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APRIL 28, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM

METROWEEKLY.COM

APRIL 28, 2016

EDITORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Randy Shulman

APRIL 28, 2016

Volume 22 / Issue 51

ART DIRECTOR
Todd Franson
MANAGING EDITOR
Rhuaridh Marr
SENIOR EDITOR
John Riley
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Doug Rule
SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
Ward Morrison, Julian Vankim
CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS
Scott G. Brooks, Christopher Cunetto
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Gordon Ashenhurst, Sean Bugg, Connor J. Hogan,
Troy Petenbrink, Kate Wingfield

The British Arent Coming

by John Riley

Dictionary Definition

by Fallon Forbush

NEWS

SCENE
10
GLAAs 45th Anniversary Awards
Reception at Policy Restaurant
photography by Ward Morrison
12

Community Calendar

Ring Master

WEBMASTER
David Uy
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Julian Vankim

FEATURES

16

Interview by Doug Rule

SALES & MARKETING
PUBLISHER
Randy Shulman
NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE
Rivendell Media Co.
212-242-6863

OUT ON THE TOWN

22

Cubs, Otters and Bears. Oh My!

by John Riley

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER
Dennis Havrilla

24

Bard in the USA

by Doug Rule

26

Scrambled Shakespeare

by Kate Wingfield

MUSIC

34

All Saints Red Flag

by Gordon Ashenhurst

GAMES

36

Ratchet & Clank

by Rhuaridh Marr

NIGHTLIFE

39

Uproar

photography by Ward Morrison

46

Last Word

PATRON SAINT
Brnnhilde

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY
Todd Franson

METRO WEEKLY
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APRIL 28, 2016

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APRIL 28, 2016

Ted Cruz uses trans bathroom panic to garner votes

PHOTO.UA

LGBT

News

Now online at MetroWeekly.com

Court refuses to hear case of bakery that turned away gay couple

The British Arent Coming

Amid British travel warnings and boycott threats, businesses are experiencing
the consequences of anti-LGBT laws
by John Riley

O SAY THE CITY OF NATCHEZ IS HIGHLY

dependent on tourism is an understatement. Situated
on the Mississippi River, the port city makes use
of its location, its history and its antebellum architecture to draw in travelers. A substantial number of foreign
tourists, from countries like Germany, Australia and the United
Kingdom, come to Natchez to stay in the former mansions and
plantations that serve as bed and breakfasts.
Because of that reliance on tourism, Natchez has been particularly welcoming to tourists of all backgrounds, including
LGBT people.
Natchez has always been a city that is more forward and
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APRIL 28, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM

progressive-thinking than any other region in the state, dating

back to the Civil War, explains R. Wayne Bryant, director of
sales and marketing, public relations and events at Pilgrimage
Garden Club.
Thats why it was so concerning when Mississippi lawmakers passed a purported religious freedom bill. As written, it
would allow people to cite personal principles, religious beliefs,
or moral objections as justification for refusing service to LGBT
people or others who do not adhere to preferred social or sexual
mores. As soon as Gov. Phil Bryant signed the law into effect,
opponents of the law, HB 1523, spoke out against it. Musicians
and artists cancelled planned shows. Several multinational

