Metro Weekly - 07-03-14 - Side Show, Bill Russell

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JULY 3, 2014
Volume 21 / Issue 10
NEWS 6 EXECUTIVE ACTIONS
by Justin Snow
8 CALLING ALL CANDIDATES
by John Riley
10 DC COUNCIL MULLS
REPARATIVE THERAPY BAN
by John Riley
14 COMMUNITY CALENDAR
SCENE 18 NUMBER NINE
photography by Christopher Cunetto
FEATURES 20 FREAK OUT
by Doug Rule
23 THE JOY OF BEING SIR
by Randy Shulman
OUT ON THE TOWN 26 GAY-ROCKING MORMON
by Doug Rule
28 MATTHEW MORRISON
by Randy Shulman
GAMES 33 ALTERNATE ENDINGS
by Rhuaridh Marr
STAGE 36 SIDES AND MANES
by Doug Rule
HEALTH 37 LOCKED UP
by Brandon Harrison
illustration by Christopher Cunetto
TECH 39 WRIST ACTION
by Rhuaridh Marr
PETS 41 AFTERLIFE CARE
by Doug Rule
NIGHTLIFE 45 COBALT
photography by Ward Morrison
SCENE 52 TOWN & COUNTRY AT TOWN
photography by Christopher Cunetto
54 LAST WORD
Executive Actions
Obama announces second LGBT executive order protecting transgender
federal employees
President and Mrs. Obama at the White House LBGT Pride Month reception
by Justin Snow
P
RESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
announced Monday that he
would take additional execu-
tive action to protect LGBT
workers by signing an executive order to
protect transgender federal employees
from discrimination.
During the White Houses annual
LGBT Pride Month reception, which has
been held every year since Obama took
ofce, the president said he would take
such action in addition to a long-sought
executive order announced earlier this
month prohibiting federal contractors
from discrimination on the basis of sexu-
al orientation or gender identity.
If Congress wont act, I will. I have
directed my staff to prepare an executive
order for my signature that prohibits dis-
crimination by federal contractors on the
basis of sexual orientation and gender
identity, Obama said. And Ive asked
my staff to prepare a second executive
order so that federal employees - who
are already protected on the basis of
sexual orientation - will now formally
be protected from discrimination based
on gender identity as well.
White House spokesman Shin Inouye
provided no further details on the execu-
tive order announced Monday. Speak-
ing to reporters last week, White House
press secretary Josh Earnest said the
executive order for federal contractors is
still in the drafting stage.
Its my understanding that there is
an ongoing process as it relates to the
drafting of an executive order that would
take the kinds of steps the President
has talked about quite a bit. But at this
point, I dont have any update for you in
terms of the content or the timing of that
executive order, Earnest said.
In May 1998, President Bill Clinton
signed an executive order prohibiting
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discrimination on the basis of sexual ori-
entation in the federal civilian workforce.
However, that executive order did not
prohibit discrimination on the basis of
gender identity.
Today President Obama proved yet
again why he will be remembered as the
most pro-LGBT president in history,
Human Rights Campaign President Chad
Grifn said in a statement. Each and
every American worker should be judged
based on the work they do, and never
because of a fundamental aspect of who
they are like their gender identity. And
the federal government, like employers
across America, is best served by ensur-
ing every qualied individual are able to
serve without fear of discrimination.
According to Mara Keisling, executive
director of the National Center for Trans-
gender Equality, the executive order
stands to provide concrete protections
for many of the same transgender federal
employees who have been at the forefront
of implementing the Obama administra-
tions transgender-rights achievements.
Though this administration has pre-
viously interpreted existing law to cover
transgender federal employees, updat-
ing the language of this executive order
makes it 100% clear that transgender fed-
eral employees must be treated equally
at work, Keisling said in a statement.
Signicantly, this new order gives trans-
gender advocates new tools to advocate
for further protections in the face of a
gridlocked U.S. House of Representa-
tives that refuses to pass the Employment
Non-Discrimination Act.
Earlier Monday, Obama also
announced executive actions he will take
on immigration reform and lamented
the fact that he is compelled to do so
thanks to entrenched House Republicans.
I dont prefer taking administrative
action. Id rather see permanent xes to
the issue we face. Certainly thats true
on immigration, Obama said. There are
a whole bunch of things where I would
greatly prefer Congress actually do some-
thing. I take executive action only when
we have a serious problem, a serious
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Kentuckys Marriage Ban Struck Down
Study Shows Fed Contractor Discrimination
Executive Actions
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8
to pass the Employment Non-Discrim-
ination Act, Obama said. Right now,
there are more states that let same-sex
couples get married than there are states
who prohibit discrimination against their
LGBT workers. We have laws that say
Americans cant be red on the basis of
the color of their skin or their religion, or
because they have a disability. But every
day, millions of Americans go to work
worried that they could lose their job
- not because of anything theyve done.
I know, its terrible, Obama contin-
ued, as a baby in the audience began to
cry. Its upsetting. It is wrong.
Obama also cited a long list of LGBT
accomplishments during his remarks,
drawing cheers from the energetic crowd.
In particular, the president repeated his
calls for LGBT-rights activists to direct
their energy and resources toward other
injustices, including progressive causes
such as raising the minimum wage, youth
issue, and Congress chooses to do noth-
ing. And in this situation, the failure of
House Republicans to pass a darn bill
is bad for our security, its bad for our
economy, and its bad for our future.
At the beginning of this year Obama
announced a shifting strategy to use
his pen to take executive action when
Congress wont act. Since the Senate
approved the Employment Non-Discrim-
ination Act (ENDA) with a 64-32 vote in
November, the bill has languished in the
House of Representatives where Repub-
lican leadership has refused to allow the
bill to come to the oor for a vote. It is
still legal to discriminate on the basis of
gender identity in 32 states and on the
basis of sexual orientation in 29 states.
During his remarks Monday, Obama
renewed his criticism of Congress for hav-
ing not yet passed federal legislation pro-
hibiting LGBT workplace discrimination.
Ive repeatedly called on Congress
homelessness, equal pay and eliminating
racial and religious discrimination.
Dr. King said an injustice anywhere
is a threat to justice everywhere. And
that means that weve got to be able to set
up a community that extends beyond our
own particular narrow interests; weve
got to make sure that were reaching out
to others who need our help as well,
Obama said. Thats how we continue our
nations march towards justice and equal-
ity. Thats how we build a more perfect
union - a country where no matter what
you look like, where you come from, what
your last name is, who you love, youve
got a chance to make it if you try. You
guys have shown what can happen when
people of goodwill organize and stand up
for whats right. And weve got to make
sure that thats not applied just one place,
in one circumstance, in one time. Thats
part of the journey that makes America
the greatest country on Earth. l
JULY 3, 2014 METROWEEKLY.COM
number, such as 1A, with each ANC con-
taining anywhere from three to twelve
single-member districts, or SMDs. One
commissioner elected to an SMD repre-
sents, on average, about 2,000 city resi-
dents, bringing the total number of com-
missioners throughout the city to 296.
Of those currently serving as ANC
commissioners, 25 are openly LGBT, and
only three or four are LBT women, ac-
cording to John Klenert, a member of the
Victory Funds campaign board, who at-
tended Mondays meeting and sought to
answer any questions the would-be can-
didates had about running.
Stein Club President Angela Peoples
and Vice President for Legislative and
Political Affairs Martin Garcia asked
some current or previous ANC commis-
sioners to attend as well, in order to serve
as a soundboard for potential candidates,
answering questions related to election
requirements and the logistics of fund-
raising and campaigning for ofce.
Jack Jacobson, a former ANC commis-
sioner who now serves as the Ward 2 rep-
resentative on the D.C. State Board of Ed-
ucation, was invited to explain the duties
of the position, detailing his previous ex-
by John Riley
T
HE GERTRUDE STEIN DEM-
ocratic Club and the Gay &
Lesbian Victory Fund held a
candidate information and
training session at The DC Center for
the LGBT Community on Monday night
aimed at encouraging out District resi-
dents to run for a spot on their local Advi-
sory Neighborhood Commission (ANC),
thereby increasing the visibility of the
LGBT representation in District govern-
ment and providing a pipeline of leaders
who may one day seek higher ofce.
ANCs serve as hyper-local govern-
mental bodies for a set neighborhood
or area within each of the citys eight
wards. Commissioners, who are elected
on a nonpartisan basis, are tasked with
considering various policies or programs
that affect quality-of-life issues in their
neighborhoods, including trafc, parking,
recreation, street improvements, liquor
licensing, zoning, trash collection and
economic development. Each ward has
four to six ANCs, identied by letter and
perience running for the ANC and offer-
ing advice to the prospective candidates.
This gives you a leadership role in
your community that other people dont
have, Jacobson said. Youve got to deal
with bread-and-butter issues rst, but
then if you have time, you can work on
other issues.
The experienced commissioners sug-
gested that prospective candidates get to
know their area and become visible by
getting involved with local community
organizations or attending ANC meetings
on a regular basis. They also suggested
that candidates know all the businesses
contained in their single-member district
and foresee potential changes that might
come before the ANC, such as a restaurant
that wants to apply for a liquor license or
expand to set up an outdoor patio area.
Klenert also stressed that, in running
as an openly LGBT person, a candidate is
representing not only himself or herself,
but the larger community. Because of the
risks posed by online technology, he rec-
ommended that candidates clean up or
delete any public proles on social net-
working sites, dating or hookup apps, or
other online aliases before tossing their
hat into the ring.
While ANC candidates may pick up
nominating petitions to get on the ballot
on July 7, and only have to get the signa-
tures of 25 registered voters living in their
SMD by Aug. 6, Jacobson suggested that
all candidates exceed the number of re-
quired signatures, as other candidates or
Calling All Candidates
Stein Club, Victory Fund seek to increase LGBT representation on
D.C.s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions
LGBTNews
DC Council Mulls
Reparative Therapy Ban
Bill would prohibit therapists from engaging in sexual orientation
change efforts with minors
by John Riley
C
OUNCILMEMBER YVETTE
Alexander (D-Ward 7) presided
over a nearly ve-hour hearing
on Friday where she listened
to testimony for and against a bill pending
before the D.C. Council that would seek to
ban reparative or conversion therapy by
prohibiting licensed therapists from at-
tempting to change the sexual orientation
or gender identity of minors under the age
of 18. Therapists found engaging in such
practices could be subject to penalties or
the loss of their license.
The bill, known as the Conversion
Therapy for Minors Prohibition Amend-
ment Act of 2013, introduced by Council-
member Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), would
restrict mental health professionals from
attempting what the bill labels as sexu-
al orientation change efforts on minors.
Similar bills have passed with bipartisan
support in California and New Jersey,
rejected by a vote in Illinois, and have
denied oor votes in 12 other states, in-
cluding Virginia.
More than 30 witnesses in total testi-
ed at Fridays public hearing in front of
the Committee on Health, which Alex-
ander chairs. Most notably, the bill has
drawn opponents from socially conser-
vative organizations such as the Family
Research Council and the religious right,
as well as from a number of ex-gay orga-
nizations and foundations that engage in
reparative therapy to help patients elimi-
nate what they call unwanted same-sex
attraction. Many of those opposing the
bill testied that they had undergone
therapy from a licensed practitioner or
counseling via their church group to deal
with childhood traumas, such as sexual
abuse, and, as a result, had been able to
rid themselves of feelings of confusion
surrounding their sexual orientation or
gender identity.
Testifying in favor of the bill were
LGBT rights organizations or pro-LGBT
organizations such as the Human Rights
Campaign (HRC), the Southern Poverty
Law Center (SPLC), the Gay and Les-
bian Activists Alliance (GLAA), The DC
Center for the LGBT Community, and
numerous therapists, social workers, and
counselors who believe that so-called
conversion therapy is ineffective and
its efcacy is not backed up by scientic
research or evidence.
Perhaps the most spirited defense
of reparative therapy came from David
Pickup, a family and marriage therapist
licensed in California and Texas who is
seeking to be licensed in the D.C. area.
Pickup, who identied himself as a board
member of the National Association for
Research & Therapy of Homosexuality
(NARTH) is the lead plaintiff in the case
of Pickup v. Brown, a lawsuit challenging
Californias ban. Pickup, who identies as
ex-gay, accused the Council of engaging
in an act of hatred against those who
wish to get rid of unwanted same-sex at-
tractions ex-gays are included among
the groups protected by the Districts Hu-
residents will often try to challenge vari-
ous candidates qualications or get some
of their signatures thrown out.
Having a website also helps, Jacobson
added, as it gives a candidate an air of le-
gitimacy among voters.
It shows you have skin in the game,
he said of setting up a candidate website,
although he added that less is more,
meaning a candidate should not over-
whelm voters with an abundance of infor-
mation on said website.
Klenert also said candidates need
to consider that ANC races often get
drowned out by other, larger races appear-
ing on the November ballot, which is why
its important to get out and attempt to
meet all the registered voters in an SMD.
Otherwise, literature drops assuming
a candidate has raised enough campaign
cash to distribute iers or literature will
get lost among other mailers and end up
being recycled by overwhelmed voters.
Following the meeting, about six pro-
spective candidates stayed around to ask
further questions of the organizers. Most
felt that the training session, while short,
answered some of their basic questions
and provided them with enough informa-
tion to mull over whether to pursue their
candidacies.
Those candidates included Brian
Footer and Omeed Tabiei, two LeDroit
Park residents considering running for
the 1B01 seat currently occupied by Marc
Morgan, who is running as a Republican
for one of two at-large seats on the D.C.
Council. When asked whether they would
run against each other, both answered that
they were talking amongst themselves to
see what issues they feel are important.
This has gotten us into the spirit of
running, Footer said of the candidate
training. He expressed a commitment to
public service, pointing to his involve-
ment with the LeDroit Park Civic As-
sociation, and said he would be able to
rely on his background working on aging
issues for the city, particularly since the
LeDroit Park neighborhood is one of the
citys most historic districts and is home
to many seniors who have owned their
current properties for decades.
Tabiei said he has attended his local
ANC meetings and feels very well versed
in the issues affecting his neighborhood.
Tabiei, whose background includes voter
registration efforts, said he wants to rep-
resent the people and ght on behalf of
their concerns as ANC commissioner.
Other candidates seconded the senti-
ment that the informational meeting was
worthwhile.
It was very helpful, said Jose Joe
Barrios, a Brookland resident considering
running for ANC 5B04. It gave us an op-
portunity to meet other people in the same
boat. We need to increase LGBT represen-
tation on the ANCs in all eight wards.
Peoples, speaking on behalf of the Stein
Club, also labeled the meeting a success
and said that the club will seek to hold
similar meetings in the future to encour-
age prospective candidates to seek similar
leadership positions.
I think the training was great, Peo-
ples told Metro Weekly. I was impressed
to see the turnout. I think it shows there
is a diverse group of people who are inter-
ested in engaging in their community in
different ways. l
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LGBTNews
advocates for their own personal or reli-
gious beliefs, as Rev. Graylan Hagler, the
senior pastor of Plymouth United Church
of Christ and an independent candidate
running for the Council, expressed when
testifying in support of the bill.
Presently there is insufcient evi-
dence supporting the efcacy of such
treatments, testied Dr. Anthony Jimi-
nez of the District of Columbia Psycho-
logical Association, noting that his or-
ganization respects the diverse views of
others, including those who object to ho-
mosexuality based on religious or moral
views. However, he noted, The idea that
sexuality is a choice is absolutely un-
founded.
Most compelling was the testimony of
those who said they went through ther-
apy to deal with their same-sex attrac-
tion or sexual orientation. Chuck Peters,
an ex-gay from Beverly Hills, Calif., who
came to testify against the bill, told how
he had been abused as a child and left
struggling with confusion over his sexu-
ality. After receiving reparative therapy,
he was able to overcome the emotional
trauma of his abuse, marry a woman, and
start a family. He said he believes minors
who are denied the possibility of seeing
a counselor for those issues will commit
suicide out of despair. Or worse, he said,
they and their parents will be driven un-
derground and forced to seek help from
unlicensed therapists or counselors.
