kendall Isadore, Dawn Johnson, and Élise Cuffy comprise this genre-defying soulful group playing music from the Baroque era to the Billboard Hot 100 (4/25) • WATKINS FAMILY HOUR W/COURTNEY HARTMAN

— The siblings Sean and Sara Watkins known from their work as members of the Grammy-winning bluegrass band Nickel Creek (4/30) SONGBYRD MUSIC HOUSE

2477 18th St. NW 202-450-2917 www.songbyrddc.com

MATT DECARO W/ASA MARTIN, MARY WANDER — File the headliner, original-

5301 Tuckerman Lane North Bethesda, Md. 301-581-5100 www.strathmore.org TONY BENNETT (3/15, Music Center) • CHRISTYLEZ BACON & NISTHA RAJ — Adventurous duo explores the spaces between North Indian classical music, acoustic hip-hop, and go-go music (3/19, The Mansion) • GEORGE WINSTON — Iconic folk pianist (3/23, Music Center) • AIR: CHRISTIAN DOUGLAS — Part of a series of concerts showcasing the up-and-coming artists selected for this year’s Strathmore Artists in Residence guidance program (3/25, The Mansion) • YOUNG ARTISTS OF AMERICA: BEAUTY & THE BEAST WITH ALAN MENKEN — Carole Graham Lehan directs and Kristofer Sanz conducts a production of the classic Disney musical featuring over 300 young performers, with “special participation” by Menken (3/28, Music Center) • WU FEI & ABIGAIL WASHBURN — Cross-cultural collaboration between traditional Chinese and American music (4/2, Music Center) • GREGORY PORTER — The Grammy-winning soulful jazz artist who captivates like his idols Nat King Cole, Donny Hathaway, and Stevie Wonder (4/3-4, Music Center) • NATALIE CRESSMAN & IAN FAQUINI — Duo draws from Brazilian jazz and impressionism (4/9, The Mansion) • BRIAN MCKNIGHT (4/11, Music Center) • AIR: NATALY MEREZHUK — Jazz violinist performs two concert showcases as one of this year’s Strathmore Artists in Residence (4/15, 4/29, The Mansion) • AROOJ AFTAB W/GYAN RILEY — Atmospheric vocals and swirling soundscapes (4/16, The Mansion) • LEA SALONGA — The Tony-winning actress known from Miss Saigon, Les Misérables, Once on This Island, and Allegiance, not to mention as the singing voice of Disney princesses Jasmine (Aladdin) and Mulan (4/17, Music Center) • CHARLES LLOYD & THE MARVELS & LUCINDA WILLIAMS — Legendary jazz artist joins forces with the Grammy-winning rock icon (4/19, Music Center) • DAVID FOSTER — The Hitman Tour featuring special guests Loren Allred, Pia Toscano, and Fernando Varela (4/29, Music Center) • DJAVAN — Brazilian music icon (5/7, Music Center) • PAUL ANKA — “Anka Sings Sinatra: His Songs, My Songs, My Way” (5/12) • AIR: JAKE BLOUNT — Two concerts in the series showcasing one of this year’s Strathmore Artists in Residence (5/13,

5/27, The Mansion) • LYLE LOVETT & JOHN HIATT (5/13, Music Center) • BSO: LERNER & LOEWE CLASSICS (5/28, Music Center) • WPA: GOSPEL CHOIRS (6/7, Music Center) • AIR: LUCAS ASHBY — Percussionist and composer is showcased as part of this year’s Strathmore Artists in Residence program (6/10, 6/24, The Mansion) • AMERICA — The classic rock band with signature vocal harmonies and a warm, uplifting folk-rock sound celebrates 50 years together (6/27, Music Center) U STREET MUSIC HALL

1115 U St. NW 202-588-1889 www.ustreetmusichall.com 10 YEARS OF U HALL: MIJA — As part of its Direct Current series, the Kennedy Center presents this electronic producer/DJ in the mold of Bjork (3/13); SG LEWIS W/WILL EASTMAN — Presented by Blisspop Disco Fest (3/13); MK W/TREASURE FINGERS, RAWLE NIGHT LONG (3/14); FENNESZ W/ BRITTON POWELL (3/19); SOPHIA SAZE W/NO INTIMATE, TONALTHEORY (3/19);

DAVID MORALES W/ULTRA NATÉ & LISA MOODY (3/20); MOOMBAHTON MASSIVE W/GOOD TIMES AHEAD, NADASTROM RESIDENTS (3/21); MIRROR COMPANY — A

collective of local DJs Ken Lazee, Ozker, and Will Eastman) (3/21, Backbar, 815 V St. NW); RDGLDGRN W/MISTA SELECTA (3/22) • CITY OF THE SUN W/WILLIAM WILD (3/14) • MONDO COZMO W/REUBEN AND THE DARK (3/18) • DAYGLOW W/RITT MOMNEY (3/20) • COLONY HOUSE W/ TYSON MOTSENBOCKER (3/21) • DORIAN

ELECTRA W/ALICE LONGYU GAO, UMRU (3/26) • BEACH BUNNY W/SLOW PULP, MICHELLE (3/27) • LAUREN SANDERSON (4/1) • EVAN GIIA W/RAFFAELLA (4/3) • ATTLAS (4/3) •AVI KAPLAN W/PAPER WINGS (4/4) • ALLIE X W/KAT CUNNINGS (4/9) • BEAR HANDS W/IRONTOM (4/10) • LOUIS VEGA W/MIRROR COMPANY — A

true house Master at Work known for his signature rich, warm polyrhythmic Latin house sound (4/10) • ALLAN RAYMAN (4/11) • TOMMY CASH — Called a “surreal, post-Soviet rap sensation” by The Guardian (4/13) • FLORA CASH W/BEAU YOUNG PRINCE (4/15) • VUNDABAR W/ DEHD, BOYSCOTT (4/16) • M. WARD W/ PITOU, THE LOST BROTHERS (4/18) • THE WARNING (4/19) • YVES TUMOR W/ECCO2K — Self-billed as both “a gothic soundscape auteur” and “a howling cyberpunk fiend” (4/20) • DELTA SPIRIT W/HIDEOUT (4/21) • OVERCOATS (4/23) • ROBOTAKI W/ BIROCRATIC (4/25) • BRENDAN BENSON

W/ROOKIE (4/26) • SAMMY RAE & THE FRIENDS W/MELT (4/29) • THE BALLROOM THIEVES (4/30) • BIOLI & ASSIA (5/1) • DANNY TENAGLIA W/TEAM ZAPATA — One

of the original DJ superstars and gay New York dance music pioneer (5/1) • COSMO’S MIDNIGHT W/DJ POOLBOI (5/2) • FATHER W/MELTYCANON (5/3) • U.S. GIRLS W/MOURNING (A) BLKSTAR — Multi-disciplinary artist Meg Remy tours in support of a new batch of “glassy, danceable pop songs that smolder with radical undercurrents” (The New Yorker), many of them co-written by D.C.’s Rich Morel (5/5) • FELLY (5/6) • SLOW MAGIC (5/7) • PEACH PIT W/HALEY BLAIS (5/9) • KARAN AUJLA — I Run Punjabi Rap Tour (5/10) • THE PRETTY RECKLESS W/THEM EVILS (5/13) • CHANNEL TRES (5/16) • NOTD — Swedish pop music production duo (5/19) • OSHUN (6/17) • OTR (7/17) UNION STAGE

740 Water St. SW 877-987-6487 www.unionstage.com ALLY BROOKE W/D. MUNOZ(3/20) • BRENT COBB + MADDIE MEDLEY (3/21) • “SYMPHONY OF NOW” LIVE W/ALEX. DO (3/22) • TAMINO + MAPPE OF (3/23, Miracle Theatre) • ASGEIR — Bury The Moon Tour (3/24) • BEABADOOBEE —

SiriusXM presents Alt Nation’s Advanced Placement Tour (3/25) • JAMESON RODGERS W/HUNTER PHELPS — Grew Up In The Country Tour (3/26) • LOST DOG STREET BAND W/MATT HECKLER (3/27) • DRAMA W/RIC WILSON — Chicago-based duo offers an alluring brew of R&B and dance music (3/28) • JADE NOVAH (3/29) • BEN WATT — A solo outing from the veteran electronic/dance music producer and Everything But The Girl main man (3/31) • ALO + BEN MORRISON (OF THE BROTHERS COMATOSE) (4/1) • HOT CHELLE RAE — The Tangerine Tour for this pop band founded in Nashville 15 years ago (4/2) • PAPADOSIO W/JAW GEMS — Microdosio Tour 2020 (4/3-4) • KASH DOLL (4/5) • LILLY HIATT + THE HARMALEIGHS (4/6) • PETER BJORN AND JOHN + METHYL ETHEL (4/8) • BASIA BULAT + SAMANTHA CRAIN (4/9) • WHITE FORD BRONCO (4/10) • LUCKY CHOPS + STEELOSOUL (4/11) • THE UNDERTONES (4/14) • THE UNLIKELY CANDIDATES W/ ZERO 9:36, THE FEDERAL EMPIRE (4/15) •

TOPS W/HONEY HARPER, BETTER PERSON (4/16) • PATRICK WATSON + CHARLIE CUNNINGHAM (4/17) • THE GARDEN W/ GEORGE CLANTON — Kiss My Super Bowl Ring Tour (4/19) • NOTHING, NOWHERE.

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SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

STRATHMORE

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

W/DANGER INCORPORATED, EARLY EYES, BOGUES (4/20) • JUANA MOLINA (4/21) • BEACH SLANG W/THE AQUADOLLS, THE SOCIAL ANIMALS (4/22) • LOOTE W/ SATELLITE MODE (4/23) • INHALER (4/25) • SPANISH LOVE SONGS (4/26) • KIEFER (4/28) • 47SOUL — A performance by this

“Electro Arabic Dabke (Shastep) band” from Amman, Jordan, further enhanced by the availability of pop-up cocktails incorporating the flavors of the Middle East concocted by the Green Zone (4/30) • CAMILO SEPTIMO (5/1) • WILD RIVERS W/ ALLMAN BROWN (5/2) • MK.GEE + JACKIE HAYES (5/4) • ...AND YOU WILL KNOW US

BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD W/GREENBEARD (5/5) • RINA SAWAYAMA (5/6) ROYCE 5’9” — The Allegory US Tour (5/7) • MUSCADINE BLOODLINE W/DREW PARKER (5/8) • MARIAN HILL (5/9) • INNER WAVE W/DIVINO NINO (5/13) • BACK TO YOURS

— The Where Are We Going Tour (5/14) • JUICE (5/15) • FRANC MOODY (5/17) • TORRES (5/21) • CALIGULA’S HORSE W/MOON TOOTH, EBONIVORY (5/29) • STAR KITCHEN (6/4) • MARGO SEIBERT — Presented by La Ti Do (6/11) • YAM HAUS — The Band Is Gonna Make It World Tour! (6/19) WARNER THEATRE

513 13th St. NW 202-783-4000 www.warnertheatredc.com BRIT FLOYD — “World’s Greatest Pink Floyd Show” (3/16) • STYX (3/17) • MANDY MOORE — A concert from the This Is Us star who is also a well-established country-pop artist (3/26) • BRIAN CULBERTSON — An American smooth jazz purveyor on the Xx Tour (4/18) • JOSE LUIS PERALES — “Baladas para una despedida” (4/19) • MARTINA MCBRIDE W/ SARAH ALLISON TURNER (4/23) • CHARLIE DANIELS & THE MARSHALL TUCKER BAND W/KYLE DANIEL (5/1) • BETH HART — The

adult-contemporary singer-songwriter(5/5) • LITTLE RIVER BAND — A benefit concert for the Allergy & Asthma Network (5/6) • MELENDI — Tour 10:20:40 for the Spanish pop star (5/22) • CARLOS RIVERA — Guerra Tour (6/21) • THE FAB FOUR — Tribute to the Beatles (6/26) • CAMILA — USA Tour Hacia Adentro 2020 (6/28) • DRU HILL (7/11) • BLACKBERRY SMOKE W/ THE ALLMENT BETTS BAND (8/11)