METROWEEKLY.COM

APRIL 28, 2016

LGBTNews
corporations with headquarters or operations in the state
denounced the law. And, following the example of major cities
like Washington, San Francisco and New York, which banned
official government travel, some activists even suggested boycotting the state in order to deal a financial blow.
However, by attacking the entire state of Mississippi for the
laws passage, more progressive environs such as Natchez could
end up as collateral damage.
Tourism is our main industry. People want to stay in our
prized, beautiful mansions, explains Bryant. If we are losing
conventions and we are losing destination weddings of LGBT
clients, then everyone is losing.
Bryant has watched tourism and the event business in
Natchez decline since the laws passage, even though it does not
officially go into effect until July 1. Pilgrimage Garden Club lost
up to six figures in revenue from cancellations, with people specifically citing concerns over the law. Thats several thousand
dollars in sales taxes that the state will not collect, as well as
the loss of local heads-on-beds taxes, which fund the Natchez
Convention and Visitors Bureaus efforts to market the city as a
place open to business or tourism.
This has all happened within the last two weeks, and clients
have stated that the reason is they do not want to be associated
with or spend their money in our state because of these ridiculous laws, Bryant says. One of the groups was a non-LGBT
Republican organization based out of Texas, who cancelled
because many of their members objected to being associated
with the new religious freedom law.
Adding salt to an ever-increasing wound was a decision by
the British Foreign Office to issue a travel warning for the states
of Mississippi and North Carolina for passing laws deemed to be
anti-LGBT. The guidance warns British LGBT travelers that the
United States is an extremely diverse society, where attitudes
towards homosexuality can vary wildly.
Theres no reason to be afraid to come to Mississippi,
especially the city of Natchez. Of everyone I know who owns
a business in the hospitality industry it this city, vendors who
provide services for events, I dont know of any cake baker or
florist or business owner who would turn people down, Bryant
says in response to the Foreign Offices actions. But if this law
remains in effect, and Great Britain has issued a warning against
coming here, and people heed that warning, then were in serious trouble.
In a press conference in London with Prime Minister David
Cameron, President Barack Obama attempted to assuage the
British people that Mississippi and North Carolina were not
nearly as hostile towards LGBT people as they have been made
out to be, even as he called both states anti-LGBT laws wrong
and said they should be overturned.
[Mississippi and North Carolina] are beautiful states and
you are welcome and you should come and enjoy yourselves,
Obama said. And I think youll be treated with extraordinary
hospitality.
But Cameron defended the Foreign Offices advice, noting
that it was granted dispassionately and impartially about
laws that could affect British citizens abroad.
Our view on any of these kinds of things is that we should
use law to end discrimination, rather than embed or enhance it,
the prime minister said. And thats something were comfortable saying to countries and friends anywhere in the world.
John Grady Burns, the owner of Beekman Place Livery in
Natchez, has not noticed any major cancellations at his bed8

APRIL 28, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM

and-breakfast. However, he is flabbergasted that Mississippi

lawmakers would conform to stereotypes that the state is backwards when it comes to social issues such as LGBT rights.
I, of course, intend to discriminate against no one, says
Burns, who is openly gay. I just cant imagine that such
a law would be enacted in this day and time that would
promote discrimination.... Natchez is so progressive and
open-minded when it comes to social issues. Here, theyre
not as hard-nosed as some of the conservatives in North
Mississippi.
In response to Britains travel warning, Burns says its sad it
has to be done, but is the only fair thing to do to make sure U.K.
citizens abroad are forewarned of potential discrimination or
humiliation should they encounter business owners who dont
wish to serve them.
Mississippi has opened the door for discrimination, so they
have to be prepared, says Burns. I have to be prepared. I could
be discriminated against at some point.
But other business owners suggest that Mississippi lawmakers will only learn if devastating economic consequences are
visited upon the Magnolia State.
I just hate that bill. I hate it with a passion, Linda Lewis
Raney, owner of The Nests B&B in Oxford, Miss., says. I hope
theres a boycott, honestly. I wish anybody that would ever
come to Mississippi would change their minds and advertise it
in the newspaper, large and small, businesses and individuals.
Its just a hateful bill to pass for no good reason.
Raney, who prides herself on running an LGBT-friendly
business, says although she has not personally seen a negative
impact from the religious freedom law, she still thinks it was
unnecessary.
Id like to say that our legislatures are solving problems that
dont exist, and not solving problems that do exist, she says. It
was a huge waste of time while they were in session.
Mary Walker, the British-born co-owner of Across the Pond
Bed and Breakfast in Salisbury, N.C., says she, too, has not seen
a decrease in business from North Carolinas anti-LGBT law,
which repealed local civil rights ordinances and mandated
transgender people to use only bathrooms that correspond to
their biological sex at birth. But her business gets booked only
through its reservations page, meaning its hard to quantify how
much potential business she may have lost from others who
didnt complete the reservations process.
We do not support the bill. Were hoping its going to be
overturned, Walker says. Our business is open to everyone,
regardless of their sexual orientation or gender.
Concern over the economic impact of anti-LGBT laws is
not merely limited to businesses in the North Carolina and
Mississippi. Tennessee was beset with threats of an economic
backlash after legislators attempted to pass a bathroom bill
similar in scope to the North Carolina law, which would have
forced transgender people into bathrooms that do not conform with their gender identity. It was for that reason that the
Nashville business community spoke out against the bathroom
bill, which ended up being pulled by its sponsor for the remainder of the session for further study.
The quick knee-jerk reaction was that bill had the potential to affect our business, says Butch Spyridon, president of
the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp., when asked why
his organization lobbied so heavily against the bill. I think
my initial quote was, Anytime our state government starts to
introduce legislation that affects our ability to do business, its