I would have killed myself if I had not
gone to a licensed therapist, Peters said.
But Matthew Shurka, who came out at
age 16 in a conservative community, said
that even though his father accepted him
initially, his parents were swayed to en-
roll him in reparative therapy by an ex-
pert therapist who told them there was
no such thing as homosexuality.
For the next three years, Shurka testi-
ed, he was forced to avoid women in-
cluding his own mother and sisters and
all contact with them, even though they
lived in the same house. His grades suf-
fered. Suicidal thoughts and feelings of
depression and anxiety increased. After
the three years of avoiding female inu-
ences, he was later prescribed Viagra
pills because he couldnt perform sexu-
ally with women. Finally, at age 21, he
decided the therapy was not working and
sought out mentors from the LGBT com-
munity on his own, eventually accepting
his sexuality.
Alexander indicated during the
course of the hearing that further
changes to the bill would be made in a
man Rights Law and he and other oppo-
nents of the bill claimed that the bill is an
overreach that violates the First Amend-
ment rights of therapists and counselors.
One of the egregious mistakes that
is being made is that the way the law is
worded, it will make it impossible for a
heterosexual boy who is abused to seek
treatment and prevent a therapist from
doing anything to help him reduce or
eliminate homosexual feelings, Pickup
told Alexander during his testimony.
While Pickup told Alexander on Fri-
day that he believed the Supreme Court
would hear his appeal of a ruling by the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals uphold-
ing Californias ban, he was dealt a blow
on Monday after the high court refused to
hear the case. As a result, the Ninth Cir-
cuits ruling is allowed to stand, keeping
the ban in place. The Ninth Circuit had
previously ruled in August of last year
that the ban covered professional activi-
ties that are within the purview of the
state to regulate and license, and that it
does not violate the free speech rights of
practitioners or minor patients, is neither
vague nor overbroad, and does not violate
parents fundamental rights.
Still another issue of contention for
opponents was the idea that therapists
would be prevented from helping their
underage patients, even if it was the pa-
tient and not the parents, as many sup-
porters claim who wanted to be rid of
same-sex attraction. Peter Sprigg of the
Family Research Council (FRC) accused
the American Psychological Association
of being under the sway of a pro-ho-
mosexual lobby, adding, Critics cannot
claim there is no evidence, only that it
doesnt meet some gold standard that re-
parative therapy can help lessen feelings
of same-sex attraction.
Greg Quinlan, of Parents and Friends
of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX), was more
blunt, blasting the bill as an aggressive
overreach.
This bill runs miles ahead of the sci-
ence for purely political and ideological
reasons, Quinlan said angrily.
But supporters of the bill pushed
back against the ex-gays and their al-
lies claims, noting that there is noth-
ing in the bill to prevent a child who has
been abused, for example, from seeing a
therapist or counselor to deal with the
negative after-effects of abuse, and talk-
ing about their feelings or confusion re-
garding same-sex attraction as part of
therapy. Rather, they note, the bill simply
prohibits counselors from serving as
mark-up session. At several points, she
asked supporters if it would be better if
the age under which reparative therapy
is banned for minors should be lowered
to 16, which is the age of consent in the
District. All those testifying rejected that
proposal. Alexander also seemed favor-
able to an amendment suggested by Dr.
Rikin Mehta, the senior deputy direc-
tor for the D.C. Department of Health.
Mehta testied that the Department of
Health would prefer an amendment that
would enable it to initiate investigations,
independently of a licensing board, into
therapists or counselors suspected of
engaging in reparative therapy or sexual
orientation change efforts.
It is likely that the Council will pass
the ban on reparative therapy, as 12 of the
13 councilmembers, including Alexander,
but minus Councilmember Marion Barry
(D-Ward 8), have signed on as cosponsors.
David Meadows, the director of com-
munications for Councilmember Anita
Bonds (D-At-Large), told Metro Weekly
that the councilmember is favorably dis-
posed toward the bill.
Anita Bonds supports this bill, and looks
forward to voting for it, Meadows said.
If the bill passes the council, is signed
by Mayor Vincent Gray (D) and survives
a 30-day congressional review period, the
District would become the third jurisdic-
tion to ban such therapy for minors. But
adults who struggle with same-sex at-
traction would still be able to choose, of
their own accord, whether to submit to
reparative therapy.
That distinction is important to An-
drew Jud Brown, who went through
reparative therapy at the Richmond
branch of the now-defunct ex-gay orga-
nization Exodus International. Though
Brown underwent the therapy as an
adult, he believes the practice should
not be carried out on minors. Brown
testied that the counselor he was see-
ing would ask him personal, invasive
questions about his sexuality and even,
at one point when it was clear his attrac-
tions werent subsiding, suggested that
he remain single and celibate for life.
Brown said he began to think of suicide,
but ended the sessions. Although he lat-
er came to accept his sexual orientation,
Brown said the therapy he had received
fractured my identity.
In Mark 3:25, it says If a house is
divided against itself it cannot stand,
Brown said. What that means to me is
that a man divided against himself can
never know peace. l
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DIGNITY WASHINGTON offers Roman Catholic
Mass for the LGBT community. 6 p.m., St.
Margarets Church, 1820 Connecticut Ave. NW. All
welcome. Sign interpreted. dignitynova.org.
FRIENDS MEETING OF WASHINGTON meets for
worship, 10:30 a.m., 2111 Florida Ave. NW, Quaker
House Living Room (next to Meeting House on
Decatur Place), 2nd oor. Special welcome to
lesbians and gays. Handicapped accessible from
Phelps Place gate. Hearing assistance. quakersdc.org.
INSTITUTE FOR SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT,
God-centered new age church & learning center.
Sunday Services and Workshops event. 5419 Sherier
Place NW. isd-dc.org.
LUTHERAN CHURCH OF REFORMATION invites
all to Sunday worship at 8:30 or 11 a.m. Childcare is
available at both services. Welcoming LGBT people for
25 years. 212 East Capitol St. NE. reformationdc.org
METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH OF
WASHINGTON, D.C. services at 9 a.m. (ASL
interpreted) and 11 a.m. Childrens Sunday School at
11 a.m. 474 Ridge St. NW. 202-638-7373, mccdc.com.
RIVERSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH, a Christ-centered,
interracial, welcoming-and-afrming church, offers
service at 10 a.m. 680 I St. SW. 202-554-4330,
riverside-dc.org.
UNITARIAN CHURCH OF ARLINGTON, an
LGBTQ welcoming-and-afrming congregation,
offers services at 10 a.m. Virginia Rainbow UU
Ministry. 4444 Arlington Blvd. uucava.org.
UNIVERSALIST NATIONAL MEMORIAL
CHURCH, a welcoming 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, JULY 7
BRUHS: BOOK READING UPLIFTS HIS SPIRIT,
a monthly book and lm discussion group for GBT
men, holds its monthly meeting on the rst Monday
of every month at 6 p.m. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Memorial Library. 901 G St. NW, Auditorium A-5.
202-727-1291.
The DC Center hosts its monthly VOLUNTEER
NIGHT on the rst Monday of each month.
Activities may include: sorting through book
donations, cleaning up, taking inventory for safe-sex
kits. Free pizza provided. 6:30 p.m. 2000 14th St.
NW, Suite 105. Visit thedccenter.org
WEEKLY EVENTS
Michael Brazell teaches BEARS DO YOGA, a
program of The DC Center. 6:30 p.m., Green
Lantern, 1335 Green Court NW. No cost, newcomers
welcome. 202-682-2245, thedccenter.org.
DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds practice, 6:30-
8:30 p.m. Garrison Elementary, 1200 S St. NW.
dcscandals.wordpress.com.
GETEQUAL meets 6:30-8 p.m. at Quaker House,
2111 Florida Ave. NW. getequal.wdc@gmail.com.
SATURDAY, JULY 5
ADVENTURING outdoors group hikes 7.4
strenuous miles with 1600 feet of elevation gain
to Halfmoon Lookout in WV, followed by swim
in lake in nearby Recreation Area. Bring plenty of
beverages, lunch, sunscreen, bug spray, swimsuit
and towel, about $20 for fees, plus funds for dinner
afterwards. Carpool at 8:30 a.m. from East Falls
Church Metro Kiss & Ride lot. Craig, 202-462-0535.
adventuring.org.
BURGUNDY CRESCENT, a gay volunteer
organization, volunteers today for Food &
Friends, and Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation
at Falls Church PetSmart. To participate, visit
burgundycrescent.org.
WEEKLY EVENTS
DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice session at
Hains Point, 972 Ohio Dr., SW. 8:30-10 a.m. Visit
swimdcac.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/walking/social
club welcomes all levels for exercise in a fun and
supportive environment, socializing afterward.
Meet 9:30 a.m., 23rd & P Streets NW, for a walk; or
10 a.m. for fun run. dcfrontrunners.org.
DC SENTINELS basketball team meets at Turkey
Thicket Recreation Center, 1100 Michigan Ave. NE,
2-4 p.m. For players of all levels, gay or straight.
teamdcbasketball.org.
GAY LANGUAGE CLUB discusses critical
languages and foreign languages. 7 p.m. Nellies,
900 U St. NW. RVSP preferred. brendandarcy@
gmail.com.
SUNDAY, JULY 6
CHRYSALIS arts & culture group visits
Smithsonian Museum of American History on
the Mall to see exhibits on life in the 1960s. Free;
non-members welcome. Meet at 1:30 p.m. by
the Information Desk inside the Constitution
Avenue entrance between 12th & 14th Streets
NW. Refreshments follow. Craig, 202-462-0535.
craighowell1@verizon.net.
WEEKLY EVENTS
BETHEL CHURCH-DC progressive and radically
inclusive church holds services at 11:30 a.m. 2217
Minnesota Ave. SE. 202-248-1895, betheldc.org.
THURSDAY, JULY 3
WEEKLY EVENTS
DC LAMBDA SQUARES gay and lesbian square-
dancing group features mainstream through
advanced square dancing at the National City
Christian Church, 5 Thomas Circle NW, 7-9:30 p.m.
Casual dress. 301-257-0517, dclambdasquares.org.
The DULLES TRIANGLES Northern Virginia social
group meets for happy hour at Sheraton in Reston,
11810 Sunrise Valley Drive, second-oor bar, 7-9
p.m. All welcome. dullestriangles.com.
HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker Health. The
Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center, 1701 14th St. NW,
9 a.m.-5 p.m. At the Max Robinson Center, 2301
MLK Jr. Ave. SE, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Call 202-745-
7000. Visit whitman-walker.org.
METROHEALTH CENTER offers free, rapid HIV
testing. Appointment needed. 1012 14th St. NW,
Suite 700. 202-638-0750.
WOMENS LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE for young
LBTQ women, 13-21, interested in leadership
development. 5-6:30 p.m. SMYAL Youth Center, 410
7th St. SE. 202-567-3163, catherine.chu@smyal.org.
FRIDAY, JULY 4
ADVENTURING outdoors group holds annual
Independence Day hike of 5 easy miles around
Great Falls, Md. Bring plenty of beverages, lunch,
sunscreen, bug spray, a few dollars for fees. Carpool
at 9 a.m. from the top of the escalator on the eastern
side of Wisconsin Ave. at the Tenleytown Metro
station. Damon, 202-213-4592. adventuring.org.
BURGUNDY CRESCENT, a gay volunteer
organization, volunteers today for Balloon
Wrangling at the Independence Day Parade. To
participate, visit burgundycrescent.org.
GAY DISTRICT, a community-based organization
focused on building understanding of gay culture
and personal identity for GBTQQI men between
ages 18-35, meets on the rst and third Fridays of
each month for a group discussion. 8:30-9:30 p.m.
at the DC Center. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For
more information, visit gaydistrict.org
WEEKLY EVENTS
Federal Holiday, Happy 4th of July!
Metro Weeklys Community Calendar highlights important events in
the D.C.-area LGBT community, from alternative social events to
volunteer opportunities. Event information should be sent by email to
calendar@MetroWeekly.com. Deadline for inclusion is noon
of the Friday before Thursdays publication. Questions about
the calendar may be directed to the Metro Weekly ofce at
202-638-6830 or the calendar email address.
LGBTCommunityCalendar
NOVASALUD offers free HIV testing. 5-7 p.m. 2049
N. 15th St., Suite 200, Arlington. Appointments:
703-789-4467.
The DC Center hosts COFFEE DROP-IN FOR THE
SENIOR LGBT COMMUNITY. 10 a.m.-noon. 2000
14th St. NW. 202-682-2245, thedccenter.org.
US HELPING US hosts a black gay mens evening
afnity group. 3636 Georgia Ave. NW.
202-446-1100.
WASHINGTON WETSKINS Water Polo Team
practices 7-9 p.m. Takoma Aquatic Center, 300
Van Buren St. NW. Newcomers with at least basic
swimming ability always welcome. Tom, 703-299-
0504, secretary@wetskins.org, wetskins.org.
TUESDAY, JULY 8
DC BI WOMEN, a group of The DC Center, hosts
a meeting on the second Tuesday of each month at
Dupont Italian Kitchen in the upstairs room. 7 p.m.
to 9 p.m. 1637 17th St. NW. thedccenter.org.
GAY & LESBIAN ACTIVISTS ALLIANCE holds
monthly meeting to discuss Council bill banning
licensed professionals from imposing reparative
therapy on minors, and other pending legislation. 7
p.m. John A. Wilson Building, 1350 PA Avenue NW,
Room 120. All welcome. 202-667-5139. glaa.org.
The LATINO LGBT TASK FORCE holds a meeting
at The DC Center from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. 2000 14th
St. NW, Suite 105. For more information call 202-
682-2245 or visit thedccenter.org.
WEEKLY EVENTS
A COMPANY OF STRANGERS, a theater chorus,
meets 7:30-9:30 p.m. A GLBTA and SATB looking
for actors, singers, crew. Open Hearth Foundation,
1502 Massachusetts Ave. SE. Charles, 240-764-
5748. ecumenicon.org.
HISTORIC CHRIST CHURCH offers Wednesday
worship 7:15 a.m. and 12:05 p.m. All welcome.
118 N. Washington St., Alexandria. 703-549-1450,
historicchristchurch.org.
IDENTITY offers free and condential HIV testing
in Gaithersburg, 414 East Diamond Ave. Walk-
ins 2-7 p.m. For appointments other hours, call
Gaithersburg at 301-300-9978.
JOB CLUB, a weekly support program for job
entrants and seekers, meets at The DC Center. 2000
14th St. NW, Suite 105. 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. More info,
www.centercareers.org.
testing. No appointment needed. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. 1012
14th St. NW, Suite 700. 202-638-0750.
NOVASALUD offers free HIV testing. 11 a.m.-
2 p.m. 2049 N. 15th St., Suite 200, Arlington.
Appointments: 703-789-4467.
PRIME TIMERS OF DC, social club for mature gay
men, hosts weekly happy hour/dinner. 6:30 p.m.,
Windows Bar above Dupont Italian Kitchen, 1637
17th St. NW. Carl, 703-573-8316.
HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker Health. D.C.:
Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center, 1701 14th St. NW,
9 a.m.-6 p.m. At the Max Robinson Center, 2301
MLK Jr. Ave. SE, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. 202-745-7000,
whitman-walker.org. l
chlamydia. Hepatitis and herpes testing available
for fee. whitman-walker.org.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 9
RAINBOW RESPONSE COALITION, a group
dedicated to combating LGBT intimate partner
violence, holds its monthly meeting at The
DC Center. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. Visit
thedccenter.org.
THE LAMBDA BRIDGE CLUB meets for Duplicate
Bridge. No reservation needed. All welcome. 7:30
p.m. Dignity Center, 721 8th St. SE. 703-407-6540 if
you need a partner.
THE ASK RAYCEEN SHOW, trivia night plus live
performance by Mr. Bouvier with Richie Skye.