WEINBERG CENTER FOR THE ARTS

20 W. Patrick St. Frederick, Md. 301-600-2828 www.weinbergcenter.org

NEIL BERG’S 50 YEARS OF ROCK N’ ROLL

— A tribute to five decades of musical legends from veterans of Broadway rock musicals as well as bona fide rock singers (3/27) • DAVE MASON — Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer known for his soulful voice and guitar skills drops by on The Feelin’ Alright Tour (3/28) • STRAIGHT NO CHASER (4/1) • THE RAD TRADS — A mix of punk rock energy and horn-drenched soul with jazz precision (4/2) • CLASSIC ALBUMS LIVE: TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS — Damn the Torpedoes,

the 1979 set that took the Heartbreakers mainstream and spawned hits including “Don’t Do Me Like That,” gets recreated live on stage (5/2) • WYLDER (5/7) • 4TH ANNUAL FREDERICK JAZZ FESTIVAL (6/27) WOLF TRAP

Filene Center 1551 Trap Road 877-WOLFTRAP www.wolftrap.org THE HEAD AND THE HEART W/MARGO PRICE — Inspiring young indie-folk col-

lective makes its Wolf Trap debut on its Living Mirage Tour kicked off by “one of the most compelling country talents to come out of Nashville in recent memory” (per Vulture) (5/28) • MAZE FEATUR-

ING FRANKIE BEVERLY + KEITH SWEAT

— Influential veteran R&B act along with the new jack swing star (5/29) • YACHT ROCK REVUE — The Hot Dads in Tight Jeans Tour (5/30) • CELTIC WOMAN (6/3) • JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 UNIT W/ DAVID CROSBY & FRIENDS (6/4) • ELVIS COSTELLO & THE IMPOSTERS (6/10) • ANDREW BIRD + CALEXICO AND IRON & WINE W/JOSEPH, THE GREAT SUMMER STROLL — Acclaimed multi-instrumental-

ist and vocalist with an indie-folk supergroup featuring two bands and recent collaborators, all making their Filene Center debuts (6/11) • A.R. RAHMAN (6/14) • INDIGO GIRLS + ANI DIFRANCO — A pairing for the record books, one sure to reel in queer women from all around (6/23) • JOHN PRINE & EMMYLOU HARRIS (6/26) • BLACK VIOLIN W/BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA — Classically trained string players Wil B. and Kev Marcus blend performance of classical music with hiphop (6/27) • PINK MARTINI (6/28) • KING CRIMSON W/THE ZAPPA BAND (6/30) • CLASSIC ALBUMS LIVE: THE BEATLES &

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MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

THE ROLLING STONES — Let It Be and Let It Bleed, respectively (7/3) • STEELY DAN WITH SPECIAL GUEST STEVE WINDWOOD (7/7-8) • STRAIGHT NO CHASER — Said to

be reinventing the idea of a cappella (7/14) • BARENAKED LADIES W/GIN BLOSSOMS, TOAD THE WET SPROCKET — The 6th edition of the Last Summer On Earth Tour features three melodic pop-rock veteran groups (7/15) • HENZE — Elegy for Young Lovers (7/19, 7/22, 7/25) • CHICK COREA

& THE SPANISH HEART BAND W/RUBEN BLADES — Noted pianist and band leader

brings together Latin rhythm masters from all over the world in a flamenco-charged band along with world-renowned vocalist (7/19) • TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND, ST. PAUL & THE BROKEN BONES W/GABE DIXON — Husband-and-

wife-led 12-member American soul, blues, country, and rock band with a dynamic rock ‘n’ soul band (7/21-22) • BRANDI CARLILE + NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA W/TANYA TUCKER (7/24-25) • FANTASIA (7/26) • THE NATIONAL W/ JULIA JACKIN — The Wolf Trap debut

of Grammy-winning indie-rockers who blend elements of alternative, country-rock, Americana, chamber pop, and more (7/29) • GREENSKY BLUEGRASS W/ THE WOOD BROTHERS — The strong, stirring jam band-esque progressive bluegrass outfit (7/30) • GRACE POTTER W/ THE MARCUS KING BAND (8/8) • ABBA THE CONCERT (8/9) • NOT OUR FIRST GOAT RODEO — Featuring Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile with guest Aoife O’Donovan (8/12) • GOO GOO DOLLS W/LIFEHOUSE, FOREST BLAKK (8/13) • FONSECA & ANDRÉS CEPEDA — Colombian music icons and Latin Grammy winners join forces for the Compadres Tour (8/14) • DAVID GRAY — The 20th Anniversary Tour of White Ladder (8/15) • THE DECEMBERISTS W/ FRUIT BATS — 20th Anniversary Tour of 20 Years Before the Mast (8/16) • TRAIN W/VERTICAL HORIZON (8/18) • ZIGGY MARLEY & STEPHEN MARLEY — A Bob Marley Celebration with two of his hit-making sons and reggae torchbearers (8/19) • JOHN LEGEND W/THE WAR AND TREATY (8/21) • MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER (8/22) • LITTLE BIG TOWN W/ BRANDON RATCLIFF (8/28) l For more Spring Arts Music listings, please visit www.metroweekly.com or follow our new interactive version of the print edition at www.issuu.com/metroweekly.

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MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

Music

MARGOT SCHULMAN

Classical & Choral

Marin Alsop and The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

S

LAUGHS — A family-friendly night of fun,

Compiled by André Hereford

OME OF THE CLASSICAL WORLD’S BRIGHTEST STARS WILL LIGHT up the region’s stages this season, along with a treasure trove of thrilling up-and-coming talents. Hometown favorite Denyce Graves returns to the Kennedy Center Opera House performing the featured role of Maria in Washington National Opera’s hot-ticket production of Porgy and Bess, and several pop and R&B stars get into the classical act, with Grammy-winner Maxwell joining the BSO for a night of orchestral arrangements of hits like “Pretty Wings,” while acclaimed singer-songwriter Amos Lee debuts his new album alongside the NSO Pops. But the true star to keep your eyes and ears open for this spring might be the biggest name in the history of classical music — Ludwig van Beethoven, whose 250th birthday will be celebrated by ensembles, soloists, orchestras, opera companies, institutions, and audiences alike.

Arena Stage 1101 6th St. SW www.theamericanpops.org

THE 3RD ANNUAL NEXTGEN: FINDING THE VOICES OF TOMORROW — The APO’s

third annual vocal competition features 30 semifinalists representing colleges and universities from around the region, including American University, Catholic University, George Mason University,

BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Meyerhoff Symphony Hall 1212 Cathedral St Baltimore, Md. 410-783-8000 www.bsomusic.org

RAY CHEN PERFORMS SHOSTAKOVICH

MINDFULNESS SERIES: YOGA WITH THE AMERICAN POPS ORCHESTRA — Yoga

— Violin sensation Chen performs Shostakovich’s formidable First Violin Concerto, in addition to pieces by Ravel, Strauss, and Messiaen (3/19, Meyerhoff) • MUSIC BOX: CELEBRATE SPRINGTIME — Spring into springtime with a BSO brass quintet (3/21, Meyerhoff and 3/28, AMP by Strathmore) • OFF THE CUFF: SHOSTAKOVICH VIOLIN CONCERTO — Violinist Ray Chen illuminates the hidden messages of this highly personal work (3/21, Meyerhoff) • BSO PERFORMS

TONIGHT:

F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ and Washington Performing Arts’ SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestras, the BSO is joined by members of the

Please note that some events might be postponed or cancelled due to the COVID-19 coronavirus. Please check ahead with the individual venues.

AMERICAN POPS ORCHESTRA

featuring APO musicians, comedians, and more, immediately followed by a VIP After-party (5/30, Fichandler)

Howard University, Temple University, and the College of William and Mary, among others (3/28, Kreeger) • MUSIC &

instructor Dan Carter leads the third of this season’s mindful yoga and meditation sessions, accompanied by calming live music courtesy of a select APO ensemble (4/18, Molly Smith Study) • COMEDY BROADWAY'S

GREATEST

AT SHIFT FESTIVAL OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS — As part of The John

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53

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

esteemed Silk Road Ensemble (3/25, Kennedy Center Concert Hall) • MOZART AND MENDELSSOHN — A work newly commissioned by the BSO from British composer Anna Clyne is juxtaposed with Fanny Mendelssohn’s Overture in C Major (3/28, Meyerhoff and 3/29, Strathmore) • MIDWEEK CONCERT: THROUGH THE TELESCOPE — Experience otherworldly images of galaxies far, far away projected on a large screen above the stage, as a Hubble Scientist guides you through this concert featuring music

by Strauss, Mozart, Holst and more (4/12 and 4/4, Meyerhoff) • MAXWELL: A NIGHT AT THE SYMPHONY — The soul star performs reimagined orchestral versions of songs from his hit-filled career, including thirteen #1 R&B chart-toppers (4/3-4, Meyerhoff) • MOVIE WITH ORCHESTRA: THE WIZARD OF OZ (4/16, Strathmore and 4/17-19, Meyerhoff) • HOLST THE PLANETS — Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Hubble Telescope, the BSO salutes this historic milestone with performances of Holst’s The Planets, complete with Hubble photos and a special guest from NASA (4/23 and 4/26, Meyerhoff; 4/25, Strathmore) • OFF THE CUFF: HOLST THE PLANETS (4/24, Strathmore and 11/23, Meyerhoff) • MUSIC ADVENTURES: BACH AND FRIENDS: THE VIOLA SUITES AND THEIR NEW COMPANIONS — The second of three

class sessions designed to to enhance your appreciation of classical music (4/27, Meyerhoff) • RACHMANINOFF PIANO CONCERTO — The great Russian pianist Olga Kern, first prize winner of the Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition when she was just 17, performs the composer’s dauntingly difficult Third Piano Concerto (4/30, Strathmore and 5/1-3, Meyerhoff) • MUSIC BOX: BIRDIE MELODIES — Soar like the little birdies flying through the air and nesting in the trees with a BSO flute, violin and viola trio (5/2, Meyerhoff and 5/9, AMP

by Strathmore) • STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - IN CONCERT Episode V of the Jedi Saga screens as the BSO, led

by Associate Conductor Nicholas Hersh, performs John Williams’ score live (5/7 and 5/10, Meyerhoff; 5/8, Strathmore) • GALA CONCERT WITH ITZHAK PERLMAN

— World-renowned violinist Perlman joins the BSO for its annual Gala Concert (5/9, Meyerhoff) • MUSIC

ADVENTURES: PREPARING FOR UPCOMING PERFORMANCES...AS A BASSOONIST

— The third Music Adventures session focuses on bassoons (5/12, Meyerhoff) • 54

BAROQUE FAVORITES — A conductor-less

program that puts the musicians of the BSO front and center, exploring the mastery of Bach and musical story-telling at its finest (5/16, Strathmore and 5/17, Meyerhoff) • EVGENY KISSIN IN RECITAL — One of the most gifted classical pianists of his generation, Kissin performs a recital of Beethoven's treasured piano sonatas (5/17, Meyerhoff) • SYMPHONY IN THE CITY: PATTERSON PARK — The free Symphony in the City series brings the BSO out of the concert hall and into the park for a program of works by Beethoven as part of the BSO’s 2020 celebration of the composer’s 250th birthday (5/20, Patterson Park) • STAR WARS: THE RETURN OF THE JEDI - IN CONCERT

