The Year Ahead - Metro Weekly: January 3, 2019

JANUARY 3, 2019

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CONTENTS

THE JUSTICE SINGER The soul-fired folk of Crys Matthews is driven by her deep passion for social justice.

By Doug Rule

THE YEAR AHEAD How will 2019 compare to the terrible year that just ended? We asked our readers.

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Volume 25 Issue 34

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FREE LOVE

Barry Jenkins deftly mingles romance with racial tension in the superb If Beale Street Could Talk.

By André Hereford

SPOTLIGHT: MISS SAIGON p.7 OUT ON THE TOWN p.10 GETTING BENT: DJ STEVE LEMMERMAN p.12 THE JUSTICE SINGER: CRYS MATTHEWS p.16 COMMUNITY: FACE TIME p.19 COVER STORY: THE YEAR AHEAD p.23 FILM: IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK p.33 FILM: VICE p.35 NIGHTLIFE p.37 SCENE: NEW YEAR’S EVE AT PITCHERS & ALOHO p.37 LISTINGS p.38 NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS p.39 SCENE: AVALON DC AT SOUNDTRACK p.45 LAST WORD p.46 Real LGBTQ News and Entertainment since 1994 Editorial Editor-in-Chief Randy Shulman Art Director Todd Franson Online Editor at metroweekly.com Rhuaridh Marr Senior Editor John Riley Contributing Editors André Hereford, Doug Rule Senior Photographers Ward Morrison, Julian Vankim Contributing Illustrator Scott G. Brooks Contributing Writers Sean Maunier, Troy Petenbrink, Bailey Vogt, Kate Wingfield Webmaster David Uy Production Assistant Julian Vankim Sales & Marketing Publisher Randy Shulman National Advertising Representative Rivendell Media Co. 212-242-6863 Distribution Manager Dennis Havrilla Patron Saint The 2018 Midterm Elections Cover Photography Gage Skidmore 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.

© 2019Jansi LLC.

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MATTHEW MURPHY AND JOHAN PERSSON

Spotlight

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Miss Saigon

HEN ONE OF SIR CAMERON MACKINTOSH’S signature productions hits the quarter-century mark, he likes to dust it off and breathe new life into it, reinventing it in the process. He did it with Les Miserables. He did it with the tour of Phantom of the Opera. “He feels it’s an opportunity to look at the material again with a new creative team,” says Seth Sklar-Heyn, executive producer for Camera Mackintosh Incorporated, the North America arm of the producer’s U.K.-based company.

Recently, Macintosh did it with the 30-year-old Miss Saigon, the sweeping musical by Les Miz scribes ClaudeMichel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, set during the Vietnam War. With a tragic, romance-drenched plot based on Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, Miss Saigon is a full-on weeper, filled with lush ballads and big, bold production numbers. It also has, as is the case with most modern-day theater, a breathtaking setpiece in the form of a massive evac helicopter that lands during the fall of Saigon.

“In the original production, it was a large piece that flew in,” says Sklar-Heyn, who serves as the current touring production’s associate director and executive producer. “It was

physical, dimensional, and actors were able to interact with it.

We strived to deliver that again, but in a new way, inherently using technology that didn’t exist 30 years ago, when the original production was first conceived and designed.

“The technology that acts as the foundation on which everything can now be produced on a stage is almost beyond what anyone could have conceived of when these shows were first coming out,” he continues. “Which goes to show how remarkable they were the first time around.” But he notes Miss Saigon had to “evolve from the original into something new that does take advantage of how machinery comes to life onstage and supports the story.”

Sklar-Heyn dismisses critics who might call such scenic tactics crowd-pleasing stunts. He prefers to think of them as immersive.

“Ideally, an audience is enveloped in the storytelling as a result of the scale of what we present onstage,” he says. “I do think we strive, in these productions, to immerse an audience, and to bring them into the action through a slice of life that we represent onstage as dimensionally as possible.”

—Randy Shulman

Miss Saigon runs through January 13 in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets are $49 to $175.

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

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Spotlight RAZZIA

Morocco’s official entry for the 2018 Academy Awards, Nabil Ayouch’s mesmerizing drama was also the Opening Night Film at the New York Jewish Film Festival, and now becomes the first film presented by the Washington Jewish Film Festival for screening in 2019. Razzia follows five Moroccans from different social and religious strata, including Salima, who refuses the traditional stereotypes of wife, mother, and woman, the troubled bourgeois teen Inès, and the Freddie Mercuryidolizing singer Hakim. In French and Arabic with English subtitles. Wednesday, Jan. 9, at 7:30 p.m.

Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Tickets are $12 in advance, or $14 at the door. Call 202-777-3250 or visit wjff.org.

ALEXANDER PALEY

An internationally acclaimed concert soloist, the American pianist, born and raised in Moldova, performs Chopin preludes and Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet. Presented by the Washington Conservatory of Music, the concert will be followed by a Wine & Words session with the musician along with complimentary beverages. Saturday, Jan. 5, at 8 p.m. Westmoreland Congregational Church, 1 Westmoreland Circle, Bethesda. Tickets are free, donations welcome. Call 301-320-2770 or visit washingtonconservatory.org.

JAY PHAROAH

The six-season alum from Saturday Night Live, well known especially for his impressions of President Obama, Jay Z, and Kanye West, has more recently shown his dramatic abilities via Showtime’s White Famous and Steven Soderbergh’s Unsane. He’s currently working on his second stand-up special by trying out and perfecting his material performing at nightclubs and college auditoriums around the country. Friday, Jan. 11. Doors at 8 p.m. 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $30 for this seated show. Call 202-265-0930 or visit 930.com.

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STEREOVISION

Out On The Town

ELVIS’ BIRTHDAY FIGHT CLUB

Elvis Presley hosts an underground fight club in what is billed as a comically lowbrow theater event from Astro Pop Events (Countdown to Yuri’s Night, America The Game Show). Now in its ninth year, the production features the King (Jared Davis), accompanied by his sardonic sidekick Kittie Glitter (Jei Spatola), plus “a little more conversation” in the form of hilarious color commentary during seven comical, choreographed matchups full of cartoon-like violence and below-thebelt comedy, as burlesque dancers keep the audience “all shook up” between fights. The cast includes Andrew Wodzianski, Lucrezia Blozia, Carlos Bustamente, DD Cupcakes, Patrick M. Doneghy, Matt Grant, Nona Narcisse, Callie Pigeon, Candy Del RIo, Christian Sullivan, Cherie Sweetbottom, and Stephon Walker. Friday, Jan. 4, at 8 p.m., and Saturday, Jan. 5, at 7 and 9:30 p.m. GALA Theatre at Tivoli Square, 3333 14th St. NW. Also Saturday, Jan. 11, at 7:30 and 10 p.m., and Saturday, Jan. 12, at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Creative Alliance at the Patterson, 3134 Eastern Ave. Baltimore. Tickets are $25 to $35. Visit astropopevents.com.

Compiled by Doug Rule

FILM DON’T GET TROUBLE IN YOUR MIND

The little-known, long-standing tradition of the bluegrass tradition in African-American communities, as well as the untold story of how blacks and whites collaborated to create the earliest forms of American popular music, is the subject of John Whitehead’s latest documentary, Don’t Get Trouble in Your Mind: The Carolina Chocolate Drops Story. The focus is on three young string musicians who achieved fame and acclaim, including a Grammy, as the Carolina Chocolate Drops, including Rhiannon Giddens of

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Nashville fame and Dom Flemons, as well as their late mentor, fiddler Joe Thompson. A discussion with Whitehead and journalist Jordannah Elizabeth will follow next week’s screening in Baltimore.

Thursday, Jan. 10, at 7:30 p.m.

Creative Alliance at the Patterson, 3134 Eastern Ave. Tickets are $10 in advance, or $13 at the door. Call 410-276-1651 or visit creativealliance.org.

LOGAN’S RUN

In the 23rd century, life is utopic — until you reach the age of 30. At that point you’re put down in this 1976 thriller starring Michael York, Peter Ustinov, Jenny Agutter, and Peter Farrah Fawcett. Logan Run is the next in the weekly Capital

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Classics series at Landmark’s West End Cinema. Screenings are Wednesday, Jan. 9, at 1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 p.m., 2301 M St. NW. Happy hour from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $12.50. Call 202-534-1907 or visit landmarktheatres.com.

fodder, but should also hopefully make for compelling viewing — Ginsburg’s incredible life achievements deserve it. Now playing. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com. (RM)

ON THE BASIS OF SEX

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

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

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW

STAGE BILLY ELLIOT

Matthew Gardiner helms Signature Theatre’s take on the moving musical from writer/lyricist Lee Hall and composer Elton John about an 11-year-old boy who just wants to dance. The production features two Billys and two young ensembles performing in rotation, along with an adult crew featuring Nancy Anderson as Mrs. Wilkinson, Chris Genebach as Billy’s father, Crystal Mosser as his mother, Sean Watkinson as brother Tony, and Catherine Flye as Grandma. To Jan. 6. The Ark, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Call 703-820-9771 or visit sigtheatre.org.

ELF THE MUSICAL

An orphan leaves the North Pole to find his true identity in this musical based on the 2003 Will Ferrell movie and featuring songs by the team of composer Matthew Sklar and lyricist Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer) and a book by Thomas Meehan (Annie) and Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone).

Olney Theatre presents a holiday treat of a production with a powerhouse cast including Patricia Hurley, Kevin McAllister, Nova Y. Payton, and Bobby Smith, plus David Schumpf in the Ferrell role of Buddy. Directed by Michael J.

Bobbitt and choreographed by Tara Jeanne Vallee. To Jan. 6. Mainstage, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, Md. Call 301-924-3400 or visit olneytheatre.org.

FANCY NANCY’S SPLENDIFEROUS CHRISTMAS

Nancy has enough money to buy a brand-new sparkly tree topper, but when things don’t turn out as she planned, will Christmas still be splendiferous? Adventure Theatre MTC presents a musical geared toward younger audiences. Stevie Zimmerman directs. To Jan. 6. 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo Park.

Call 301-634-2270 or visit adventuretheatre-mtc.org.

KINGS

A comedy about money, power, and American democracy focused on a newly elected congresswoman who refuses to play by the rules of lobbyists or her own party. If ever there were a built-in audience for a show in D.C., Alexandria-native playwright Sarah Burgess’ Kings is it. Marti Lyons directs a Studio Theatre production featuring Nehassaiu deGannes as Rep. Sydney Millsap and Kelly McCrann as Kate, a seasoned lobbyist who, it turns out, isn’t as hardened and jaded as even she thought. To Jan. 6. 14th & P Streets NW. Call 202-332-3300 or visit studiotheatre.org.

MY FATHER’S DRAGON

As part of its Family Theater series, Synetic Theater produces a wordless adaptation of Ruth Stiles Gannett’s book starring Synetic’s Ryan Sellers and directed and choreographed by the company’s Tori Bertocci. My Father’s Dragon focuses on the attempts of Elmer Elevator to rescue a captive baby dragon on Wild Island. To Jan. 6.

Theater at Crystal City, 1800 South Bell St., Arlington. Tickets are $20.

Call 800-811-4111 or visit synetictheater.org.

OH, GOD

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

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

To Jan. 13. Atlas Performing Arts

Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $20 to $65. Call 202-399-7993 or visit mosaictheater.org.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST

This tour-de-farce is arguably Oscar Wilde’s greatest play, as courtships, class, and convention square off with handbags, puns, and perambulators. For the Everyman Theatre production, director Joseph Ritsch of Rep Stage has restored the original script to include the politics and double entendres that were stripped out and censored after Wilde was imprisoned due to his homosexuality. “Baltimore’s master of comedy” Bruce Randolph Nelson dons drag to play Lady Bracknell, with Danny Gavigan as Algernon and Jaysen Wright as Jack. Daniel Ettinger’s set and David Burdick’s costumes are a modern mash-up, inspired by Roy Lichtenstein and the Pop Art movement. To Jan. 6. 315 West Fayette St. Baltimore.

Tickets are $10 to $65. Call 410-7522208 or visit everymantheatre.org.

THE PANTIES, THE PARTNER AND THE PROFIT

David Ives adapts and Americanizes the epic comic trilogy Scenes from the Heroic Life of the Middle Classes by Carl Sternheim, a German Expressionist master of satire from a century ago. The play follows the Mask family over

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the span of a half-century, starting in Boston circa 1950, moving to Wall Street in 1987, and ending in Malibu “tomorrow morning.” Michael Kahn directs Carson Elrod and Kimberly Gilbert as husband Joseph and wife Louise in the Shakespeare Theatre Company production of a social commentary about our “near-apocalypse” society also featuring Julia Coffey, Kevin Isola, Turna Mete, and Tony Roach, each portraying various roles. To Jan. 6. Lansburgh Theatre, 450 7th St. NW. Call 202-547-1122 or visit shakespearetheatre.org.

DIRUPHOTO

THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG

GETTING BENT

This Saturday, the 9:30 Club is launching a new, quarterly LGBTQ dance event with DJ Steve Lemmerman at the helm.

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WO DECADES AGO, LOCAL NIGHTLIFE PROMOTER ED BAILEY GOT THE BALL rolling, launching a weekly Saturday night Millennium party. Since then, the 9:30 Club has hosted its share of LGBTQ dance parties — from Cherry to Blowoff, from MAL Reaction Dance to Mixtape. This Saturday, Jan. 5, add one more to the club’s estimable roster: Bent.

“We’re launching Bent because D.C.’s gay community kind of needs a big platform, and 9:30 Club is the place to do it,” says Steve Lemmerman, who is overseeing the event. “You know you can be safe at 9:30 as a person in the queer community, and as just a fan of any specific kind of music.

It’s a perfect opportunity to showcase our queer community to a larger audience, and have a large home for our community at the same time. That was the inspiration: to just give so much more to our queer community.”

Over the past few years, the 29-year-old Baltimore native has carved out a name for himself as “Lemz,” originally as a resident DJ at Nellie’s and more recently with Sleaze, the monthly party he started at Wonderland Ballroom with DJ Keenan Orr. Orr is also on board with Bent, along with DJ the Barber Streisand and DJ Jack Jill in the basement Back Bar, but the party won’t just be a larger version of Sleaze.

“Sleaze focuses on dark techno and disco,” says Lemmerman. “We stick to a certain sound.

Bent, musically, is going to be a lot of feel-good fun dance music. A little more free-form. A lot of indie pop. And some mainstream pop remix.”

Bent, which is intended as a quarterly event, will offer up a broad range of performers, with the first outing hosted by Pussy Noir, and featuring Bombalicious Eklaver, Donna Slash, and “a few surprises.” Lemmerman stresses that Bent will highlight the performers over the DJs. “I want the light to be on the performers, who don’t always get a stage of this magnitude,” he says.

Lemmerman, who works in the 9:30 Club box office by day, says the club’s production team has been working hard to help him make “some dreams a reality with the stage area.” They’re planning to employ “some pretty cool stage magic” to ensure that “the focus is on the actual dance floor” itself.

“I want everyone to feel like a family, and feel close to each other,” he says. “My goal is to bring together different parts of our community that don’t always interact.... Times have been so tough lately, everyone just needs an escape right now. And 9:30 is helping me provide just that.”

—Doug Rule Bent launches Saturday, Jan. 5, at the 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. Doors at 10 p.m. Tickets are $15. Call 202-265-0930 or visit 930.com.

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Touted as a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Monty Python and made for the stage, this classic murder mystery is full of mishaps and madcap mania. From an unconscious leading lady, to actors tripping over everything (including their lines), The Murder at Haversham Manor, the play-withinthis-play, has a murderous opening night. Fortunately, the actors killed it, as it were, when The Play That Goes Wrong debuted in London and New York, earning the 2015 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy and garnering critical praise. To Jan. 6. Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $49 to $149.

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

MUSIC ARNAUD SUSSMANN, PAUL NEUBAUER, AND DAVID FINCKEL TRIO

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

Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit wolftrap.org.