LGBTNews
time to rethink that legislation. Personally, I would prefer that
our government stick to the critical issues and stay out of moral
issues, if you will.
Spyridon estimates the potential loss of business for
Nashville, had the bill passed, to be about $58 million. Since
the defeat of the bathroom bill, calls for economic boycotts
and threats of cancellations have largely died down, he says.
However, the American Counseling Association has indicated
it might pull its 2017 national convention from Nashville should
another bill, this one granting religious exemptions to counselors and therapists, be signed into law.
We didnt catch the counselor bill fast enough, it kind of
blew through and passed before we realized it was there, says
Spyridon. Thats our fault, no excuse. We would have had a
harder lobby against it. But we didnt see it coming. He adds

that NCVC has asked Gov. Bill Haslam (R) to veto that measure, just as it did for the bathroom bill.
Spyridon also takes seriously the prospect that any antiLGBT legislation could win Tennessee a travel warning
similar to the ones issued for North Carolina and Mississippi.
That, he says, would be a drag on business.
We have built our success on music and Southern hospitality. And neither of those things do we take lightly, and
neither of those two things do we need to put in jeopardy, he
says. And, certainly, being a friendly and welcoming state is
important to our messaging. Wed like to stay on the good lists,
and have no desire to be listed on travel warning lists. Weve
worked way too hard on every front to elevate, in particular
Nashvilles success, but even on a statewide basis. We want to
continue that. l

Dictionary Definition

Merriam-Webster expands its lexicon to include cisgender, genderqueer and

the gender-neutral title Mx.
By Fallon Forbush

UEER PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS FOUND WAYS TO

bend the rules. The dictionary is just trying to keep up.
Last week, Merriam-Webster added the words cisgender, genderqueer and the gender-neutral title Mx. to
its unabridged dictionary.
Nikki Lane, a professor at American Universitys Department
of Anthropology, says calling people by their preferred pronouns can be complicated, but it comes down to something very
simple: respect.
One of the hardest things for people who are gender nonconforming in any way is to be able to find and mark that experience in their lives, says Lane, a cisgender, black lesbian. For
some people, using pronouns that are neither he nor she speaks
more to how they experience themselves in the world. Really,
what were looking at is this way that our language is being
stretched and bent so that people of all genders can feel that
theyre being recognized.
As a result, identifying outside of the gender binary of masculine and feminine may not be as queer as it used to be, thanks
to Merriam-Websters new definitions. They are as follows:
Cisgender a person whose gender identity corresponds with
the sex the person had or was identified as having at birth;
Genderqueer a person whose gender identity cannot be
categorized as solely male or female; and Mx. gender-neutral,
used as a title for those who do not identify as being of a particular gender, or for people who simply dont want to be identified
by gender.
While plenty of definitions of these words are available
online, Merriam-Websters status as a linguistic authority lends
legitimacy, the Human Rights Campaign said in a blog post.
The move helps [broaden] public understanding of the increas-