7 p.m. Liv nightclub, 2001 11th St. NW. Free. All
welcome. facebook.com/askrayceen.
WEEKLY EVENTS
AD LIB, a group for freestyle conversation, meets
about 7:45 p.m., covered-patio area of Cosi, 1647
20th St. NW. All welcome. Jamie, 703-892-8567.
DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice session
at Hains Point, 927 Ohio Dr. SW. 7-8:30 p.m. Visit
swimdcac.org.
DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds practice, 6:30-
8:30 p.m. Garrison Elementary, 1200 S St. NW.
dcscandals.wordpress.com.
ASIANS AND FRIENDS weekly dinner in Dupont/
Logan Circle area, 6:30 p.m. afwash@aol.com,
afwashington.net.
THE GAY MENS HEALTH COLLABORATIVE
offers free HIV/STI screening every 2nd and 4th
Tuesday. 5-6:30 p.m. Rainbow Tuesday LGBT
Clinic, Alexandria Health Department, 4480 King
St. 703-321-2511, james.leslie@inova.org.
THE HIV WORKING GROUP of THE DC CENTER
hosts Packing Party, where volunteers assemble
safe-sex kits of condoms and lube. 7 p.m., Green
Lantern, 1335 Green Court NW. thedccenter.org.
KARING WITH INDIVIDUALITY (K.I.) SERVICES,
at 3333 Duke St., Alexandria, offers free rapid HIV
testing and counseling, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. 703-823-4401.
testing. Appointment needed. 1012 14th St. NW,
Suite 700. 202-638-0750.
SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5 p.m., by
appointment and walk-in, for youth 21 and younger.
Youth Center, 410 7th St. SE. 202-567-3155,
testing@smyal.org.
SUPPORT GROUP FOR LGBTQ YOUTH ages 13-21
meets at SMYAL, 410 7th St. SE, 5-6:30 p.m. Cathy
Chu, 202-567-3163, catherine.chu@smyal.org.
Whitman-Walker Healths GAY MENS HEALTH
AND WELLNESS/STD CLINIC opens at 6 p.m.,
1701 14th St. NW. Patients are seen on walk-in basis.
No-cost screening for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and
16
LGBTCommunityCalendar
marketplace
18 SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT AT WWW.METROWEEKLY.COM/SCENE
scene
Number Nine
Saturday, June 28
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
CHRISTOPHER CUNETTO
scan this tag
with your
smartphone
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Freak Out
Side Show scribe Bill Russell aims to portray the humanity in those who are different
INTERVIEW BY DOUG RULE
D
URING HIGH SCHOOL IN SOUTH DAKOTA, BILL RUSSELL
was regularly taunted for being effeminate and gay. The Tony-nom-
inated writer and lyricist of the musical Side Show was also publicly
humiliated in a homophobic t on at least one occasion, in which
he was nominated for homecoming queen by some incredibly cruel
classmates during an open assembly.
I felt like the biggest freak in the world, Russell says and not
just because of those trying times at Spearsh High nearly 50 years
ago. He also had no interest in the family business raising cattle or in the areas typical
teenage pastimes, from playing sports to going hunting. I felt really odd.
Naturally, many of the interests and attributes that made Russell feel like a freak growing
up in the Black Hills have led him to success in that haven for freak-feeling folk since time
immemorial: the theater, and more specically New York. Russell credits the musical Hair
with all its hippie-type freaks as the show that inspired his path to musicals in the rst
place. And, of course, so-called freaks are at the heart of Side Show, his most popular work to
date. I knew I was gay from a very early age, Russell says. So making the leap to sideshow
oddities and conjoined twins, it really wasnt hard for me at all. I could really identify.
The musical Side Show, which he wrote with composer Henry Krieger (Dreamgirls), was
well-liked but short-lived in its original Broadway produc-
tion in 1997. Now the Kennedy Center, in association with
Californias La Jolla Playhouse, has produced a revival of
the show and critics and audiences alike have been raving
about this ashy, dramatic makeover helmed by Oscar-
winning lmmaker Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters, Chi-
cago, Dreamgirls). All that buzz naturally has producers
dreaming and scheming about Broadway. Theres a lot of
interest in moving, Russell says. Everything is crossed
ngers, legs, toes.
Im elated by this production, Russell continues.
Working with Bill Condon and Henry on this revival has
just been probably the greatest experience of my career.
Apart from Side Show, the 64-year-olds career over the
past three decades has been almost exclusively focused
Off-Broadway, or on stages even farther away from the
Great White Way. This is no doubt in part a reection of
the fact that outsiders, and especially gays, usually fuel
his stories somewhat limiting mass appeal, at least to a
Broadway producers way of thinking.
Right now Russell has two revivals running Side Show
in D.C. and in New York, Pageant - The Musical, a comedy
originally developed over 20 years ago with Frank Kelly
and musician Albert Evans and billed as the Miss America pageant meets The Birdcage.
The contestants are drag queens, a gay-heavy category of performer that in recent years has
become almost-mainstream thanks to RuPauls Drag Race.
Remarkably, Russell has never seemed to let his high school horror stories scare him
away from regular visits back to his hometown of Spearsh. And the whole experience
seems to have emboldened him to be more publicly gay, not less. He came out in the early
1970s, when coming out was still a fairly new concept and he did so in an article in
western South Dakotas largest newspaper. The consequences of that action were mostly
positive, from a warm welcome by many classmates at the next years high school reunion,
to a former tormentor congratulating him and even making amends. Bill, some of us were
talking about that interview you gave last year, and we think you had a lot of guts to do that,
this erstwhile bully told Russell, who recounted the exchange in a Playbill essay published
last month. And I just want to apologize for any shit I gave you in high school.
Whether in having conversations with locals or by ensuring local papers publish his wed-
ding announcement, Russell has stayed vigilant in making sure the people of western South
Dakota know and remember that hes gay. With greater knowledge comes greater accep-
tance. So many people out there especially think they dont know any gay people, Russell
says. I like to remind them that one of their native sons is gay.
METRO WEEKLY: I wanted to start by asking the most basic question: What inspired you to write
about Siamese twins and freaks in the rst place?
BILL RUSSELL: [Laughs.] In 1985, Bobby Longbottom, who directed the original Broadway C
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Freak Out
Side Show scribe Bill Russell aims to portray the humanity in those who are different
INTERVIEW BY DOUG RULE
production, told me that a friend of his had seen this movie,
this terrible movie, Freaks, starring real-life conjoined twins,
who sang and danced and played musical instruments. And he
thought we should do a musical about them. I was immediately
excited about the idea because I thought the image of two actors
moving together, singing together, was so strong and metaphori-
cally interesting.
I grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota, in cowboy
country. My grandparents were cattle ranchers in Wyoming,
and everyone called my father Cowboy. I knew I was gay from
a very early age, and I felt like the biggest freak in the world, and
so making the leap to sideshow oddities and conjoined twins
really wasnt hard for me at all. I could identify.
MW: It didnt give you pause, though? I mean one of the things
about the sideshows and touring circuses from the previous cen-
tury is that they were very much exploitative and sensationalistic.
I think that could be one reason maybe some dont reexively think
of this as a musical that they should see.
RUSSELL: I didnt realize that until about three years into writing
it. Some people are repelled just by the idea of conjoined twins.
Because those of us who are not conjoined have a difcult time
projecting ourselves into that situation, of being connected, lit-
erally, to somebody 24 hours a day. But if youre born that way,
its just something that you live with and adapt to or at least
it used to be. Now, conjoined twins are separated instantly, with
much more complicated [bodily] connections than Daisy and
Violet had. And I know that some people hear sideshow and
think, I dont want to see something about freaks and human
oddities. But Im always drawn to stories about outcasts and
nding the humanity in characters that are not necessarily main-
stream. Its a very intriguing world, sideshows, and that whole
milieu. Its really fascinating, at least to me.
MW: One of the things I think is notable about the show is that it
documents a part of American entertainment history that is solidly
in the past. Of course we still have our sensational tabloid shows and
shock-value-type productions, but weve also progressed in a way.
RUSSELL: Well, in a way. But you know a lot of television is a
sideshow, if you ask me. A lot of celebrity and celebrity worship
is that. When Side Show was rst on Broadway, I was asked,
Why write about sideshows? Thats such a thing of the past.
And I said, Please! Michael Jackson is dangling his baby over
a balcony in Germany. Were surrounded by sideshows all the
time. And a lot of television exploits that kind of thing. The
Jerry Springer Show always had conjoined twins on. So I guess
weve progressed in certain ways, but in other ways there will
always be a fascination with people who are wildly different
from ourselves.
MW: What was it that inspired this new production? And how does
it differ from the 1997 original?
RUSSELL: It was really Bill Condon coming on board. Theres
been a lot of interest, ever since the Broadway production, of
doing a revival, and we were really interested in just doing the
show again. Henry had a very good experience with Bill on the
movie Dreamgirls, and we knew he liked Side Show a lot. He had
seen it twice on Broadway and twice in Los Angeles.
The original production was very minimalistic. And it didnt
have the period feel that this production has. The historical era.
It was a bit more abstract. The ensemble started out as ordinary
people in the 30s at the sideshow, and then they transformed
into the attractions. But not as literally, it was more suggested in
that production. So this is more realistic in a lot of ways.
MW: Do you feel like the revival is getting a better reception than
the show did the rst time around?
RUSSELL: The rst time around it was very well-received. Audi-
ences were very enthusiastic, and people came back again and
again. But I do feel that the show, as a vehicle, is much stronger
in this incarnation, and plays more strongly as a story. I think the
narrative momentum of it is stronger and that affects audiences.
The audiences at the Kennedy Center have been so uniformly
enthusiastic. And you can just feel them sitting on the edge of
their seat, listening to every syllable, every note of music. And
responding so positively.
MW: As an interesting side note, the other big musical at the Ken-
nedy Center right now is The Lion King and both shows played
in the same season in their original New York productions.
RUSSELL: That was a very hard season. You know, that fall
musicals on Broadway dont typically open in the fall, so we
thought with a fall opening wed sort-of have it all to ourselves.
But in that particular year seven musicals opened in the fall,
including Ragtime and Lion King, both of which had producers
with very deep pockets. Had we been able to hang in there, I
think we would have found an audience, but we just didnt have
our producers were fantastic, but they didnt have the kind of
money to make that possible.
MW: Youve already said you identify with Side Show because you
felt so different from those around you growing up. When did you
realize you were gay?
RUSSELL: Well, I knew I was attracted to men fairly early, but
I really fought that with everything I could. I didnt come out
until I was 23. But I knew, I knew. And because of that I felt very
different. I was feminine, and I took a lot of shit in high school
because of that. And I wasnt into sports. And yet I was a leader
in a way. I was president of my church group and the French
club and on student council. So I was very visible, which made
that even worse in a way. But I did grow up in a super-macho
atmosphere, and I knew that I had no interest in what my family
did, which was raise cattle. I didnt want to go hunting. I wasnt
into sports. None of that. I felt really odd.
MW: When did you develop your interest in theater and writing?
RUSSELL: [Laughs.] South Dakota is not exactly a hotbed of the-
ater. But for some reason I was bitten by the theater bug at a very
early age. When I was in second grade, I wrote and directed a
version of Cinderella with all my friends in it. A lot of kids do that
kind of thing, but I think what was different about me, was that
I talked every teacher in the elementary school into letting out
class to come see my show. And they did!
And though there isnt a lot of theater in South Dakota, I
grew up in a town called Spearsh. Its in the Black Hills. I was
actually born in Deadwood, like Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity
Jane that Deadwood. And Spearsh was the home of the Black
Hills Passion Play, which was performed there every summer
for at least 60 years, maybe longer. It was started by a German
guy named Joseph Meier, who modeled it on the Oberammergau
Passion Play. And it was in an outdoor amphitheater that seated
5,000 people. The stage is three and a half blocks long. Theres a
real chill when they crucied Jesus, and the area is a big tourist
area. Its 50 miles from Mount Rushmore. So when I was grow-
ing up, a lot of tourists from the Midwest would go to Mount
Rushmore in the morning, when the light is best on it, and then
end up in Spearsh for the Passion Play at night. It ran three
nights a week. And they had a cast of 20 professional actors, but
then it was supplemented by 200 extras, who were local people,
coordinated by different churches. And so I appeared in that from
the time I was ve years old, starting as a child that Jesus blessed
in the Garden of Bethany. And then I led a whole herd of sheep.
I graduated to leading Arabian horses, then camels. And I was in
that all through high school. And there were all these professional
actors, and it was a real backstage life. I really grew up in that.
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MW: Did you perform in it as a professional actor, too?
RUSSELL: No, no.
MW: Do they still do it?
RUSSELL: No, it closed within the last 10 years. The guy who ran it
died. He had been playing Jesus until he was 83 years old, hang-
ing up on the cross. His daughter is quite a well-known opera
singer, Johanna Meier, and she took over running it. But the
world had changed. It wasnt selling like it used to, and they just
couldnt keep it open. So they closed it.
MW: Did your experience as a child actor make you want to pursue
a career as a professional actor?
RUSSELL: Yes, like everybody, I think thats your rst interest
when youre drawn to this. And I was very active in high school,
in theater and in declamation, which was a big thing in South
Dakota. And I won the state declamation contest a couple of
times. And then I majored in theater in college. I started thinking
I wanted to be an actor, but after a couple years I realized that my
interest was more in writing and directing. So I transferred to a
bigger college where I could have more opportunities to do that.
MW: How did you get started in your theater career?
RUSSELL: When I was in my freshman year of college, in Sioux
City, Iowa, I wrote to several theaters and theater-related places
on the East Coast, and I was hired by this resort in New Jersey
that hired mainly theater and music majors. We did shows for
the clientele at night. I had two very successful summers there,
both directing and performing. And that was 60 miles from New
York City, so every day off I would go into the city to see shows.
And I was particularly taken by the original production of
Hair, which I think I saw seven times. Every day off I would
go see Hair. And that was the musical that inspired me to write
musicals. And at this resort, I met this music major from Oberlin
named Janet Hood.
MW: And with Janet, youve also written what Ive seen called a
poetic theatrical concert, Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging
Queens, rst performed in 1990.
RUSSELL: That was inspired partly by [Edgar Lee Masterss]
Spoon River Anthology. Its a series of monologues. Free-verse
monologues by characters whove died from AIDS, interspersed
with songs. And that score is by Janet Hood. Were writing our
fth musical together right now. Elegies is done a lot in Europe,
especially in the U.K., because it had a higher commercial prole
over there.
MW: How much did AIDS affect you? Did Elegies spring from
personal inspiration?
RUSSELL: Oh yeah. In 87, AIDS was really encroaching on my
circle of friends. And I knew Rock Hudson a little, and it was
really getting to me. And I just felt like I had to write about it. Ive
written free verse ever since high school, and I was interested in
doing a project in that form, because Im very comfortable with
it. And I had the idea of a Spoon River, but about AIDS. And I also
THE JOY OF BEING SIR
Side Shows Robert Joy gets his freak on
BY RANDY SHULMAN
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OBERT JOY IS HAVING A JOYFUL MOMENT.
In our 19 years together, Henry and I have
never worked together until this production,
proclaims the 62-year-old actor.
Henry is Henry Krieger, the composer of
Dreamgirls and of the revamped Side Show, playing through
July 13 at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Were
always looking for opportunities to
be in the same city, because we both
travel quite a bit. For us to be work-
ing on the same project is a thrill.
In the musical, based on real-life
events, Joy portrays Sir, a carnival
barker who serves as guardian to the
sideshows star exhibit Daisy and
Violet Hilton, conjoined twins who
went on, briey, to fame and for-
tune in the early 30s and eventually
starred in Tod Brownings landmark
1932 horror lm, Freaks.
Joy was initially reluctant to
watch the Browning lm, but once
he mustered the courage - stream-
ing it on a laptop in his dressing room
he admits to being changed by it.