BALTIMORE SYMPHONY: LEON FLEISHER’S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

The renowned American pianist, a 2007 Kennedy Center Honoree, will toast his birthday by performing a specialty of his, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major. Led by conductor Peter Oundjian, the BSO will also perform Brahms’ Symphony No. 2, full of beautiful melodies and an exuberantly joyful finale. Friday, Jan. 4, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 6, at 3 p.m. Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore.

Also Saturday, Jan. 5, at 8 p.m.

Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda.

Tickets are $25 to $90. Call 877276-1444 or visit bsomusic.org.

LITTLE BIRD

Chances are good you’ll fall for Little Bird minutes into listening to the band’s 2018 EP Familiar, which shows the ambient soul/ R&B band to be a wild and warm kindred spirit to everyone from D’Angelo and Erykah Badu to Australian jam band-inspired soul act Hiatus Kaiyote. The band will play an intimate show at the 180seat Soundry, which the Clyde’s Restaurant Group opened this past summer in Columbia to be a sibling to the local chain’s crown jewel, Hamilton Live. Opening for Little Bird is D.C.’s electro-soul quintet Novo. Saturday, Jan. 5. Doors at 7 p.m. The Soundry, 10221 Wincopin Circle, Columbia. Tickets are $10 to $15. Call 443-283-1200 or visit thesoundry.com.

PASSPORT TO THE WORLD 2019: PATSY CLINE TRIBUTE, CECILY, CRYS MATTHEWS & HEATHER MAE

Curated by Lynn Veronneau and Ken Avis of Wammie-winning jazz samba group Veronneau, this annual festival presented by Virginia’s Creative Cauldron celebrates the music and dance of cultures around the world, with performances by artists representing a broad spectrum of genres: folk to Latin, opera to bluegrass.

The 2019 series kicks off the first weekend in January with “Patsy

Cline Tribute: Six Voices,” a tribute, in song and story, to the Virginia native female country legend and featuring vocalists Jess Eliot Myhre of the Bumper Jacksons, Lauren Calve, Maureen Andary of the Sweater Set, Karen Jonas, Brian Farrow, Ahren Buchheister, and Pat Puglisi, on Saturday, Jan. 5, at 7:30 p.m. That’s followed by “Cecily Salutes D.C.,” a concert featuring a homegrown talent and her band exploring the contributions that her forebears from the nation’s capital have made to American soul music, from Duke Ellington to Gil Scott-Heron to Roberta Flack, on Sunday, Jan. 6, at 6:30 p.m. Among the offerings the following weekend is a concert featuring D.C.-area powerhouse female vocalists and social change-minded songwriters, including lesbians Crys Matthews and Heather Mae, on Saturday, Jan. 12, at 7:30 p.m. The series continues to Feb. 2. ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 South Maple Ave. in Falls Church. Tickets are $18 to $22, or $60 for tables of two with wine, $120 for tables of four with wine.

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

THE INSERIES: FROM U STREET TO THE COTTON CLUB

KenYatta Rogers returns to direct this toe-tapping hit first presented in 2009. The cabaret production

features music by Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, and more from 1920s and ’30s jazz-age America, performed amidst tales of African Americans from the era woven together by playwright Sybil Williams. And two hours before every show, the In Series has partnered with local historian Timothy Wright for a guided walking tour into the music, mural art, and life along U Street, once known as D.C.’s Black Broadway, that ends with a discounted dinner at Ben’s Chili Bowl. Opens Saturday, Jan. 5.

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

COMEDY IMPROBABLE COMEDY: COMEDY AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

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

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

ILIZA: THE ELDER MILLENNIAL TOUR

Iliza, the only female and youngest contestant to win the title of NBC’s Last Comic Standing, has become one of the more popular standup acts on the touring circuit as well as on TV, via her Netflix specials Freezing Hot and Confirmed Kills, and Truth & Iliza, her latenight talk show that just wrapped up its first season on Freeform.

Apparently, Iliza’s fans show their loyalty by creating Iliza-inspired swag that they wear to shows.

Thursday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m. Warner Theatre, 513 13th St. NW. Tickets are $37.50 plus fees, or $145 for a VIP Package including Meet & Greet. Call 202-783-4000 or visit warnertheatredc.com.

LUENELL

You may remember the comedic performer as the “hooker with the heart of gold” in Borat. Luenell has also had notable appearances on TV, including Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and as a featured performer in the 2012 special Snoop Dogg Presents: The Bad Girls of Comedy. Now she’s set for her DC Improv debut, for a weekend run of shows with opening sets from Cerrome Russell. Friday, Jan. 4, at 7:30 and 9:45 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 5, at 7 and 9:30 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 6, at 7 p.m. 1140 Connecticut Ave. NW. Tickets are $20 to $25, plus a

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two-item minimum. Call 202-2967008 or visit dcimprov.com.

SUPER SPECTACULAR COMEDY SHOW FOR THE CLIMATE

Grassroots Comedy DC offers another night of comedy with a cause at Kramerbooks. This round, Grassroots is fulfilling its mission “to make humans laugh while improving humanity” by partnering with the DC chapter of the Sierra Club, giving the organization proceeds from the evening’s ticket sales as well as a chance to discuss its work as comedians trying their hand at topical jokes about the disastrous ways we treat our environment — because sometimes you gotta laugh to keep from crying. Friday, Jan. 11, at 8 and 10 p.m. Kramerbooks, 1517 Connecticut Ave. NW. Tickets are $12 in advance, or $15 at the door (if available). Call 202-387-1400 or visit kramers.com.

THE SECOND CITY: SHE THE PEOPLE

An all-female team roasts the patriarchy, modern politics and pop culture in the latest revue from Chicago’s sketch comedy troupe.

Carly Heffernan directs a Second City ensemble featuring Atra Asdou, Carisa Barreca, Alex Bellisle, Katie Caussin, Kazi Jones, and Maggie Wilder. To Jan. 6. Woolly Mammoth, 641 D St. NW. Tickets range from $20 to $85. Call 202-3933939 or visit woollymammoth.net.

READINGS

PHOTO COURTESY OF HARRIS

DANIEL H. PINK

KAMALA HARRIS

Even before her gripping performance during last year’s Kavanaugh hearings, the Democratic U.S. Senator from California was a buzzed-about potential candidate for president. Harris is only working to further the buzz with the release of The Truths We Hold: An American Journey, a new book drawing on her life and career as well as highlighting those who have inspired her. Along the way she touts our common bonds as Americans and the challenges we face together. Harris will discuss the book’s core themes as well as lay out her vision for the future at an event co-presented by Politics and Prose.

Wednesday, Jan. 9, at 7 p.m. GW Lisner, The George Washington University, 730 21st St. NW. Tickets are $46.80 including fees and 1 book. Call 202-994-6851 or visit lisner.gwu.edu.

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Why are parole-eligible prisoners more likely to get a favorable ruling earlier in the day? Why are adolescents who start school before 8 a.m. at an academic disadvantage?

Those are just two among many intriguing questions answered in Daniel H Pink’s When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, a fascinating study of timing, drawing on research from psychology, biology, and economics. Since his days in the mid-1900s as the chief speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore, Pink has written several best-selling books applying key findings from behavioral science to everyday work and business situations (including Free Agent Nation and To Sell Is Human).

In When, Pink shows the strong and predictable effects timing has on people’s thoughts and emotions, and offers pointers — many from his own “Time Hacker’s Handbook” — on how to maximize potential by planning the timing of important events and decisions. He drops by Politics and Prose for a discussion of his latest opus. Tuesday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m. Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Free, but first-come, first-seated. Call 202364-1919 or visit politics-prose.com.

JASON BERRY

Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville was a warrior with snake tattoos. And as head of the French Mississippi Company in 1718, he became the founder of New Orleans — just the first of many colorful, feisty, and creative characters that have made the Big Easy such a memorable place and destination. A History of New Orleans at Year 300 is the latest from Berry, an investigative journalist, documentary film producer, and author of previous books chronicling his hometown through the lenses of music, politics, and people. Sunday, Jan. 6, at 1 p.m. Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Free, firstcome, first-seated. Call 202-3641919 or visit politics-prose.com.

JEN SINCERO

A decade ago, Sincero was in her early 40s, broke and in debt. She turned that around by becoming a self-help figure who is saltier, punchier, and more relatable than most of those who came before her — styling herself as a Badass.

Sincero comes to D.C. to speak and sign copies of You Are a Badass Every Day, part of her series of pocket-sized books offering inspiration and guidance to keep you fresh, grateful, and driven to pursue the life you want. Thursday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m. Sixth & I Historic Synagogue.

600 I St. NW. Tickets are $18, or $35 including one book, $45 for two tickets and one book. Call 202-4083100 or visit sixthandi.org.

STORY DISTRICT

Every second Tuesday, Story District presents a program featuring everyday people sharing personal stories they’ve been coached to tell in seven minutes, and all focused on a particular topic. The latest round features storytellers who stepped outside their comfort zone to do something bold, new, and risky. Tuesday, Jan. 8. Doors at 6:30 p.m. Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20 plus fees.

Call 202-667-4490 or visit blackcatdc.com.

UNSPEAKABLE CRIMES: LGBTQ MYSTERY WRITING

OutWrite, a program of the DC Center for the LGBTQ Community, presents a panel discussion with readings and a Q&A with notable authors Brenda Buchanan, John Copenhaver, and Cheryl Head.

Sherry Harris of Sisters in Crime will moderate the free event on Saturday, Jan. 5, at 6 p.m. East City Bookshop, 645 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Call 202-290-1636 or visit eastcitybookshop.com.

ART & EXHIBITS BESTUÉ-VIVES: RALF & JEANNETTE

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

D.C.-based artist and arts manager Marta Pita curated the local reprise.

On display Wednesdays to Sundays from 2 to 5 p.m. through Jan. 13.

WPA Annex, 1921 8th St. NW, Ground Floor. Call 202-234-7103 or visit wpadc.org.

CHURCHILL’S SHAKESPEARE

The U.K.’s legendary 20th-century prime minister was a lifelong admirer of the 16th-Century Brit regarded as the greatest writer in the English language, and the

Bard’s influence can be found in Churchill’s speeches and ideas. The Folger Shakespeare Library presents materials from its collection as well as those from Cambridge’s Churchill Archives Centre and Churchill’s home Chartwell, both of which collaborated on this special exhibition. To Jan. 6. 201 East Capitol St. SE. Call 202-544-4600 or visit folger.edu.

DANNI O’BRIEN: PLAY DATE

An immersive set of candy-colored, fuzztastic objects echo forms of both playground equipment and the artist’s memory of her own awkward, pubescent body in this exploration of childhood landscapes through camp, craft, and humor. The nostalgic, kitschy, and laborious process of latch hook-rug making is used as a means to grapple with notions of femininity, domesticity, and craft, as well as for its titillating and tactile physical qualities. Identified as a queer womyn maker and art educator based in Baltimore, O’Brien’s work marries construction and woodworking skills with traditional feminized and domesticated systems, such as rug making, creating dually hard and soft objects.

In Play Date, O’Brien sourced vintage wool on eBay and cheap plastic rope from the Dollar Store to create the fibrous segments of a peculiar framework with off-kilter color schemes and animated tex-

tural shifts. Opening Reception is Friday, Jan. 4, from 6 to 9 p.m. On display to Jan. 27. IA&A at Hillyer, 9 Hillyer Court NW. Call 202-3380325 or visit athillyer.org.

ELIZABETH CASQUEIRO: RE:VISION

An ode to the immigrant experience, this exhibition investigates the power of visionary myth to propel and restrain, and the struggle to reconcile who we are, how we are perceived, and who we want to become. Through the use of retro comic books and lifestyle ads, Casqueriro reflects the emotional push-and-pull of immigration — the pushing forward of a new life with the pulling back by the old and tradition. Ends with an Artist’s Talk on Sunday, Jan. 6, at 2 p.m.

The Athenaeum, 201 Prince St., Alexandria. Call 703-548-0035 or visit nvfaa.org.

EXHIBITION OF FINE ARTS IN MINIATURE

Strathmore hosts the 85th annual show featuring more than 700 “mini-masterpieces”: intricately detailed works of art from around the world, painstakingly produced in miniature. The prodigious exhibition, presented by the Miniature Painters, Sculptors & Gravers Society of Washington, D.C., draws viewers into a concentrated universe — tracing its roots to the 7th

century — featuring portraits, still lifes, and landscapes all no bigger than a postage stamp. Through Jan. 6. The Mansion, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda. Call 301-5815100 or visit strathmore.org.

FACES

Virginia’s Del Ray Artisans Gallery offers a group show of portraits, depicting faces and bodies as the artists portray them, whether realistic, impressionistic, surreal, or abstract. Curated by Rita Schooley and Kathy Turner, the exhibit features works celebrating faces spanning the ages, from a toddler, to a new mother, to an octogenarian.

Opening Reception is Friday, Jan. 4, from 7 to 9 p.m. On display to Jan. 27. 2704 Mount Vernon Ave. Alexandria. Call 703-731-8802 or visit thedelrayartisans.org.

JOHN WATERS: INDECENT EXPOSURE

Talk about a shock: A preeminent high-art institution offering a retrospective on a famously, purposely lowbrow artist would be unusual and unexpected anywhere, regarding anyone. But that it’s the Baltimore Museum of Art honoring native son and “King of Trash” John Waters is somewhat unprecedented. Indecent Exposure showcases the famous queer filmmaker’s visual arts career through a display of 160 provocative photo-

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graphs, sculptures, and video and sound works. The works range from send-ups of famous films and faces, to objects from Waters’ home and studio, to three peep-shows with footage from his rarely seen underground movies of the 1960s. All told, the exhibition offers a glimpse into the filmmaker’s childhood, identity, and personality, as well as touching on his influence and views on popular culture and the contemporary art world, with a nod to the transgressive power of images. To Jan. 6. 10 Art Museum Dr. Baltimore.

Tickets are $10 to $15. Call 443-5731700 or visit artbma.org.

JEFF FASANO.

NEW NATURE BY MARPI

THE JUSTICE SINGER

The soul-fired folk of Crys Matthews is driven by her deep passion for social justice.

S

O MUCH OF WHAT DRIVES CRYS MATTHEWS STEMS FROM HER TUMULTUOUS experience growing up gay as a black preacher’s kid in North Carolina. “Coming out was definitely...not my favorite chapter by any stretch of the imagination,” Matthews says. “It was super tough. I pretty much didn’t live at home my entire senior year of high school.” Two decades later, Matthews and her mother “have a fantastic relationship now. It’s definitely a story that I wish I could tell more people. People always say it’ll get better, and it actually does.”

As a soul-fired folk singer-songwriter, Matthews has been able to tell her story — most notably on The Imagineers, her “full-length album of love and life songs.” But the social justice-minded artist seems to get more charge out of weighing in on the pressing issues of our era — chiefly, the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter movements. In addition to her six-song EP Battle Hymn for an Army of Lovers — which includes “We Must Be Free,” her updated, Black Lives Matter-referencing take on a Civil Rights Era anthem — Matthews says, “I have another batch of social justice songs that I’m really, really, really itching to get out.... The social justice songs are so important to me, sometimes it’s hard for me to not just wanna do that.

“Some of this stuff is just so heavy and so overwhelming, I want [those affected] to understand and know they’re not alone,” says Matthews. “There are people in their corner who hear them and respect them and appreciate and value what they’ve been through and [don’t] dismiss that. Also, I want to inspire other people who...maybe don’t understand it...to do some soul searching, and inspire some action on their part.”

Next weekend, Matthews will perform a concert alongside two other area singer-songwriters, Louisa Hall and Heather Mae, a fellow queer-identified artist who is a regular traveling performer with Matthews on their joint Pride-season “Singing Out Tour.”

“We’re actually going to perform in the round,” Matthews says of the upcoming concert, part of Creative Cauldron’s Passport to the World cabaret series. “We get to sing with each other on things, harmonize here and there, and just interact with one another. In the round is always fun — and is my favorite way to perform.” —Doug Rule Crys Matthews appears with Louisa Hall and Heather Mae on Saturday, Jan. 12, at 7:30 p.m., at ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 South Maple Ave. Tickets are $18 to $22, or $60 for tables of two with wine, $120 for tables of four with wine. Call 703-436-9948 or visit creativecauldron.org.