— Episode VI screens as the BSO performs John Williams’ score live (5/2223, Meyerhoff) • LERNER AND LOEWE CLASSICS — The most popular Broadway hits of the dynamic composer and lyricist duo, including selections from My Fair Lady, Camelot, Gigi and Brigadoon, performed by three exciting vocalists along with the BSO (5/28 Strathmore and 5/2931, Meyerhoff) • PASTORAL SYMPHONY — Commemorating the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, this concert features the composer’s beloved “Pastoral” Symphony, plus the long-awaited BSO debut of renowned Russian violinist Viktoria Mullova, performing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto (6/4 and 6/6, Strathmore; 6/5 6/7, Meyerhoff) • BEETHOVEN’S NINTH — Reimagining the “Ode to Joy” as a 21st-century call for unity, justice, and empowerment, Music Director Marin Alsop and the BSO boldly interpret Beethoven’s ideas in response to today’s world (6/11-12 and 6/14, Meyerhoff and 6/13, Strathmore) THE CHORAL ARTS SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

202-244-3669 www.choralarts.org

MUSIC BY WOMEN ON A MISSION — The

women of the Choral Arts Chorus and the Choral Arts Chamber Singers showcase the breadth, depth, and richness of choral music composed by a diverse group of women, including Melissa Dunphy, Carol Barnett, and Undine Smith Moore (3/28, Live! at 10th & G) • A MORE PERFECT UNISON — The Capital Hearings and 18th Street Singers join The Choral Arts Chamber Singers for a joint concert honoring our shared histories and D.C.’s evolving culture of choral music (4/19, National City Christian Church) •

MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

SCHUMANN: REQUIEM, OP. 148 — Artistic

Director Scott Tucker conducts a program with mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Bishop performing In the Beginning and Alto Rhapsody, and a quartet of accomplished soloists, including Katie Baughman, Hillary Grobe, Matthew Hill, and Matthew Scollin featured in Schumann’s Requiem (5/3, Kennedy Center Concert Hall) • TO SHIVER THE SKY — The world premiere of Christopher Tin’s oratorio exploration of space, featuring accompaniment by the United States Air Force Band (5/30, The Anthem) THE CITY CHOIR OF WASHINGTON

National Presbyterian Church 4101 Nebraska Ave. NW 202-495-1613 www.thecitychoirofwashington.org DURUFLÉ REQUIEM — The West Springfield High School Madrigals directed by Dustin Brandt, and the Shenandoah University Cantus Singers directed by Dr. Karen Keating join City Choir for an unforgettable evening of collaborative music making (3/15, St. Luke Catholic Church, McLean) • BACH MASS IN B MINOR — The choir closes its season with a stirring and spectacular performance of Bach’s monumental, and most memorable, masterpiece (5/17, Schlesinger Concert Hall, Alexandria) CONGRESSIONAL CHORUS

Calvary Baptist Church 733 8th St. NW 202-629-3140 www.congressionalchorus.org VOGUE: RETURN TO THE 90'S — A pro-

gram celebrating America’s women composers (3/21) • GO WEST! MUSIC FROM THE ROCKIES AND BEYOND (5/30) DC'S DIFFERENT DRUMMERS

202-403-3669 www.dcdd.org

PRECIOUS MOMENTS: SYMPHONIC BAND SPRING CONCERT — Joined by guest

conductor Dr. Thea Kano, of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DCDD celebrates its 40th year making music with highlights from past concerts, including Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man (4/4, Church of the Epiphany) THE EMBASSY SERIES

202-625-2361 www.embassyseries.org The series presents its 25th season of “uniting people through music diplomacy,” via concerts and cultural events

• ANNALENE LENAERTS, HARP (3/23, Residence of the Belgian Ambassador) • MEMBERS OF THE “PRESIDENT’S OWN MARINE BAND AND CHAMBER GROUP — Brahms and Dvořák chamber music (3/26, Embassy of the Czech Republic) • ALEXANDRA NOWAKOWSKI, COLORATU-

Pictures at an Exhibition (5/9) • PEABODY PELED CELLO GANG WITH AMIT PELED — Internationally renowned cellist Peled joins his cello students from the Peabody Institute for a spectacular afternoon of music (5/31, JCC of NoVa)

(4/7, Polish Ambassador’s Residence) • BRATISLAVA BOYS’ CHOIR (4/22, Embassy of Slovakia) • SIOW LEE CHIN, VIOLIN (5/13, Embassy of Singapore) • BALÁZS FÜLEI, PIANO (5/22, Embassy of Hungary)

202-544-7077 www.folger.edu

RA SOPRANO; WILLIAM WOODARD, PIANO

FAIRFAX SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

GMU Center for the Arts Fairfax, Va. 703-993-2787 www.fairfaxsymphony.org

BEETHOVEN AT 250: SOULMATES WITH PHILIPPE BIANCONI, PIANO — A pro-

gram featuring Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 and Beethovens’ “Symphony of Symphonies” (3/20) • BEETHOVEN AT 250: PEACE & JOY — Performing Beethoven’s Ninth (4/25, GMU Harris Theatre) • INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION — The Fairfax County All-Stars and violin soloist Alexander Kerr join the FSO for a program including Mussorgsky’s

FOLGER CONSORT

Lippa (I Am Harvey Milk, The Addams Family) showcasing 100 years of queer stories (6/6-7, Lincoln Theatre) GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Fairfax, Va. 888-945-2468 www.cfa.gmu.edu

MONTEVERDI IN VENICE: THE BIRTH OF THE BAROQUE — Performing works by

MASON COMMUNITY ARTS ACADEMY FAMILY CONCERT: WORDS MATTER: THE WRITTEN WORD AND MUSIC — GMU’s

GAY MEN’S CHORUS

POPS ORCHESTRA: SPOTLIGHT ON BROADWAY — Maestro Anthony Maiello

the great composer who stood “astride the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque,” the early music ensemble offers Monteverdi’s madrigals, selections from his operas, and his rousing setting of Torquato Tasso's Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, first performed in Venice in 1624 (4/24-26, St. Mark’s on Capitol Hill) 202-293-1548 www.gmcw.org

SPRING AFFAIR 2020 — GMCW’s 17th

annual black-tie gala fundraising event, hosted by Emmy-winner Leslie Jordan (5/9, The Ritz-Carlton) • UNBREAKABLE — A new musical written by Andrew

Wind Symphony joins forces with acting and music students from Mason Community Arts Academy to highlight selected poetry, literature, and text from famous speeches, along with music by composers, past and present, who were influenced by those words (3/29) • PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE CONCERT (3/29, Harris Theatre) • AMERICAN FESTIVAL reunites with Broadway veteran and soprano Lisa Vroman for an evening of iconic Broadway hits, memorable show tunes, and unforgettable musical theater scores (4/4) • DR. BALAKERSKAIA PIANO STUDIO RECITAL — A recital performed by the piano students of Dr. Anna

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SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

Balakerskaia (4/9, Harris Theatre) • TUBA STUDIO RECITAL (4/10, Harris Theatre) • GUITAR ENSEMBLE CONCERT (4/11, Harris Theatre) • CHORALE BROADWAY SHOWCASE (4/18) • WIND SYMPHONY & SYMPHONIC BAND CONCERT (4/23) • THE CORONATION OF POPPEA — The Mason University Opera Theater presents a production of Monteverdi’s final opera, set in ancient Rome (4/24-25, Harris Theatre) • A CONCERT PRESENTATION OF SPRING AWAKENING — Mason Musical Theatre student performers offer a concert of the Tony Award-winning musical by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater (5/1) THE IN SERIES

202-204-7763 www.inseries.org RIGOLETTO — Conductor Victoria Gau leads a brilliant new orchestration for circus ensemble and vibrant young cast in Verdi’s unforgettable and tuneful opera, brought to life as an immersive circus production that seeks out the laughter, horror, and visceral drama of an immortal opera which remains as beloved and shocking today as it did at its premiere (4/11-19, Atlas Performing Arts Center) MARYLAND LYRIC OPERA

240-427-5568 www.mdlo.org

MDLO ORCHESTRA WITH CECILE LICAD, PIANO — Conducted by Music Director

Louis Salemno, the program includes Bartók's dazzling Concerto for Orchestra and Gershwin's iconic An American in Paris (4/22) • LE NOZZE DI FIGARO (6/10, 6/12, 6/14, Kay Theatre) NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC

Music Center at Strathmore 5301 Tuckerman Lane Bethesda, Md. 301-581-5100 www.nationalphilharmonic.org MOZART REQUIEM — Suzanne Karpov, soprano; Magdalena Wór, mezzo-soprano; Norman Shankle, tenor; and Kevin Deas, bass join the Chorale for Requiem, with acclaimed clarinetist Jon Manasse sitting in as soloist for Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A Major (3/21) • MUSIC INSPIRED BY PROSE — Three-time Grammy-winning cellist Zuill Bailey joins the Philharmonic for a special evening celebrating composers and the authors who influenced them, including Michael Daugherty’s Tales of Hemingway (4/18) • MISSA SOLEMNIS — Piotr Gajewski leads the orchestra and chorale along 56

with soloists Esther Heideman, soprano; Shirin Eskandani, mezzo-soprano; Norman Shankle, tenor; and Kerry Wilkerson, baritone, in what Beethoven regarded as his greatest work (5/30)

WASHINGTON BACH CONSORT

NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

PRESENTS DEVOTION & CONTEMPLATION

Kennedy Center Concert Hall 202-467-4600 www.kennedy-center.org

NSO: ESCHENBACH CONDUCTS BOLÉRO, CARPENTER PLAYS POULENC — An all-

French program featuring Ravel’s sultry slow-burn, Boléro, plus rock star organist Cameron Carpenter, “a modern-day throwback to the flamboyant virtuosos of the 19th century,” performing Poulenc’s Organ Concerto (4/23-25) • NSO:

BEETHOVEN AT 250: SYMPHONIES NOS. 2 & 5 (5/30 and 6/3) • NSO: BEETHOVEN AT 250: SYMPHONIES NOS. 4 & 7 (6/5-6) • NSO: BEETHOVEN AT 250: SYMPHONIES NOS. 6 & 8 (6/9-10) • NSO: BEETHOVEN AT 250: SYMPHONY NO. 9 (6/12-14) • NSO POPS: TREY ANASTASIO (6/17) • NSO: DECLASSIFIED: BEN FOLDS PRESENTS MICHAEL ANGELAKOS — Passion Pit

singer-guitarist Angelakos headlines this edition of NSO Artistic Advisor Folds’ laid-back, late-night concert series (6/19) • NSO POPS: BERNSTEIN’S ON THE TOWN — A semi-staged version of Leonard Bernstein’s first Broadway musical hit, directed by Alan Paul, Associate Artistic Director of The Shakespeare Theatre Company (6/25-28) • NSO POPS: AMOS LEE — Singer-songwriter Lee joins the Pops for a one-night-only show featuring songs from his latest album, My New Moon (6/30) THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION

1600 21th St. NW 202-974-6832 www.phillipscollection.org MIRIAM FRIED AND MUSICIANS FROM RAVINIA’S STEANS MUSIC INSTITUTE —