Its an amazing experience, he
says. There is some bad acting in it
and it is, on some levels, hilarious,
its so bad. But the lm as a vision
is the kind of thing that changes you because it asks you the
question What it is to be a human being? Is there a point at
which the individuality of these characters, or their deformi-
ties, or their challenges makes them less them human? Or
does it make them more intensely human? Its astounding,
really, that movie.
Well known for his role as Dr. Sid Hammerback in CSI:
NY, and from such indelible 80s lms as Desperately Seeking
Susan, Ragtime and Atlantic City, Joy wanted to convey in the
role of Sir a kind of freakishness, hence the odd hairstyle
and deliberately ghoulish appearance. But he also notes that
the character is not as inherently evil as audiences are quick
to conclude. Hes a damaged human being, says Joy. And
hes doing his best to run this sideshow with whatever per-
sonality and history he comes to it with.
I was just talking to the prop master from the original
New York production, he continues. He said that David
Chase, the musical director, told him that Side Show is the
closest thing to a religious experience youre going to get in
the theatre.
I thought about that and I think its because what this
show does is challenge us to connect. Truly connect. Its
about these two women who were connected physically. But
its all about how essential it is for us to proceed as human
beings, to be open to the love and the connection that is avail-
able to us. I think it is a pretty profound experience.
Were all freaks, he concludes. We all feel at some level
we dont t or its hard for us to connect to each other. Theres
a part of each of us that feels freakish. l
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was at the initial unveiling of the NAMES Project AIDS Memo-
rial Quilt on the Mall in Washington. And that became sort-of
the metaphor. Whereas in Spoon River, theyre all in a cemetery
in Illinois, all of these characters have quilt panels. I started it
almost as an exercise. I started writing these monologues based
on a friend, and others who had AIDS but were still alive. And
then it just started growing and I asked Janet if shed be inter-
ested in writing songs, and we started writing songs. So that was
a very intense time, from 87 when we started that until 93, it
was in the West End.
I just directed a production of Elegies at Marymount Col-
lege here in Manhattan, and we updated the script. Because
unfortunately AIDS is not over yet. And the history of it is still
worth reexamining. It was an extraordinary time with so many
extraordinary stories, not just tragic stories but heroic stories.
Thats still such a personal piece to me, and I will direct that
anytime anyone asks. I love doing it.
MW: Another thing that struck me while reading your recent Play-
bill essay is how publicly out you are, especially when youre back
in South Dakota. You often put together cabarets of your songs
and discuss the gay aspects of them, for instance, and youve also
spoken at a local pride event. That takes a lot of courage. Im origi-
nally from Kansas City, Mo., and I identify to an extent with your
experience, but Im not nearly as out or I guess courageous on
return trips as you are.
RUSSELL: Well, I also have a platform. Ive gained a fair amount
of notoriety. When I go back, I do these shows where I host
evenings of my songs performed by local talent. So I do have
that platform, and I use it to talk about being gay. Because so
many people out there especially think they dont know any gay
people. It is harder for people to come out there. But I am known
in the community and I like to remind them that one of their
native sons is gay.
MW: But that takes balls to put yourself out there like that. Cer-
tainly decades ago it did. It might be easier now.
RUSSELL: Well, still everywhere theres a lot of people in the
closet. I feel bad in Washington, really. Because it is a conserva-
tive town, and people have jobs where they dont feel comfort-
able being out.
MW: Although its changed a lot in just the last decade alone. As
with everywhere else.
RUSSELL: Oh yeah, no question. I mean gay marriage has changed
that a lot. And the publicity. When [my partner and I] got married,
which was ve years ago now, I sent the announcement to all the
papers in western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming, and they
all printed it. And that got a lot of attention. Because it was the rst
gay marriage out there that at least people knew about.
MW: Has your family come around to accept you?
RUSSELL: My father, when I rst came out in an interview in the
70s with the Rapid City Journal, didnt speak to me for three
years. But he eventually came around. He really got on well with
my husband, Bruce, and we visited there several times. And he
visited here a couple times. In fact he came to the Off-Broadway
opening of Pageant. He died in 92, so he never saw Side Show,
but I was really happy he loved Pageant.
MW: Speaking of Pageant, thats back Off-Broadway now, right?
RUSSELL: It just started Off-Broadway, yes. Oh Pageant is so much
fun. Im so glad its going to have another life. Its a real crowd-
pleaser. Im probably best known for Side Show [in the U.S.], and in
Europe Im really best known for Elegies, both of which are more
serious works. But I do have this whole comedy background.
MW: You mentioned the Passion Play and how it was organized in
part by local church groups. What denomination were you, and are
you still practicing?
RUSSELL: Methodist, and no. The Methodist church, Im over them.
They are so homophobic. Theyre really slow to come around.
MW: Theyre more middle-of-the-road, so they think of or present
themselves as more progressive.
RUSSELL: Yeah, right. Right.
MW: You mentioned a new musical with Janet Hood. Thats Unex-
pected Joy, right? What is it about?
RUSSELL: Unexpected Joy is about gay marriage. Its with four
women, and weve been doing readings with Annie Golden and
Lillias White great, great performers. The plot is a little hard
to describe, but Ill try. The show is framed by a concert. Its a
memorial concert put on by the title character Joy. She and her
common-law husband were a folk-rock duo that was quite suc-
cessful in the late 50s and on, and they had a daughter Rachel,
though they were never married, who grew up and rebelled
against their hippie musician lifestyle. And married a televange-
list, and she performs on his show. Theyve always been kind of
estranged, but Rachel has come for this memorial honoring her
father, and brought her daughter, who has just graduated from
high school. And Rachel is secretly writing songs that are at odds
with her mother and fathers kind of music and message. And
what Joy, the grandmother, has not told them, is that, because
all these old friends are coming for this memorial concert, the
next day she is getting married to her new girlfriend who is
an African-American musician. So they all have their own musi-
cal styles. And the music is either in the concert or its their
thoughts. We see the daughter Rachel performing on her hus-
bands television show.
The response has been fantastic, and Im really excited about
it. And I hope it gets produced before gay marriage is such a
pass issue that it doesnt mean as much.
MW: I understand you married your husband Bruce ve years ago
but at that point you had already been together a whopping 30
years. Whats the secret to the longevity?
RUSSELL: A sense of humor. We still make each other laugh all
the time. And, for us, we share a lot of the same interests and pas-
sions, especially for the theater. Bruce is a very avid theatergoer,
and knows a lot about the history of musical theater especially.
And we see a lot of theater. I see more theater than most people
I work with, I have to say. And thats a lot because of Bruces
interest in it.
MW: Do you have kids or pets?
RUSSELL: No, no. No kids, no pets. I travel quite a lot. Bruce also
has quite a commute to his job, so he couldnt come home at
lunch to walk the dog or whatever. And neither of us really ever
wanted kids, unlike many gay people. Thats nothing something
we ever aspired to.
MW: But a decade or two ago you probably didnt think youd ever
get married either.
RUSSELL: Well, thats true. Absolutely. In fact when the whole
gay marriage thing started, we were like, Why? One of the great
things about being gay is that you dont have to buy into all of
that. But then, it just became a point where we thought it was
important to do it, you know?
Side Show runs to July 13 at Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater.
Tickets are $45 to $130. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.
Pageant - The Musical, now in previews, runs at Off-Broadways
Davenport Theatre, 354 West 45th St. New York. Tickets are
$49.50 to $79.50. Call 212-239-6200 or visit Telecharge.com or
pageantmusical.com. l
JULY 3 - 10, 2014
SPOTLIGHT
A CAPITOL FOURTH
Its not something you likely want to do every
year too many tourists but everybody should at
least once head down to the U.S. Capitol to hear the
National Symphony Orchestras annual A Capitol
Fourth concert. This year as ever Jack Everly leads
the NSO in a performance of patriotic favorites and
classical masterworks, most notably Tchaikvoskys
1812 Overture, for which a cannon is generally red
shortly before the national reworks display at 9:10
p.m. TV personality Tom Bergeron returns to host
the program, which also includes performances by
the Choral Arts Society of Washington and a couple
of military bands. Friday, July 4, at 8 p.m. West
Lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building. Free. Call 202-
467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org/nso/ for
more information.
BRANDY CLARK OPENING FOR
JENNIFER NETTLES
The great lesbian country singer-songwriter that
everyone should know by name returns so soon
after a rousing show in late May at the Birchmere,
this time to open for Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland
just as she did in February at Lincoln Theatre.
Over the past few years Clark has established herself
as a preeminent Nashville songwriter, writing
smarter, more sophisticated songs, many of which
have become major hits from Mamas Broken
Heart for Miranda Lambert to Better Dig Two
for The Band Perry. And if you saw this years
Grammy Awards, no doubt you remember Kacey
Musgraves performing Clarks twangy gay-afrming
anthem Follow Your Arrow. But since last fall
Clark has also started gaining attention as a singer
and an artist in her own right, with the release of her
tremendous, and tremendously entertaining, debut
album 12 Stories. I think life is a dark comedy, so to
me my songs are kind of dark comedy, a lot of them,
she tells Metro Weekly. Tough subject matter but
really delivered a little bit tongue in cheek. Sunday,
July 13, at 8 p.m. The Filene Center at Wolf Trap,
1551 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $25 to $50. Call
877-WOLFTRAP or visit wolftrap.org.
BURLESQUE-A-PADES:
STAR SPANGLED REVUE
Just in the time for Americas birthday the Birchmere
offers the International Queen of Burlesque Angie
Potanis all-new patriotic burlesque and variety revue.
The show features many of the countrys most popular
performers in todays revived burgeoning burlesque
scene, including Kitten n Lou, a just-married Seattle
lesbian couple who dances and crack jokes while
wearing outlandish costumes. Saturday, July 5, at
7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave.,
Alexandria. Tickets are $45. Call 703-549-7500 or
visit birchmere.com or pontanisisters.com
ONCE THERE WERE BILLIONS
Once There Were Billions: Vanished Birds of North
America documents those species of birds weve lost
on this continent over the past two centuries, from
the pufn-like great auck to the Carolina parakeet
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Gay-Rocking Mormon
Tyler Glenn of Neon Trees nds freedom, support since coming out
T
HE MORMON CHURCH IS NOTORIOUSLY STEADFAST IN ITS OPPOSI-
tion to LGBT behavior and rights, as well as marriage equality. But thats not
always top of mind in a Mormon believers struggle to come out.
I dont know if its that the media has latched on to the stories about really
oppressed Mormons, says Tyler Glenn. But for me, I never really felt oppressed
because I was Mormon.... I dont know, I never heard that homosexuality was wrong
on Sundays. That wasnt something that we were really taught in church.
The lead singer of the New Wave/pop band Neon Trees, Glenn came out publicly
a few months ago. I just came to that point when I was tired of the excuses, he says.
Glenn, who remembers having crushes on boys at age six, rst came out to the bands
producer about a year ago, then the full band and his family all, in point of fact,
Mormons. The response? Pretty incredible, he says. I dont think Ive lost a single
friend, honestly. I denitely feel closer to people in my life that maybe were just kind
of there before.... And my family has been really supportive.
Glenn came out in the buildup to release of the bands energetic new album Pop
Psychology, on which only the rst single, Sleeping With a Friend, is explicitly gay.
I had written the album prior to telling anyone outwardly that I was gay, he says.
So instead of anything gay per se, the lyrics are more universal, often touching on the
hurdles to nd love in todays modern age. I had a real fear that I wouldnt nd love
and I think I might still have that, Glenn says. Of course, at least theoretically,
coming out should help minimize that fear. Coming out also aided in the albums
promotion I just found comfort in talking about the songs honestly and has
been a boon on tour, too.
It seems like theres more of a connection to some of the nuances in the music
and lyrics, Glenn says. And I think my overall performance has been a lot more
carefree. I think there was always an element of holding back before. Doug Rule
Neon Trees performs Friday, July 11, at Rams Head Live!, 20 Market Place, Balti-
more. Tickets are $25. Call 410-244-1131 or visit ramsheadlive.com. The Sunday, July
13, show at Nightclub 9:30, 815 V St. NW. is sold out. Visit 930.com.

to the heath hen to the passenger pigeon, not to be
confused with the commonplace carrier pigeon.
Through Oct. 15. National Museum of Natural
History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW.
Call 202-633-1000 or visit mnh.si.edu.
SMITHSONIAN FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL
The culture of Kenya and China are explored at this
years festival on the Mall through music, theater,
crafts, and especially food, curated by a group of local
cooks and restaurants with Kenyan and Chinese ties.
Through Sunday, July 6. The National Mall, between
7th and 14th Streets NW. Free. Call 202-633-1000 or
www.festival.si.edu for event details and schedule.
TOM GOSS, NATASCIA DIAZ KICK OFF
SIGNATURES CABARET SERIES
Signature Theatres annual popular cabaret series
is possibly gayer this year than ever before, with
a lineup that includes the Gay Mens Chorus of
Washington, D.C., Nicholas Rodriguez, Colleen
McHugh with Early Barbra: Streisand in the
60s, Special Agent Galactica, Will Gartshore with
Cole & Noel & Steve, and culminating in the
popular Revenge of the Understudies, with songs
performed by some of the past seasons talented
understudies. But the series starts with the great
Natascia Diaz in Never Been Gone, featuring
70s-era songs by Carole King, Carly Simon, Joni
Mitchell and Don McLean, on Wednesday, July 9,
at 8 p.m., followed by gay D.C. crooner Tom Goss on
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Gleeful
Matthew Morrison brings his swinging style to Wolf Trap
M
ORE THAN A FEW TIMES IN HIS LIFE, MATTHEW MORRISON HAS HAD GAY FRIENDS CHOOSE HIM
as the rst person to come out to. Im open, a really good listener, a good friend, he reasons. I think Im a safe
person to start with, and hopefully that journey just goes on and on for them. Im really attered I could be that
person for several people.
The actor, who stars as Will Schuester on Glee, adds, Im very happy to be a part of a world where two men and two
women can actually get married in some places now. Im excited to see what the future brings.
Glee hasnt been afraid to tackle LGBT issues over the years and Morrison is keenly
aware of the impact its had on its young audience. I think it did so much good in our
world, he says. It brought a lot of social issues to light being gay in high school, bully-
ing that were faced with. Im really proud of the way weve handled those situations.
Next Thursday, July 10, Morrison will bring years of Broadway and screen experience
to a performance with the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap. Im the classic
song and dance man, he says of his planned repertoire. A lot of the old standards rein-
terpreted in my own way, and timeless classics I just love to sing. Tony Award-winner
Laura Benanti, who recently sang with the Gay Mens Chorus of Washington, will
appear alongside Morrison as a featured guest. It gives me the opportunity to do
something different, he enthused. Well sing a couple duets, and then shell do
some of her stuff.
Hes also looking forward to working with NSO Pops conductor Steven
Reineke again. Hes a trumpet player, so he especially gets the kind of music Im
trying to do, because my stuff I guess you would say it swings a little bit more.
With Glee entering its nal season, Emmy- and Tony-nominated Morrison who starred on
Broadway in the original casts of Hairspray and The Light in the Piazza is looking forward to
what the future will bring.
Im so lucky to live this life and to be an entertainer, he says. Its something Ive always
wanted to do and to do it at the kind of level Im doing it, is something that I wish everyone could
experience... I try to make every performance genuine and true. Im very happy with my life, my fam-
ily, my soon to be wife. Its all good in Morrisons neighborhood. Randy Shulman
Matthew Morrison appears with the NSO at Wolf Trap on Thursday, July
10 at 8:15 p.m. Tickets are $22 to $75. For more info visit wolftrap.org or call
877-WOLFTRAP.
Thursday, July 10, at 8 p.m., Erin Driscolls mixtape
of the Broadway and pop tunes that inspired her
growing up on Friday, July 11, at 7 p.m., Bobby Smith
and Evan Casey performing Dont You Know Who
I Am? on Friday, July 11, at 9 p.m., and Alysha
Umphress performing Live in Shirleyvegas! on
Saturday, July 12, at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. The series runs
to July 26. Signature Theatres ARK Theatre, 4200
Campbell Ave., Arlington. Tickets are $25 for each
show, or $150 for a special All-Access Pass. Call 703-
820-9771 or visit signature-theatre.org for a complete
schedule.