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

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

Visit artechouse.com.

REMEMBERING VIETNAM: 12 CRITICAL EPISODES IN THE VIETNAM WAR

The National Archives offers a framework for understanding the decisions that led to the Vietnam War, its consequences and legacy. More than 40 years since its end, the complexity of the conflict is still being unraveled — in part by historians pouring over newly declassified documents, some of which factor into this exhibition of more than 80 original records. To Jan. 6. Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery, Constitution Avenue between 7th and 9th Streets NW. NW. Call 202357-5000 or visit archivesfoundation.org.

ROOPKOTHA PHOTO EXHIBIT

Vibrant images captured by various photographers, along with historical artifacts and personal memorabilia, tell the story of Xulhaz Mannan and Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy, two Bangladeshi LGBTQ activists and artists who were savagely murdered in their home two years ago.

The Center Arts Gallery in the DC Center for the LGBT Community has set up this powerful installation as part of an ongoing campaign to protest the inaction of the Bangladeshi government to investigate the murders. 2000 14th St. NW. Call 202-682-2245 or visit thedccenter.org.

English/Spanish exhibition is on display through Jan. 6. 8th and F Streets. NW. Call 202-633-8300 or visit npg.si.edu.

ABOVE & BEYOND

WNO

CARTOGRAPHY

WNO’S AMERICAN OPERA INITIATIVE FESTIVAL

“Catch a glimpse into the future of opera” goes the tagline for this festival, the Washington National Opera’s commissioning program for contemporary American opera now in its seventh season. This year’s festival includes two different programs featuring four world premiere operas, performed in concert with Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists accompanied by a small chamber orchestra and followed by a Q&A with the artists and creative teams. Program One focuses on Taking Up Serpents, a new hour-long opera from composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Jerre Dye that spins an engrossing tale about the controversial world of religious snake-handling, and focused on the estranged daughter (performed by Alexandria Shiner) of a fire-and-brimstone preacher who is dangerously bitten by one of his snakes. Performances are Friday, Jan. 11, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 13, at 2 p.m. Program Two centers around “Three New 20-Minute Operas,” including 75 Miles, with music by Matt Boehler and a libretto by Laura Barati focused on a family in rural Pennsylvania who grapple with faith, beliefs, and economic limitations in the face of an unexpected teen pregnancy; Relapse, with music by Molly Joyce and a libretto by James Kennedy about a woman struggling with her addiction after a serious drug overdose; and Pepito, with music

by Nicolas Lell Benavides and libretto by Marella Martin Koch, a tale about a lonely shelter dog and the troubled young married couple eager, maybe a bit too eager, to adopt. Performances are Saturday, Jan. 12, at 7 and 9 p.m. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Tickets are $19 to $45 per program. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

TREVOR PAGLEN: SITES UNSEEN W/PANEL DISCUSSION Inspired by the American landscape tradition and updated with a 21st-century surveillance sensibility, this visual artist blurs the lines between art, science, and investigative journalism to construct unfamiliar and at times unsettling works showing the world around us. The Smithsonian American Art Museum offers the first exhibition presenting Paglen’s early photographic series alongside his recent sculptural objects and new work with artificial intelligence — more than 100 artworks in all. This mid-career survey occupies the entire north wing of the museum’s galleries, an unprecedented scale at this location. On display through Jan. 6. SAAM, 8th and F Streets NW. Call 202-633-1000 or visit americanart.si.edu.

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TORY COWLES: HARD WIRED

Spread out in two galleries at downtown’s Touchstone Gallery are sculptures and installations celebrating the fierce joys of life.

Cowles’ body sculptures can be worn and viewers are encouraged to dance — the installation is meant to be interacted with. Opening Reception is Saturday, Jan. 5, from 4 to 6 p.m. Meet the Artist Reception is Saturday, Jan. 19, from 4 to 6 p.m. On display to Jan. 31.

Galleries B and C, 901 New York Ave. NW Call 202-347-2787 or visit touchstonegallery.com.

UNSEEN: OUR PAST IN A NEW LIGHT

Works by Ken Gonzales-Day and Titus Kaphar are featured in the first contemporary exhibition of the National Portrait Gallery’s 50th

JANUARY 3, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

anniversary season — and a provocative one at that. Nearly 60 works highlight how people of color — from Native Americans to African Americans, Asian Americans to Latino Americans — are missing in historical portraiture. Still worse, their contributions to the nation’s past were rendered equally invisible. Kaphar sets out to right those slights by recreating well-known paintings and including those traditionally left out, through his series of 17 paintings plus one sculpture.

Gonzales-Day, meanwhile, explores how ideas of racial difference, otherness, and national identity have taken shape historically and visually through nearly 40 photographs, including works from his “Erased Lynchings” series focused on the American West as well as his “Profiled” series. The bilingual

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

Kennedy Center Family Theater.

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

GEORGETOWN GLOW 2018

Now in its fifth year, this light art exhibition presented by the Georgetown Business Improvement District features 10 displays by multidisciplinary artists. Billed as a way to “reimagine the season of light,” the commissioned works, curated by Deirdre Ehlen MacWilliams, offer a high-tech modern contrast with the surroundings of D.C.’s oldest neighborhood — which has been further illuminated by the stringing of white lights on street-facing buildings. The five-week event includes regular GLOW-inspired walking and food tours led by several local tour companies. GLOW runs every night from 5 to 10 p.m. through Jan. 6. Visit GeorgetownGlowDC.com for more information.

LIGHT YARDS

Two traveling light installations add a little seasonal, illuminating whimsy as part of this year’s fourth annual holiday celebration in the Navy Yard area of Southeast D.C. — also increasingly known as the Capitol Riverfront. The Pool by New York’s Jen Lewin Studio, developed six years ago but making its D.C. debut here, features 106 interactive circular pads of light that react as visitors move on and around them, creating a giant canvas of shifting and fading colors. Meanwhile, Angels of Freedom by Israel’s OGE Group is a social sculptural installation where visitors pose with five giant, neon-colored wings and white halos, intended as a way to signify that we’re all angels and that “everybody counts and deserves love.” On display from 6 to 10 p.m. until Friday, Jan. 4. The Yards Park Boardwalk, 355 Water St. SE. Call 202-465-7093 or visit theyardsdc.com. l

Community

THURSDAY, January 3 The DC Center holds a meeting of its ASIAN PACIFIC

ISLANDER QUEER SUPPORT GROUP. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th St.

NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

Weekly Events AIDS HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION offers free walk-

PROSTOCKSTUDIO

in HIV testing by appointment from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1-5 p.m. at its Blair Underwood Wellness Center, 2141 K St. NW, and its AHF Healthcare Center, 4302 St. Barnabas Rd., Suite B, Temple Hills, Md., and from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at its Benning Road location, 1647 Benning Rd. NE, Suite 300. For more information, visit hivcare.org.

ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH

FACE TIME

DC Fray hosts bimonthly same-sex speed dating events that get rid of the swipes and put people face-to-face.

D

C FRAY STARTED OUT AS A SOCIAL SPORTS COMPANY,” SAYS senior marketing manager Tanisha Kanini. “Over the years, we realized that there was so much more we could do with the company. So we began developing other events.”

While DC Fray is largely known for its sports leagues, including dodgeball, kickball, and flag football, expanded offerings now include ski trips, late night glow snow tubing, underwear runs, and even speed dating.

“People are tired of swiping right or left on apps and getting into the dating world, and then when you meet that person you’ve been talking to, they don’t match the picture on their profile,” says event manager Sandrika Berthias. “Or you talk, text, get ghosted. It can be a nightmare. People are looking to go back to basics and meet someone face-to-face.”

The speed dating involves a mingling period before participants rotate through their four-minute conversations, allowing them to meet about 7-10 people in total.

Registration fees are $25 per person, and DC Fray typically holds speed dating on Wednesdays from 7-10 p.m., with nights for men seeking men and women seeking women alternating every other month. (Events for opposite-sex couples are held monthly.) The next two men’s events are Jan. 9 and Mar. 6, and the next women’s event is Feb. 6.

“What’s different about our events is that we help people with a set of questions they can use to break the ice, because not everyone is as easy-going with small talk,” says Berthias. “So we give them support they can use.

“Also, we don’t have a specific dress code. Most people come in business casual, as the event is after work on a Wednesday, but some people come in sneakers and pants. But if you want to look good in front of your potential date, do dress up.”

—John Riley DC Fray’s Men Seeking Men Speed Dating is on Wednesday, Jan. 9 from 7-10 p.m. at Grand Central, 2447 18th St. NW. To register, or for more information about DC Fray’s sports leagues or regularly occurring events, visit dcfray.com.

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 andromedatransculturalhealth.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB practice

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

DC FRONT RUNNERS run-

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

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

DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds

practice. The team is always looking for new members.

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

THE DULLES TRIANGLES

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

For more information, visit dullestriangles.com.

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HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker Health. 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 2:305 p.m. at 1525 14th St. NW, and 9 a.m-12 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. at the Max Robinson Center, 2301 MLK Jr. Ave. SE. For an appointment, call 202-745-7000 or visit whitman-walker.org.

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

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

METROHEALTH CENTER

offers free, rapid HIV testing.

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

STI TESTING at Whitman-Walker

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

US HELPING US hosts a Narcotics Anonymous Meeting. The group is independent of UHU. 6:30-7:30 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. For more information, call 202-4461100.

FRIDAY, January 4 GAY DISTRICT, a group for

GBTQQI men between the ages of 18-35, meets on the first and third Fridays of each month. 8:30-9:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105.

For more information, visit gaydistrict.org.

Join LGBTQ people from all over the D.C. area for the FIRST

FRIDAY HAPPY HOUR SOCIAL at

Pinzimini Lounge in the Western Arlington Gateway. Ballston Metro is two blocks away. Everyone welcome. No cover. 6:30-8:30 p.m. 801 N. Glebe Rd., Arlington, Va. For more information, visit meetup. com/GoGayDC.

Weekly Events 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 betmish.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a prac-

tice session at Howard University.

6:30-8 p.m. Burr Gymnasium, 2400 6th St. NW. For more information, visit swimdcac.org.

PROJECT STRIPES hosts LGBTaffirming social group for ages

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JANUARY 3, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

11-24. 4-6 p.m. 1419 Columbia Road NW. Contact Tamara, 202-3190422, layc-dc.org.

SMYAL’S REC NIGHT provides a social atmosphere for LGBT and questioning youth, featuring dance parties, vogue nights, movies and games. 4-7 p.m. For more info, email rebecca.york@smyal.org.

SATURDAY, January 5 CENTER GLOBAL, a group that advocates for LGBTIQ rights and fights against anti-LGBTIQ laws in more than 80 countries, holds its monthly meeting on the first Saturday of every month. 12-1:30 p.m. The DC Center, 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

Weekly Events DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a prac-

tice session at Montgomery College Aquatics Club. 8:30-10 a.m. 7600 Takoma Ave., Takoma, Md. For more information, visit swimdcac.org.

DC FRONT RUNNERS running/

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

Route distance will be 3-6 miles.

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

DIGNITYUSA sponsors Mass for

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

SUNDAY, January 6 CHRYSALIS arts & culture group

visits the Phillips Collection near Dupont Circle to see exhibition of Nordic art since 1821. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, free admission for federal employees if shutdown still in effect. Lunch in neighborhood follows. Meet at noon inside the lobby of 1600 21st St. NW. For more information, contact Jeff, 301-775-9660 or jeffreyhughes@me.com.

Weekly Events LGBT-inclusive ALL SOULS

MEMORIAL EPISCOPAL CHURCH

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

DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a

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

DC FRONT RUNNERS running/

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

Route will be a distance run of 8, 10 or 12 miles. Meet at 9 a.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW. For more information, visit dcfrontrunners.org.

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

welcomes all to 10:30 a.m. service, 945 G St. NW. firstuccdc.org or 202-628-4317.

HOPE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST welcomes GLBT commu-

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

INSTITUTE FOR SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT, God-centered

new age church & learning center.

Sunday Services and Workshops event. 5419 Sherier Place NW. isddc.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. lincolntemple.org.

LUTHERAN CHURCH OF REFORMATION invites all to

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

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

METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH OF WASHINGTON, D.C.

services at 9 a.m. (ASL interpreted) and 11 a.m. Children’s Sunday School at 11 a.m. 474 Ridge St. NW. 202-638-7373, mccdc.com.

RIVERSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH,

a Christ-centered, interracial, welcoming-and-affirming church, offers service at 10 a.m. 680 I St. SW. 202-554-4330, riversidedc.org.

UNITARIAN CHURCH OF ARLINGTON, an LGBTQ welcom-

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

UNIVERSALIST NATIONAL MEMORIAL CHURCH, a welcom-

ing and inclusive church. GLBT Interweave social/service group meets monthly. Services at 11 a.m., Romanesque sanctuary. 1810 16th St. NW. 202-387-3411, universalist.org.

MONDAY, January 7 TEN PIN PRIDE, a social bowling league of 4-person teams, starts its 16-week season, meeting on Monday evenings. Singles and

teams welcome. 8-10 p.m. Bowl America Falls Church, 140 S. Maple Ave., Falls Church, Va. To register or for more information, email tpp. secretary@gmail.com.

The DC Center holds a monthly VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION for those interested in helping out at The DC Center. Activities include sorting through book donations, taking inventory, or assembling safe-sex packets. 6:30-8:30 p.m.

2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. To register, or for more information, email chris@thedccenter.org.

TUESDAY, January 8 Queer-identifying women who have survived violent or traumatic experiences and are looking for support are invited to take part in a bi-weekly QUEER WOMEN

WORKING THROUGH TRAUMA GROUP at The DC Center.

Participants are encouraged to do an intake assessment with moderator and social worker Sam Goodwin. 6-7 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, email Sam at samantha@ thedccenter.org.

The DC Center holds a monthly meeting of its COMING OUT DISCUSSION GROUP on the fourth Thursday of each month for those navigating issues associated with coming out and personal identity. 7-8:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

The DC Center’s TRANS SUPPORT GROUP provides a space to talk for transgender people and those who identify outside of the gender binary. 7-8:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

WEDNESDAY, January 9 BIG GAY BOOK GROUP meets

at Trio Restaurant to discuss Queer City: Gay London from the Romans to the Present Day by Peter Ackroyd. Newcomers always welcome. 7 p.m. 1537 17th St. NW. Dupont Circle Red Line Metro is close by. For more information and to RSVP, please email biggaybookgroup@hotmail.com.

CENTER LATINX, a group dedicated to addressing issues of importance to the LGBTQ Latinx community, holds a monthly meeting at The DC Center. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

The LAMBDA BRIDGE CLUB meets at the Dignity Center, across from the Marine Barracks, for Duplicate Bridge. No reservations needed.

Newcomers welcome. 7:30 p.m. 721 8th St. SE. Call 202-841-0279 if you need a partner. l

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THE YEAR IN PREVIEW All dates are subject to change at each organizer’s discretion.

For more detailed information as events approach, check Metro Weekly’s Community Calendar, your complete guide to local community events, in print and online at metroweekly.com.

JANUARY UNSPEAKABLE CRIMES: AN LGBTQ MYSTERY READING Saturday, Jan. 5 Part of the OutWrite series.

6-8 p.m.

East City Bookshop 645 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Suite 100 thedccenter.org/outwrite TORAH AND SEXUALITY SERIES: THE DIVINE EROTICISM OF KABBALAH AND JEWISH MYSTICISM Tuesday, Jan. 8 7-8 p.m.

Sixth & I 600 I St. NW edcjcc.org/community/gloe EQUALITY VIRGINIA’S KICK-OFF AT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY Wednesday, Jan. 9 Join Equality Virginia as they outline their priorities and plans for the upcoming General Assembly session.

Time TBD Capitol Square N. 9th and Bank Streets, Richmond, Va. equalityvirginia.org QUEER BOOK CLUB: DODGING AND BURNING Thursday, Jan. 10 As part of the OutWrite series, The DC Center hosts a group discussion focusing on John Copenhaver’s book.

7-9 p.m.