ing diversity of words that people within the LGBTQ community use to describe their identities.
However, Lane cautions that while recognition from institutions like a dictionary might feel like a complete win, it is not.
The presumably heteronormative folks over at MerriamWebster get to say, Look, we get it. But people whose gender
expression is nonconforming, theyre going to continue to be
placed in a position of needing to teach people what the words
mean, she says. And its great that now they can point to the
dictionary and say, Heres what it means to be cisgender. But
theyre still going to have to define cisgender privilege.
While Merriam-Webster presumably had good intentions
with the inclusion of these new terms, Lane believes its not
going to affect heteronormativity unless theyre also paired with
a redefinition of man and woman. Gender, according to Lane, is
not connected to biology, but is an inner-sense of what it means
for someone to be a man or woman. However, none of MerriamWebsters definitions for male, man, woman or female offer
alternative definitions based on gender expression.
Still, dictionaries and their definitions have not kept people
from finding or inventing new ways to talk about their experiences in the world. Words can take years before they meet
criteria for entry into a dictionary for example, cisgender has
existed since the 1990s, according to Merriam-Webster. But
that slow pace of change isnt reflected in the LGBT community
at large, according to Lane.
I think that no one in our fast-paced, Internet-driven, contemporary culture is going to feel like a dictionary is the only
place where they can find out what the meanings of words are,
Lane says. Queer communities [dont] require the dictionary to
acknowledge all of the words that they use. l
METROWEEKLY.COM

APRIL 28, 2016

scene
GLAAs 45th
Anniversary Awards
Reception at Policy
Restaurant
Thursday, April 21
scan this tag
with your
smartphone
for bonus scene
pics online!

Photography by
Ward Morrison

10

SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT AT WWW.METROWEEKLY.COM/SCENE

METROWEEKLY.COM

APRIL 28, 2016

11

LGBTCommunityCalendar
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 office at 202-638-6830 or
the calendar email address.

THURSDAY, APRIL 28

FRIDAY, APRIL 29

SATURDAY, APRIL 30

Iona Senior Services presents

GAMMA, a confidential support

RAINBOW FAMILIES DC holds a

day-long FAMILY CONFERENCE
AND KIDS CAMP for LGBT families, with workshops, networking
opportunities and a keynote address
for parents and fun events for the
kids. 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Georgetown
Day School Lower/Middle School
Campus, 4530 MacArthur Blvd. NW.
For more information, visit rainbowfamiliesdc.org.

ESTATE PLANNING FOR THE

LGBTQ COMMUNITY, a presenta-

tion going over various topics relating to end-of-life planning, including health care power of attorney,
advance directive, last will and testament, disposition of bodily remains
and more. 3-5:30 p.m. 4125 Albemarle
St. NW. For more information, visit
iona.org.
The DC ANTI-VIOLENCE PROJECT
(DC AVP), the group dedicated to
combating anti-LGBT hate crimes,
holds its monthly meeting at The DC
Center. 7-8:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW,
Suite 105. For more information, visit
thedccenter.org.
The LATINO LGBT TASK FORCE
holds its monthly meeting at The DC
Center. 6-7 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW,
Suite 105. For more information, contact Brant Miller, brant@thedccenter.
org or 202-682-2245.

group for men who are gay, bisexual,

questioning and who are married or
involved with a woman, meets on
the second and fourth Fridays of the
month. GAMMA also offers additional meeting times and places for men
in Northern Virginia and Maryland.
7:30-9:30 p.m. St. Thomas Parish
Episcopal Church, 1772 Church St.
NW. For more information, visit
GAMMAinDC.org.

LGB PSYCHOTHERAPY GROUP for

adults in Montgomery County offers
a safe space to explore coming out
and issues of identity. 10-11:30 a.m.
16220 S. Frederick Rd., Suite 512,
Gaithersburg, Md. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

WEEKLY EVENTS
ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL
HEALTH offers free HIV testing, 9-5

WEEKLY EVENTS

p.m., and HIV services (by appointment). 202-291-4707, andromedatransculturalhealth.org.

DC LAMBDA SQUARES gay and les-

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice

bian 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-floor
bar, 7-9 p.m. All welcome. dullestriangles.com.

US HELPING US hosts a Narcotics

Anonymous Meeting, 6:30-7:30 p.m.,

3636 Georgia Ave. NW. The group is
independent of UHU. 202-446-1100.

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.

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APRIL 28, 2016

session at Hains Point, 927 Ohio Dr.

SW. 6:30-8 p.m. Visit swimdcac.org.

METROHEALTH CENTER offers

free, rapid HIV testing. Appointment

needed. 1012 14th St. NW, Suite 700.
202-638-0750.