FILM
AI WEIWEI: THE FAKE CASE
Picking up where Alison Klaymans Ai Weiwei:
Never Sorry left off, Andreas Johnsens provocative
documentary Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case is more
explicitly political, reecting the famous Chinese
conceptual artists battle against the gigantic
lawsuit thrust upon him by the Chinese government
in an effort to silence him. Opens Friday, July 4.
Landmarks E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call
202-452-7672 or visit landmarktheatres.com.
BEGIN AGAIN
Adam Levine ditches Keira Knightley once they
arrive in New York to pursue their musical dreams
in the latest lm from writer/director John Carney
but soon enough Knightley, well, begins again, after
a chance encounter with Mark Ruffalo, a hero again,
just a month after HBOs The Normal Heart. Musical
artists CeeLo Green and Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) join
Levine in diversifying their career portfolio with
acting. Now playing. Area theaters. Visit fandango.
com.
LA BARE
In his feature directorial debut, Magic Mikes Joe
Manganiello goes behind the curtain, behind the
stage and behind the magic of the worlds most
popular male strip club La Bare Dallas. La
Bare screens locally at the Angelika Pop-Up, the
temporary movie theater at Union Market, until next
years grand opening of the specialty movie chains
newest location at the gourmet food market. Opening
Friday, July 4. Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market,
550 Penn St. NE Unit E. Call 800-680-9095 or visit
angelikapopup.com.
LIFE ITSELF
Roger Ebert gets the documentary treatment in
Steve Jamess Life Itself, executive produced by
Martin Scorsese and Steven Zaillian, and tracing
the entertaining life of the incredibly inuential lm
critic and social commentator, who died last year.
Its based on the bestselling memoir of the same
name. Opens Friday, July 4. Landmarks E Street
Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672 or visit
landmarktheatres.com.
marketplace
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the lead role of a third-rate detective in New York,
while stunning Signature star Erin Driscoll plays his
client and love interest. (Christopher Bloch rounds
out the cast playing multiple other roles.) Cloak and
Dagger will ultimately win you over. The music is
perfectly pleasant and hummable, and the Signature
team of designers has done its typical up-to-snuff
job in allowing you to escape into a world of
exaggerated reality much as if watching a black-and-
white detective movie. Closes this Sunday, July 6.
Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington.
Tickets are $40 to $95. Call 703-820-9771 or visit
signature-theatre.org. (Doug Rule)
GROUNDED
Through its Studio Special Events series, Studio
Theatre welcomes Londons Gate Theatre and its
visceral production of George Brants gripping solo
show about the world of remote warfare aka the
use of drones which was a sold-out hit at the
Edinburgh Fringe. Christopher Haydon directs Lucy
Ellinson, who plays a pregnant hotshot military
pilot who ies drones in Afghanistan from a trailer
outside Las Vegas. Closes this Sunday, July 6. Studio
Theatre, 14th & P Streets NW. Call 202-332-3300 or
visit studiotheatre.org.
PRIVATE LIVES
Nol Cowards fast-talking, manners-breaking
comedy makes its Shakespeare Theatre Company
debut as an end to the current season. The show
revolves around two divorcees who happen to be
honeymooning with their new spouses at the same
hotel. Drama and witty word play ensues. To July 13.
Lansburgh Theatre, 450 7th St. NW. Call 202-547-
1122 or visit shakespearetheatre.org.
MUSIC
CASTLETON FESTIVAL
Six years ago the celebrated classical music maestro
Lorin Maazel and his wife Dietlinde Turban-Maazel
helped create this festival as a way to boost the careers
of young artists, pairing them with professional
mentors to produce full-scale operas and rst-rate
concerts. Taking place at the Maazels picturesque
property in Virginias Rappahannock County, the
not-exclusively classical event runs for an entire
month. Upcoming highlights: All American Band
Concert featuring classic works by Francis Scott
Key, John Philip Sousa, Leonard Bernstein, Leroy
Anderson and Scott Joplin, on Friday, July 4, a
new production of Mozarts Don Giovanni helmed
by Maestro Maazel, on Saturday, July 5 plus
Saturday, July 12, and Friday, July 18 a chamber
music concert by the Castleton Chamber Players, on
Sunday, July 6, and a new production of Madama
Buttery led by Maazel, performed several times but
tickets remain only on Friday, July 11. To July 20.
The Castleton Festival, 7 Castleton Meadows Land,
Castleton, Va. For tickets and more details, call 866-
974-0767 or visit www.castletonfestival.org.
LEELA JAMES
Last year this great, gritty, big-voiced R&B singer,
known for a signature guttural growl, released
Loving You MoreIn The Spirit of Etta James. And
if any contemporary singer most conjures thoughts
of the late Etta, its the same-surnamed though
unrelated Leela. Birchmere now offers a return for
James, who just performed at the Alexandria dinner
hall last November, with another concert in advance
of her forthcoming album Fall For You. Wednesday,
July 9, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount
Vernon Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $45. Call 703-
549-7500 or visit birchmere.com or leelajames.com.
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW
Every Friday and Saturday Landmarks E Street
Cinema shows lms at midnight that are more risqu
or campy than the usual fare. And, no surprise, once
a month brings screenings of a certain cult classic.
Each screening is accompanied by the shadow cast
Sonic Transducers, who act out the lm in front of
the screen with props and costumes. Friday, July
11, and Saturday, July 12, at midnight. Landmarks E
Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672
or visit landmarktheatres.com.
THIRD PERSON
Writer/director Paul Haggiss latest lm follows
the formula that earned him an Oscar with Crash,
following three largely unrelated stories of love,
passion, trust and betrayal. Theres Liam Neeson
playing a Paris-based author who has left his wife,
played by Kim Basinger, for a tempestuous affair
with aspiring writer Olivia Wilde; Adrien Brody
as a shady American businessman entangled in an
elaborate con game in Italy; and Mila Kunis as a
once-famous soap star reduced to status as a New
York hotel maid thanks to the costly child custody
battle waged by ex-husband and famous artist
James Franco. Now playing. Landmarks E Street
Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672 or visit
landmarktheatres.com. Also Landmarks Bethesda
Row Cinema, 7235 Woodmont Ave. Call 301-652-
7273 or visit landmarktheatres.com.
STAGE
AVENUE Q
Despite the time thats passed since Robert Lopez,
Jeff Marx and Jeff Whitty rst sent their profanity-
spewing puppets on stage to deliver such toe-tappers
as The Internet is for Porn, Everyones a Little Bit
Racist and that ode to loud sex You Can Be as Loud
as the Hell You Want (When Youre Makin Love),
Avenue Q is just as funny, surprising and good-
naturedly shocking as ever. Olney Theatre presents
a production of the show directed by its own artistic
director Jason Loewith and choreographed by
Bobby Smith. Extended to July 13. Olney Theatre
Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, Md.
Tickets are $43.50 to $63.50. Call 301-924-3400 or
visit olneytheatre.org.
CABARET
If you cant make it up to Broadway to see the revival
of the revival of the popular Kander & Ebb original,
the queer-identied theater company Richmond
Triangle Players offers its own production of the
show that started in June has now been extended
another couple weeks due to incredible, sold-out
popularity. The show focuses on the decadent and
sexually liberating era of 1930s Berlin and how
the Nazis killed off the culture and many of its
most creative and forward-thinking leaders, both
Jews and gays alike. Penny Ayn Maas directs and
choreographs RTPs production, staged in an
intimate cabaret style. Now extended to Saturday,
July 19. Richmond Triangle Players, 1300 Altamont
Ave. Richmond. Tickets are $32 to $35, or $18 for
the preview. Call 804-346-8113 or visit rtriangle.org.
CLOAK AND DAGGER
HHHHH
Ed Dixon, who a few years ago won a Helen Hayes
Award for his work in Signature Theatres Sunset
Boulevard, returns to the Shirlington showplace
to play a dozen characters in his very own
musical, Cloak and Dagger, a spoof of whodunit
mysteries from the mid-20th century. In this world
premiere production directed by Signatures Eric
Schaeffer, the overly polished Doug Carpenter plays
NSO AT WOLF TRAP:
FANTASIA LIVE IN CONCERT
Emil de Cou leads the NSO in a live performance of
music from Fantasia, while that enchanting Disney
animated musical plays on the big screen. The classic
lm broke new ground marrying symphonic music
with animation. The NSO production includes
music from the original 1940 version as well as
Fantasia 2000 a performance including excerpts
from Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Stravinsky,
Gershwin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Saint-Saens and more.
Friday, July 11, and Saturday, July 12, at 8:30 p.m.
The Filene Center at Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap Road,
Vienna. Tickets are $22 to $55. Call 877-WOLFTRAP
or visit wolftrap.org.
RADKEY
Radkey is a punk band of three teenage black
brothers from what no one considers a hotbed of
punk, St. Joseph, Mo. Where the Pony Express
started and Jesse James died, St. Joe, just a little
more than an hour north of Kansas City, is not even
known for much in the way of African-American
history or culture. In fact, it was the movie School
of Rock that most inspired these boys, whose real
last name is Radke, to stir things up, offering what
USA Today has called a refreshing reboot of punk
rock. Friday, July 11, at 7 p.m. DC9, 1940 9th St. NW.
Tickets are $10. Call 202-483-5000 or dcnine.com.
WHITE FORD BRONCO
After six years of regularly performing at smaller
venues throughout the area, D.C.s all 90s party
band, cheekily named after O.J. Simpsons notorious
failed getaway car, makes its debut as headline act at
the 9:30 Club. The ve-member ensemble, made up
of singer/guitarist Diego Valencia, singer Gretchen
Gustafson, guitarists Ken Sigmund and McNasty
and drummer Max Shapiro, will sing through that
decades songbook in all styles of popular music,
with an opening set by another local group, the
19th Street Band. Saturday, July 5. Doors at 8 p.m.
Nightclub 9:30, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $15. Call
202-265-0930 or visit 930.com.
GALLERIES
AN OPENING OF THE FIELD:
JESS, ROBERT DUNCAN
An Opening of the Field: Jess, Robert Duncan &
Their Circle is a visual arts and poetry exhibition set
against the backdrop of the love story between two
San Francisco Beat Generation artists: Jess Collins,
known simply as Jess, and Robert Duncan, who
formed their bond in the early 1950s. Jesss collages
and drawings were often published to accompany
Duncans poems and essays, and Duncans writings
and ideas often in turn made their way into Jesss
dense and allusive works. This exhibit looks at
their inuence on fellow Beat Generation artists
as well as their unique position as precursors of
Postmodernism, and includes works by other artists
including Edward Corbett and Lawrence Jordan and
poets Jack Spicer and Michael McClure. Through
Aug. 17. American University Museum at the Katzen
Arts Center, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Call 202-
885-1300 or visit american.edu/cas/museum.
ASCAP: ONE HUNDRED YEARS AND BEYOND
The Library of Congress offers an exhibition
featuring 45 objects celebrating the work of the
leading organization advocating on behalf of
musical artists. Included in this centennial toast
to the American Society of Composers, Authors
and Publishers is the original manuscript of
Henry Mancinis The Pink Panther theme, Paul
Williamss lyrics for The Rainbow Connection,
and the original lyrics, including the many drafts
and revisions, to the Barbra Streisand staple The
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examination of the serious impact of technology
on our lives, as seen through the eyes of more
than 40 artists, futurists and inventors in a hot-
wired blend of art, science, humor and imagination.
Through August. American Visionary Art Museum,
800 Key Highway, Baltimore. Call 410-244-1900 or
visit avam.org.
K@20: KREEGER MUSEUM 20TH ANNIVERSARY
In honor of its 20th anniversary, the Kreeger Museum,
south of American University in Northwests Wesley
Heights neighborhood, offers a multimedia show
from guest curator Sarah Tanguy highlighting 14
D.C.-area artists whove all been shown previously
at the museum, focused on modern art and housed
in the architecturally rich former home of David and
Carmen Kreeger. Installations, paintings, sculptures
and works on paper are on display from artists
including Kendall Buster, Ledelle Moe, Michael
Platt, Dan Steinhilber, Renee Stout and Yuriko
Yamaguchi. Through July 31. The Kreeger Museum,
2401 Foxhall Rd. Tickets are $10. Call 202-337-3050
or visit kreegermuseum.org.
MODERN SCULPTURE:
DIALOGUES IN THREE DIMENSIONS
While its galleries are closed for renovation and
expansion, the National Gallery of Art has set up
throughout its East Building a special installation of
modern sculpture from its renowned holdings. Three
times a week the gallery offers a new 60-minute
guided tour highlighting these works, allowing
patrons to engage with each other in open-ended
discussion about, in addition to the guide pointing
out connections between, the works on view, from
Alexander Calders monumental mobile Untitled
from 1976 to Andy Goldsworthys decade-old Roof.
The relationship between I.M. Peis East Building
and John Russell Pops West Building will also
be examined. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays,
at 1:30 p.m. National Gallery of Art East Building
Information Desk, 3rd Street at Constitution Avenue
NW. Call 202-737-4215 or visit nga.gov.
PERUVIAN GOLD:
ANCIENT TREASURES UNEARTHED
National Geographic Museum offers a show of gold
and silver artifacts on loan from three Peruvian
institutions, with the focus on a pre-Colombian
headdress called El Tocado. Skilled artisans
created objects, from ceremonial masks to jewelry,
that rival anything produced by the ancient
Egyptians. Through Sept. 14. National Geographic
Museum, 1145 17th St. NW. Tickets are $11. Call 202-
857-7588 or visit ngmuseum.org.
REGIONAL JURIED EXHIBITION
Hill Center Galleries offers this exhibition featuring
works in various mediums and subjects by over 50
Way We Were, written by Alan and Marilyn
Bergman. There are also interactive, audio and
video stations, and the screening of a lm featuring
artists explaining ASCAPs work. Through July 26.
Performing Arts Reading Room Gallery, the Library
of Congresss James Madison Memorial Building,
101 Independence Ave. SE. Call 202-707-8000 or
visit loc.gov/concerts.
DANCING THE DREAM
The National Portrait Gallery presents this
exhibition exploring the relationship between the
art of dance and the evolution of a modern American
identity. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Michael
Jackson, Savion Glover, George Balanchine, Mikhail
Baryshnikov, Beyonce and Lady Gaga all factor into
this exhibition of performers, choreographers and
impresarios whove created a rhythm to American
life since the late 19th century. Through July 13.
National Portrait Gallery, 8th and F Streets. NW.
Free. Call 202-633-8300 or visit npg.si.edu.
FACE VALUE:
PORTRAITURE IN THE AGE OF ABSTRACTION
The National Portrait Gallery presents an exhibition
featuring the works of a group of young artists in the
mid-20th century who deed the prevailing style of
the day to focus on the face and gure. Chuck Close,
Alice Neel, Elaine de Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg
and Andy Warhol are just some of the well-known
artists included in this survey that suggests they
pushed the boundaries of portrait traditions and
reinvented portraiture for the next generation.
Through Jan. 11. National Portrait Gallery, 8th and
F Streets. NW. Call 202-633-8300 or visit npg.si.edu.
FERMATA: A CELEBRATION OF SOUND
Billed as the venues rst exhibition dedicated
entirely to sound and also the regions largest
and most expansive sound exhibition to date,
Artispheres Fermata is a months-long extravaganza
featuring works by a wide variety of artists,
including composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, NASA
Kepler scientist Lucianne Walkowicz and D.C.s
own Richard Chartier. The works will be displayed
in month-long stages, or movements, ending in a
Coda in collaboration with the Transformer Gallery.
Through Aug. 10. Terrace Gallery at Artisphere, 1101
Wilson Blvd., Arlington. Free. Call 703-875-1100 or
visit artisphere.com.