The DC Center 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105 thedccenter.org/outwrite WHITMAN-WALKER’S 41ST BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION Sunday, Jan. 13 Location and time TBD whitman-walker.org MID-ATLANTIC LEATHER WEEKEND Friday-Sunday, Jan. 18-20 Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill 400 New Jersey Ave. NW For times of individual events, visit leatherweekend.com.

MAL WEEKEND SEXSHOP PARTY Friday, Jan. 18 Featuring DJs Alex Acosta, XGonzalez, and Joe Pacheco.

10 p.m.-7 a.m.

L8 Lounge 727 15th St. NW lafantasyproductions.ticketleap.com capitalpride.org WOMEN’S MARCH ON WASHINGTON 2019: THE #WOMENSWAVE IS COMING Saturday, Jan. 19 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

March starts 11 a.m.

Rally starts 1:30 p.m.

March will start from Independence Avenue and 3rd Street, SW. Gathering point will be on the

National Mall between 3rd and 12th Streets.

Rally will be held at Lincoln Memorial.

Womensmarch.com MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. HOLIDAY PARADE Monday, Jan. 21 Join The DC Center as it leads an LGBTQ contingent marching in the MLK Holiday Parade.

10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Anacostia Park 1900 Anacostia Dr. SE thedccenter.org MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY OF SERVICE Monday, Jan. 21 Join in a service project or volunteer for a local community organization to help honor Dr. King’s legacy. nationalservice.gov/mlkday TEAM DC’S WINTER CASINO NIGHT Saturday, Jan. 26 Join your favorite D.C. area sports teams for a night of blackjack, craps and poker.

8 p.m.-midnight Buffalo Billiards 1330 19th St. NW teamdc.org EQUALITY VIRGINIA’S DAY OF ACTION Tuesday, Jan. 29 Join Equality Virginia as they lobby lawmakers in the General Assembly to support pro-LGBT bills.

The day also includes workshops for activists and ends with a legislative reception featuring appearances by LGBT-friendly lawmakers.

8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Library of Virginia 800 E. Broad St., Richmond, Va. equalityvirginia.org CAPITAL PRIDE REVEAL Thursday, Jan. 31 Find out what Capital Pride has planned for its 2019 celebration.

7:30-11:30 p.m.

Location TBD capitalpride.org

FEBRUARY BROTHER HELP THYSELF GRANT AWARDS RECEPTION Saturday, Feb. 2 7-9:30 p.m.

Belvedere Hotel 1 E. Chase St. Baltimore, Md. Brotherhelpthyself.net NIGHT OUT AT THE CAPITALS Tuesday, Feb. 5 7 p.m.

Verizon Center 601 F St. NW teamdc.org

WRITING WORKSHOP: SETTING AS CHARACTER Wednesday, Feb. 6 A workshop for writers to hone their skills, led by author John Copenhaver.

7-9 p.m.

The DC Center 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105 thedccenter.org/outwrite NATIONAL BLACK HIV/AIDS AWARENESS DAY Thursday, Feb. 7 aids.gov SCARLET’S BAKE SALE Sunday, Feb. 10 Bake sale raising money for local nonprofits and charities. Special awards given based on creativity.

Noon-7 p.m.

The DC Eagle 3701 Benning Rd. NE facebook.com/scarlets.foundation TAKING THE STAGE: TAKING A STAND: LGBTQ VOICES AGAINST VIOLENCE Wednesday, Feb. 20 7-9 p.m.

Busboy and Poets 2021 14th St. NW thedccenter.org MAYOR BOWSER’S BLACK LGBTQ HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION OF EXCELLENCE: BAYARD RUSTIN & AUDRE LORDE MIXER Thursday, Feb. 28 Location and time TBD lgbtq.dc.gov

MARCH ST. PATRICK’S DAY HOLIDAY PARADE Sunday, Mar. 10 Join The DC Center as it leads an LGBTQ contingent marching in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Constitution Avenue NW, between 7th and 17th Streets dcstpatsparade.com NATIONAL WOMEN AND GIRLS HIV/AIDS AWARENESS DAY Sunday, Mar. 10 aids.gov NQAPIA COMMUNITY CATALYST AWARDS CELEBRATION Sunday, Mar. 10 Honoring the contributions of queer Asian-American and Pacific Islanders.

6-9 p.m.

Sax DC 734 11th St. NW nqapia.org/wpp NIGHT OUT AT THE WIZARDS Wednesday, Mar. 13 7 p.m.

Verizon Center 601 F St. NW teamdc.org QUEER BOOK CLUB: BURY WHEN I’M DEAD Thursday, March 14 As part of the OutWrite series, the DC Center hosts a book discussion on the novel by Cheryl Head.

7-9 p.m.

The DC Center 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105 thedccenter.org/outwrite

NATIONAL NATIVE HIV/AIDS AWARENESS DAY Wednesday, Mar. 20 aids.gov

APRIL DINING OUT FOR LIFE Approximately 75 restaurants throughout the greater D.C. area donate between 25% and 110% of the days’s receipts to Food & Friends Date TBD foodandfriends.org THE ASK RAYCEEN SHOW: MINI-BALL Wednesday, April 3 6-9:30 p.m.

HRC Equality Center 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW TeamRayceen.eventbrite.com VICTORY FUND NATIONAL CHAMPAGNE BRUNCH Sunday, April 7 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

JW Marriott 1331 Pennsylvania Ave. SE victoryfund.org NATIONAL YOUTH HIV/AIDS AWARENESS DAY Wednesday, April 10 Aids.gov CHERRYPOP WEEKEND 2019 Thursday-Monday, April 11-15 Times TBD Multiple venues cherryfund.org EQUALITY VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH DINNER Saturday, April 13 Join the Commonwealth’s major LGBT rights organization as it celebrates pro-LGBT progress and the allies who have made it possible.

Proceeds benefit Equality Virginia.

Greater Richmond Convention Center Time TBD 403 N. Third St., Richmond, Va. equalityvirginia.org TEAM DC’S NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS AWARDS DINNER Saturday, April 13 Location and time TBD teamdc.org/champions NATIONAL RAINBOW SEDER Sunday, April 14 Join members of the LGBTQ Jewish community as they enjoy a special Passover meal and rituals, co-presented by GLOE, the Kurlander Program for GLBTQ Outreach & Engagement at the Edlavitch DC Jewish Community Center and the Human Rights Campaign’s Religion & Faith program.

Time TBD Location TBD edcjcc.org/community/gloe NATIONAL TRANSGENDER HIV TESTING DAY Thursday, April 18 aids.gov RAYCEEN, FIX ME UP! SPRING MIXER Thursday, April 18 7-10 p.m.

XX+ Crostino 1926 9th St. NW TeamRayceen.eventbrite.com

JANUARY 3, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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DC FRONT RUNNERS PRIDE FUND 5K FUNDRAISER Saturday, April 20 Entertainment, raffle prizes, and a silent auction. Proceeds benefit Casa Ruby, the Team DC Scholarship Fund, and The Wanda Alston Foundation.

Nellie’s Sports Bar 900 U St. NW dcfrpriderun.com

SILVER PRIDE Friday, May 10 Time TBD Enjoy socializing, dancing, fun, and friends at this free LGBTQ seniors’ event, co-sponsored by Whitman-Walker Health.

Human Rights Campaign 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW capitalpride.org whitman-walker.org

NATIONAL DAY OF SILENCE Sunday, April 21 The brainchild of GLSEN, the Day of Silence is used to protest the silencing of the LGBT community due to harassment, bullying, and abuse in schools. dayofsilence.org glsen.org

TAKING THE STAGE: TAKING A STAND: LGBTQ VOICES AGAINST VIOLENCE Thursday, May 9 7-9 p.m.

Busboy and Poets 2021 14th St. NW thedccenter.org

TEAM DC’S SPRING CASINO NIGHT Saturday, April 27 Join your favorite D.C. area sports teams for a night of blackjack, craps and poker.

8 p.m.-midnight Buffalo Billiards 1330 19th St. NW teamdc.org

MAY NIGHT OUT AT THE PRODIGY Date, time and location TBD teamdc.org CAPITAL PRIDE HEROES GALA Date, time and location TBD Event honors those who have made significant contributions to the LGBT community and to Capital Pride. capitalpride.org TRANS EQUALITY NOW AWARDS Hosted by the National Center for Trans Equality Date, time and location TBD transequality.org WHITMAN-WALKER HEALTH’S “GOING THE EXTRA MILE” BENEFIT This cocktail reception honors Whitman-Walker’s pro bono legal volunteers, recognizes allies , and raises money to help Whitman-Walker provide free legal services to its clients.

Date, time and location TBD whitman-walker.org THE ASK RAYCEEN SHOW: COMMUNITY FORUM Wednesday, May 1 6-9:30 p.m.

HRC Equality Center 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW TeamRayceen.eventbrite.com GAY DAY AT THE ZOO INTERNATIONAL FAMILY EQUALITY DAY Sunday, May 5 Family Equality Day events take place as part of Gay Day at the Zoo. 9 a.m-4 p.m.

National Zoological Park 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW thedccenter.org/events/gayday2019 QUEER BOOK CLUB: BROKEN METROPOLIS: QUEER TALES OF A CITY THAT NEVER WAS As part of the OutWrite series, The DC Center hosts a book discussion on a novel edited by Dave Ring.

Thursday, May 9 7-9 p.m.

The DC Center 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105 thedccenter.org/outwrite

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TEAM DC’S QUARTERLY SPORTS MIXER Wednesday, May 15 Location and time TBD teamdc.org WRITING WORKSHOP: QUERY WRITING Wednesday, May 15 A workshop for writers to hone their skills, led by author John Copenhaver.

7-9 p.m.

The DC Center 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105 thedccenter.org/outwrite CAPITAL TRANSPRIDE Friday-Sunday, May 17-19 Events include the DC Trans Ball Location and time TBD Capitalpride.org INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA, TRANSPHOBIA, AND BIPHOBIA Friday, May 17 dayagainsthomophobia.org HIV VACCINE AWARENESS DAY Saturday, May 18 aids.gov NATIONAL ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER HIV/AIDS AWARENESS DAY Sunday, May 19 Banyantreeproject.org NATIONAL HEPATITIS TESTING DAY Sunday, May 19 cdc.gov/hepatitis/testingday DC BLACK PRIDE’S AWARDS CEREMONY Tuesday, May 21 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Location TBD dcblackpride.org DC BLACK PRIDE Thursday-Monday, May 23-27 Multiple venues Host hotel: Marriott Renaissance Washington 999 9th St. NW For a list of events, visit dcblackpride.org.

DC BLACK PRIDE’S UNITY BALL Thursday, May 23 8 p.m.-1 a.m.

Marriott Renaissance Washington 999 9th St. NW dcblackpride.org DC BLACK PRIDE EXHIBIT HALL AND WORKSHOPS 10 a.m.-8 p.m.

Marriott Renaissance Washington 999 9th St. NW dcblackpride.org

JANUARY 3, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

DC BLACK PRIDE’S SEXUAL HEALTH SYMPOSIUM Saturday, May 25 4-6 p.m.

Marriott Renaissance Washington 999 9th St. NW dcblackpride.org

DC FRONT RUNNERS PRIDE 5K RUN Friday, June 7 7-9 p.m.

Congressional Cemetery 1801 E St. SE dcfrpriderun.com

DC BLACK PRIDE POETRY SLAM Saturday, May 25 7-9 p.m.

Marriott Renaissance Washington 999 9th St. NW dcblackpride.org

CAPITAL PRIDE AND BYT OPENING NIGHT PARTY: EARTH, WIND, GLITTER & FIRE Friday, June 7 9 p.m.-3:30 a.m.

Echostage 2135 Queens Chapel Rd. NE capitalpride.org

DC BLACK PRIDE INTERFAITH SERVICE 9-11 a.m.

Marriott Renaissance Washington 999 9th St. NW dcblackpride.org

NICE JEWISH BOYS PRE-PRIDE PARADE MIXER Saturday, June 8 Location and time TBD facebook.com/NJB.DC

DC BLACK PRIDE HEALTH & WELLNESS AND CULTURAL FAIR Monday, May 27 12-10 p.m. (Fair runs 12-6 p.m.)

Location TBD dcblackpride.org

CAPITAL PRIDE “CRACK OF NOON” BRUNCH Saturday, June 8 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Human Rights Campaign 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW capitalpride.org

THE DC CENTER’S FOSTER PARENT AND ADOPTION INFORMATION NIGHT Wednesday, May 29 Presentations from current foster parents and representatives of the Latin American Youth Center’s Child Placement programs.

6:30-8 p.m.

2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105 thedccenter.org/events/fosterandadoption

JUNE UNITED NIGHT OUT Date, time and location TBD teamdc.org PRIDE WOMXN’S KICKOFF CELEBRATION Saturday, June 1 A pride kickoff dance party for the LBTQ women of greater D.C., presented by the Mautner Project of Whitman-Walker Health Time TBD Big Chief DC 2002 Fenwick St. NE capitalpride.org whitman-walker.org CASA RUBY’S ANNIVERSARY PARTY Monday, June 3 Location and time TBD casaruby.org NIGHT OUT AT THE NATIONALS Tuesday, June 4 7 p.m.

Nationals Park 1500 S. Capitol St. SE teamdc.org GLOE’S JEWISH PRIDE HAPPY HOUR Wednesday, June 5 Location and time TBD edcjcc.org/community/gloe HIV LONG-TERM SURVIVORS DAY Wednesday, June 5 aids.gov DC LATINX PRIDE OFFICIAL DANCE PARTY Thursday, June 6 Time and location TBD capitalpride.org CAPITAL PRIDE ROOFTOP POOL PARTY AND RALLY Thursday, June 6 VIDA Penthouse & Pool Club at the Yards 1212 4th St. SE capitalpride.org

CAPITAL PRIDE BLOCK PARTY Saturday, June 8 4-10 p.m.

15th Street NW, between P and Church Streets capitalpride.org CAPITAL PRIDE WOMEN’S MAIN EVENT Saturday, June 8 Location and time TBD capitalpride.org CAPITAL PRIDE PARADE Saturday, June 8 Join Capital Pride for its signature event, featuring marching contingents and floats representing the best of D.C.’s LGBT community.

4:30-7:30 p.m.

Parade route starts at 22nd and P Streets, NW. Ends at 14th and R Streets, NW capitalpride.org CAPITAL PRIDE AND DC BLACK PRIDE POST-PARADE POOL PARTY Saturday, June 8 Location and time TBD capitalpride.org CAPITAL PRIDE AND CAPITAL TRANS PRIDE POST-PARADE POOL PARTY Saturday, June 8 Location and time TBD capitalpride.org OFFICIAL SATURDAY NIGHT DC PRIDE PARTY Saturday, June 8 Location and time TBD capitalpride.org CAPITAL PRIDE FESTIVAL & CONCERT Sunday, June 9 Celebrating the 44th anniversary of Pride in the Nation’s Capital, featuring entertainers, booths for local organizations, food, and live music Noon-10 p.m.

Pennsylvania Avenue NW, between 3rd and 7th Streets, NW Capitalpride.org CHEF’S BEST DINNER & AUCTION Monday, June 10 A festive evening celebrating community and cuisine with innovative tastings from the region’s hottest chefs benefitting Food & Friends.

6:30-9:30 p.m.

Marriott Marquis 901 Massachusetts Avenue NW foodandfriends.org

CAPITAL PRIDE INTERFAITH SERVICE Tuesday, June 11 7:30-9 p.m.

Adas Israel 2850 Quebec St. NW capitalpride.org BALTIMORE PRIDE BLOCK PARTY AND PARADE Saturday, June 15 Time TBD Station North Neighborhood For a list of events, visit baltimorepride.org.

BALTIMORE PRIDE IN THE PARK Sunday, June 16 Druid Hill Park 900 Druid Park Lake Dr. For a list of events, visit baltimorepride.org.