Musicians from Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute in Highland Park, Illinois, make their debut at the Phillips, led by celebrated violinist Fried (4/26) • MAKI NAMEKAWA — Performing Philip Glass’s First Piano Sonata (5/17) • VOCAL COLORS: WOLF TRAP OPERA, PIANO AND VOICE — Up and coming vocalists from

Wolf Trap Opera explore musical links to The Phillips Collection’s extraordinary collection of more than 5,000 works, from major examples of French Impressionism and American Modernism to contemporary art (6/11 and 7/9)

MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

202-429-2121 www.bachconsort.org THE PASSION — Bach’s musical setting of the Passion (3/21-22, St. Mark’s Capitol Hill) • THE CHAMBER SERIES — Performing Dieterich Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu nostri, an exquisite cycle of seven cantatas, each as a contemplation of a different part of the body of Christ (4/3, Live! at 10th & G) • NOONTIME CANTATA SERIES — John Walthausen, organist, performs O Lamm Gottes Unschuldig, BWV 656 as a prelude to cantata Wo soll ich fliehen hin, BWV 5 (4/6, St. Peter’s on Capitol Hill and 4/7, Church of the Epiphany) • CONCERTI VIRTUOSI — Virtuoso violinist and concertmaster of London’s famed Academy of Ancient Music, Bojan CiCi, guest-directs the Consort in a program of brilliant concerti (4/26, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church) THE WASHINGTON CHORUS

202-342-6221 www.thewashingtonchorus.org THE FUTURE IS FEMALE — A collaborative concert with the Heritage Signature Chorale celebrating women composers, artists, and musicians (4/4, Live! at 10th & G) • RACHMANINOFF VESPERS — The 130+ voices of the chorus sing holiday selections backed by the National Capital Brass (5/2, National City Christian Church) WASHINGTON MASTER CHORALE

202-596-8934 washingtonmasterchorale.org POETRY IN SONG — A program featuring mezzo soprano Lena Seikaly, alongside an SATB chorus, piano, and chamber orchestra performing David Conte’s The Unknown Sea, based on the text of poet Elizabeth Bishop, and Dona Nobis Pacem, by Ralph Vaughan Williams (4/19, Church of the Epiphany) WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN PHILHARMONIC

703-799-8229 www.wmpamusic.org

RACHMANINOFF PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2 WITH THOMAS PANDOLFI — Acclaimed

pianist Pandolfi joins the WMP for a performance that also includes 19th-century German composer Emilie Mayer’s Symphony No.3, and selections from the American Song Book, sung by soprano Elizabeth Kuegel (3/29, George Washington Masonic National Memorial and 4/5, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax)

WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA

Kennedy Center 202-295-2400 www.dc-opera.org

SAMSON AND DELILAH — Saint-Saëns’ sensual grand opera,

featuring Roberto Aronica and J’Nai Bridges performing the title roles (3/1-21, Opera House) • BLUE — The D.C. premiere of Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s new contemporary opera, about a family’s struggles after a teenager is shot by police (3/15-28, Eisenhower Theater) • PORGY AND BESS — Francesca Zambello’s adaptation of Gershwin’s beloved “folk opera,” with D.C.’s own Denyce Graves performing the featured role of Maria (5/9-23, Opera House) WOLF TRAP

877-WOLFTRAP www.wolftrap.org TE ADORO: LATIN THEATER SONGS — A spicy afternoon of zarzu-

ela and song with Steven Blier and Joseph Li, joined by a quintet of Wolf Trap Opera artists and presented in an intimate in-theround setting (5/30-31) • CINEMATIC SOUNDSCAPES: KORNGOLD TO WILLIAMS — Wolf Trap Opera Studio Artists join Cincinnati Pops conductor John Morris Russell and the National Orchestra Institute Philharmonic in a high-energy evening featuring an array of audience favorites from the worlds of opera, theater and cinema (5/30, The Clarice) • AMERICAN MASTERS: MILLER CONDUCTS CORIGLIANO — Grammy winner David Alan Miller conducts Wolf Trap Opera’s Shannon Jennings and the NOI Philharmonic performing Barber’s Knoxville, Summer 1915, in a concert that also includes works from Haydn and Corigliano (6/6, The Clarice) • WOLF TRAP OPERA AT THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION — Visual art and music are paired in two intimate evenings of song at the beautiful Music Room of The Phillips Collection, with WTO performers Chanae Curtis, Yunuet Laguna, Nicholas Newton, Ann Toomey, Gretchen Krupp, Thomas Glass, Wm. Clay Thompson, and pianist Joseph Li (6/11 and 7/9, The Phillips Collection) • TCHAIKOVSKY’S EUGENE ONEGIN — Stephanie Rhodes Russell conducts the Wolf Trap premiere of Tchaikovsky’s masterful opera adapting Pushkin’s sweeping tale of love, rejection, and remorse, featuring soprano Ann Toomey and, performing the title role, baritone Thomas Glass (6/21-27) l For more Fall Arts Classical & Choral listings, please visit www. metroweekly.com or follow our interactive version of the print edition at www.issuu.com/metroweekly.

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MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

DISEASE MASTER CLASS — McCauley

leads a free class session as part of the Kennedy Center’s “ongoing commitment to dance” (5/16, KenCen REACH) CHAMBER DANCE PROJECT

202-499-2297 www.chamberdance.org NEW WORKS — Nine dancers and fourteen musicians perform two packed programs over two weekends, featuring four world premieres choreographed, respectively,

by Chamber Dance Project Founder and Artistic Director Diane Coburn Bruning, Claudia Schreier, Colin Gee, and company dancer Cooper Verona, making his choreographic debut with In the Silence set to a score by Estonian chant-master Arvo Pärt (Program A: 6/18-20; Program B: 6/27-28, Michael R. Klein Theatre) CHRISTOPHER K. MORGAN & ARTISTS PAUL KOLNIK

www.christopherkmorgan.com

NATIVE INTELLIGENCE/INNATE INTELLIGENCE — A two-part performance NYCB’s Firebird at the Kennedy Center

H

Compiled by André Hereford

AVING SURVIVED THE WINTER DELUGE OF DANCING NUTCRACKERS, audiences in the D.C. region this spring will find themselves positively spoiled with the impressive variety of dance performances on offer.

Beloved local companies from Dissonance Dance Theater to Jane Franklin Dance, Bowen McCauley to Step Afrika! premiere exciting new works, while touring companies like Chicago’s esteemed Hiplet Ballerina Company, Cuba’s Malpaso Dance Company, and De Dansers from The Netherlands introduce their styles and talents to new audiences. Opportunities abound to explore contemporary forms, and be dazzled by creators and innovators in street-dance and hip-hop. Or, learn from the best how to step, whack, juke, or even spin out your own fly moves at performance-party The SPILL, hosted by LGBTQIA dance troupe Excessive Realness. And if whacking and juking aren’t exactly your thing, just jeté into an evening of world-class ballet or thrilling modern, and get your fix of the beauty, power, and prowess that keeps all of Washington dancing, be it to Go-Go music, hula, or, of course, Tchaikovsky.

Please note that some events might be postponed or cancelled due to the COVID-19 coronavirus. Please check ahead with the individual venues.

BOWEN MCCAULEY DANCE COMPANY

703-910-5175 www.bmdc.org

SPRING PERFORMANCE — An abun-

dant, European-inspired program offers “Insistent Music,” a new collaboration between founding Artistic Director McCauley and Turkish composer Erberk Eryilmaz among three world premieres that also include “Imago,” choreographed

by McCauley, set to music composed

by German/Croatian composer Nikola Glassl and played live by the composer’s grandson, Nikola Paskalov with soprano Karin Paludan (3/27-28, KenCen Terrace Theater) • SOMETHING BORROWED PRE-

SENTED WITH THE NATIONAL CHAMBER ENSEMBLE — McCauley debuts an

inventive dance piece choreographed to the Respighi-Vivaldi Sonata for piano and violin (5/2, Gunston Arts Center, Arlington) • DANCE FOR PARKINSON’S

that “creates a comprehensive picture of the multiplicity of identities we all navigate,” incorporating modern dance, hula, Hawaiian chant and percussion

by Patrick Makuakane, and live music by frequent collaborator, electric cellist Wytold (5/2-3, Dance Place; 5/6, Reston Center Community Center) • SUMMER INTENSIVE — The company hosts a full week of technique classes, repertoire, and seminars for serious pre-professional training, culminating in a professional photoshoot and a free performance by the Intensive students (6/1-7, Dance Place) CITYDANCE

301-581-5204 www.citydance.net CONSERVATORY DANCERS IN CONCERT —

Catch the next generation of performers, artists and innovators in this showcase of Conservatory students training in ballet, contemporary, jazz, hip-hop and world dance forms (5/9, Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center) • CITYDANCE DREAM GALA — Professional classical, contemporary, tap, ballroom and hiphop artists from around the world unite on the Lincoln Theatre stage for a dance concert to benefit CityDance DREAM, a program that works to level the playing field for youth living in low-income District neighborhoods by providing access to free high-quality dance training,

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SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

Dance

after-school programs, and wrap-around support services (5/16, Lincoln Theatre) • CITYDANCE DREAM ANNUAL CONCERT — Acclaimed dance superstars join the CityDance DREAM School for Dance students for an evening of performances (5/17, Lincoln Theatre) DANCE PLACE

3225 8th St. NE 202-269-1600 www.danceplace.org NEW RELEASES SHOWCASE — Dance

Place’s annual curated showcase features new works by Anastasia Johnson, Madeline Maxine Gorman, Madeline Cantor, Stephen Lyons II, Faryn Kelly, and 2019 New Releases Commission recipient Bre Seals (3/21) • PEARSONWIDRIG DANCETHEATER — Under the direction of founders Sara Pearson and Patrik Widrig, the company premieres two solo works, and remounts the Dance Metro DC Award-winning production Take Me with You (3/28) • HEART STÜCK BERNIE — Joined by special guests Kendra Portier, Candace Scarborough, Tariq O’Meally, and Robert Woofter, inaugural Dance Place Artist-in-Residence Sarah Beth Oppenheim/Heart Stück Bernie returns to the Dance Place stage with the world premiere of Holster Buffalo (4/45) • ROSY SIMAS DANSE — New dance project Weave brings together an international gathering of Native, feminist, queer, transgender, and people of color artists, working together through the creative leadership, vision, and direction of Seneca choreographer Simas (4/2526) • UNIT SOUZOU — Arising from Unit Souzou Co-Director Michelle Fujii’s experience as a great-granddaughter and wife of Japanese immigrants, the company’s multi-layered taiko theatrical performance Constant State of Otherness explores “the uncomfortable state of being othered” (5/9-10) • DANCEAFRICA DC 2020 — The 33rd edition of this popular festival celebrating the dance, music, and spirit of the African diaspora, featuring performances by several African dance companies, a master class series, free outdoor activities, and the festival’s African Marketplace (5/2631) • EXCESSIVE REALNESS — The queer dance intensive geared towards members of the LGBTQIA community presents The SPILL, an annual queer, dance-based performance where the audience is invited “to attend with their own experiences and glamorous expressions of queerness to add to the evening” (6/8) • JUMATA60