PROJECT STRIPES hosts LGBTaffirming social group for ages 11-24. 4-6
p.m. 1419 Columbia Road NW. Contact
Tamara, 202-319-0422, layc-dc.org.
SMYALS REC NIGHT provides
a social atmosphere for GLBT and
questioning youth, featuring dance
parties, vogue nights, movies and
games. More info, catherine.chu@
smyal.org.
SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-6
p.m., by appointment and walk-in, for
youth 21 and younger. Youth Center,
410 7th St. SE. 202-567-3155, testing@smyal.org.

METROWEEKLY.COM

WEEKLY EVENTS
BET MISHPACHAH, founded by
members of the LGBT community,
holds Saturday morning Shabbat
services, 10 a.m., followed by Kiddush
luncheon. Services in DCJCC
Community Room, 1529 16th St. NW.
betmish.org.
BRAZILIAN GLBT GROUP, including others interested in Brazilian culture, meets. For location/time, email
braziliangaygroup@yahoo.com.
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.

DIGNITYUSA sponsors Mass for

LGBT community, family and friends.

6:30 p.m., Immanuel Church-onthe-Hill, 3606 Seminary Road,
Alexandria. All welcome. For more
info, visit dignitynova.org.

GAY LANGUAGE CLUB discusses

critical languages and foreign languages. 7 p.m. Nellies, 900 U St. NW.
RVSP preferred. brendandarcy@
gmail.com.

SUNDAY, MAY 1
ADVENTURING outdoors group takes
a moderate 8-mile hike in the Blue
Ridge Mountains north of Shenandoah
National Park to see spectacular displays of trillium and other wildflowers. Bring beverages, lunch, sturdy
boots, bug spray, and a few dollars for
fees. Must purchase special state permit in advance online for $4. Carpool
from East Falls Church Metro Station
Kiss & Ride lot. Craig, 202-462-0535.
adventuring.org.
Join Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure
and the National Brain Tumor Society
for its 19TH ANNUAL RACE FOR
HOPE 5K RUN AND WALK. Other
activities include a kids run and
Wall of Hope. Featuring special guest
appearance by former American
Idol winner David Cook. 8:30 a.m.
Freedom Plaza, Pennsylvania Ave.
NW between 13th and 14th Streets.
For more information or to purchase
tickets, visit curebraintumors.org.
The 5TH ANNUAL RUNNING OF
THE CHIHUAHUAS to celebrate
Cinco de Mayo returns to D.C.
Proceeds benefit local animal charities. Featuring chihuahua races, food
trucks, beer stands, dog contests, and
live music. 1-4 p.m. The Wharf, 600
Water St. SW. For more information,
visit cincodc.com.
WeddingWire, Inc. holds an ASK
THE NEWLYWEDS panel and social

event for couples who are themselves

interested in planning a wedding.
Cocktails, treats and a DJ follow the
panel discussion. Tickets are free,
but must RSVP. 2-4 p.m. 2 Wisconsin
Cir., 3rd Floor, Chevy Chase, Md. To
RSVP and for more information, visit
go.weddingwire.com/gayweddings/
events/2016/newlywed-panel.html.

WEEKLY EVENTS
LGBT-inclusive ALL SOULS
MEMORIAL EPISCOPAL CHURCH

celebrates Low Mass at 8:30 a.m., High

Mass at 11 a.m. 2300 Cathedral Ave.
NW. 202-232-4244, allsoulsdc.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice

session at Hains Point, 972 Ohio Dr.,
SW. 9:30-11 a.m. Visit swimdcac.org.
DIGNITYUSA offers Roman Catholic
Mass for the LGBT community. 6
p.m., St. Margarets Church, 1820
Connecticut Ave. NW. All welcome.
Sign interpreted. For more info, visit
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 floor. Special welcome to lesbians
and gays. Handicapped accessible
from Phelps Place gate. Hearing assistance. quakersdc.org.

HSV-2 SOCIAL AND SUPPORT

GROUP for gay men living in the DC

GETEQUAL meets 6:30-8 p.m. at

Quaker House, 2111 Florida Ave. NW.
getequal.wdc@gmail.com.

INSTITUTE FOR SPIRITUAL

DEVELOPMENT, God-centered new

age church & learning center. Sunday

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

HIV Testing at WHITMAN-WALKER

HEALTH. At 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. For an appointment call 202745-7000. Visit whitman-walker.org.