DISTRICT OF PRIDE: A CELEBRATION OF LGBTQ ARTISTS AND TALENT Saturday, June 22 Location and time TBD lgbtq.dc.gov NATIONAL HIV TESTING DAY Thursday, June 27 aids.gov

JULY NIGHT OUT AT THE KASTLES Date, time and location TBD teamdc.org THE ASK RAYCEEN SHOW: #ASKRAYCEEN POETRY SLAM Wednesday, July 3 Audience’s favorite poet receives $100 cash prize. Doors open at 6 p.m., with free catered food, cash bar, and vendors/exhibitors. Event will feature live music, burlesque, interviews, competitions, and more.

6-9:30 p.m.

HRC Equality Center 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW TeamRayceen.eventbrite.com THE MR. NICE JEWISH BOY PAGEANT Sunday, July 14 Time TBD Location TBD facebook.com/NJB.DC TEAM DC COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECT Monday-Saturday, July 15-20 Team DC’s members organizations are encouraged to do service projects benefiting the larger community.

Multiple locations and times teamdc.org NIGHT OUT AT THE MYSTICS Tuesday, July 30 7 p.m.

Capital One Arena 601 F St. NW teamdc.org

AUGUST NIGHT OUT AT THE WASHINGTON SPIRIT Date and time TBD Maryland SoccerPlex 18031 Central Park Circle Boyds, Md. teamdc.org

OUTWRITE DC BOOK FESTIVAL 2019: A CELEBRATION OF LGBT LITERATURE Friday-Sunday, Aug. 2-4 Reeves Center 2000 14th St. NW. Times of readings and exhibits TBD Volunteers asked to email outwritedc@gmail.com. thedccenter.org/outwritedc TEAM DC’S SUMMER CASINO NIGHT Saturday, Aug. 10 Join your favorite D.C. area sports teams for a night of blackjack, craps and poker.

8 p.m.-midnight Buffalo Billiards 1330 19th St. NW teamdc.org TAKING THE STAGE: TAKING A STAND: LGBTQ VOICES AGAINST VIOLENCE Thursday, Aug. 15 7-9 p.m.

Busboy and Poets 2021 14th St. NW thedccenter.org EAST OF THE RIVER FALL FESTIVAL Friday, Aug. 23 Time TBD Max Robinson Center 2301 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. SE whitman-walker.org

SEPTEMBER TEAM DC’S QUARTERLY SPORTS MIXER Monday, Sept. 16 Location and time TBD teamdc.org NATIONAL HIV/AIDS AND AGING AWARENESS DAY Wednesday, Sept. 18 aids.gov NATIONAL GAY MEN’S HIV/AIDS AWARENESS DAY Friday, Sept. 27 aids.gov HRC NATIONAL DINNER Saturday, Sept. 28 5 p.m.-1 a.m.

Walter E. Washington Convention Center 801 Mt. Vernon Pl. NW hrcnationaldinner.org

OCTOBER CENTER GLOBAL RECEPTION Date, time, location TBD thedccenter.org TRANSGENDER INFORMATION & EMPOWERMENT SUMMIT Date, time, and location TBD (will be held on a Saturday) Richmond, Va. equalityvirginia.org WHITMAN-WALKER’S LGBTQ CULTURAL COMPETENCY SUMMIT A convening of LGBTQ cultural competency thought leaders and professionals for the second year in a row.

Date, time, and location TBD whitman-walker.org THE ASK RAYCEEN SHOW: GAME NIGHT Wednesday, Oct. 2 6-9:30 p.m.

HRC Equality Center 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW TeamRayceen.eventbrite.com

BLUE SHIRT DAY/WORLD DAY OF BULLYING PREVENTION Thursday, Oct. 3 Wear blue in a show of solidarity against bullying. stompoutbullying.org.

TEAM DC FASHION SHOW AND FUNDRAISER Proceeds go toward the Team DC Saturday, Oct. 5 Time and location TBD CAPITAL PRIDE’S MUSIC IN THE NIGHT Monday, Oct. 7 Doors open 6:30 p.m.

Show starts 8 p.m.

Hamilton Live 600 14th St. NW capitalpride.org NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY Friday, Oct. 11 hrc.org/resources/national-coming-out-day NATIONAL LATINX AIDS AWARENESS DAY Tuesday, Oct. 15 latinoaids.org RAYCEEN, FIX ME UP! AUTUMN MIXER Thursday, Oct. 17 7-10 p.m.

XX+ Crostino 1926 9th St. NW TeamRayceen.eventbrite.com SMYAL FALL BRUNCH Sunday, Oct. 20 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Marriott Marquis Washington 901 Massachusetts Ave. NW smyal.org WHITMAN-WALKER’S WALK & 5K TO END HIV Saturday, Oct. 26 7:30-11 a.m.

Freedom Plaza 13th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW walktoendhiv.org WHITMAN-WALKER’S BRUNCH TO END HIV Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 26-27 Participating restaurants walktoendhiv.org 17TH STREET HIGH HEEL RACE Tuesday, Oct. 29 Hosted by the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs 17th Street NW, between Church and S Streets Parade of costumes starts 6 p.m.

Race starts at 9 p.m. lgbtq.dc.gov

NOVEMBER NIGHT OUT AT THE NFL Date and time TBD FedEx Field 1600 Fedex Way Landover, Md. teamdc.org VETERANS DAY LGBT WREATH LAYING CEREMONY Monday, Nov. 11 A memorial ceremony honoring LGBTQ veterans, held at the gravesites of Technical Sgt. Leonard Matlovich, the first out LGBTQ service member, and former D.C. area LGBTQ rights activist Frank Kameny 12-2 p.m.

Congressional Cemetery 1801 E St. SE thedccenter.org/events/vetsday2019

TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE Wednesday, Nov. 20 5-9 p.m.

For Washington, D.C., event will take place at Metropolitan Community Church.

474 Ridge St. NW tdor.info BAD & BEAUJOLAIS: A BEAUJOLAIS DAY CELEBRATION Thursday, Nov. 21 Join The DC Center’s Center Women Group as they celebrate their annual beaujolais wine sampling party.

7-10 p.m.

Human Rights Campaign 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW Thedccenter.org NGLCC’S NATIONAL DINNER Friday, Nov. 22 National Building Museum Time TBD nglcc.org THANKSGIVING AT THE DC CENTER Thursday, Nov. 28 The DC Center holds a Thanksgiving meal for those without plans or a place to go during the holidays.

The DC Center 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105 thedccenter.org SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY Saturday, Nov. 30 Join members of The DC Center as they patronize small businesses in D.C. and do some early holiday shopping.

Meeting Place: The DC Center 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105 thedccenter.org

DECEMBER CAPITAL PRIDE HOLIDAY HEATWAVE PARTY Date and time TBD HRC Equality Center 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW capitalpride.org WORLD AIDS DAY Friday, Dec. 1 For specific events and times, see listings on blog.aids.gov TEAM DC’S HOLIDAY SPORTS MIXER Wednesday, Dec. 6 Location and time TBD teamdc.org INTERNATIONAL DAY TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST SEX WORKERS Tuesday, Dec. 17 december17.org GAYDEL, GAYDEL, GAYDEL: A HANUKKAH HAPPY HOUR Wednesday, Dec. 18 Time TBD Location TBD facebook.com/NJB.DC l

JANUARY 3, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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The Year Ahead The Trump administration is wreaking havoc on LGBTQ rights. But the Democrats offer hope with control of the House. How will 2019 compare to the terrible year that just ended? We asked our readers.

Edited by Rhuaridh Marr and Randy Shulman

A

SEISMIC SHIFT IS UNDERWAY IN AMERICAN POLITICS. AFTER TWO years of total Republican dominance at the top of the federal government, all headlined by the roller-coaster antics of the Trump administration, a moment of respite beckons: Democrats are taking control of the House of Representatives. Whether Nancy Pelosi and the pro-LGBTQ polticians around her can become the miracle cure-all our democracy desperately needs remains to be seen — and that uncertainty is reflected in our forum, “The Year Ahead.”

Asked how they feel going into 2019, trepidation was a common theme among respondents. “Anxious,” “worried,” “nervous” — many aren’t sure if 2019 will truly be a better year for the LGBTQ community, or if we’re going to face even more assaults on our rights and freedoms. But dig deeper and some optimism shines through, particularly after last year’s midterm elections. With Democrats sweeping to power across the nation, many LGBTQ people are quietly optimistic about our prospects now that there’s an even bigger buffer against hate and bigotry.

As for what to expect? More of everything. More battles against discrimination, Trump’s transgender military ban, and the religious freedom movement. More 2020 election speculation — as of press time, we have Sen. Elizabeth Warren confirmed. And more endless waiting for Special Counsel Robert Mueller to finish his investigation.

For now, let’s check-in with LGBTQ people and some allies from D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and across the nation, to learn what the community thinks about the year ahead.

What are your biggest concerns for 2019?

NICHOLAS BENTON, VIRGINIA: My biggest concern is the damage that Donald Trump, his Russian overlords, and their authoritarian and New Right nationalist allies will do to America and to institutions of democracy, human rights, and progressive values worldwide. While a growing resistance to this is encouraging, these forces remain in a position to do an incredible amount of destruction.

DANA BEYER, 66, MARYLAND: My main concern is that we will lose sight of the most important challenge before us — removing Trump and his mob family, and continuing the global effort to shut down the criminal fascist uprising threatening the planet. To do so we need to build and rebuild relationships, and not allow ourselves to impose purity tests, which are rarely a problem for our adversaries. No more Trans vs. Gay, and Lesbian vs. Trans, no more Bernie vs. everyone not Bernie, no more bigotry — and that includes anti-Semitism — in the effort to build a truly intersectional movement.

EARLINE BUDD, 40, D.C.: One of my biggest concerns for 2019 is that the current

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Trump Administration will continue to seek ways to “erase” Transgender.

DALE CORVINO, 54, NY: The people of the United States are hostage to a corrupt party, the GOP. That party lies, cheats, and steals to hold power, and has itself been compromised by corrupting forces, from within and without. This is a soft war for our self-determination and our freedom.

KEVIN DIETZ, 44, D.C.: My concern is for Ruth Bader Ginsburg staying healthy and alive. We don’t need another Trumpappointed Supreme Court justice. It sickens me that long after Trump is gone, his court picks will remain for decades.

STATE SENATOR ADAM EBBIN, 55, VIRGINIA: My biggest concerns are the damage that the Trump administration is doing to our core Democratic institutions, as well as the reputation and credibility of the U.S. government at home and abroad; the collapse of public discourse and understanding, specifically as it relates to the escalation of hate and hate-related violence; and the rise in violence against transgender people, immigrants, and religious minorities. It’s frightening.

JANUARY 3, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

H. LEE GABLE, 58, D.C.: There is this hole that Trump and his supporters have dug — and keep digging — and I’m afraid it’s going to be too deep for the country to ever get out of. It’s become okay and even fashionable to be selfish, especially at the expense of others. We have had two children die on the border, and it’s being treated as acceptable, even business-as- usual. How can we say we are a great country after that?

SHIN INOUYE, 40, MARYLAND: With a Democratic House, there should be real and legitimate oversight of the actions of the Trump administration. Will the administration respect the proper role of Congress? With the Senate still under Republican control, we are likely to see an ongoing effort by Trump to confirm judges who are not independent and fair-minded.

DARRELL JOHNSON, 55, D.C.: My biggest concern is how the public is dealing with LGBTQ health care issues, educating gay men on the purpose of taking HIV medications when HIV positive, as well as the misleading concerns of using PrEP as a preventive medicine when having unprotected sex, especially among African American gay/bisexual men.

NAME WITHHELD BY REQUEST: The planet is heating up. The impending climate catastrophe will dwarf and/or intensify all other social and political problems. We’ve waited too long, and even now, when we don’t have any excuses, we’re barely doing anything. My biggest concern is that 2019 will bring us one year closer to inevitable catastrophe.

NAME WITHHELD: My biggest concern is the Trump Presidency and its GOP enablers. They’re a sewer.

FREDDIE LUTZ, VIRGINA: My biggest concerns are political for the gay community. I feel like the rights we fought so hard for are being threatened by the current administration. The Trump administration has done a lot of good, but when it comes to the LGBTQ rights we seem to be taking a big step backwards.

BRUCE MAJORS, 58, D.C.: As a libertarian, I’m always concerned about the growth of government — spending, taxes, restrictions on choices, and about the huge amount of government debt and the asset bubbles created by fiat credit financing of that debt, that are never addressed, and that could collapse on us at any moment. We are basically always waiting for a complete collapse.

BLAIR MICHAELS, 53, NY: My concerns are that our LGBTQ rights aren’t stripped away, that our LGBTQ brothers and sisters at the border seeking asylum can be granted such, and to make sure my insurance will cover my upcoming procedures.

JOHN MONET, 34, D.C.: My biggest concern is the Mueller investigation will turn up some things that will hurt the Trump Presidency.

BRETT PARSON, 51, D.C.: As a native Washingtonian and life-long resident of the nation’s capital, as well as a public servant, I share the concerns of the countless community members with whom I come into contact every day. Perhaps the most consistent and widely articulated concern is the prevalence of hatred, bias, and prejudice in our society. While I choose not to point fingers at specific people, parties, or ideologies, I know many community members are frightened that much of the progress made related to respect, acceptance, and dignity has been eroded or is under attack.

RAYCEEN PENDARVIS, 69, D.C.: I’m concerned about the President shutting down the government because he wants to build a wall, when the government could be building bridges — literally and figuratively. All that money for the wall would be better spent fixing our infrastructure, building schools, and feeding people.

ALEXA RODRIGUEZ, 42, (HOMELESS, BUT USED TO LIVE IN MARYLAND): My biggest concern for 2019 is that the LGBT community will be still be a target of Trump’s administration. But as a transgender Latina indigenous Salvadoran woman, I feel mistreated every day, and all the attacks that our community face is because society and people in power positions are following the president.

JIM SLATTERY, 49, D.C.: My concern is that this country doesn’t continue spiraling out of control into something none of us recognizes anymore. The separations of families at our borders has been cruel, inhumane, and decidedly un-American, as has the proliferation and normalization of racism, bigotry, homophobia, transphobia, and hate.

RYAN SPAHN, 38, NY: My biggest concern for 2019 is that LGBTQIA identifying artists are not being represented by actual LGBTQIA identifying artists in film, TV, theatre, and the media. We’re the only minority group where it isn’t a given we get to represent ourselves. The more that queer stories enter the mainstream, the less of a stigma it is for straight people to portray them, and the result is that our LGBTQIA brothers and sisters are forced to sit in the audience as their stories are played out in front of them by straight-identifying artists. By making a gay film, those in power offer a place for gay storylines under the umbrella of inclusion without the actual inclusion. And those in power BENEFIT — artistically, professionally, and financially — from the ILLUSION of inclusion when, in fact, they are straight-washing queer artists out of their own stories.

ADAM TENNER, 51, D.C.: My biggest concern is that the divisions in this country will continue to deepen. Our lives and LGBTQ rights remain a political hot potato and that potato could get a lot hotter.

MICHAEL TULL, 51, OKLAHOMA: My biggest fear is that the bubble the economy is riding is going to burst and not only will we have a corrupt administration, but we will suffer a recession that will cripple us for decades.

What is your greatest hope for 2019?

STATE DEL. DANICA ROEM, VIRGINIA: My biggest concern for 2019 is for the 350,000 Virginians who will continue to be uninsured, even after Medicaid expansion begins January 1, because they earn more than $16,754 a year but still can’t afford quality private health insurance. Hundreds of thousands more will also be underinsured with catastrophic coverage only because that’s all they can afford. That means some people will put off seeing a doctor, or they won’t be able to afford to go and, sadly, some of them will die.

NAME WITHHELD: That I could come out to my family as I turn 50 years old and not be disowned.

NAME WITHHELD: I am very concerned about this administration’s abrogation of strategic post-WWII alliances and the embrace of dictatorial regimes.

GORDON BINDER, 70, D.C.: That some of the world’s conflicts will lessen and maybe see a way forward to peace, though I’m not holding my breath.

DANA BEYER: My greatest hope is that having survived over 700 days of misery, enough Americans have awakened and reconsidered what patriotism really means. I’ve seen it since the day of the first Women’s March, and I have no reason to believe it will fade until sane people take back all branches of government and begin the scouring of our constitutional republic.