GENOME: UNLOCKING LIFES CODE
Thanks to the work of the decade-long, $3
billion Human Genome Project, human society
has gained much greater insight into our bodies
and our health. Scientists have identied genes
that contribute to disease, stoking hope for ways
to treat or eradicate cancer among many other
ailments. This Smithsonian exhibition, which will
soon travel the country, explores the work and
growth in sequencing technology that helped spark
this medical and scientic revolution. Through
September. National Museum of Natural History,
10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Call 202-
633-1000 or visit mnh.si.edu.
GOLD RUSH
Strathmore presents an exhibition pairing two
artists who work in photography, painting and
mixed media all focus on on the color and metal gold:
D.C.-based artist and academic Thomas Xenakis and
Finnish artist Marita Liulia. Through July 27. The
Mansion at Strathmore, 10701 Rockville Pike, North
Bethesda. Call 301-581-5100 or visit strathmore.org.
HUMAN, SOUL & MACHINE:
THE COMING SINGULARITY!
Baltimores American Visionary Art Museum opens
its 19th original thematic yearlong exhibition this
weekend. Human, Soul & Machine is a playful
artists from the region. This years juror is Philip
Kennicott, the art and architecture critic for the
Washington Post. Through Sept. 28. Hill Center, Old
Navy Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Call 202-
549-4172 or visit HillCenterDC.org.
SYMBOLS OF HONOR
IN SHAKESPEARES ENGLAND
The Folger presents the exhibition Symbols of
Honor: Heraldry and Family History in Shakespeares
England, documenting the craze for coats of arms in
Elizabethan England, a time when newly wealthy
and successful families were eager to display
their status and when modern genealogy took
root. Exceptional treasures on display include the
original drafts of William Shakespeares own coat of
arms. Through Oct. 26. Folger Great Hall in Folger
Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol St. SE. Free.
Call 202-544-7077 or visit folger.edu.
WHISTLER AND THE THAMES:
AN AMERICAN IN LONDON
An American in London is an international loan
exhibition co-organized by the Arthur M. Sackler
Gallery focused on the 19th century artist James
McNeill Whistler. This American got his start in
Victorian England, charting the changes wrought
by industrialization, from altered vistas to new
landmarks to greater urbanization. More than 80
works are on display in a show that Time Out London
raved, Every single painting is worth the trip.
Through Aug. 17. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 1050
Independence Ave. SW. Call 202-633-4800 or visti
asia.si.edu.
WINDOW TO WASHINGTON
Window to Washington: The Kiplinger Collection
at HSW is an exhibition at Washingtons Carnegie
Library that traces the development of the nations
capital from a sleepy Southern town to a modern
metropolis, as documented through the works
of artists. The Historical Society of Washington,
D.C., exhibition was made possible by a donation
from the Kiplinger family. Its also an early step in
a reorganization effort by the society, which has
struggled to revive ever since its short-lived effort
a decade ago to run a City Museum of Washington
proved too ambitious. Open Mondays and
Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Thursdays
from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Historical Society of
Washington, D.C., at the Carnegie Library, 801 K
St. NW. Call 202-393-1420 or visit historydc.org. l
METROWEEKLY.COM JULY 3, 2014
FOR MORE OUT ON THE TOWN LISTINGS
PLEASE VISIT
WWW.METROWEEKLY.COM
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Alternate Endings
Wolfenstein is solid, enjoyable
and decidedly retro
W
OLFENSTEIN: THE NEW ORDER STARTS
by posing one question, a question that fuels
every decision and story arc over the games
single-player narrative: What if? The series
has always focused on the Nazis as an antagonist their hor-
ric atrocities during World War II provide endless material
for inspiring gamers to pick up a gun and work through a cam-
paign but it does so with a heavy dose of ction. Wolfenstein
3D, which debuted in 1992 and established most of the tropes
that exist in modern rst-person shooters, ended its campaign
by pitting the player against Hitler, dressed in a chain-gun suit.
History Channel this isnt.
With The New Order, players once again nd themselves in
the shoes of protagonist William B.J. Blazkowicz, a U.S. sol-
dier of Polish descent. Blazkowicz entered the series in Wolfen-
stein 3D and, in the time since, has killed Hitler, assassinated a
variety of ctional Nazi leaders, halted Nazi weapons research,
stopped plans to resurrect an ancient German king, stopped the
Fourth Reichs usage of paranormal powers to destroy their
enemies, and prevented evil SS leader Deathshead from creating
an army of undead cyborgs. Hes been busy, in other words.
Though he has accomplished a lot, it has all seemingly been
for naught, as The New Orders alternate reality attempts to
answer the biggest what if of them all: what if the Nazis had
won World War II? Its a pretty terrifying thought Hitler and
company oversaw a genocide that killed an estimated eleven mil-
lion people between 1941 and 1945. What if those atrocities had
been allowed to continue, unabated? In Blazkowiczs world, its
reality. The game opens in 1946, three years after the events of
Wolfenstein, in a world where the Nazis have created advanced
weaponry and transport, allowing them to easily outgun the
Allied forces. Fighter jets, mechanized attack dogs, large robotic
walkers all enable the Nazis to easily swat away any Allied
bombers and military units.
Players are dropped into the game in the middle of an intense Z
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reght, as Allied forces attempt to storm a Nazi weapons research
facility. Here, The New Order not only shows its age, but also
proves that theres more than a little truth to the tried-and-tested
analogy. As you take control of Blazkowicz, everything feels right.
He feels heavy on his feet, though far from unwieldy, moving in a
way youd expect of someone carrying so much armor and weap-
onry. Gun control is spot on, a nice balance between the heavy
realism of Killzone and the light, zippy rearms of Call of Duty.
The series that dened the rst person shooter proves it can make
a game feel just as good as its modern competitors.
Once youve expended all of the bullets in your arsenal or
taken a few hits from the AI, which has been well-programmed,
offering anking maneuvers and intelligent reactions, the games
retro roots start to show. Unlike almost every other action-ori-
ented game on the market, and even its predecessor from 2009,
Wolfenstein, theres no health regeneration. Blazkowicz cant
endure a torrent of bullets to the chest and simply duck behind
cover to feel better. Instead, Wolfenstein relies on separate
health and armor meters the latter helping dull the reduction
of the former. Filling either is accomplished by nding health
kits, food and pieces of armor that Blazkowicz can pick up. Ditto
when that rie youve been recklessly ring runs out of ammo,
players will need to scour the battleeld and downed Nazis
bodies to replenish their stocks.
At the start of the game, it feels so old-fashioned its almost
a turn off. Picking up health and ammo is accomplished by
running over it and pressing a button its not automati-
cally grabbed like in other games which can lead to some
very inelegant moments of running through areas mashing the
appropriate button in the hopes that youll grab everything you
need. However, after a while, it starts to make sense, not only
because its the way it was handled in the original Wolfenstein
3D. Though realism is far from The New Orders intention, it
does add a challenge to gameplay and makes Blazkowicz feel
much more human and vulnerable than he otherwise would.
Micromanaging his health and armor, making every bullet
count, making liberal use of the simple, one-button cover sys-
tem becomes an essential part of gameplay. Unlike other shoot-
ers where its easy to run into an open area and start ring off
shots before retreating to recover and regaining any lost health,
I had to really think my way around some of the trickier areas
present in the campaign. Often, my own mistakes would lead to
impassable situations at one point I was left with very little
health and faced with having to ght through a corridor lled
with soldiers eagerly waiting to put holes in my body. Unable
to advance, I had to scour the battleeld for a health kit that
offered enough of a boost to ensure Id survive the assault.
Wolfenstein forced me to take care of Blazkowicz, which only
helped with regard to the main highlight of playing through The
New Order its excellent narrative.
Unlike many modern shooters, where
the story is present to drive you from one
set piece to the other, doling out explo-
sions and dramatic moments along the
way, Wolfensteins biggest strength is the
story it successfully weaves. What helps
the most this time around is that Blaz-
kowicz is a fully realized character. His
humanity is made apparent in cutscenes
and internal monologues, offering a man
who is battle-hardened, yes, but who also
dreams of an end to the war, of settling
down and having children, of living an
easier life. MachineGames, who crafted the game, isnt afraid to
test his emotional limits, either. The games opening scene tasks
the player with choosing between two characters one will live
and one will die, affecting the plot and its Blazkowicz who
bears the emotional impact. Whats more, shortly after, he is
knocked unconscious, a piece of shrapnel embedded in his brain.
Taken to an asylum in Poland, he is left to recover for fourteen
years. Yes, the main portion of Wolfenstein: The New Order takes
place in 1960, and thats what makes it all so utterly gripping.
Blazkowicz wakes up to a world unrecognizable from the one
he was last conscious in. The Nazis, dominant after World War
II, are a global power, their technological prowess unsurpassable.
They were the rst to develop the atomic bomb, which they used
to force America to surrender. They conquered Europe, Asia,
Africa and the Americas. Theyve embarked on space exploration,
colonizing the moon. Cities levelled as the Nazis invaded have
been rebuilt with concrete mega-structures London, which
features heavily in the story, is unrecognizable. Every citizen is
under constant surveillance, with German citizens living in rela-
tive peace and comfort and every other race and nationality sub-
ject to routine invasions of privacy. Anyone attempting to push
back against the Nazi regime is put to death or shipped to con-
centration camps. Blazkowicz, who has seen and done so much
to halt the advance of the Nazis, who has sacriced and killed and
made horric decisions, is forced to see that it was all for nothing.
Its completely, utterly engrossing. I found myself drawn
into the alternate reality of the games world, desiring to see
and learn as much as possible about a possible timeline where
the Nazis are victorious. The games history is drip-fed through
newspaper clippings, personal diaries and conversations with
other characters, revealing the struggles of the resistance efforts,
the advance of the Nazis across the globe and the eventual
change in reporting as newspapers in conquered regions are
commandeered to advocate the superior Nazi way of life. The
campaign sees Blazkowicz united with an underground resis-
tance effort determined to take down the Nazi regime and it
offers numerous standout moments. As the story jumps around,
I found myself tasked with stealing a U-boat, inltrating an
enemy castle (stealth gameplay is executed brilliantly), boarding
a train dangling from a destroyed portion of a gargantuan bridge
running between Gibraltar and Africa and even walking across
the surface of the moon. One standout mission saw Blazkowicz
sent into a concentration camp to free a prisoner a particularly
dark moment in a campaign that has no shortage of pain and suf-
fering. Standing inside the camp, watching as distant chimneys
belched smoke into the night, hearing those enslaved wonder
where their relatives and friends, whom they were separated
from, were was affecting, to say the least.
Though Blazkowicz is now a dened character, hes not the
only one The New Order features an excellent supporting cast.
The resistance effort is stocked with characters from various
parts of Wolfensteins ctional world some returning from
prior games, others brand new. All are fully realized and well-
acted, with Blazkowiczs interactions with them offering a deeper
understanding of the human cost of the war effort each has their
own reason for wanting the Nazis destroyed, and these layers
add up to a satisfying, ragtag group of survivors. Quiet moments
between some of the more action-packed missions task Blazko-
wicz with walking around the resistance headquarters, assisting
them with menial tasks. Its a welcome reprieve from the intense
story, letting the characters and narrative take a few breaths
before throwing the player into the next chapter. On the Nazi
side of things, Deathshead offers a satisfying main antagonist, his
robotic creations hounding (sometimes literally, in the case of the
Panzerhunds) Blazkowicz throughout the campaign. Frau Engel
lls the role of antagonist in the sections without Deathshead,
rst meeting Blazkowicz on a train to Berlin, and later cropping
up at the concentration camp. She is a cold, calculating woman,
who claims to have done her part for furthering the German mas-
ter race by producing six Aryan children indeed, she comments
on rather ironic fact that Blazkowicz is a perfect example of the
Nazis ideal physical attributes: incredibly handsome, physically
t, blonde haired and blue-eyed. She also gives a rather scary face
to the dogged determination of the regime to exterminate or con-
trol every undesirable member of society.
That face, like the rest of the game is nicely animated. Many
cutscenes are pre-rendered, and look great, with excellent direc-
tion, while those that use the in-game engine showcase some
nice texture detail and character modelling. Overall, Wolfen-
stein: The New Order is an attractive game it wont blow you
away, but it manages to convey its environments well, offering
appropriate scale to the Nazis grand engineering works and
throwing some interesting conceptual designs for what 1960s
Nazi design would look like. The same is true for the sound, with
gunre, Nazi soldiers, voice acting and environmental sounds
combining to drop players fully into this alternate vision of his-
tory even down to little touches like Nazi-inspired propaganda
rock n roll and pop songs, which can be found throughout
the game, offering a fascist slant on the culture propagated by
America in reality.
Ultimately, however, Wolfenstein: The New Order is simply
great fun to play. Theres nothing revolutionary here, nothing
that other games can take inspiration from and use to advance
the genre, but what The New Order does, it does very well. The
highlight is the games narrative, which sucks you in and holds
you, riveted, until the dramatic, cliffhanger ending, but the
gameplay that binds it all together is solid, enjoyable, even if it
is decidedly retro. Whats more, theres very little distraction.
Replay-ability is handled with ve difculty levels, two possible
storylines (though both end in similar ways) and a multitude
of collectibles to nd in every level. However, unlike its peers,
theres no multiplayer. MachineGames wanted to focus exclu-
sively on a well-crafted single player game, which is precisely
what theyve achieved, but Wolfenstein will ultimately suffer as
a long-term purchase because of it. Regardless of that, its still
worth your time. If youve exhausted every game you own and
are desperately waiting for the summer drought to be over and
the glut of fall releases to arrive, re up your respective console
or PC and jump into Wolfensteins world, experience its alter-
nate reality even if its just to answer that most burning of
questions: What if? l
(L-R) David St. Louis, Emily Padgett and Erin Davie
Sides and Manes
Side Show and Lion King provide
two worthwhile theatrical
experiences
C
OME LOOK AT THE FREAKS, GOES THE
grand opening number in the musical Side Show.
And its quite possible such an exploitative,
sensationalistic call might dissuade a right-thinking
person from seeing this show. Particularly anyone whos ever
been made to feel like a freak.
Whatever you are, dont you want to be normal? asks one
unknown well-heeled woman to the shows lead characters, the
conjoined twins Violet and Daisy Hilton. To which Violet offers
the best retort possible: Whoever you are, dont you?
Truth is, everyone has felt like a freak to some extent or
another, and at some point everyone has aspired to be normal
whatever that might mean in particular context, whatever
that might take. Which is a key reason why Side Show, at least as
presented in the revamped version now playing at the Kennedy
Center, is something that ultimately everyone should see.
Another reason is the fact that the play is based in reality. Its a
reassuring reminder that as bad as it might be, todays American
entertainment industry is at least slightly more evolved than its
precursor nearly a century ago, when there was less respect for
anything straying from a puritanical vision of human nature.
Bill Condon helms this rework of the 1997 musical by
writer Bill Russell and composer Henry Krieger, the man
behind Dreamgirls. The original production didnt last long on
Broadway, in part because the premise of the show was a tad
too icky for some, particularly in the way the twins romantic J
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continues on page 38
Locked Up
When an athlete comes out, the
locker room can be seen
as uncomfortable
I
CAME OUT TO MY BEST FRIEND AND ROOMMATE
when I was 25 (and Im clinging to that age for another 4
months). As a pair, weve been inseparable since the 8th
grade. His family treated me as one of their own, giving
me an immeasurable amount of advice, guidance and support
through our formative years. Based on the trajectories our lives
were taking, my biggest fear in coming out to him was that, once
I said those words, things would be different between us. Of
course, everything changed, but, thankfully, the respect and love
we have for one another didnt.
What does this all have to do with being gay in the locker
room? Well, after I told him I was gay in the parking lot at
the hockey rink, following one of our games together I began
to wonder what it was going to be like coming out in a place
considered safe for straight men to be unabashedly naked,
vulgar, and inappropriate towards one another.