LUTHERAN CHURCH OF
REFORMATION invites all to Sunday

KARING WITH INDIVIDUALITY

(K.I.) SERVICES, 3333 Duke St.,

METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY
CHURCH OF WASHINGTON, D.C.

NOVASALUD offers free HIV testing.

5-7 p.m. 2049 N. 15th St., Suite 200,
Arlington. Appointments:
703-789-4467.

metro area. This group will be meeting once a month. For information on
location and time, visit H2gether.com.

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.

services at 9 a.m. (ASL interpreted)

and 11 a.m. Childrens Sunday School
at 11 a.m. 474 Ridge St. NW. 202-6387373, mccdc.com.

RIVERSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH,

a Christ-centered, interracial, welcoming-and-affirming church, offers
service at 10 a.m. 680 I St. SW. 202554-4330, riversidedc.org.
UNITARIAN CHURCH OF
ARLINGTON, an LGBTQ welcoming-

and-affirming congregation, offers

services at 10 a.m. Virginia Rainbow
UU Ministry. 4444 Arlington Blvd.
uucava.org.

UNIVERSALIST NATIONAL
MEMORIAL CHURCH, a welcom-

ing and inclusive church. GLBT

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

Alexandria, offers free rapid HIV

testing and counseling, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
703-823-4401.

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 or testing@smyal.org.
THE DC CENTER hosts Coffee DropIn for the Senior LGBT Community.
10 a.m.-noon. 2000 14th St. NW. 202682-2245, thedccenter.org.
US HELPING US hosts a black gay
mens evening affinity 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.

WHITMAN-WALKER HEALTH

MONDAY, MAY 2
BURGUNDY CRESCENT, a gay volun-

teer organization, volunteers today for

Volunteer Night, the first Monday of
every month at The DC Center. To participate, visit burgundycrescent.org.

The DC Center hosts a VOLUNTEER

NIGHT for community members
to lend a hand with various duties,
including cleaning, keeping safe-sex
kit inventory, and sorting through
book donations. Pizza provided.
6:30-8:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW,
Suite 105. For more information, visit
thedccenter.org.

WEEKLY EVENTS
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.

HIV/AIDS Support Group for newly

diagnosed individuals, meets 7 p.m.
Registration required. 202-939-7671,
hivsupport@whitman-walker.org.

TUESDAY, MAY 3
WEEKLY EVENTS
ASIANS AND FRIENDS weekly dinner
in Dupont/Logan Circle area, 6:30 p.m.
afwash@aol.com, afwashington.net.

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC)

practice session at Takoma Aquatic

Center, 300 Van Buren St. NW. 7:30-9
p.m. swimdcac.org.

DC FRONT RUNNERS running/walking/social club serving greater D.C.s

LGBT community and allies hosts an
evening run/walk. dcfrontrunners.org.

THE GAY MENS HEALTH

COLLABORATIVE offers free HIV

testing and STI screening and treatment every Tuesday. 5-6:30 p.m.
Rainbow Tuesday LGBT Clinic,

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APRIL 28, 2016

13

Alexandria Health Department, 4480

King St. 703-746-4986 or text 571214-9617. 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.

OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS
LGBT focused meeting every
Tuesday, 7 p.m. St. Georges
Episcopal Church, 915 Oakland Ave.,
Arlington, just steps from Virginia
Square Metro. For more info. call
Dick, 703-521-1999. Handicapped
accessible. Newcomers welcome.
liveandletliveoa@gmail.com.
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.

US HELPING US hosts a support

group for black gay men 40 and
older. 7-9 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave.
NW. 202-446-1100.
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 chlamydia. Hepatitis and herpes testing
available for fee. whitman-walker.org.

APRIL 28, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM

Bridge. 7:30 p.m. Dignity Center,

721 8th St SE (across from Marine
Barracks). No reservations and partner needed. All welcome. 301-345-1571
for more information.
The Unitarian Universalist Church
of Arlington presents the second
session of BECOMING A TRANS*
ALLY, a four-part series looking at
the transgender community. The
topic for the night is Why Bathrooms
Matter, presented by UUCA youth
Evie Priestman, Jay Brown and
Kate Oakley from the Human Rights
Campaign. 7-8:30 p.m. 4444 Arlington
Blvd., Arlington, Va. For more information, visit hrc.org or pofev.org.