PHILIP CROSBY, 61, VIRGINIA: That wisdom and open hearts will prevail.

KEVIN DIETZ: Trump’s impeachment and resignation. People say, “Well then, Pence would be president.” Pence seems pretty innocuous compared to Trump, and he wouldn’t stay president long, if he’s even appointed. After that, I hope that the country can heal and unify from this disaster.

RUSSWIN FRANCISCO, 52, D.C.: Florida introduced a Senate bill to protect LGBTQ youth from receiving conversion therapy — a treatment that falsely claims to be able to change people’s sexual orientation and gender identity. My hope is that states will begin to see that forcing children into conversion therapy is wrong.

The practice has been debunked — its long-term, even lethal, damage to youth is well-documented.

DAVID HOLLINGSWORTH, 33, NORTH CAROLINA: I hope that equality will be fully embraced and appreciated. I also hope for a new President, one that cares about everyone, regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, and gender.

NAME WITHHELD: That Nancy kicks butt.

BRUCE MAJORS: I’m happy that Donald Trump — despite the fevered and one sided coverage he gets in the media, and especially the gay media — may end a lot of our bipartisan wars and reduce our bipartisan military empire. I’m hoping he continues to be a wrecking ball or bull in the china shop since we have so much that needs to be wrecked and replaced, despite the cries of Washingtonians who as lobbyists make their bread and butter from the institutions that need to be wrecked.

FRED MAUS, 64, VIRGINIA: The frightening turn to the right by our government does not reflect the views of a majority of U.S. citizens. I hope (without full confidence) that reasonable and progressive majority views will somehow hold sway in the near and ongoing future.

GAR MCVEY-RUSSELL, 53, CALIFORNIA: That I can finish my next novel, and that we get rid of Trump as president.

MONIKA NEMETH, D.C.: My hope is that Donald Trump is removed or forced to leave office. A Pence Administration would be awful for the LGBTQ community. However, Mike Pence is not impulsive or impetuous. I believe he would provide stability with respect to the economy and foreign policy. He would staff his adminis-

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tration with professionals with experience.

While I will have many policy disagreements with him, I will not be afraid that he will drive the country into ruin. We can fight and resist policy.

DANICA ROEM: My greatest hope for the country is that more people will follow their passions to help and inspire their neighbors locally and people who need a champion. When I toured every public school in Manassas Park twice in 2018, I met amazing students from all over the world. And yet I know many of them run the risk of not being able to follow their dreams. They’ve had to overcome so many jaw-dropping hurdles in their short lives just to be a part of our community as their families have fled war, violence, trafficking and abject poverty in their countries of birth. To do that and to stay up with their classmates academically is challenging enough, let alone with kids scared about whether their parents will be deported.

That’s why I’ll keep fighting for them, regardless of whether it’s politically popular. Those children need a champion in government who welcomes them for who they are, not villainizes them for who others think they might be.

MARGUERITE SAGATELIAN, D.C.: My greatest hope is that the Mueller investigation will end with substantial, irrefutable evidence of what happened with Russia and the election, and that members of the Republican Party will at last put country over politics.

JIM SLATTERY: With the House under Democratic control again, it is my great hope that the we can move past the monthly attempts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, and that we learn the outcome of Mueller’s investigation. Perhaps obviously my greatest hope is that the investigation forces the resignations or impeachments of the President and Vice President, leading the way for a President Nancy Pelosi. Sure, it’s a pipe dream, but having a stable leader who cares for all of our country’s citizens, visitors, and asylum seekers should not be an unrealistic ask, and while I don’t think she’s ever really been on anyone’s short list for President, she would help undo many, many wrongs.

RYAN SPAHN: My greatest hope for 2019 is that more powerful artists open up about their sexuality in a brave way, and that more producers and directors risk casting openly gay artists in film, TV, and theatre in leading roles of all varieties, not just gay roles.

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JOEY TEETS, 63, VIRGINIA: My greatest hope is that the Supreme Court will surprise Trump and vote more liberally than expected.

GLEN THOMPSON, 79, D.C.: I don’t see a lot of hope in 2019.

JONATHAN FREEMAN, 30, VIRGINIA: Better. Nowhere to go but up.

H. LEE GABLE: Worse. I don’t trust the Supreme Court to be fair and impartial.

VERONIKA WARD, FL.: My biggest hope is to be on the list of self-made billionaires.

DAVID HOLLINGSWORTH: Worse. I hate to be so grim, but I think there may be more hate crimes, bullying, and crimes against transgender people.

Do you think things will get better, worse, or stay the same for the LGBTQ community in 2019?

SHIN INOUYE: Better. Progress for the LGBTQ community has not been easy, but we will continue to move forward.

NICHOLAS BENTON: Better. I think this is a great period of rethinking, recalibrating and renewing the most important concepts that shape our collective identity as a human species. The ghastly degradation of these things by the Trump administration has triggered a most beneficent counter-reaction that can propel humanity forward on a track toward greater compassion, empathy, generosity and shared universal values that will leave no one behind. This obviously includes our tribe.

DARREN JOHNSON, 51, ARIZONA: Better.

I think that this country is on a road which will lead to more compassion, not less.

This baptism-by-fire has to wake people up and make us pay attention and know that we cannot make it alone. This is not about reaching across the aisle. What really matters is you going over to your elderly neighbor’s house and asking if they need anything. What matters is when you don’t know any Black people or Asians or Latinos, seek them out, make a new friend.

Gay people can be just as backwards, racist, sexist, and ageist as everybody else.

When you know someone is a loner, offer an invitation. The revolution is love and it starts with YOU, right where you are.

And the revolution has already begun. So I believe things will get better, but the question is: what are YOU gonna do to make them better? Sending a letter to your rich white straight male politician who’s voting record is 100% pure self-preservation may not be an effective strategy.

DANA BEYER: Better. House Democrats will stand for all, even when there is no hope of passing any legislation, and those actions will give hope to Americans who will need to turn out in even greater numbers two years from now. The Equality Act will be the focus of efforts for our community.

DALE CORVINO: Worse. LGBTQ people are being scapegoated and targeted, with intent. Violent attacks are on the rise, trans peoples’ rights are being stripped away one by one, states are devising ways to strip LGBTQ people of their employment, housing, and access to services. Our health care system, for its limitations, is being stripmined by greed and corruption, and this especially impacts LGBTQ people.

RAY DANIELS, 51, NEW YORK: Worse.

Everyone associated with #45 has a horrible record of dealing with LGBT issues.

Untethered, things will only get worse.

KEVIN DIETZ: Stay the Same. I think if Trump targets the gay community, we will rise up. No other group can affect change as quickly as the gay community.

NAME WITHHELD: Better. Hopefully the world has seen the destructive nature of the current political administration and the hypocrisy of the Republican party and the LGBTQ community will continue to fight to earn back our place at the table and our rights as citizens and human beings.

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NAME WITHHELD: Worse. There’s no reason to be optimistic about the rights of any minority group in our current moment. It’s a hard time to be an immigrant, a low-income person, a contingently employed worker, a person with a disability. And there are, of course, LGBTQ people within these groups.

NAME WITHHELD: Worse. Because the GOP’s KKK has been unleashed.

JOHN KLENERT, 65, D.C.: Stay the Same.

How much worse can Trump make things for us?

LUIS MARTINEZ, D.C.: Worse. The amount of open discrimination seen in this administration is a problem. Not only do they get trickier and trickier each day trying to create more divisive policies, but also it seems that they are created exponentially with each day that passes by. On top of that, white supremacist groups seem to be very comfortable getting media attention

“One thing that both Democrats and Republicans agree on is Trump plays fast and loose with the truth. THIS IS A MAN WHO STOOD IN THE RAIN AT HIS INAUGURATION AND CLAIMED THE SUN WAS SHINING.” —John Guggenmos and announcing their hatred disguised as a simple point of view without any reaction from the GOP. KEVIN MITCHELL, 56, TENNESSEE: Worse.

As long as the Republican Party rules, they will continue to erode LGBT rights and protections.

BRETT PARSON: Better. I prefer to view the glass as half-full and believe we will continue to grow as a world that values our differences.

DANICA ROEM: Better. Things will get better for many LGBTQ people in 2019 as more of us see ourselves in our elected officials and know that we can thrive because of who we are, not despite it. But there will be more of us who are killed. There will be more of us who are harmed. There will be more kids kicked out of their homes for coming out, more people who are HIV+ who are shunned and stigmatized and more children and adults alike who desperately want to come out but stay closeted due to a perceived or actual threat when they do. There will be trans women of color in our region whose life expectancies will be my age: 34. There will be Latinx and other immigrant trans people who will not only be judged for their gender and skin color but for their accents and any real or perceived language barriers as they try to obtain their own version of the American dream. When any part of our community is left behind, our community is left behind.

When those of us who have positions of power and influence in our community use our voices and our actions to advocate for the next group or the next individuals to join us at the front of the line, then we are heeding that fierce sense of urgency Dr. King called us to embrace. As our community continues to gain a stronger presence within our national and local dialogues, the simple act of coming out can almost seem benign for those of us fortunate enough to have found love and embrace. But that courage to be vulnerable enough to be visible in the first place still matters so, so, so much to that person still looking for hope to say, “If they can do it, so can I.” RON SIMMONS, 68, D.C.: Better. Trump’s election was a blessing in disguise. The American people are on the move in reaction to him and his policies. It began in 2017

when a transgender woman [Danica Roem] won in Virginia, of all places. In 2018, the Democrats took the House with newly elected members that included openly Democratic Socialists, a Native American lesbian, and two Muslim women with one wearing a headscarf. There is a gay governor in Colorado. If Hillary had won, she would not have endorsed a Puerto Rican Democratic Socialist over the man who was the fourth in line of the party’s leadership. She would have said that she had to be loyal to his loyalty, and couldn’t endorse someone just because they were a woman.

JIM SLATTERY: I’m conflicted here. I desperately want to believe things will get better for our community, but with so many “Americans” being radicalized and emboldened by their MAGA “leaders,” I think we need a great deal more than just political leaders who are on our side in order to fight so that things do not continue to get worse. In this vein, we need to reinforce to our family and friends who claim that they love and support us, yet who voted for and proclaim support for Trump and his ilk, that they truly cannot be both.

These two simply do not jibe.

JOSH SPARKS: Worse. As the mainstream pressure against Trump intensifies, a series of microaggressions will no doubt be attempted when certain factions will trade their “loyalty” to the administration for various political favors and stances.

JOHN STOLTENBERG, 74, D.C.: Worse.

Those who are reasonably well-off and white will be fine. But those who are not white, those who are poor, those who are not cis, those who are not citizens, those who are subsisting on survival sex, those who are in prison — the list of LGBTQ folx for whom 2019 won’t likely get better is a painfully long one.

CHARGER STONE, 38, MARYLAND: Better.

While there may be some setbacks legally, I believe that we are stronger together. And the more involved we are the better our lives can be. It’s gonna be on us to pave the way, just as it always has been.

GLEN THOMPSON: Stay the Same. The majority of today’s gay activists are looking for power, money, and personal recognition and, in order to maintain their rele-

vance, often look for problems where no problem exists. Being gay is a part of me. I have never allowed it to control me. Those who do need to seek help. For every door that has been closed to me, either real or imaginary, another more exciting door has opened.

MICHAEL TULL: Worse. For the last two years, we have already seen the rise of bigotry and hatred. I fear that will continue while this administration remains in office. The President has stoked the fires of bigotry and one Tweetstorm after another simply encourages his minions to get louder and bolder. Science is finally identifying that humans are not as neatly binary. We are on the verge, as a society, of allowing people to just be without trying to pigeonhole them into some category.

We are so close and then a corpulent idiot with the morals of a Medici lies his way into the office and emboldens his base, the less educated, bigoted lot of them taking us back to the great America of racism and intolerance.

CHEF PATRICK VANAS, D.C.: I say “Stay the Same,” but that is the optimistic trait in me always hoping for the best. But with this administration it seems only evil things have happened. I have found that there are more racist people in our country than I thought there were — they just did not have a platform to speak up before. But this President has put forth a hatred and fear and that is allowing people to come out fighting for the color of their skin and many uninformed white people in the spotlight as bigots. We as a country have slipped backwards. We have not learned from our past. Sad. In your opinion, how is Donald Trump doing as president?

NICHOLAS BENTON: Horribly. The man is a sociopath and totally compromised by his Russian overlords. This is unfolding as the greatest scandal/threat to the U.S. in its entire history.

DANA BEYER: He’s an illegitimate president. Period.

GORDON BINDER: Having worked for two Republican Administrations, I say he is doing awfully, undermining important

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institutions, ignoring science and history — not to mention the value of hearing diverse points of view — lying, and so much more I consider anti-American.

EARLINE BUDD: Donald Trump is doing a bad job as President. His tweeting is out of control. He is concerned about things that a president should not be focused on, and the things that he should be focused on, he is not. Bad, bad President.

DALE CORVINO: I don’t consider him a legitimate president, and I will not legitimize him by measuring his “performance” against actual presidents. We are a nation under siege by a corrupt usurper. I wish we as a country could stop fixating on the spectacle of a narcissistic lout performing the role of president. I avoid watching or listening to him, or even using his name.

I don’t engage with his supporters, either.

They are in a cultish thrall, there’s no reasoning or arguing with them. I’ve cut off any contacts, including relatives, who support him. It’s for the best. Someone else can patiently hand-hold them back to reason. I don’t have that kind of forbearance.

PHILIP CROSBY: He is almost completely incompetent as a chief executive. But that is not really a surprise is it? What is more worrying is his disregard for the office itself and his willingness to destroy many of the things that actually do make this country great.

RAY DANIELS: He is a complete political failure. He does nothing to unite our country and is only serving his own best interests.

KEVIN DIETZ: Terribly. Without a doubt, he’s the worst president in U.S. history.

He’s a racist, misogynistic, small-minded, despicable human being.

ADAM EBBIN: It is even worse than we feared in 2016. President Trump was handed a stable and growing economy, a diverse and vibrant society, and the ability to pass infrastructure legislation. Facing only crises created by his own incompetence, he has managed to tank the economy, sow hate and division, and has only passed legislation to benefit his corporate cronies.

RUSSWIN FRANCISCO: The extent of Trump’s immorality, dishonesty and grift is no longer speculation. He has taken extraordinary lengths to obstruct justice and undermine the rule of law. He is a pathological liar. Per the Washington Post, he lies “an average of 8.3” times a day.

Some days he has made 32 false claims.

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With the chaotic White House, his racist wall, tax breaks for the 1%, steel manufacturers and farmers at the losing end of his the trade war, alienating our allies and politicizing the military, Trump has done tremendous damage to the health and stability of our country.

CAROLYN GRIFFIN, 69, VIRGINIA: He is so much more unimaginably worse and dangerous and damaging than we could ever have expected, and we thought we had anticipated the worst. His ugly racism, sexism, hatred of all minorities, gays, anti-Semitism, and disrespect for women has brought out all the ugliness that apparently had been suppressed and hiding under rocks right before our eyes. Well now it is out, and we need leadership that will make them crawl back under those rocks.

JOHN GUGGENMOS, D.C.: As I tried to make a list of all of Trump’s controversies, I was left exhausted and overwhelmed. It’s worth noting that any one of these controversies would’ve brought down President Obama. While we can debate Trump’s “Top 20 WTF Moments,” one thing that both Democrats and Republicans agree on is Trump plays fast and loose with the truth. This is a man who stood in the rain at his inauguration and claimed the sun was shining, who said Kim Jong Un had sent him the most fantastic letter he had ever read only two minutes later to say he hadn’t read it. A Washington Post reporter remarked the hardest part about reporting on Trump is we don’t know what he means when he says words. But there is a simple word for it — it’s bullshit.

NAME WITHHELD: I can’t overstate how vile and stupid our president is. He’s a skidmark in a toilet bowl, a stranger’s sneeze in your mediocre Caesar salad, a Hapsburg miscarriage, the kind of foodborne illness you get in jail, a bacterium infecting a scabie that’s infesting the banalest of bureaucrats.