For those whove never played organized sports, theres
one mantra: What happens in the locker room, stays in the
locker room. Trust me, its less raunchy than it sounds. Lets
just say, when sitting on the benches in nothing more than a
jock or towel, everything is subject to ridicule, conversation
and laughter. Nothing is said in malice rather, its a form of
bonding. I make fun of your girlfriend or wife, you reciprocate.
Thats just the way it is. To think that, by announcing my
sexuality and potentially making everyone uncomfortable, I
could take that environment of brotherhood and camaraderie
tness
by BRANDON HARRISON
illustration by CHRISTOPHER CUNETTO
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and sexual relationships were or really were not explained.
In Condons hands, essentially everyone who gets to know the
Hiltons falls in love with them from the freaks in the traveling
side show to the men who make them vaudeville stars but the
girls are too self-aware to fall easily for anyone themselves. I
Will Never Leave You is the incredibly moving song the sisters
sing to each other, about each other. Even though they do often
dream of being truly alone and physically separate in other
words, to be normal they always stick with the common bond
theyve had since birth.
Emily Padgett as the outgoing Daisy and Erin Davie as the
more introverted Violet offer exceptional portrayals of their
characters, in synch but not in unison. Anyone whos a twin
in real life can identify with their struggle and smile at their
success in nding their characters own identities, despite all
odds. Matthew Hydzik gives an equally complex portrayal of
Violets lover Buddy, and David St. Louis as Jake, the girls
protector since childhood, will initially stun you with his vocal
range and power, but ultimately woo you with his rened
sense of male tenderness and ego. All told, Condon has lined
up a stellar supporting cast, with actors playing the shows
freaks who offer glimpses of human normalness underneath
their outrageous oddball exteriors, the handiwork of costume
designer Paul Tazewell. There are several big numbers in Side
Show, and several points at which youll nd yourself getting
emotional, both charmed and teary-eyed.
The Hiltons plight to nd acceptance, love and happiness
may not follow the typical Hollywood script though, it should
be said, this production moves and looks as awless and ashy
as anything else on Condons Hollywood resume, from Chicago
to The Twilight Saga. But anyone who gives it a chance will be
moved.
Side Show (HHHHH) runs to July 13, at Kennedy Center
Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $45 to $130. Call 202-467-4600
or visit kennedy-center.org.
and throw it in the dirt weighed heavily on my shoulders.
I dont mean to extrapolate my personal feelings to the rest
of my sporting brethren, but I cant imagine its too different for
other gay athletes. Playing a sport is similar to joining a fraternity
theyre a group of people you bond with, in some situations
more so than your own family. Thats not something you want
to lose. Michael Sam made mentioned that, when he publicly
announced his sexuality, nothing had changed between him and
his teammates after coming out to them in private. That status
quo is what gave him the strength to come out publicly.
My story is similar. After the initial shock, I did my best to go
into the locker room the next week like nothing was different.
But it was. I had regressed into a shell, the same one everyone
nds themselves in when they join a new team. I didnt want to
speak up and I stayed out of the volleys of insults and fun. It was
strange.
Then we played. It was the usual foray: shots, passes, poke
checks. Good fun, and trash talking, was had. A smile was on my
face, at least until the game was over. Then the single most
fearful moment in any gay mans locker room experience the
showers. At this point only a few of the guys in the room knew,
but enough to make it uncomfortable. In my desperation to
leave, I tried to be rst in and rst out. No dice. My roommate
walked in, wanting to get done, changed and head to IHOP for
our routine after-game-meal. And thats when it happened.
Bro, have you been doing squats? Its an inside joke, one he
said every time someone from the other team walked into the
bathroom in an attempt to make them feel uncomfortable. All at
once I realized nothing had changed. He didnt care they didnt
care if I was gay. I was still Brandon: full-time defenseman,
part-time agitator of the team.
So, when people ask me what its like being a gay man in a
locker room full of straight guys, I can honestly say that its no
different. What happens in the locker room, stays in the locker
room.
Brandon Harrison writes about Health and Fitness topics for
Metro Weekly. Follow him on Twitter at @brandlifts l
I
F EVER YOU NEEDED A REASON TO SEE A THEATRICAL
production at the Kennedy Center, right now youve got
two. Theres the Side Show main event, and then the mane
event Disneys The Lion King. The two shows have little
in common, other than being dazzling and lavishly rendered
theatrical spectacles and sharing one juicy bit of history.
Both musicals competed at the 1998 Tony Awards. Side Show
won none, The Lion King six, including Best Musical. The
show is one of the most beloved and successful musicals of all
time, and is still going strong. Judging by the reaction from a
recent performance at the Kennedy Center, no doubt countless
children have been turned on to live theater as a result, and aint
that something?
Julie Taymors revolutionary work in overall direction and
costuming deserves every accolade and every childs audible
delight its gotten over the years. If Roger Allers and Irene
Mecchis story, based on the original animated lm and following
the adventures of lion cub Simba on his way to becoming head
of the jungle, doesnt quite reach the same awe-inspiring feats,
it at least doesnt detract from your enjoyment of the whole
spectacle. It starts strong, as we meet all the wild creatures,
dramatically costumed puppets controlled by humans singing
about the Circle of Life. But to my mind it ends even stronger,
as Simba (a charming Jelani Remy) reconnects with his slain
father Mufasa (a mighty L. Steven Taylor). Its hard to keep a
dry eye just hearing the moving spiritual He Lives in You, but
youll certainly want to keep them wide open as members of the
ensemble bring Mufasa back to life and larger than ever, through
the magic of stagecraft as well as the wonders of Donald
Holders lighting design.
The Lion King may not have reinvented the theatrical wheel,
but it did make it bigger and brighter.
Disneys The Lion King (HHHHH) runs to Aug. 17 at Kennedy
Center Opera House. Tickets are $40 to $195. Call 202-467-4600
or visit kennedy-center.org. l
Stage continued from page 36
LG G Watch
Wrist Action
Smartwatches are du jour and Google wants to power them
G
OOGLE WANTS NOTHING MORE THAN TO
be absolutely everywhere all of the time. Not sat-
ised with dominating smartphones, tablets and
search, Google has its sights set on every facet of
their users lives. The companys annual I/O conference gave
a rst look at Android running on televisions and in cars, but it
also offered up a nal look at Googles plans for the one place
numerous tech rms seem desperate to conquer: our wrists. The
humble watch has, like that brick phone you had in the 90s,
been found wanting today, smartwatches are du jour.
The trouble is, until now, they havent been particularly good.
Whether it was Casios calculator watches in the 80s, Micro-
softs doomed SPOT watches in the early 00s, feature phones
masquerading as watches at the end of that decade or any num-
ber of variations in between, countless companies have tried
and failed to make a successful smartwatch. The problem has
always been quantity over quality the idea of the perfect Dick
Tracy watch, one offering every function imaginable, has been
a persistent factor. Just look to Samsungs Galaxy Gear, which
launched last year. It offered a camera, TV remote, voice calling
and a host of other features. It was also terrible. In trying to offer
everything, Samsung forgot to really hone anything particu-
larly usability, design and longevity.
Of course, some have succeeded. Pebbles e-ink watches have
carved out their own niche while tness wearables are becoming
ever smarter in their operation. Those few devices that have sold
well have done so by focusing on the main reason most people
pick up a watch or bracelet in the rst place: its an accessory.
That is exactly the approach that Google is taking with Android
Wear, its new OS designed for wearable devices. Rather than
wrapping a smartphone around your wrist, Google is seeking
to harness the power of Android and its Google Now assistant/
search app to offer something different.
Unlike their smart predecessors, Android Wear devices wont
require constant monitoring. Rather than requiring attention
and input from users, Android wearables are aware of their situ-
ation and state, and helpfully display the right information at the
right time, Google writes. In laymans terms, youll get what you
want when Google thinks you need it no fuss, no muss.
They do this by harnessing the power of Googles Now assistant
the software powering the search app on iOS and Android devices.
Google Now learns the habits and routines of its user, pro-
ceeding to suggest things it believes are pertinent to your current
situation. Always go for lunch at the same time? Google Now will
offer restaurant suggestions. Booked a trip? Google Now will tell
you when to leave for the airport, pull in your boarding pass and
offer language translations and currency conversions if youre
heading overseas. Even little things, like letting you know if you
should leave work early to avoid trafc it all adds up to a help-
ful whole across the average day.
Wear devices will tap into that usefulness by removing one
of the biggest steps to accessing Google Now, namely unlock-
tech
by RHUARIDH MARR
ing your Android phone. Wear watches will work in tandem
with Google Now and Androids notications system to help
cut out some of the 125 times a day Google estimates we look at
our phones. The watches will pull in every notication so, at a
glance, youll know if its something you can dismiss or quickly
respond to, or if its something you need to get your phone out
for. Its not going to change your life, but it will help save you
time over the course of a day.
Just waking up? Your watch will have the weather wait-
ing for you, your morning commute complete with trafc and
an estimated time for when you need to leave, and your rst
appointment for the day. Heading to the airport? Youll nd
your ight information, boarding pass and any reminders (dont
forget your passport!). Out for a run? Use your watch to pause or
skip tracks while listening to music. If you want to change the
artist or playlist, simply tell your watch to do so.
Yes, Android Wear makes full use of Googles voice dictation
software and given devices can launch without any physical
buttons it understandably runs throughout the Wear OS. At
any time while using your watch, say OK Google to launch
voice search. From there, its possible to leave a reminder, set
an alarm, call your mom, text a friend, respond to an email, use
your watchs pedometer to check how many steps youve taken,
search for the nearest restaurant, navigate to your destination,
control your music, or even just do a normal Google search. Cant
remember what the capital of Taiwan is? Ask your wrist. Need a
quick answer to a math problem? Your watch is waiting to help.
Almost everything you can ask Google Now on your phone is
present in diluted form in Android Wear.
Of course, Wear devices cant work alone - they need a smart-
phone, specically one running Android 4.3 or above, with an
active data connection to offer every function. Its a similar situa-
tion with apps. Twitter wont let you retweet your friends unless
you have the app installed on your smartphone. Your phone and
watch will run in sync together dismiss a notication on your
watch and itll be removed from your phone, too. Ask your watch
to show you directions home and your phone will open Google
Maps and plan the desired route. Everything is controlled and
adjustable through the Android Wear app, which will allow
users to turn notications on or off, set the default apps that the
watch will use to carry out certain tasks, and stop certain apps
from polluting the watch with notications if you get a lot of
texts but only want to be notied about emails, Wear will let
you control that minutiae. Conversely, if you want everything,
just turn on your watch, connect it to your phone, and thats it,
everything will just work.
Android Wears software is nothing without hardware
wrapped around it, though, and Google had three hardware
partners on hand at I/O to tempt buyers into adorning their
wrist with an Android device.
LG has previously partnered with Google on the Nexus 4 and
5 smartphones, which are well-made, if understated, devices. It
would seem, though, for the companys rst Wear device, they
took that Nexus minimalism to the extreme. The G Watch is,
essentially, a developer reference device, offering every standard
of the Wear platform with little extra design embellishment. Its
a simple metal and plastic square, available in black or white,
with matching silicone strap. Its 1.65-inch screen features a
280x280 IPS LCD, powered by a 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 400 chip
and 512MB of RAM. Theres 4GB of storage presumably for
the Wear OS alone, as nothing can be transferred and a full
complement of sensors to monitor your footsteps and wrist
movements. Juicing this tech is a 400 milliamp-hour (mAh) bat-
tery, which LG claim is good for a day and a half of regular use.
From Samsung, we have the Gear Live. The Gear Live marks
the fth smartwatch Samsung has launched since the original
Galaxy Gear last year, and clearly theyre not interested in rock-
ing the boat, as its essentially a rebadged Gear 2 with some
slight differences. Gone are the camera and IR blaster, as well as
the hardware button under the screen its moved to the right-
hand side. What remains is a slightly chunky, though somewhat
stylish, watch with aluminum and plastic casing, available with
either black or red straps. Inside, the Gear Live is identical to
the LG save for its battery, which is only 300mAh good for a
day and a half or, according to Samsung, 6 days of low usage.
The Gears screen differs, too, offering a smaller, 1.63-inch dis-
play but at a higher 320x320 resolution. Whats more, its one of
Samsungs sAMOLED screens, which means vibrant colors, inky
blacks and plenty of brightness. Samsung offers something the
LG doesnt, too on the watchs underside Samsung has kept the
Gear 2s heart-rate monitor, which will let users track their pulse
and sync it with tness apps.
Both devices are much of a muchness, however, with prefer-
ence coming down to external design and budget. Samsungs
watch, despite carrying the better screen and more premium
look, retails for $199. LGs watch, meanwhile, is $229. The for-
mer ships from Googles Play Store on July 8, while the G Watch
ships starting today, July 3. Both will also reach big box retailers
and wireless carriers, as well as the usual online retail sites.
However, if youre tempted by an Android Wear device, you
may want to wait for Googles third watch Motorolas Moto 360.
Why? Because its gorgeous. Rather than adhere to the square
screen of every current smartwatch, Motorola has instead opted
for a round face, more in keeping with traditional watches.
Its a small change, but the effect in person is striking the
Moto 360 is a premium device throughout, nished in high-qual-
ity metals and offering premium leather or metal straps, but its
that round, digital display which will draw the most praise and
attention. Android Wear has been designed to support round
displays and, after seeing the 360, we can completely understand
why. Unfortunately, Motorola is remaining tight-lipped on most
of the 360s specs. It is slated to launch at the end of summer,
but we dont know when, for how much, whatll power it, how
long its battery will last or what the tech behind its wonderful
display is. If the product Motorola ends up shipping can deliver
on the longevity and performance fronts, we could be looking at
the denitive Wear device at least until the numerous other
manufacturers who will be making Android Wear devices show
us what they have up their sleeves.
Wear is an interesting proposition. It eschews the Android
norm of cramming in every feature possible and instead offers
a more thoughtful, more streamlined approach to smart devic-
es. It is rst and foremost an accessory, running in tandem
with your smartphone to help reduce how often you interact
with the latter. Thats not to say it isnt powerful, however, and
itll only improve from here. Google has mandated sole control
over the Wear interface, which means watchmakers will be
forced to compete with each other on hardware which will
hopefully lead to some exciting, beautiful devices, but should
also mean a consistent, consistently improved interface and set
of core features.
Well have a full review of Android Wear, and the LG G Watch
its running on, over the coming days. Were currently putting
Googles claims to the test to see if a smartwatch is a necessary
purchase or if its still very much a niche purchase, so keep an
eye on metroweekly.com/life/tech for all things Android Wear. l
Afterlife Care
Heavenly Days Animal Crematory
offers a personalized touch
to pet cremation
B
Y ITS VERY NATURE, THE JOB OF RUNNING
a pet crematory can be a tough, sad endeavor. But
it also has its perks, with opportunities to provide
hope and happiness. One such perk for Linda Buel,
owner of Heavenly Days Animal Crematory outside Frederick,
Md., is getting to play pet matchmaker.
There are lots and lots and lots of clients that, lets say,
they have a Russian blue cat, Buel explains. Well, I happen to
belong to Cat Fanciers of Washington, and I know people who
raise Russian blues. So Ill say, When youre ready for another
one, you call me and Ill help you nd one. I cant tell you how
many people call.
Matching a kitten with an owner is one way Buel helps a cli-
pets
by DOUG RULE
J
A
V
I
E
R

B
R
O
S
C
H
Bacon & Biscuit
Originally I wanted to get a pot-bellied pig and name it Bacon, but
sadly, my ex wouldnt let me get one. We settled on a dog but I got
to keep the name. Once Bacon arrived, we knew he needed brother,
so we went back the breeder and found him the perfect compliment...
Biscuit. The now inseparable duo are our personal Breakfast Club.