TU M. POE & JERMONE DONTE BEACHAM

— Continuing poe and Beacham’s Let ’im Move You collection of performance and video works, their latest This Is a Formation assembles seven dancers, a DJ, and a lighting designer, who perform alongside the audience, moving together freely through the performance space (6/13-14) • ABBY Z AND THE NEW UTILITY — Choreographer Abby Zbikowski’s latest genre-bending group work Radioactive Practice pushes its creative team beyond perceived limits, to “build a new tradition from the inner workings of established forms, including West African dance, hip-hop, modern, and basketball, among others” (6/20-21) • PROJECT CHARMA — In the new production Tides, by Project ChArma Co-Director Ama Law, “the theme of water becomes a meeting ground, a passageway, and a vehicle for the movement of the African diaspora” (7/18-19) • XING DANCE THEATRE — Combining Chinese classical and modern dance, Baltimore-based XDT performs Equinox and Solstice, a journey through the after-life (7/25-26) DANCE LOFT ON 14

4618 14th St. NW 202-621-3670 www.danceloft.org CROSSROADS BY JESSICA HOVERSEN AND MARIAH LOPEZ — An eclectic, curated

performance bringing together DMV artists Full Circle Dance Company, Jessica Hoversen, Mariah Lopez, and RawArts with Artistic Director Da’Shown Rawl and his guest choreographer Mikayla McKee (4/3-4) • MEMORY FIELD: DANCES OF FORGETTING — An evening of contemporary dance on the topic of memory, with Katie Sopoci Drake and Spacetime Dance exploring the science of memory, while Human Landscape Dance presents dances inspired by the experience of Artistic Director Malcolm Shute’s fatherin-law, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease(4/17-18) DISSONANCE DANCE THEATRE

202-540-8338 www.ddtdc.org MINUS — A new work inspired by cinematic composers, Minus views dance through the lens of the abstract, producing dance that’s centered around a dark feel and look (3/28, Jack Guidone Theatre)

MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

GMU CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Concert Hall 4373 Mason Pond Drive Fairfax, Va. 888-945-2468 www.cfa.gmu.edu

MASON DANCE COMPANY GALA CONCERT

— The Mason Dance Company's crowning season event features a program including Drive by Kyle Abraham, new work by Micaela Taylor, a premiere by Christopher d'Amboise, and Variation 10

by Rafael Bonachela, with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra performing music

by Benjamin Britten. (3/27-28, Concert Hall) • SPRING: NEW DANCES — A program introducing the next generation of contemporary choreographers (4/16-18, Harris Theatre) • DANCE INNOVATIONS — (5/1-2, Harris Theatre) GW LISNER

730 21st St. NW 202-994-6800 www.lisner.gwu.edu LIL BUCK & JON BOOGZ — Washington

Performing Arts presents street-dance innovators Boogz and Lil Buck (So You Think You Can Dance). The pair will perform their first evening-length collaboration, Love Heals All Wounds, exploring urgent social topics like violence and incarceration, while promoting the uniting forces of diversity, inclusion, and empathy (5/1) HYLTON PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Merchant Hall 10960 George Mason Cir. Manassas, Va. 703-993-7759 www.hyltoncenter.org

BALLET FOLCLÓRICO NACIONAL DE MÉXICO DE SILVIA LOZANO — Direct from

Mexico the company shares its country’s rich cultural gifts of dance, music, folklore, and costumes (3/21, Concert Hall; 3/22) JANE FRANKLIN DANCE

Theatre on the Run 3700 S. Four Mile Run Drive Arlington, Va. 703-933-1111 www.janefranklin.com MOUSE IN HOUSE — Adapted from Elizabeth Spires’ book about a mouse who forms a friendship with poet Emily Dickinson, this family friendly performance also takes inspiration from Dickinson’s poems, and opens with a performance by young dancers from

JOY OF MOTION DANCE CENTER

Jack Guidone Theater 5207 Wisconsin Ave. NW 202-399-6763 www.joyofmotion.org MOTION X DANCE DC — In The Fate of Choice, resident company MXDC explores the world through opposing landscapes, pairing contemporary dance with multimedia (4/18-19) • YOUTH DANCE ENSEMBLE SPRING CONCERT — Annual spring concert featuring all levels of the Youth Dance Ensemble program (5/2, Greenberg Theater at AU) • BROADWAY DANCE ACADEMY SPRING CONCERT — Annual spring concert featuring all levels of the Broadway Dance Academy program (5/9, Greenberg) KENNEDY CENTER

202-467-4600 www.kennedy-center.org NEW YORK CITY BALLET — Accompanied by the Kennedy Center Opera House orchestra, NYCB presents two separate programs of works by ballet legends and today’s most exciting innovators, including George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins’ stunning production of Stravinsky’s Firebird, and Merce Cunningham’s classic Summerdance, with music by Morton Feldman (3/314/5) • WASHINGTON BALLET: SWAN LAKE — True love and tragic romance set to Tchaikovsky’s incomparable score (4/9-19, Eisenhower Theater) • POKON — Dutch dance company De Dansers storm the stage whirling, twirling, hiccuping, tumbling, and singing in this family-friendly performance for children and grownups who can’t keep still (4/24-26) • ADVANCED-PROFESSIONAL MASTER CLASS WITH A.I.M — Members of the Abraham In Motion company lead this participatory, advanced-professional, class for adults (4/30, Venue TBD) • KYLE ABRAHAM’S A.I.M. — In the company’s first dedicated Kennedy Center engagement, founder Abraham represents a fresh perspective performing INDY, his first new full-length solo in nearly a decade, along with works The Quiet Dance, Meditation: A Silent Prayer,

and Drive (5/1-2, Eisenhower Theater) • UNIFYING UNIQUENESS WITH A.I.M — Part conversation and part movement workshop led by one to two A.I.M. company members, Unifying Uniqueness investigates the ideologies surrounding uniqueness and likenesses in each individual participant (5/2, Studio F) • SCOTTISH BALLET: THE CRUCIBLE — Arthur Miller’s classic play about the Salem witch trials becomes a riveting, brand-new ballet, presented for the first time in the U.S., that makes the story as relevant today as when it was first written (5/13-17, Eisenhower Theater) • BOLSHOI BALLET: ROMEO & JULIET — The sole U.S. engagement of the company dancing Alexei Ratmansky’s vigorous version of the enduring tragedy of star-crossed love, set to Prokofiev’s richly cinematic score (6/2-7, Opera House)

TWB TAKES CENTER STAGE GALA — TWB’s

THE MEYERHOFF

company’s 18th anniversary with two different programs presented over one afternoon and evening (3/14) • MMPAC: THE JOURNEY - THE ADVENTURE — Annual performance showcase for Mid-Maryland Performing Arts Center dancers (5/16-17) • YMCA DANCE: CELEBRATING 35 YEARS AT THE Y SCHOOL OF DANCE — A recital celebrating 35 years of the YMCA School of Dance (5/24) • CENTER STAGE: DO IT WITH PASSION — The third annual recital of the Center Stage Performing Academy (5/30-31) • 24/7 DANCE – “FOCUSED ON THE FUTURE” — 24/7 Dance Studios annual recital (6/5-7)

1212 Cathedral St. Baltimore, Md. 410-783-8000 www.bsomusic.org HIPLET BALLERINA COMPANY — This select

ensemble from the Chicago Multicultural Dance Center makes their first appearance at the Meyerhoff, fusing classical pointe technique with urban dance that is rooted in communities of color, fueled by inclusivity, modern movement, and Instagram-ready style (3/29) STRATHMORE

5301 Tuckerman Lane North Bethesda, MD 301-581-5100 www.strathmore.org

WEINBERG CENTER FOR THE ARTS

20 W. Patrick St. Frederick, Md. 301-600-2828 www.weinbergcenter.org

24/7 PRIDE DANCE COMPANY CONCERT 2020 — 24/7 Dance Studios marks the

WOLF TRAP

PUNKING + POSING = WHACKING —

Presented in partnership with Bmore Houseful, Ana “Lollipop” Sanchez breaks down the formula for whacking in this workshop exploring the technique and emotions behind the fun, theatrical urban dance style (4/3, Education Center) • STEP AFRIKA’S DRUMFOLK — The world-renowned company debuts their new work Drumfolk, a celebration of resistance, resilience, and reclamation, inspired by the Stono Rebellion of 1739 (6/19-21, UDC Theater of the Arts) THE WASHINGTON BALLET

annual gala, a fun evening of cocktails, dinner, dancing, and performances by The Washington Ballet, draws inspiration from the film Center Stage, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and featured company Artistic Director Julie Kent as the principal dancer (5/8, The Anthem) • COPPÉLIA — Choreography after Arthur Saint-Leon with additional staging and choreography by Julie Kent and Victor Barbee, set to music by Leo Delibes featuring The Washington Ballet Orchestra (5/13-17, Warner Theatre)

3515 Wisconsin Avenue, NW 202-362-3606 www.washingtonballet.org SWAN LAKE — True love and tragic romance set to Tchaikovsky’s incomparable score (4/9-19, Eisenhower Theater) •

1551 Trap Road Vienna, Va. 877-WOLFTRAP www.wolftrap.org HONG KONG BALLET — The company

performs Septime Webre’s extravagant ALICE (in wonderland), featuring sleek and chic costumes, bold sets, and a thrilling original score (6/17) • RIVERDANCE 25TH ANNIVERSARY — Featuring a mesmerizing soundtrack and completely reimagined and spectacular lighting, projection, stage, and costume designs, the renowned Irish steppers present a stirring reinvention of Irish and international dance (6/18-21, Filene Center) l For more Dance listings, please visit www. metroweekly.com or follow our interactive version of the print edition at www.issuu. com/metroweekly.

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SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

Go Bananas Dancing (4/25) • SAMPLER — The company premieres new work Going Polar in a program also featuring an excerpt from full-length work Second Glance, plus guests Next Reflex Dance Collective and new Forty+ dances choreographed, respectively, by Emily Crews and Brynna Wilder (4/25, 5/2)

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MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

Comedy, Readings, Lectures, Spoken Word, Multimedia, Magic, Tastings, Tours, Drag Queens, Etc. 9:30 CLUB

815 V St. NW 202-265-0930 www.930.com DISCOBENT — Another round of the club’s hit LGBTQ dance party featuring the sounds and styles of the 1970s as filtered through the music of JoAnn Fabrixx, Diyanna Monet, and the Sleaze DJs Lemz and Keenan Orr, with performances by Pussy Noir and Jaxknife Complex. A dollar from each ticket benefits SMYAL (4/18) • BRENDAN SCHAUB — Currently the co-host of hit comedy podcasts, The Fighter and the Kid and The King and the Sting, this L.A.-based comic performs standup at a seated show (5/9) THE ALDEN

McLean Community Center 1234 Ingleside Ave. McLean, Va. 703-790-0123 www.aldentheatre.org DOROTHY MEETS ALICE OR THE WIZARD OF WONDERLAND — Two of literature’s

Russell Brand at the Lincoln Theatre

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Compiled by Doug Rule

ON-MUSICAL NERDS AT DC9. AMATEUR PORN AT BLACK CAT. And YouTube and social media stars out and about all over. Those are the types of events for which this section was created, as a catch-all, of sorts, when something worth noting doesn’t fit any of the usual categories, defying genre boundaries and expectations. This is the section where drag queens elbow podcast hosts for space, all while comics and authors go about their regular order of business. And for news of your favorite TV show being brought to life on stage somewhere? Well, if we’re talking Schitt’s Creek — or heck, Hee Haw — read on...