BRUCE MAJORS: I’d give him a passing grade, but I haven’t decided yet where it is on the scale between B- and A-.

ADAM MARK, 35, D.C.: Horrible. Every day he serves as president, we as a country are soiled. There is not a thing you could say or do to make me think positively of him.

JHIM MIDGETT, MARYLAND: Donald Trump will go down in history as one of the most corrupt presidents in U.S. history.

It will take us decades to undo the damage done by his administration’s first term. A second term would destroy this country.

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JOHN MONET: While I don’t always agree with his tone at times, I think he is doing a good job on doing what people elected him to do on the issues he promised on the campaign trail.

MONIKA NEMETH: Donald Trump is awful as President. I am not one who is given to hyperbole by nature. I did not vote for him, and I did not have high expectations for him. I did think he would have some skills that he could apply to the job upon taking office such as an ability to negotiate with opposing parties. He has in fact demonstrated that he has absolutely no skills whatsoever, and that he is incapable of performing some of the most basic functions of the job. He is unable or unwilling to staff his Administration with qualified persons for the positions. He refuses the counsel of people with expertise. He has alienated our closest allies. The degree of awfulness of the Trump Administration is far greater than anything I ever imagined.

JASON PEACO, 59, D.C.: Worst president ever. All he does is lie.

ALEXA RODRIGUEZ: BAD AS FUCK. Excuse my language but I don’t find any other words to describe it. He might be good at business (cheating), but at administrating the country he is horrible, rolling back protections, laws, playing with our youth DREAMER’S FUTURES, dividing society and seeding hate and triggering violence, being misogynous! I can go on and on, but he might get mad at me. (LOL) DANICA ROEM: The harm this President has caused LGBTQ people across this country through policies designed to be outright hostile toward our community is devastating. He said he would protect LGBTQ people. He has not.

RYAN SPAHN: He’s an embarrassment. I want him to be impeached, but I also don’t want Mike Pence to pardon him. I think Trump needs to finish out his term and then be put in jail. An impeachment might derail this from happening.

JOSH SPARKS, 30, D.C.: He has helped get numerous people into the political process, so there’s the optimist’s viewpoint on the matter.

MICHAEL TULL: I think he is the natural conclusion of what was the Reagan Revolution — intolerance and bigotry all wrapped up in a Cheeto colored blob. His base seems to think that diversity is dangerous, when it is proven that diversity creates strength. We were the leaders of

the free world, we are now a laughing stock and struggling. He and his administration and their blunders have made us weak.

TOM YATES, 65, MARYLAND: Trump, his family, his “friends” and many of his supporters are a bunch of grifters looking only for ways to advance themselves and line their pockets.

ROBERT YORK: The worst to ever hold the title of President of the United States.

Who do you think is the Democrats’ best hope to beat Trump in 2020?

NICHOLAS BENTON: Joe Kennedy III. The combination of legacy, idealism, intelligence, energy and an unquestioned loyalty to his party.

DANA BEYER: I’ll let the people decide. My main concern is that Bernie might run as a third party candidate. He won’t be running as a Democrat since the rules have been changed.

EARLINE BUDD: Joe Biden. I believe that it takes someone with a real political background who understands the world and our allies. Joe Biden is to me a man of integrity and respect. He is someone who I believe would serve the country well and understands politics.

DALE CORVINO: This sort of speculation isn’t healthy or constructive. Let’s focus on what’s in front of us right now. We have real work ahead of us at the local, state, and federal levels. Now that we have Leader Pelosi back in charge of the House of Representatives, there’s a chance of some real accountability, and a path to undo some of the damage already done to our governing institutions.

RAY DANIELS: Beto O’Rourke. We need new political leaders on both sides. We need elected officials who represent the interests of their constituents and not special interest lobbyists.

KEVIN DIETZ: Joe Biden is too old — and the last thing we need is another old, white man in the Oval Office — but I think he has the name recognition and the ability to unite people in cities and in rural communities with his penchant for speaking to “average” people. Too many times, the Democrats focus on people in the big cities, giving the Dems a coastal elites label.

Joe Biden can transcend that. A Biden/ O’Rourke ticket would be pretty solid.

VIRGINIA SENATOR ADAM EBBIN: Terry McAuliffe. Former Governor McAuliffe expanded the Virginia economy, restored voting rights for hundreds of thousands of citizens and effectively used the veto pen to keep Virginia a forward-thinking state.

H. LEE GABLE: I don’t think we have seen the best candidate yet. I don’t think Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders are the right people, good as they are. We need to think of someone who can lead us forward, not just maintain the status quo. New blood and a new face. Someone who has us thinking with hope, not hate.

NAME WITHHELD: Kamala Harris. Strong women of color will lead us to the light.

DARRELL JOHNSON: Nancy Pelosi. I think Pelosi was groomed for this position.

Democratic, Pelosi has served as a House Minority Whip, House Minority Leader, broken barriers being the first Californian and First Italian American to lead a major party in Congress. She’s been Speaker of the House, she has strong political ties, and I think she will be a great voice for the people of America in the future years to come as President.

GLEN THOMPSON: At this point, the Democrats have no one. America remains a center-right country. The Democrats have moved too far and too fast to the left. Radical extremists and special interest advocates have taken over the party.

These people are, more often than not, selfish one-issue types who place their immediate and personal needs above that of the country. The majority of Americans sees this and are successfully fighting back.

Unfortunately, I don’t see the Democratic party slowing down their socialist leftist agenda. Socialism might sound nice, however, throughout history, it has consistently proven not to work.

ROBERT YORK: Beto O’Rourke. I don’t believe that Trump will last through 2019.

The White House of Cards is crumbling from within at such a rapid pace that they are scrambling to replace people. For an administration that only hires the best people there sure is a quick revolving door of vacancies.

If you could tweet any message to Donald Trump, what would it be?

NICHOLAS BENTON: Leave now!

BRUCE MAJORS: Jim Webb. I don’t think Democrats really have any hope of beating Donald Trump. They had 95% of the media with them as usual in 2016, a de facto unreported multi-billion campaign contribution from giant corporations, and they still lost.

GORDON BINDER: Consult, confer. Stop lying. Respect people who disagree with you on reasonable ground. Stop undermining environmental laws. Stop advocating coal, a dirty source for electricity. Get Real: no less than our country’s future well-being, economic and otherwise depends on it.

GAR MCVEY-RUSSELL: I’ll vote for a piece of toast if it means getting rid of Donald Trump as president.

JAMES BRASIC, MARYLAND: Think before you speak.

ACE ROBINSON, 40, D.C.: Kamala Harris.

Older White candidates do not inspire youth and people of color. The White American electorate will still primarily vote for Donald Trump or a substitute Republican candidate. Senator Harris instills the energy and the relevance to a younger populace while still having the skill set to inspire the older populace.

STEVE S., 58, VIRGINIA: Oprah Winfrey.

She has the name recognition to get elected, and the brains to lead the county once elected.

RON SIMMONS: Too early to tell. Because the election should not be a horse race where we predict the winner two years in advance. Oprah has said she isn’t interested and yet you hear her name mentioned often by the media so she becomes part of the horse race melodrama.

RAY DANIELS: “You are the worst president. Total disgrace. Loser.” (Use words he can understand.)

KEVIN DIETZ: You’ve single-handedly ruined America’s reputation around the world and have pitted American against American. You are truly a terrible human being with not one redeeming quality.

Please go away forever. No one likes you.

RUSSWIN FRANCISCO: You clearly are not having fun. You are being exposed as a fraud. Do the genius thing. Resign. #poorme #stablegenius #maralagoforever #putinstooge #kimjungunlover #largestaudienceataperpwalk JONATHAN FREEMAN: Grow Up! You are The President of The United States of America. Overlook others ability to focus on the painfully obvious and meaningless distractions. You didn’t become president

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by not looking at the bigger picture.

H. LEE GABLE: You are a liar and have no morals. You have the blood of two children on your hands and no amount of justifying will wash that off.

been broken to the American people and the world. Restore faith and hope in America by resigning and fading away. #FakeLiarInChief ZAR: Please eat more fast food.

NAME WITHHELD: Quit being such an asshole!

And finally, how are you feeling going into 2019?

CAROLYN GRIFFIN: You are going to burn in Hell for what you have done to this country and the good people who believe in equality and treating all with respect as equals. Either Hell or prison. Whatever comes first.

NICHOLAS BENTON: Truly optimistic.

MAURICIO GRIMALDO CRISTANCHO, 50, GEORGIA: Remember “the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.”

2019 will be a year of great expectation among a society who hope for a better way of life and better opportunities, but not for a better Golf Course.

SHIN INOUYE: You must remember that you serve all in this country — not just those who voted for you. Honor the office you occupy.

DARREN JOHNSON: Time’s up, Bozo.

A new day is on the horizon. Get those U-Haul boxes ready!

BRUCE MAJORS: Pardon more people; criminal justice reform now! School choice! Enact all the reforms Democrats should have but did not for decades, and shatter their base.

JOHN MONET: President Trump, you would get a lot more support if you toned down down the rhetoric. You can still stand up for what you believe and address something if you disagree. Remember message and tone matter.

RAYCEEN PENDARVIS: thank u, next.

RYAN SPAHN: Boi, bye.

JOEY TEETS: Shut up, sit down, and don’t do anything because everything you do sets America back. At this rate we will be a third world country before you leave office.

GLEN THOMPSON: Keep up the good work!

NAME WITHHELD: Mr. Trump, he who tweets least tweets best.

ROBERT YORK: Delete your account #45. Resign immediately. America went from hero to zero overnight when Trump took the oath of office. An oath that has 32

DANA BEYER: Relieved, and hopeful.

GORDON BINDER: At age 70, my husband 71, personal health concerns are always worrisome, as well as prospects for our art activities and the exhibitions we have this coming year. On the larger stage, the country’s future, our city Washington’s future, progress on our community’s issues — all are on my mind constantly. In short, I’m thankful to have made it this far and to enjoy a wonderful relationship with the man I have loved more than 46 years, even as I feel anxious about on a number of fronts.

DALE CORVINO: We have to detach from the despair we’re feeling about the state of our politics and live our lives robustly. Personally, I’m happy, despite all the gloom I just broadcast! I’m happy to have made a difference in 2018. I’ve published some writing here and there, have a book of short stories coming out in the spring, and live with the sullen young man of my dreams in Hell’s Kitchen.

RUSSWIN FRANCISCO: I am surrounded by family and friends who love and support me. I adore my husband, our dog and home. I have my health and a thriving business. I debut as a film actor in a FilipinoAmerican musical feature releasing in the fall. I feel blessed, grateful and terrific.

H. LEE GABLE: Nervous. I’m trying to be optimistic and every day it gets harder and harder.

WILLIAM GONZALEZ, 46, NEW JERSEY: I’M FEELING SICK AND HOMELESS. ROBERT HEIKKILA, 67, SOUTH CAROLINA: Anxious.

DAVID HOLLINGSWORTH: Nervous.

KENYA HUTTON, D.C.: Ready to battle.

SHIN INOUYE: Optimistic.

NAME WITHHELD: Relieved that Americans turned out in huge numbers to elect pro-

JANUARY 3, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

gressive women all across the country.

PATSY LYNCH, MARYLAND: Worried.

DENNY LYON, VIRGINIA: Wary.

SEAN MCCLAFFERTY, 46, D.C.: Nervous that the worst hasn’t hit us yet.

JOE PALUMBO, 57, MARYLAND: Optimistic and hopeful — and the November 2020 elections cannot get here soon enough. I have confidence that the vast majority the American people (particularly the younger generation) will continue to speak out against injustice and oust the old white Republican men who have used their positions of power to spread hatred and discrimination. Fortunately, those days are coming to an end.

DANICA ROEM: I feel like passing some legislation and winning my re-election run!

Come on out to Manassas and help me knock on doors and make phone calls!

Election Day is Nov. 5, 2019.

RON SIMMONS: Great! Politics and the news have become a situation comedy and the new season starts January 3rd. I have already put the MSNBC/CNN on the DVR and purchased the popcorn.

CHARGER STONE: There will always be ups and downs and you only have control over so much. So whatever happens, surround yourself with good friends and face the day with your head held high. You can only be you.

ADAM TENNER: My glass is nearly half full.

MICHAEL TULL: I am a federal worker so, broke.

PATRICK VANAS: I feel good about myself (but not great), but have lost respect for many people close to me and sad that they have not seen their hatred.

GLENN WILLIAMS, 44, MARYLAND: Naked and Afraid. l The responses have been edited for space and clarity. Opinions expressed in the Metro Weekly Year Ahead Forum do not necessarily reflect those of the publication or its employees.

Add your voice to Forum. Learn how at metroweekly.com/forum.

Get the next Forum questionnaire/survey emailed to you directly. Sign up for our email at metroweekly.com/join.

TATUM MANGUS / ANNAPURNA PICTURES

Movies

Free Love

Director Barry Jenkins deftly mingles romance with racial tension in the superb If Beale Street Could Talk. By André Hereford

S

WEEPING FROM GORGEOUS CLOSEUPS OF A YOUNG BLACK COUPLE IN love — 19-year old Tish Rivers (KiKi Layne) and her 22-year old fiancé Fonny Hunt (Stephan James) — up to the glowing night sky over Manhattan, If Beale Street Could Talk (HHHHHH) ushers us gently into the orbit of two kids with eyes only for each other and the future they’ll share. They’ve declared themselves ready to embark towards bliss, through challenges, assuredly and completely together.

Their romance might be any romance, were it not for the fact that their night full of possibility and desire was the last night they spent together. In the urgent present of their lives, Fonny sits in jail, falsely accused of raping a woman, Victoria Rogers (Emily Rios), clear across town that night Director Barry Jenkins has reassembled the key production team behind his Oscarwinning 2016 drama, Moonlight, to create a sublimely beautiful, bittersweet adaptation of James Baldwin’s 1974 novel. Echoing the book’s elegant tempo, the film follows Tish’s increasingly desperate efforts to see Fonny exonerated before she bears the child she learns she’s carrying. The pregnancy is a development she greets warmly, yet with the trepidation that hers and Fonny’s complicated situation has become infinitely more complicated.

As in Baldwin’s novel, the film proceeds with an uncomplicated belief in Fonny’s innocence and in the innocence of his and Tish’s romance. Just as powerful is the conviction that they deserve to fight their way through this mess to that bliss on the other side. From the warmly-lit cinematography, to the stirring score by Nicholas Britell, the movie inspires a solidarity with their union and their cause.

Who would begrudge these lovebirds the tiny bit of happiness of finding each other and a modest nest to go and start their family? That’s the question that bedevils their love story, and, in Baldwin’s sage observation, it’s the question that perpetually haunts promising, young black lives, even in the post-Civil Rights-era ’70s?

Well, here in 2019, in the era of #existingwhileblack, of BBQ Becky and Permit Patty and Cornerstore Caroline and Coupon Carl, and black folks getting harassed or arrested just for being or Airbnb-ing, or getting shot and killed for sitting inside their own apartments, the question has taken on a treacherous new expression. The meaning remains the same, though, as Jenkins captures brilliantly in his screenplay and direction.

Perhaps the filmmaker’s masterstroke is in the casting. Layne is a wonder of strength and fragility as Tish, while James supplies moving currents of passion, whether Fonny’s in his element as a sculptor in his studio, or devastatingly close to losing it while languishing in jail. In roles that might have come off too idealized or cute, Layne and James bring to the screen a charged connection that keeps the characters grounded, and should keep

JANUARY 3, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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TATUM MANGUS / ANNAPURNA PICTURES

audiences in their corner.

Already squarely in the couple’s corner are Tish’s loving, working-class parents, Sharon and Joseph, played to perfection by the estimable Regina King and Colman Domingo. For the sake of their family, and for justice, Sharon and Joseph, along with Tish’s big sis Ernestine (Teyonah Parris), are prepared

to take whatever steps necessary to mount a strong legal defense for Fonny.

But they won’t take any foolishness from Fonny’s sanctimonious mother (well-played by Aunjanue Ellis) or sisters Adrienne (Ebony Obsidian) and Sheila (Dominique Thorne), who don’t approve of this couple in the first place.