Chord Bezerras 3-year-old Boston Terriers
P
e
t

P
i
x
P
e
t

P
i
x
Upload yours at MetroWeekly.com/pets
ent move on from the grief of recently losing a feline, who was
no doubt a beloved member of the family. But its also a way for
Buel to establish a special kind of rapport with her clients, who
are essentially an elite breed of pet owner. Clients of Heavenly
Days have taken an extra step and yes, spent extra money to
ensure that the ashes of Fido or Tabby are only the ashes of Fido
or Tabby. We specialize in individual cremations meaning
that the pet is cremated by itself, Buel says. Your local animal
shelter or veterinary hospital might not be able to make the same
guarantee. Such an organization might re up its incinerator
to do both individual and group cremations and the latter is
exactly what it sounds like, a group of recently deceased pets
cremated together. Any slack in keeping track and keeping sepa-
rate all those ashes might result in your urn having ashes from
both Fido and a few other dogs.
If clients of Heavenly Days are part of an elite breed of pet
owners, Buel herself is an elite breed of pet care professional.
Its hard to imagine there are many others out there quite as
well versed in so many different facets of the pet care industry
as Buel. The Bethesda native was literally raised learning the ins-
and-outs of a shelter. Her mother was president of the Humane
Society, and she rst learned how to operate a crematory work-
ing at the Humane Societys shelter in Waterford, Va. In the
years since, Buel has been actively involved with various animal
rescue organizations, including the SPCA. And a complementary
part of her work at Heavenly Days is regularly providing comfort
and counseling to grieving pet owners.
Buel started Heavenly Days in 1979 at the same time she was
running the Rockville Pet Hotel, a boarding kennel. After a few
years she closed the kennel to focus full time on the cremation
business. A few years ago, she moved from Rockville to Urbana,
43 METROWEEKLY.COM JULY 3, 2014 43 METROWEEKLY.COM JULY 3, 2014
Md., so she could have more space and also install a third incin-
erator. There arent many other animal crematories around.
Theres one now in West Virginia, theres one in Pennsylvania
and I think theres one over in Beltsville, she says. Buel works
with many of the regions animal shelters and veterinary hos-
pitals, meaning you wont even have to go out to the facility if
you dont want or dont have a car. We can pick your pet up,
for instance, from Friendship Hospital, she explains. And then
we can make arrangements to get it back whether to the
hospital, home delivery or even priority mail. They average 60
cremations a week, and every kind of pet imaginable, from the
standard dogs and cats to pocket pets like hamsters to parrots
to even horses. The cost ranges from $40, including a decorative
wood urn made in Poland, for a small pet like a bird, to $175 with
box for all cats. Dogs start at $175 with box, but the price goes
up by weight.
I treat my clients animals the way I would want my animals
to be treated, Buel says. In addition to available urn upgrades,
you can have little clips of your pets hair saved, or have paw
prints made. You can also watch the actual cremation. If you
dont want all of your pets ashes, Buel is happy to sprinkle the
remainder in the propertys Memorial Garden.
Unfortunately its one of the things you have to think about
when your pet starts to get old whats going to happen to it,
Buel says. She recommends talking about your options with your
veterinarian and nd out what company they use. Or they can
call me.
Heavenly Days Animal Crematory is located at 3051-B
Thurston Rd. in Urbana, Md. Call 240-699-0034 or visit
heavenlydays.com. l
NIGHT
LIFE
45 METROWEEKLY.COM
t
THURS., 07.03.14
9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm Multiple
TVs showing movies,
shows, sports Expanded
craft beer selection No
Cover
ANNIES/ANNIES
UPSTAIRS
4@4 Happy Hour,
4pm-7pm $4 Small
Plates, $4 Stella Artois,
$4 House Wines, $4
Stolichnaya Cocktails, $4
Manhattans and Vodka
Martinis
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 9pm
JR.S
$3 Rail Vodka Highballs,
$2 JR.s drafts, 8pm to
close Top Pop Night
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Beat The Clock Happy
Hour $2 (5-6pm), $3
(6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm)
Buckets of Beer $15
Drag Bingo
NUMBER NINE
drink, 5-9pm No Cover
TOWN
WTF: Nations Birthday
Ball hosted by Ryan Burke
of NYC Featuring shows
from Summer Camp and
BaNaka, Gogo boys
Kevin and Keiran, and
the National Anthem by
Ryan Patrick Welsh
Also featuring DJs Matt
Bailer of MIXTAPE, Aaron
Riggins and Ed Bailey
Doors open 10pm $5
cover after 11pm 21+
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers
Shirtless Thursday DJ
LISTINGS
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 9pm
JR.S
Buy 1, Get 1,
11pm-midnight Happy
Hour: 2-for-1, 4-9pm $5
Coronas, $8 Vodka Red
Bulls, 9pm-close
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
DJ Matt Bailer Videos,
Dancing Beat The Clock
Happy Hour $2 (5-6pm),
$3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm)
Buckets of Beer $15
NUMBER NINE
Open 5pm Happy Hour:
2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
No Cover
PHASE 1
DJ Styalo Dancing
$5 cover
Tim E in Secrets 9pm
Cover 21+
FRI., 07.04.14
9 1/2
Open at 5pm Happy
Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink,
5-9pm Friday Night
Videos with resident
DJ Shea Van Horn VJ
Expanded craft beer
selection No cover
ANNIES
4@4 Happy Hour, 4-7pm
$4 Small Plates, $4 Stella
Artois, $4 House Wines,
$4 Stolichnaya Cocktails,
$4 Manhattans and Vodka
Martinis Upstairs open
5-11pm
DC BEAR CRUE
@Town Bear Happy
Hour, 6-11pm $3 Rail,
$3 Draft, $3 Bud Bottles
Free Pizza, 7pm Hosted
by Charger Stone No
cover before 9:30pm 21+
PWS SPORTS BAR
9855 Washington Blvd. N
Laurel, Md.
301-498-4840
Drag Show in lounge
Half-price burgers and
fries
TOWN
Drag Show starts at
10:30pm Hosted by
Lena Lett and featuring
Tatianna, Shi-Queeta-
Lee, Jessica Spaulding
Deverreoux and BaNaka
DJ Wess upstairs,
BacK2bACk downstairs
Doors open at 10pm For
those 21 and over, $5 from
10-11pm and $10 after
11pm For those 18-20,
$10 all night 18+
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
Ladies of Illusion with
host Kristina Kelly, 9pm
Cover 21+
SAT., 07.05.14
9 1/2
Open at 5pm Happy
5-9pm $5 Absolut &
Titos, $3 Miller Lite after
9pm Expanded craft
beer selection No Cover
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Diner Brunch, 10am-3pm
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Freddies Follies Drag
Show 8 pm-10pm,
10pm-1am Karaoke
JR.S
$4 Coors, $5 Vodka
highballs, $7 Vodka Red
Bulls
NELLIES
Guest DJs Zing Zang
Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer,
House Rail Drinks and
Mimosas, $4, 11am-5pm
Buckets of Beer, $15
NUMBER NINE
Doors 5pm Happy Hour:
No Cover
PHASE 1
Dancing, 9pm-close
PWS SPORTS BAR
Laurel, Md.
301-498-4840
Karaoke in the lounge
Charity Bingo with Cash
Prizes 3rd Sat. of Every
Month
TOWN
Dirty Pop featuring DJ
Drew G Chance to
win weekend passes to
SandBlast Gay Dance
Party in Atlantic City, July
18-20 Drag Show starts
at 10:30pm Hosted by
DJ Wess downstairs
Cover $8 from 10-11pm,
$12 after 11pm 21+
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All nude male dancers,
9pm Ladies of Illusion
with host Ella Fitzgerald,
9pm DJ Joey O in
Ziegfelds Doors 8pm
Cover 21+
SUN., 07.06.14
9 1/2
TVs showing movies,
Cover
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Champagne Brunch
Buffet, 10am-3pm Crazy
Hour, 4-7pm Karaoke
8pm-1am
JR.S
Sunday Funday Liquid
Brunch Doors open at
1pm $2 Coors Lights &
$3 Skyy (all favors), all
day and night
47
t
METROWEEKLY.COM JULY 3, 2014
scene
scan this tag
with your
smartphone
for bonus scene
pics online!
Cobalt
Saturday, June 28
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
WARD MORRISON
NELLIES
Drag Brunch, hosted by
Shi-Queeta-Lee, 11am-3pm
$20 Brunch Buffet
House Rail Drinks, Zing
Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie
Beer and Mimosas, $4,
11am-close Buckets of
Beer, $15
NUMBER NINE
Pop Goes the World with
Wes Della Volla at 9:30
pm Happy Hour: 2 for
1 on any drink, 5-9pm
No Cover
PWS SPORTS BAR
Laurel, Md.
301-498-4840
Sunday Brunch, 11am-3pm
Bottomless Mimosas
$15 per person
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
Decades of Dance DJ
Tim-e in Secrets Doors
8pm Cover 21+
MON., 07.07.14
9 1/2
Open at 5pm Happy
5-9pm Multiple TVs
showing movies, shows,
sports Expanded craft
ANNIES
Martinis
FREDDIES
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 9pm
JR.S
Happy Hour: 2-for-1, 4-9pm
Showtunes Songs &
Singalongs, 9pm-close
DJ Jamez $3 Drafts
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Hour $2 (5-6pm), $3
(6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm)
Buckets of Beer $15
Poker Texas Holdem, 8pm
NUMBER NINE
No Cover
PWS SPORTS BAR
Laurel, Md.
301-498-4840
Buzztime Trivia
competition 75 cents off
bottles and drafts
TUES., 07.08.14
9 1/2
Open at 5pm Happy
5-9pm Multiple TVs
ANNIES
Happy Hour, 4-7pm $4
Stella Artois, $4 House
Wines, $4 Stolichnaya
Cocktails, $4 Manhattans
and Vodka Martinis
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 9pm
JR.S
Underground (Indie Pop/
Alt/Brit Rock), 9pm-close
DJ Wes Della Volla
2-for-1, all day and night
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Hour $2 (5-6pm), $3
(6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm)
Buckets of Beer $15
Karaoke
NUMBER NINE
2 for 1 on any drink,
5-9pm No Cover Safe
Word: A Gay Spelling
Bee, 8-11pm Prizes to
top three spellers After
9pm, $3 Absolut, Bulleit
& Stella
PWS SPORTS BAR
Laurel, Md.
301-498-4840
75 cents off bottles and
drafts Movie Night
WED., 07.09.14
9 1/2
Open at 5pm Happy
5-9pm Multiple TVs
ANNIES
Happy Hour, 4-7pm $4
Stella Artois, $4 House
Wines, $4 Stolichnaya
Cocktails, $4 Manhattans
and Vodka Martinis
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm Drag
Bingo, 8pm Karaoke,
10pm
JR.S
Trivia with MC Jay
Ray, 8pm The Queen,
10-11pm $2 JRs Drafts
& $4 Vodka ($2 with
College I.D./JRs Team
Shirt)
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Hour $2 (5-6pm), $3
(6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm)
Half-Price Burger Night
Buckets of Beer $15
SmartAss Trivia, 8pm
NUMBER NINE
No Cover
PWS SPORTS BAR
Laurel, Md.
301-498-4840
Free Pool 75 cents off
Bottles and Drafts
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
New Meat Wednesday DJ
Don T. 9pm Cover 21+
THURS., 07.10.14
9 1/2
TVs showing movies,
Cover
ANNIES/ANNIES
UPSTAIRS
4@4 Happy Hour,
4pm-7pm $4 Small
Plates, $4 Stella Artois,
$4 House Wines, $4
Stolichnaya Cocktails, $4
Manhattans and Vodka
Martinis
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 9pm
JR.S
$3 Rail Vodka Highballs,
$2 JR.s drafts, 8pm to
close Top Pop Night
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Hour $2 (5-6pm), $3
(6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm)
Buckets of Beer $15
Drag Bingo
NUMBER NINE
drink, 5-9pm No Cover
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
Shirtless Thursday DJ
Tim E in Secrets 9pm
Cover 21+
FRI., 07.11.14
9 1/2
Open at 5pm Happy
5-9pm Friday Night
Videos with resident
DJ Shea Van Horn VJ
Expanded craft beer
selection No cover
ANNIES
Martinis Upstairs open
5-11pm
DC BEAR CRUE
@Town Bear Happy
Hour, 6-11pm $3 Rail,
$3 Draft, $3 Bud Bottles
Free Pizza, 7pm Hosted
by Charger Stone No
cover before 9:30pm 21+
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 9pm
JR.S
Buy 1, Get 1,
11pm-midnight Happy
Hour: 2-for-1, 4-9pm $5
Coronas, $8 Vodka Red
Bulls, 9pm-close
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
DJ Matt Bailer Videos,
Dancing Beat The Clock
Happy Hour $2 (5-6pm),
$3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm)
Buckets of Beer $15
NUMBER NINE
No Cover
PHASE 1
DJ Styalo Dancing
$5 cover
PWS SPORTS BAR
Laurel, Md.
301-498-4840
Drag Show in lounge
Half-price burgers and
fries
TOWN
Drag Show starts at
10:30pm Hosted by
DJ Wess upstairs,
BacK2bACk downstairs
Doors open at 10pm For
those 21 and over, $5 from
10-11pm and $10 after
11pm For those 18-20,
$10 all night 18+
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
Ladies of Illusion with host
Kristina Kelly, 9pm DJ
Steve Henderson presents
Voltage in Secrets DJ
Don T. in Ziegfelds
Cover 21+ l
scene
DC Rawhides
Town & Country
Saturday, June 28
Town
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
CHRISTOPHER CUNETTO
scan this tag
with your
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If your hard-on for homophobia lasts ve hours,
you need to seek medical attention.
JOHN OLIVER, speaking on his Sunday night HBO show Last Week Tonight, in a segment exposing the inuence of American
evangelicals on Ugandas anti-gay laws. Oliver was referencing the ve hours American evangelical Scott Lively spent talking
to the Ugandan parliament in 2009. Lively and other evangelicals helped incite the anti-gay bigotry that led to Ugandas
strengthened anti-gay laws, passed in February, which increased the punishment for homosexuality to life in prison.
(HBO)
Thirty years ago, New York was the epicenter

of the AIDS crisis today I am proud to announce that we are in a position to be
the rst state in the nation committed to ending
this epidemic.
New York Governor ANDREW CUOMO, in a statement, announcing new proposal Bending the Curve, which aims to
dramatically reduce HIV infections in the state. The proposal mandates helping those who are living with HIV but are unaware
of their condition to seek healthcare, ensuring those diagnosed with HIV have access to healthcare and
providing access to PrEP for those considered at high risk for HIV exposure.
(Governor Cuomos ofce)
Rick Perry thinks were all a bunch of alcoholics. In Rick Perrys defense,
he is a big, dumb asshole.
Actor GREG RIKAART (The Young and the Restless), in a speech while accepting the Visibility Award from the Human Rights
Campaign. Rikaart, who is openly gay, referenced Rick Perrys statement that homosexuality, like alcoholism,
was something that could be controlled.
(HRC)
This wasnt about private sex lives
it was about hypocrisy. As I saw it, all I was doing was reporting the truth.
MICHAEL ROGERS, writing for Politico. Rogers, through his site BlogActive, outed several high prole Republican politicians
between 2004 and 2011, particularly those with anti-gay voting records. He stated that he has
no regrets at all about the work I did.
(Politico)
I think Tim Cook is fairly open about the fact

hes gay at the head of Apple,
isnt he?
CNBC co-anchor SIMON HOBBS, erroneously outing Apple CEO Tim Cook during a segment with New York Times columnist
James R. Stewart. Stewart stated that there were no openly gay CEOs at any major Fortune 500 company, which prompted
Hobbs response, which the other panelists quickly shut down. Though Cook has appeared in Outs list of the most powerful
LGBT people, he has never publicly conrmed or denied the speculation regarding his sexuality.
(CNBC)

Metro Weekly - 07-03-14 - Side Show, Bill Russell

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2 JULY 3, 2014 METROWEEKLY.

Thirty years ago, New York was the epicenter

I think Tim Cook is fairly open about the fact

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