Please note that some events might be postponed or cancelled due to the COVID-19 coronavirus. Please check ahead with the individual venues.

most famous gals meet somewhere between Oz and Wonderland in a comedy/adventure for all ages as adapted by Joseph Robinette, and performed by area youth actors and adult professionals in this Alden Community Arts production (3/28-4/5) • EARTH DAY MCLEAN 2020: ACT LOCALLY — Area individuals and families can participate in the community’s environmental needs and solutions through a series of free activities, including onsite Document Shredding, Paint Collection (of old, unwanted cans), Bulk/Household Items Collection, and furnished packets of Tree Seedlings and Pollinator Seeds (for at-home planting) (4/18) • THE GOOD HUMOR MEN — Dubbed “The Rising Stars of Late-Night TV,” Moody McCarthy, Keith Alberstadt, and Pat Hazell are three stand-up comedians who’ve opted to join forces as a way to best showcase their humor and style (4/18-19) AMP BY STRATHMORE

11810 Grand Park Ave. North Bethesda, Md. 301-581-5100 www.ampbystrathmore.com MARINA FRANKLIN — Comedian featured in Trainwreck and on Chappelle’s Show (4/16) • BROADWAY’S NEXT HIT

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SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

Above & Beyond

MUSICAL — An improvised night prom-

ising “unscripted musical hilarity” (4/25) • STORY DISTRICT’S MIXTAPE (5/1) • WASHINGTON IMPROV THEATER’S IMUSICAL (6/5) THE ANTHEM

901 Wharf St. SW. 202-888-0020 www.theanthemdc.com WASHINGTON JUSTICE — D.C.’s new

esports team hosts its third Overwatch Homestand weekend of games (4/4) • SAVOR: AN AMERICAN CRAFT BEER & FOOD EXPERIENCE — Another craft beer showcase moving to the Anthem this year is this 13th annual event presented by the Brewers Association, which represents small and independent craft beer-makers nationwide, featuring more than 100 member breweries pouring over 200 beers, to be paired with small bites prepared by the association’s culinary team (5/15) • THE HELEN HAYES AWARDS — The annual ceremony presented by theatreWashington to honor the best work seen on local professional stages in the previous calendar year, referred to as the biggest night in local theater (5/18) THE BIRCHMERE

3701 Mount Vernon Ave. Alexandria, Va. 703-549-7500 www.birchmere.com REMEMBERING HEE HAW — Original cast

members Jana Jae, Irlene Mandrell, and Lulu Roman aka “The Kornfield Friends” along with special guest T. Graham Brown come to town to celebrate the old TV variety show with “a night of great music and good ole country laughter” (5/15) BLACK CAT

1811 14th St. NW 202-667-4490 www.blackcatdc.com HUMP! FILM FESTIVAL — The 15th annual

showcase of quirky, bizarre, homemade porn curated by Dan Savage (4/2-4) • MORTIFIED — A “Live Podcast” featuring people sharing “strange and extraordinary” stories and artifacts from their childhood (4/24) CAPITAL ONE ARENA

601 F St. NW 202-628-3200 www.capitalonearena.com APRIL FOOLS COMEDY JAM — Rip Michaels hosts this event featuring stand-up from 64

Mo’Nique, Lil Duval, Anthony Anderson, Luenell, Brandon T. Jackson, Zoie Fenty, Spanky Hayes, Kleon The Comedian, and Arnez J., plus music by Rick Ross and 2 Chainz, with the important caveat that the lineup is “subject to change” (4/4) EAST CITY BOOKSHOP

645 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. 202-290-1636 www.eastcitybookshop.com JOE YOUNAN — Cool Beans: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking with the World’s Most Versatile Plant-Based Protein, with 125 Recipes from the gay Food and Dining Editor of the Washington Post and author of its Weeknight Vegetarian column (3/26) • NGOZI UKAZU — Check, Please!

Book 2: Sticks & Stones draws on the popular webcomic series from Ukazu, who dreamt up this tale of a gay hockey player and his story of coming out and falling in love with a college teammate (4/8) • MARTHA ACKMANN — The Pivotal Moments in the Making of Emily Dickinson offers an intimate, revealing portrait of one of America’s greatest — and queer — poets, from a Massachusetts-based author whose specialty is biographies of historical American women (4/23) FILLMORE SILVER SPRING

8656 Colesville Rd. Silver Spring, Md. 301-960-999 www.fillmoresilverspring.com DAVE RUBIN — Don’t Burn This Book: Thinking for Yourself in an Age of Unreason is a forthcoming screed against “the Progressive Woke Machine” from the gay conservative rabblerouser and talk show host (4/30) • MO GILLIGAN — The British stand-up comedian and talk show host crosses the pond on his There’s Mo To Life World Tour (5/21) • JACKSFILMS PRESENTS: YIAY LIVE! LIVE!

— Maryland-native YouTube personality Jack Douglass offers a live show based on his popular series Yesterday I Asked You (YIAY) in which he gives fans a challenge or asks them a question and then picks his favorite responses (5/28) HILLWOOD MUSEUM & GARDENS

4155 Linnean Avenue NW 202-686-5807 www.hillwoodmuseum.org

NATURAL BEAUTIES: EXQUISITE WORKS OF MINERALS AND GEMS — Exhibition:

The first such display at Hillwood focused on the stones and minerals that became works of art in the hands of mas-

MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

terful artisans (Now-6/7); and Lecture Series: Chief Curator Wilfried Zeisler on “Russian Malachite at Hillwood” (3/24); Jeffrey Post, chair of the Smithsonian Institution’s Department of Mineral Sciences, on “Nature’s Art in Stone” (3/31); and the Freer|Sackler’s Curator of Chinese Art Jan Stuart on “Rocks As Art-A Chinese Tradition” (4/7) • GARDENER’S FOCUS: AN ORCHID-FILLED GREENHOUSE — Drew Asbury leads tours

through Hillwood’s working greenhouse on most days in March, also known as Orchid Month • FABERGÉ EGG FAMILY FESTIVAL — A two-day festival in which guests can take part in a traditional Russian egg-rolling game, decorate your own Fabergé-inspired egg, watch performances by the Samovar Russian Folk Music Ensemble and Kalinka Dance Ensemble, and hear stories of Russian Easter traditions in a fun family play produced by Happenstance Theater (4/4-5) • KATE MARKERT: A GARDEN FOR ALL SEASONS — Hillwood’s executive director explores founder Marjorie Merriweather Post’s approach to creating an enchanting environment of mansions and gardens in a new book, featuring photography by Erik Kvalsvik, launched with a lecture and signing (4/15) • GARDENER’S FOCUS: EARTH DAY — Hillwood head gardener Jessica Bonilla gives a talk and a tour about the estate’s environmental stewardship in a toast to the 50th anniversary of the environmental awareness holiday (4/22) • ROARING TWENTIES: THE LIFE AND STYLE OF MARJORIE MERRIWEATHER POST — Hillwood’s founder was an iconic

tastemaker 100 years ago, and this special exhibition showcases her “impeccable attire, impressive art collection, and sumptuous design” (6/6-1/10/2021) • DIVAS OUTDOORS: THE GREAT GATSBY — A screening of the 1974 adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel starring Mia Farrow and Robert Redford, with guests encouraged to don their finest twenties’ attire, and others competing in the best picnic spread competition (6/12) JAMMIN JAVA

227 Maple Ave. E. Vienna, Va. 877-987-6487 www.jamminjava.com THAT1GUY — “An Evening of Musical Magical Wonder...The Likes of Which Ye Haven’t Yet Seen” featuring Mike Silverman and his main instrument, “a monstrosity of metal, strings, and electronics” he calls a Magic Pipe (3/16) •

ite from RuPaul’s Drag Race presents “American Woman,” described as a show that “discusses how drag queens and gay men can become better allies to women in an age when feminism is more important than ever” (5/26, Miracle Theatre) KENNEDY CENTER

202-467-4600 www.kennedy-center.org IRA GLASS: SEVEN THINGS I’VE LEARNED

— The creator and host of This American Life will share lessons from his life and career in storytelling using audio clips, music, and video (4/11, Concert Hall) •

JAZZ COMEDY EXPERIMENT WITH JASON MORAN — The Kennedy Center’s artis-

tic director for jazz teams up with the Second City for an experiment in improvisation across two different genres (4/16-18, Studio K) • THE MUSIC CRITIC — John Malkovich stars as a man who believes the music of Beethoven, Chopin, and Prokofiev, among others, to be weary and dreary, in a show written and conceived by Aleksey Igudesman and featuring the violinist alongside Hyung-ki Joo, his piano-playing partner in the classical music comedy duo Igudesman and Joo (4/28, Concert Hall) LINCOLN THEATRE

1215 U St. NW 202-888-0050 www.thelincolndc.com FORTUNE FEIMSTER — The laidback lesbian comic known from work on Chelsea Handler’s shows on E! and Netflix and more recently from recurring guest turns on RuPaul’s Drag Race and The L Word: Generation Q (4/18) • HATERS ROAST: THE SHADY TOUR 2020 — A new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race brings with it new queens and new drama for a new, behindthe-scenes touring show presented by Murray & Peter (4/25) • MADELEINE ALBRIGHT — Hell and Other Destinations is billed as a revealing, funny, and inspiring new memoir from the first female U.S. Secretary of State (4/27) • RUSSELL BRAND — Recovery Live builds on a 2017 best-selling book from the stand-up comic presenting his irreverent, modernized, and completely non-denominational interpretation of the 12-step program for addiction recovery, to show, in his own way, that “we are all a bit fucked” (5/28) • BITCH SESH — Another Bravoinspired podcast-cum-live touring show, this one based on the “Real Housewives Breakdown” featuring comedic actors

Casey Wilson and Danielle Schneider from Hulu’s satire series The Hotwives (7/31) • SIBLING RIVALRY: THE TOUR — Bob The Drag Queen and Monét X Change, winners of past Drag Race seasons, team up for a debut theatrical show and world tour, presented by Five Senses Reeling, bringing to life — you’ll never guess it! — another hit podcast (8/31) MGM NATIONAL HARBOR

101 MGM National Avenue Oxon Hill, Md. 844-346-4664 www.mgmnationalharbor.com

513 13th St. NW 202-783-4000 www.warnertheatredc.com COLIN MOCHRIE AND BRAD SHERWOOD: SCARED SCRIPTLESS — Two of the regu-

lar cast of the hit TV improv show Who’s Line Is It Anyway? are up to their usual antics (4/4) • ALI WONG — The Milk & Money Tour (4/7-12) • THE MASKED SINGER NATIONAL TOUR (6/11) WEINBERG CENTER FOR THE ARTS

SCHITT’S CREEK: THE FAREWELL TOUR —

The cast of the hit comedy series, including the father-son co-creators Daniel and Eugene Levy, return for one last live show in tandem with the airing of the sixth and final season (6/6) POLITICS AND PROSE

5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. 202-364-1919 www.politics-prose.com TOM FITZGERALD AND LORENZO MARQUEZ

— Legendary Children: The First Decade of RuPaul’s Drag Race and the Last Century of Queer Life is touted as a definitive guide to the popular TV show and its reflection of queer life in the modern era, written by the creators of the popular fashion- and culture-focused blog Tom and Lorenzo (3/13) • RUTH REICHL — Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir documents the decade the author spent as editor-in-chief of Gourmet, a time when chefs became rock stars, with names such as David Chang and Eric Ripert both profiled in the book (5/12, Union Market Store, 1270 5th St. NE) • CHRIS FRANTZ — Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina is a memoir from the drummer of Talking Heads, detailing his experiences in the iconic band and his relationships with the band’s bassist and his wife, Tina Weymouth, and the “mercurial frontman” David Byrne (5/19) STORY DISTRICT

WARNER THEATRE

3329 Georgia Ave. NW 202-630-9828 www.storydistrict.org MÉNAGE À DEUX — “Two sides of the same story told in tandem” (5/12, Black Cat) • OUT/SPOKEN — A 10th anniversary celebration of LGBTQ pride (6/9, Black Cat)

20 W. Patrick St. Frederick, Md. 301-600-2828 www.weinbergcenter.org

CINEMA CLUB FILM SERIES:

Animal Farm, the 1954 animated adaptation of the George Orwell novel, which screens along with “Selected Shorts” (3/22); Lone Wolf and Cub Double Feature — 1972’s Sword of Vengeance and Baby Cart at the River Styx; Rear Window, Hitchcock’s 1954 classic starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly (5/21); and Moby Dick, John Huston’s 1956 adaptation of the Herman Melville classic novel (6/18) • 7TH ANNUAL COMEDY

AND

MAGIC

SPECTACULAR

(4/18) • MICHAEL POLLAN — One of the 100 most influential people in the world (Time magazine) returns with a new book, How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us about Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence (5/9) WOLF TRAP

1551 Trap Road Vienna, Va. 877-WOLFTRAP www.wolftrap.org THE SECOND CITY — Chicago’s renowned improv troupe performs its latest longform improvised production, Laughing for All the Wrong Reasons (3/25-28, The Barns) • 33RD ANNUAL EVENING OF COMEDY (4/10-11, The Barns) • BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL (6/5-6, Filene Center) • THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL (6/12-13, Filene Center) • RIVERDANCE — 25th Anniversary Show (6/18-21, Filene Center) • STEVE MARTIN AND MARTIN SHORT — “The Funniest

Show in Town at the Moment” (8/1-2, Filene Center) l

For more Spring Arts Above and Beyond listings, please visit www.metroweekly.com or follow our interactive version of the print edition at www.issuu.com/ metroweekly.

MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

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SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

MIZ CRACKER — A finalist and fan favor-

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MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY

SCOTT SUCHMAN

Opera

Male Storm

How do you present Mozart’s problematic, sexist Don Giovanni in the current #metoo climate? By Kate Wingfield

W

HAT A DIFFERENCE A DECADE MAKES. A LOT HAS HAPPENED SINCE Don Giovanni last imposed himself on the Washington National Opera stage, and one must wonder whether it has left the latest production rather tied up in knots. While the 2007 version was full of bare-chested swagger and scenic splendor, the current production is restrained to the point of removed.

Of course, despite its beautiful music, Don Giovanni (HHHHH) is bound to be a problem in this day and age. As much charisma as the title role invites, the entire point of the opera is a powerful man’s insatiable need to sexually coerce women — be it wearing them down with his “ardor,” using his aristocrat’s status to threaten their livelihoods, or (though only suggested) physically overpowering them. He is a sexual predator of the highest order. And although there is the drama of Donna Elvira’s undying love for him and some pending righteous revenge, much of the action requires sitting through a depressing catalogue of behaviors and attitudes that mirror today’s version of the entitled male mind-set, be it Epstein, Weinstein, or Trump’s “pussy grabbing” braggery.

For many, the entertainment value of this — no matter how thoughtfully staged—– may be wanting. And although the title character’s comeuppance is as predictable as it is final, disappearing in some version of a puff of smoke doesn’t exactly mirror today’s struggles to bring viable court cases that succeed against the systemic odds to result in conviction and actual jail time. It just isn’t the kind of catharsis that can satiate the current hunger for justice. Put simply, it might all work a lot better if he were drawn and quartered.

Which all leads to the question of what and how to present Mozart’s famed opera in the current climate. It’s certainly arguable that no one is in the mood for the 2007 take, which was offered as an irreverent, almost tongue-in-cheek outrage.

But the alternative seen in this production — a story delivered at face value without even the slightest hint of flair, commentary, irony, or subtext, feels soulless. If parading silent women in 18th century underclothing now and again makes a statement, it is a clumsy and obvious one that is no substitute for a genuine vision.

Whether by director E. Loren Meeker’s design, or otherwise, this flattened, by-the-book approach leads to almost zero human chemistry in or among the protagonists. Don Giovanni is a cad who deserves nothing short of castration, but as the psychologists will aver, there is no doubt a grasping, dysfunctional, pathetic man behind the rapacious exterior — one who needs to be made real, be it through a lens of ridicule or something more serious.

None of this is evident.

Powerful predators also come with a host of trappings: sickly charm, menace, hatred, manipulation, clownish self-aggrandizement. As much as he might look the part, Ryan McKinny’s Giovanni simply

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doesn’t offer more than a command of the stage, the necessary choreography, and some angry turns. He is certainly dashing and sings with a pleasing baritone, but it feels wasted on a performance that is too superficial. It’s a telling moment when manservant Leporello, who plays decoy by imitating his master, brings more personality than the real McCoy. As Donna Elvira, Giovanni’s former lover and aristocratic equal, soprano Keri Alkema sings with a rich and velvety roundness, but her Elvira is far too stately to deliver on the conflicted anguish of this woman. As much as she may agonize over Giovanni’s ways, when push comes to shove, she will defend him, swoon over him, and mourn him. Alkema may deliver her despairing arias with beauty (despite a gown so voluminous it threatens her mobility), but, as with McKinney, there is almost no sense of an inner-life. Looking rapt in Giovanni’s embrace one minute and then bustling away officiously the next just doesn’t cut it.

Getting closer to the pathos is Vanessa Vasquez as Donna Anna, whose father The Commendatore, is murdered when he comes to her rescue. Although there is no sense of bond with her fiancé Don Ottavio, she does bring some genuine heartbreak to the loss of her father, with a gently delivered, “Non mi dir.” As Ottavio, tenor Alek Shrader offers some attractive sound, but is another character who is far too courtly to suggest genuine emotion. Indeed, looking a lot like McKinny in his garb and ponytail, he presents the polar opposite of the cad, but to the point of no passion whatsoever.

As the young bride Zerlina, whom Giovanna pursues with

characteristically awful vigor, Vanessa Becerra offers much presence and a voice that shines like cut-glass, if she is a tad challenged outside her comfort zone. As her groom Masetto, Norman Garrett does a good job of mitigating the man’s victim-blaming with some convincing tenderness, but his nicely-toned baritone is occasionally lost to the orchestra.

The standout here, by far, is Kyle Ketelsen’s Leporello.

Although this could easily have become a caricature, Ketelsen makes his man both suitably charismatic and well-believable as the one person who seems genuinely fed-up with Giovanni. He also carries some of the lighter moments when he and Giovanni banter, throwing some clever timing and a bit of the spark this production so sorely needs. Ketelsen sings expressively, with a commanding bass-baritone, and brings much power and texture to his Mozart. Another highlight is The Commendatore, with bass Peter Volpe making the most of the stark lighting as a vengeful ghost and singing with gravelly grandeur.

Even with these fine performances and an overall competence, there is no escaping the fact that the mood is lackluster.

Matters aren’t helped by the dully-geometric abstractions of the (no doubt cost-effective) set, which contrast rather feverishly with the period costumes and props. Although the WNO orchestra plays beautifully under the sensitive hand of conductor Evan Rogister, some kind of fire needed to be lit under this production if it was going to rise to such a difficult occasion.

To be even more to the point: when an audience is yawning or chortling when they should be engaged, you know you’ve hit the wrong note. l

Don Giovanni, sung in Italian with English surtitles, runs through March 22 at the Kennedy Center Opera House.

Tickets are $45 to $299. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

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CHRISTOPHER MUELLER

Stage

Not So Easy

Signature’s Easy Women Smoking Loose Cigarettes miscalculates its mix of sitcom cutesiness and serious family drama. By André Hereford

I

N DANI STOLLER’S EASY WOMEN SMOKING LOOSE CIGARETTES (HHHHH), much ado gets made of a handjob administered surreptitiously by a thirty-something woman to a willing but abashed 18-year-old male virgin. Wildly inappropriate under the circumstances, the act — speedy, and accompanied by some verbal coaching — might be a prime launching point for inter-generational drama, but it hardly qualifies as the “life-ruining” violation that Lee, the woman in question, makes it out to be. Or, more generally, Stoller’s play misfires by having Lee seriously brand herself a monster because she just might be a sex addict.

Lee (Shanara Gabrielle) has arrived at the Florida condo of her mother Marian (Susan Rome) to lick her wounds, having been kicked out by her husband for indulging a habit of sleeping with other men. She’s carried with her to the Sunshine State a potent sense of hopelessness and shame for the mistakes she’s made, and continues to make.

Yet, all around her, signs abound that she and her life will be okay, eventually, if not soon. The play spins a running gag out of the fact that Lee’s husband calls her repeatedly yet never utters a word when she picks up the phone, but he does keep calling.

There’s pain on both ends of the line, but this too shall pass, it would seem. Whether or not her husband ever forgives her, Lee still ranks fairly low on the scale of monsters stalking the Florida coastline.

Despite the enormous disruption Lee causes in the household her mom Marian shares with laidback new husband Richard (John Leslie Wolfe), his pregnant teenage niece Kitty (Jordan Slattery), and boy-next-door Bobby (John Austin), her problems are due more to her being incredibly self-involved than being a horrible person. The self-diagnosed sex addiction plays out as an inconvenient, surface quirk of her per-

sonality, even as Gabrielle’s performance works hard to persuade us otherwise. If you knew a Lee in real life, you’d really just want to tell her to get over herself — which Marian does, more or less.

As Marian, Rome persuades us that this woman of a certain age was happy as the star of her own story, learning from a new-age guru to explore the depths of her sacred “yoni,” until her daughter rudely breezed in to steal the spotlight. And her frustration over Lee’s inability to be appropriately respectful feels deep-rooted in years of mother-daughter conflict. On the other hand, teenage Kitty’s wariness of Lee is fresh and immediate, and wellplayed by Slattery, who ensures the character actually reads as an anxious soon-tobe teen mom.

Neither Stevie Zimmerman’s direction nor Austin’s performance as deflowered Bobby lend that teenage character convincing verisimilitude. He’s an all-American lunkhead you might find on a three-camera sitcom playing up the jokes about having sex with an older woman, while also plaintively playing his part in this very special episode about inappropriate behavior. An uneasy mix of sitcom sentiment and touchy grownup issues, Easy Women and its dysfunctional family earn their laughs without earning our involvement in the troubles they’ve seen. l

Easy Women Smoking Loose Cigarettes runs through March 29 at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Avenue, in Arlington, Va. Tickets are $40 to $103. Call 703-820-9771, or visit www.sigtheatre.org.

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NightLife Photography by Ward Morrison

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Scene

Avalon Saturdays: DJ Battle! Ed Bailey vs. Wess - Sat., March 7 - Photography by Ward Morrison See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

DrinksDragDJsEtc...

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

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

SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Half-Priced Bottles of Wine, 5pm-close TRADE Doors open 5pm • XL Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass is served in an XL glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $5 ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS All male, nude dancers, 9pm-close • “New Meat” Open Dancers Audition • Music by DJ Don T. • Cover 21+

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

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

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

Friday, March 13

Svedka, all flavors all night long • Alpha and Omega Productions and Matt Black Productions presents GLO: Underwear Dance Party, 10pm-close • Featuring DJs Ultra and Phoenix • $5 Cover (includes clothes check) • $5 Fireball NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Open 3pm • Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer, $15 • Weekend Kickoff Dance Party, with Nellie’s DJs spinning bubbly pop music all night NUMBER NINE Open 5pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover • Friday Night Piano with Chris, 7:30pm • Friday Night Videos, 9:30pm • Rotating DJs PITCHERS Open 5pm-3am • Happy

Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 2am SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • The 19th Street Band, 9pm • No Cover TRADE Doors open 5pm • XL Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass is served in an XL glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $5 • Otter Happy Hour with guest DJs, 5-11pm ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS Men of Secrets, 9pm • Guest dancers • Rotating

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

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

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

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

MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

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

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

HOUSE MASTER

Legendary DJ David Morales will make his debut at U Street Music Hall as part of the venue’s 10th-anniversary celebration.