The film, laced with Tish’s sincere yet sharply funny narration, assembles the two families for a single scene that’s wonderfully torn between warm conviviality and icy insults. Baldwin didn’t, and Jenkins doesn’t, shy away from a well-timed laugh, even under these dire circumstances.

The two families’ evening together still ends on a serious note, but with an alliance formed between Tish’s folks and Fonny’s dad (Michael Beach). Their collective efforts, which involve hiring young white attorney Hayward (Finn Wittrock) to defend Fonny, evoke generations of struggle and community, of overcoming by standing together, marching forward, and refusing to be limited only to the intractably small space that oppression would allow. Tish and Fonny deserve their space in the world like any two lovers, or any two New Yorkers, like any two people just innocently going about their lives. l

If Beale Street Could Talk is rated R, and is now playing at Landmark’s E Street and Bethesda Row Cinemas.

Visit landmarktheatres.com/washington-d-c.

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JANUARY 3, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

ANNAPURNA PICTURES 2018

Movies

Tricky Dick

Vice delivers a scintillating satirical bio of the most influential second banana in White House history. By André Hereford

I

N A BRACING EARLY SCENE OF THE CAUSTIC COMEDY VICE ( ), a fired-up Lynne Vincent (Amy Adams) gives her floundering fiancé Dick Cheney (Christian Bale) a tough-love pep talk that stands as the make-or-break moment in the movie’s depiction of their powerful union.

It’s 1963, and 22-year old Cheney, thoroughly humbled by a recent DUI and expulsion from Yale, slumps before her like a wounded animal. But rather than soothe her man, Lynne is determined to rile him into recovery, or rip him to shreds. Either way, she simply won’t settle for the sad-sack souse he’s on his way to becoming, so he’d better shape up and fast.

Amy Adams, as gifted as any actor currently working in cinema, turns in a virtuosic performance, driving home one of the film’s many outward nods towards the idea of wielding steely power from behind an enfeebled figurehead.

Of course, Cheney eventually will assume awesome powers and influence of his own, and, accordingly, Bale’s gripping performance evolves over the course of the film to track that stunning rise to power. Adopting a credible version of Cheney’s sidelong snarl, and adding some girth to his face and frame, Bale blossoms into brutishness as Cheney barrels upward from the disgrace of that DUI to the pinnacles of American success.

He first enters the shark tank of politics as an intern during the Nixon administration, and, attaching himself remora-like to Nixon aide Donald Rumsfeld (Steve Carell), soon finds himself ensconced inside the West Wing. His office might be the size of a closet, but it’s a promising start for the father of young daughters Liz and Mary.

Presented as a man unabashedly unburdened by any lofty ideals or deeply felt political ideology, Cheney is shown as being instead extremely capable at boys’ club-style maneuvering for hegemony.

Buttonholing Rumsfeld in a White House hallway to ponder what ideals might actually inform their policies, he asks, “Don, what do we believe?” Rumsfeld laughs like a hyena and shuts the door in his face.

Adam McKay, the Oscar-winning director and screenwriter of The Big Short, clearly isn’t aiming for a totally “fair and balanced” portrayal of Dick Cheney.

And, given what the world now knows, that would seem to be a fair approach, or certainly in the balance of things no more harmful than Cheney’s past exploits.

Rather, McKay and his cast seem energized by the prospect of taking a hard swing at Dick’s history, and at some of the messes he would help engineer further down the line.

Decades after the Nixon and Ford camps were ushered out of the White House, in disgrace or defeat, Cheney returned to the halls of power as vice president to No. 43, George W. Bush (Sam Rockwell). The scene, featured prominently in the film’s trailer, of Cheney and Bush negotiating what will be the distribu-

JANUARY 3, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

35

ANNAPURNA PICTURES 2018

tion of power in their presidential partnership, runs dangerously close to SNL-style caricature, but it’s undeniably solid comedy.

Similarly, a twisted fantasy interlude of Cheney, Rumsfeld, and other officials ordering up a meal of war and torture to van-

quish their enemies, cover their asses, and enrich themselves is darkly pointed and damn funny.

That’s the movie in a nutshell: darkly pointed, damn funny, and unafraid to indulge fiction as a means of fording for facts.

The real Dick Cheney is a harder nut to crack, but McKay’s version of him, like any fertile caricature, hews close enough to lore, while delving just beneath the surface of the well-known facts about 9/11 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to reveal a fresh perspective on his deeds and character. Vice grants that, regardless of conflicting opinions about his politics, Cheney might genuinely be a family man, as he shows unyielding support for daughter Mary (Alison Pill), who comes out as lesbian.

But when political push comes to shove in the Cheney family, and it’s time to throw her under the bus to save the electoral ambitions of older sister Liz (Lily Rabe), Mary gets run over just like anybody else who stands between a Cheney and the measure of power they crave. l

Vice is rated R, and is currently playing at area theaters. Visit fandango.com.

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JANUARY 3, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

NightLife Photography by Ward Morrison

JANUARY 3, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

37

Scene

New Years Eve at Pitchers & A League of Her Own - Monday, December 31 Photography by Ward Morrison

DrinksDragDJsEtc...

Thursday, January 3 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-2am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Shirtless Thursday, 10-11pm • Men in Underwear Drink Free, 12-12:30am • DJs BacK2bACk

NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • $15 Buckets of Beer all night • Sports Leagues Night NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover PITCHERS Open 5pm-2am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 11pm • Visit pitchersbardc.com SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • All

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See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

You Can Eat Ribs, 5-10pm, $24.95 • $4 Corona and Heineken all night

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

TRADE Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4

GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $3 Rail and Domestic • $5 Svedka, all flavors all night long • Davon Hamilton presents District Fridays: 1st Friday Underwear Party, 10pm-close • Male Go-Go Dancers • Drink specials: $5 Margaritas, $8 Long Islands

ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS All male, nude dancers • Open Dancers Audition • Urban House Music by DJ Tim-e • 9pm • Cover 21+

Friday, January 4 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 5pm-3am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports

JANUARY 3, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Open 3pm • Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer, $15 • Weekend Kickoff Dance Party, with Nellie’s DJs spinning bubbly pop music all night NUMBER NINE Open 5pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover • Friday Night

Piano with Chris, 7:30pm • Rotating DJs, 9:30pm PITCHERS Open 5pm-3am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 2am • Visit pitchersbardc.com SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers TRADE Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4

ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS Men of Secrets, 9pm • Guest dancers • Rotating DJs • Kristina Kelly’s Diva Fev-ah Drag Show • Doors at 9pm, Shows at 11:30pm and 1:45am • DJ Don T. in Ziegfeld’s • Cover 21+

Saturday, January 5 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 2pm-3am • Video Games • Live televised sports FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Saturday Breakfast Buffet, 10am-3pm • $14.99 with one glass of champagne or coffee, soda or juice • Additional champagne $2 per glass • World Tavern Poker Tournament, 1-3pm • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Freddie’s Follies Drag

NIGHTLIFE HIGHLIGHTS Compiled by Doug Rule ANNA: WARHOL DANCE PARTY The anti-smoking campaign This Free Life presents an Andy Warhol/ pop art-inspired party featuring special guest Creme Fatale along with performances at midnight from other local drag queens Washington Heights, Dee Dee Derèon, Venus Fastrada, and Ariel Von Quinn. DJs Get Face and Honey will help them work the Rock and Roll runway at the 18 and up event, although only those older than 21 can take advantage of the open bar from 10 to 11 p.m. Friday, Jan. 11. Rock and Roll Hotel, 1353 H Street NE. Free with RSVP at tfl.events/dc. Call 202-388ROCK or visit rockandrollhoteldc.com.

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 • REWIND: Request Line, an ‘80s and ‘90s Dance Party, 9pm-close • Featuring DJ Darryl Strickland • No Cover NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Drag Brunch, hosted

by Chanel Devereaux, 10:30am-12:30pm and 1-3pm • Tickets on sale at nelliessportsbar.com • House Rail Drinks, Zing Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer and Mimosas, $4, 11am-3am • Buckets of Beer, $15 • Guest DJs

NUMBER NINE Doors open 2pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5 Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close • Time Machine and Power Hour, featuring DJ Jack Rayburn, 9:30pm PITCHERS Open Noon-3am • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 2am • Visit pitchersbardc.com SHAW’S TAVERN Brunch with $15 Bottomless Mimosas, 10am-3pm • Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers

ELECTRIC RAINBOW: HAPPY 2019 EDITION The first Sunday of every month, DJ Chord throws a weekend wind down party in the unmarked space behind the freezer door in Capo DC, the Shaw sandwich shop. DJ TWiN joins Chord for a party that will spin in the pop new year along with performances from KC B. Yoncé and Jazzmine. Sunday, Jan. 6, from 5 to 10 p.m. The BackRoom, 715A Florida Ave. NW. Call 202-910-6884 or visit facebook.com/ TheBackRoomCapo.

GREEN LANTERN’S REWIND: REQUEST LINE Darryl Strickland was one of the most prolific DJs in gay D.C. in the ’90s, which makes him eminently qualified to serve as VJ for this first-Saturdays party focused on playing the best video hits of the ’80s and ’90s. There are drink specials on offer and the ability to make requests all night long. Saturday, Jan. 5, starting at 9 p.m. Green Lantern, 1335 Green Ct. NW. No cover. Call 202-347-4533 or visit greenlanterndc.com.

FILLMORE FLASHBACK: ’80S VS ’90S DANCE PARTY “The Clown Prince of Hip-Hop,” as MTV once called him, the Marylandbased DJ Biz Markie is best known for his 1989 hit “Just A Friend.”

(You know the one, featuring the off-pitch earnest croon, “Oh baby, YOU! You got what I need...”) Markie relives his glory days by hosting and spinning a decades-spanning dance party at the Fillmore to kick off 2019. Saturday, Jan. 5, at 8:30 p.m. Fillmore, 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $15.50. Call 301.960.9999 or visit fillmoresilverspring.com.

DEEP SUGAR DC W/ULTRA NATE, LISA MOODY, KEENAN ORR Later this month, Nate is set to perform the roster of club hits she became known for — first and foremost, the late-’90s Top 10 pop hit “Free” — at the Mid-Atlantic Leather closing party at the 9:30 Club.

Yet for years now the singer-songwriter has been in demand as a DJ on the international circuit. Locally, Nate is known for the underground soulful house party she’s been throwing with fellow Baltimore-native DJ Moody for 15 years. Deep Sugar always draws a mixed crowd, in all the right ways, and that should prove as true this month as any other — ably aided in the cause by popular D.C. DJ Orr, a kindred soul/house spirit tapped by the two Sugar-mamas to get the party started off right.

Saturday, Jan. 12, starting at 10 p.m. U Street Music Hall, 1115A U St. NW. Tickets are $10. Call 202-588-1880 or visit ustreetmusichall.com. l

JANUARY 3, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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TRADE Doors open 2pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 2-10pm • Beer and wine only $4 ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS Men of Secrets, 9pm-4am • Guest dancers • Ladies of Illusion Drag Show with host Ella Fitzgerald • Doors at 9pm, Shows at 11:30pm and 1:45am • DJ Don T. in Ziegfeld’s • DJ Steve Henderson in Secrets • Cover 21+

Sunday, January 6 A LEAGUE OF HER OWN Open 2pm-12am • $4 Smirnoff and Domestic Cans • Video Games • Live televised sports FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Ella’s Sunday Drag Brunch, 10am-3pm • $24.99 with four glasses of champagne or mimosas, 1 Bloody Mary, or coffee, soda or juice • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Freddie’s Monthly Zodiac Contest, hosted by Ophelia Bottoms, 8-10pm • Karaoke, 10pm-close GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Karaoke with Kevin downstairs, 9:30pm-close

40

NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Drag Brunch, hosted

by Chanel Devereaux, 10:30am-12:30pm and 1-3pm • Tickets on sale at nelliessportsbar.com • House Rail Drinks, Zing Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer and Mimosas, $4, 11am-1am • Buckets of Beer, $15 • Guest DJs NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5 Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close • Multiple TVs showing movies, shows, sports • Expanded craft beer selection • Pop Goes the World with Wes Della Volla at 9:30pm • No Cover

JANUARY 3, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

PITCHERS Open Noon-2am • $4 Smirnoff, includes flavored, $4 Coors Light or $4 Miller Lites, 2-9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Visit pitchersbardc.com SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Dinner-n-Drag, with Miss Kristina Kelly, 8pm • For reservations, email shawsdinnerdragshow@ gmail.com

TRADE Doors open 2pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 2-10pm • Beer and wine only $4 • Glam Box: A Monthly Dress-Up Dance Party, 9pm • Walk-off Contest at 10:30pm • Music by Joann Fabrixx and featuring special guest hosts

Monday, January 7 FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Singles Night • Half-Priced Pasta Dishes • Poker Night — 7pm and 9pm games • Karaoke, 9pm

GREEN LANTERN Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $3 rail cocktails and domestic beers all night long • Singing with the Sisters: Open Mic Karaoke Night with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, 9:30pm-close NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer, $15 • Half-Priced Burgers • Paint Nite, 7pm • PokerFace Poker, 8pm • Dart Boards • Ping Pong Madness, featuring 2 PingPong Tables NUMBER NINE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover

JANUARY 3, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

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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 • Shaw ’Nuff Trivia, with Jeremy, 7:30pm TRADE Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4

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

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

JANUARY 3, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

TRADE Doors open 2pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 2-10pm • Beer and wine only $4

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

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

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

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

Follow us on Twitter & Instagram @MetroWeekly for Daily Photo Picks and Scene Throwbacks

Scene

Avalon DC at Soundcheck - Saturday, December 29 - Photography by Ward Morrison See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

JANUARY 3, 2019 • METROWEEKLY

45

LastWord.

People say the queerest things

“People who will do or say anything to hang onto power point the finger at anyone who looks, thinks, prays or loves differently than they do.”

— SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN, in a video announcing the launch of her exploratory committee for President. Warren decried the “whole scam” of the Trump administration, saying it is “propped up by an echo chamber of fear and hate.” The four-and-a-halfminute video, which touts Warren’s credentials and her progressive policies, also featured footage of the Massachusetts senator dancing and greeting people at Boston Pride and a short clip of a same-sex wedding.

“They’re like royalty, they tell you what to call them.

‘You should address me as they/them because I identify as gender neutral.’ OK.

”

— Comedian LOUIS C.K., in a leaked set recorded in Long Island, mocking people who identify as gender neutral in a rant about young people. In the widely criticized set — one of his first since being accused of sexual harassment by multiple women in 2017 — the comic also mocked those who survived the Parkland school shooting.

“Our brothers and sisters before us weren’t free to celebrate like we are tonight, and we must never forget that. ” — MADONNA, in a surprise speech at the Stonewall Inn in New York City on New Year’s Eve. The gay icon stopped in for an unannounced performance and delivered an emotional tribute to the LGBTQ people who fought for equality. “We come together tonight to celebrate 50 years of revolution, 50 years of freedom fighting, 50 years of blood, sweat, and tears.

Can I get an amen?” she said.

“How sad that your station has dropped to such a low as to show a gay couple kissing on your newscast.”

— One of several homophobic complaints received by Jacksonville, Florida, news channel WJXT after airing a kiss between a same-sex couple. Emulating the famous V-J Day in Times Square kiss, member of the Navy Bryan Woodington dipped and kissed his husband Kenneth after returning from a seven-month deployment in the Middle East. “How many people are now trying to explain to [their] young kids why 2 men were kissing,” another user wrote. “Very disgusting. An ex [viewer].”

“My sexuality, loving myself and expressing my love for others is not something that’s negotiable. ” — Lesbian singer HAYLEY KIYOKO, speaking to i-D magazine about the homophobia she’s experienced in the music industry, including that her 2015 song “Girls Like Girls” was “too sexual for a lot of people to premiere.” “When you’re in the LGBTQ community and you’re open about your sexuality, it’s not common for you to hear your music played on the radio,” she said. But Kiyoko refuses to edit her sexuality in order to get played. “There’s no toning that down because this is who I am and this is what I experience.

I can’t change that.”

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JANUARY 3, 2019 • METROWEEKLY