Y

DJs • Kristina Kelly’s Diva Fev-ah Drag Show • Doors at 9pm, Shows at 11:45pm • Music by DJ Jeff Eletto • Cover 21+

Saturday, March 14 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 2pm-3am • Video Games • Live televised sports AVALON SATURDAYS Avalon Saturdays and DC Takeover present KINETIC, 10pm-close • Featuring DJ Edgar Velazquez • Drag Show, 10:30-11:30pm, hosted by Ba’Naka and a rotating cast of drag queens • $4 Absolut Drinks, 10pm-midnight • $20 Cover • $25 VIP • Tickets available at Eventbrite.com • 21+

DC EAGLE Open at 5pm • Happy Hour until 9pm • $5 Cover except for special events • Saturday Kink in the Main Bar, 9pm-close • LOBO, BRUT, and Aftershock rotating on 2nd, 4th, and 5th Saturdays • Serving until 3am FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Saturday Breakfast Buffet, 10am-3pm • $14.99 with one glass of champagne or coffee, soda or juice • Additional champagne $2 per glass • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Freddie’s Follies Drag Show, hosted by Miss Destiny B. Childs, 8-10pm • Karaoke, 10pm-close GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $5 Bacardi, all flavors, all night long • Freeballers: The No Underwear Party, 10pm-close • Featuring DJs BacK2bACk • Clothes

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

OU’LL HAVE SOME [GUY], WHO’S IN A LOUD FUCKING ROOM, trying to have a conversation,” says David Morales, giving an example of something he sees all the time in nightclubs today.

He’d like to shout back: “Listen, unless you're trying to Shazam a record, why are you on the fucking phone?”

And, in fact, that speaks to a fundamental change in clubland from when the legendary DJ came to prominence: the advent of the smartphone. “The new generation on the dance floor now: How many times are they looking at their fucking phone in 60 seconds? What does that tell you?” At the very least, it suggests they’re not fully immersed in the experience — something that’s reflected, Morales says, in their lack of knowledge about dance music in general, and house music in particular.

“The dance music that they are listening to...it all came from house,” he says. “Do they really know the origin, the history? Absolutely not. They'll say, ‘David Guetta is the founder of electronic house.’ Just as an example. ‘Are you fucking kidding?’ It goes way back to something else.”

It was, in fact, Morales who helped pioneer and popularize the genre, as one of the first touring celebrity DJs; as an influential producer who helped advance appreciation for the club remix, with a Grammy Award to show for it; and as a prominent industry leader, a co-founder of Def Mix Productions with the late Frankie Knuckles, often called “the Godfather of House.”

Next weekend, Morales is expected to make his debut at U Street Music Hall, helping the acclaimed venue celebrate its 10th anniversary. “I've been DJing fortysomething years,” he says. “One thing I’ve learned is that when it comes to a new place, I don't expect anything because expectations can bring disappointments. I don’t have a planned set. I make music, I'm in the studio every day…. And I want to play my new music. I'm not here to play Dave Morales from 20 years ago.”

That doesn’t mean the 57-year-old Brooklyn native won’t spin from his repertoire of dance hits and remix classics, just that they won’t be the focus. “Will I incorporate some classics? Listen, who knows? You know what I mean? But I'm not into playing a bunch of oldies.”

Morales will DJ alongside his “good friend” Ultra Naté, the Baltimorebased house music artist he’s featured on several of his tracks over the past decade. Also playing that night is Lisa Moody, Naté’s partner in Deep Sugar. Morales affectionately calls the two his “Sugar Babes.”

“I'm looking forward to coming to D.C. and for the experience,” he says. “And I'm happy to be playing alongside the Sugar Babes.”

—Doug Rule David Morales spins Friday, March 20, after 10:30 p.m., as part of the 10-day, “10 Years of U Hall” series at U Street Music Hall, 1115 U St. NW. Tickets are $18 to $25. Call 202-588-1880 or visit www.ustreetmusichall.com for a complete schedule of events.

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check available • $5 Fireball, $5 Margaritas, $8 Long Islands

dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 2am

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

SHAW’S TAVERN Brunch with $16 Bottomless Mimosas, 10am-3pm • Homme Brunch, Second Floor, 12pm • Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • ‘90s Drag Show and Party with Kristina Kelly, 10:30pm

NUMBER NINE Doors open 2pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5 Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close • Pop Tarts, featuring DJs BacK2bACk, 9:30pm PITCHERS Open Noon-3am • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full

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TRADE Doors open 2pm • XL Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass is served in an XL glass for the same price, 2-10pm • Beer and wine only $5 ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS Men of Secrets upstairs,

9pm-close • Fully nude male dancers • Ladies of Illusion Drag Show with host Ella Fitzgerald in Ziegfeld’s • Doors open at 9pm, Show at 11:45pm • St. Pat’s Party, featuring DJ Steve Sidewalk • Also featuring music by DJs Keith Hoffman and Don T. • Cover 21+

Sunday, March 15 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 2pm-12am • $4 Smirnoff and Domestic Cans • Video Games • Live televised sports DC EAGLE Open at Noon • Happy Hour until 9pm • Food served 4-7pm, $12 a plate • Cigar Sundays and

MARCH 12, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM

Cruisy Sundays • $3 off all Whiskeys & Bourbons and Rail, $5 Chivas Regal • Serving until 2am FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Fabulous Sunday Champagne Brunch, 10am-3pm • $24.99 with four glasses of champagne or mimosas, 1 Bloody Mary, or coffee, soda or juice • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm-close GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Karaoke with Kevin downstairs, 9:30pm-close NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Drag Brunch, hosted

by Chanel Devereaux, 10:30am-12:30pm and 1-3pm • Tickets on sale at nelliessportsbar.com • House Rail Drinks, Zing Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer and Mimosas, $4,

11am-1am • Buckets of Beer, $15 • Guest DJs NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5 Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close • Multiple TVs showing movies, shows, sports • Expanded craft beer selection • Pop Goes the World with Wes Della Volla at 9:30pm • No Cover PITCHERS Open Noon-2am • $4 Smirnoff, includes flavored, $4 Coors Light or $4 Miller Lites, 2-9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm SERVICE BAR DC 928 U St. NW CO/OP presents Sunday Service, a special fundraiser to benefit Ba’Naka,

4-8pm • Proceeds go towards Ba’Naka’s recovery and medical expenses • Feel free to wear a wig • Hosted by DJ Chord Bezerra SHAW’S TAVERN Brunch with $16 Bottomless Mimosas, 10am-3pm • Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-priced select pizzas and appetizers • Dinner and Drag Show with Kristina Kelly, 6:30pm • 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

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Monday, March 16

Tuesday, March 17

DC EAGLE Too Smart Trivia every week • Happy Hour until 9pm, $2 off all drinks • Free Pool play • $2 Bud & Bud Lights

DC EAGLE Jockstrap Tuesdays: First Drink Free for Guys in Jockstraps • Twisted Tuesdays in the Eagle’s Nest • Hosted by DMV Kiki Nights (Vogue Beats, House, GoGo)

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 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, 7:30pm

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FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Taco Tuesday • Karaoke, 9pm GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $3 rail cocktails and domestic beers all night long • Tito’s Tuesday: $5 Tito’s Vodka all night 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 St. Patrick’s Day at Shaw’s Tavern • Irish Step Dancers, 4pm • Luke James Shaffer, 4:30pm • The Points of Rougery, 7pm • Drink and Food Specials all Day 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 • Sissy That Tuesday: A Monthly Cabaret, 8pm • Hosted by Pussy Noir and featuring special guests • Music by WesstheDJ

Wednesday, March 18 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

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class • $3 rail cocktails and domestic beers all night long • Karaoke, 9pm NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR SmartAss Trivia Night, 8-10pm • Prizes include bar tabs and tickets to shows at the 9:30 Club • Absolutely Snatched Drag Show, hosted by Brooklyn Heights, 9pm • $3 Bud Light, $5 Absolut, $15 Buckets of Beer PITCHERS Open 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 11pm SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Piano Bar with Jill, 8pm

Thursday, March 19 DC EAGLE $5 Rail and Domestics for guys in L.U.R.E. (Leather, Uniform, Rubber, Etc.) • Lights Dimmed at 8pm FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm-close

GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Shirtless Thursday, 10-11pm • Men in Underwear Drink Free, 12-12:30am • DJs BacK2bACk NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • $15 Buckets of Bud Products all night • Sports Leagues Night 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 TRADE Doors open 5pm • XL Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass is served in an XL glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $5 ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS All male, nude dancers, 9pm-close • “New Meat” Open Dancers Audition • Music by DJ Don T. • Cover 21+

Friday, March 20 GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $3 Rail and Domestic • $5 Svedka, all flavors all night long • Rough House: Hands On, Lights Off, 10pm-close • All Body Types Welcome • Featuring DJ Lemz • $5 Cover (includes clothes check) 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

Saturday, March 21 PEACH PIT @DC9 1940 9th St. NW 1990s Dance Party, 10:30pm-3am • DJ Matt Bailer • $5 before midnight, $8 after midnight • 21+ l For more specials not featured in print, visit www.metroweekly.com/ nightlife/drink_specials.

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LastWord.

People say the queerest things

“I fully embrace that I was made this way in the image of God and you can be gay and be a Christian.

And there’s no problem with it. ” — Acting Director of National Intelligence RICHARD GRENELL, in an interview with the Rubin Report. Grenell, a Trump loyalist whose appointment was decried by some on the political right due to his sexual orientation, said, “I think I get so much challenge that you can’t be gay and be a Christian that it makes me a better Christian.”

“I play a lot of hateful, unlikable, awful gay people — and I love it.

We’re afraid of showing those people, or those sides to people. ” — Comedian DREW DROEGE, speaking with The Daily Beast about his portrayals of various gay characters in his one-man show Happy Birthday Doug, which will premiere at the Soho Playhouse in New York on March 28. Droege says writers often shy away from creating negative portrayals of gay people, and hopes to shake things up by highlighting those less-than-ideal gay characters in his show.

“They say really inflammatory, completely inaccurate statistics.

A lot of the old tropes that we now know in 2020 are not true. ” — LINDSEY LUGHES, the executive director of the LGBT Center of Raleigh, commenting on controversial stickers that were affixed to the front door of the center. The stickers, created by an anonymous group known as “Hundred Handers,” allege that gay people account for 67% of new HIV infections and one-third of child molesters.

“It’s so stupid to cry about hair and about makeup.

But when they take who you say you are away — oh my God.” — KARLA BELLO, a transgender woman who claims she was misgendered and mistreated after being incarcerated on a charge stemming from unpaid traffic fines. Bello told the Tampa Bay Times that prison officials not only denied her access to makeup or hair extensions, but hormone medication she had been taking to treat her gender dysphoria.

“I know a lot of my friends who could not get apartments

even though they were able to pay for the apartments because of their gender identity.

I hope this creates an even playing field for us.

”

— GIANA DESIR, a transgender woman who was recently awarded $50,000 in damages by New York City’s Human Rights Commission after she filed a complaint alleging she had been sexually harassed by her real estate broker and ultimately denied an apartment because of her gender identity.

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