WEEKLY EVENTS
AD LIB, a group for freestyle conversation, meets about 6:30-6 p.m.,
Steam, 17th and R NW. All welcome.
For more information, call Fausto
Fernandez, 703-732-5174.
DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds

practice, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Garrison

Elementary, 1200 S St. NW. dcscandals.wordpress.com.

HISTORIC CHRIST CHURCH

offers Wednesday worship 7:15 a.m.

and 12:05 p.m. All welcome. 118 N.
Washington St., Alexandria. 703-5491450, historicchristchurch.org.

HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker

Health. At 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. For an appointment call 202745-7000. Visit whitman-walker.org.
IDENTITY offers free and confiden-

tial HIV testing in Gaithersburg, 414

East Diamond Ave. Walk-ins 2-7 p.m.
For appointments other hours, call
Gaithersburg at 301-300-9978.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 4

JOB CLUB, a weekly support pro-

BOOKMEN DC, an informal mens

gay-literature group, discusses
Bettyville, George Hodgmans
memoir. 7:30 p.m. Cleveland Park
Library, 3310 Connecticut Ave
NW. All are welcome. bookmendc.
blogspot.com.

METROHEALTH CENTER offers

THE ASK RAYCEEN SHOW features

a panel on LGBT health and wellness,
moderated by Rayceen Pendarvis
and featuring Nicole Cutts, Lanada
Williams, Candice Camille, Dr. Linda
Spooner, Eleasa Du Bois, and Ruby
Lathon. Performances by music
group AFLOCENTRIC and poet and
burlesque performer Rae Monet after
the panel. Also featuring Curt Mariah
and DJ Honey. Admission is free.
6 p.m. MLK Library, 901 G St. NW,
Auditorium A-5. For more information, visit facebook.com/AskRayceen.
14

THE TOM DAVOREN SOCIAL

BRIDGE CLUB meets for Social

gram for job entrants and seekers,

meets at The DC Center. 6-7:30 p.m.
2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more
info, www.centercareers.org.

free, rapid HIV 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: 703789-4467.

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. l

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As head of The Washington Opera, Francesca Zambello strives to make the artform as accessible and
relevant as possible. Including Wagners Ring Cycle.
Interview by Doug Rule
Photography by Todd Franson
HEEPISHLY MENTION TO FRANCESCA
Zambello that youve never seen an opera and,
with a smile, shell issue a simple challenge:
Watch Richard Wagners Ring Cycle.
In its entirety.
All 17 hours of it.
Just try it, the esteemed, abundantly awarded artistic director of the Washington Opera says. When people say theyve
never been to an opera, I say If you dont try it, you dont know
how great it is. Its an amazing experience! Amazing! That
acoustic sound of the orchestra and the voices incredible.
For those who dont want to brave The Ring Cycles full
running time, an epic, mythic tale spread out over four operas,
Zambello recommends The Valkyrie, second in the cycle, as a
standalone. Its story stands on its own, so you could just see
that. Performed in German (with surtitles), The Valkyries universal, existential themes and enormous, overwhelming scale
has the power to entrance novices and opera veterans alike. It
boasts one of the most famous pieces of music in operas canon
Ride of the Valkyries, made instantly recognizable from its
overuse by pop culture (everything from the chopper scene in
Apocalypse Now to Elmer Fudd warbling Kill the Wabbit). The
time commitment for The Valkyrie? Four and a half hours, with
two intermissions.
Individual operas from The Ring Cycle, which starts a threeweek run on Saturday, April 30 at the Kennedy Center, are often
produced as standalones within an opera companys season. Its
rare and something of a significant cultural event (not to mention herculean undertaking) when a company mounts all four
of Wagners behemoths at once. But that was Zambellos challenge to herself. It took a decade to fully realize, as production
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costs and schedules are often a determining factor. Yet Zambello

stuck with the project, citing a deep and passionate love for all
things Ring.
Raised in a family that valued music and the performing arts,
Zambello was encouraged from an early age to appreciate opera.
That encouragement, and the love it engendered, fueled her passion for the subject as well as her conviction that newcomers,
of any age, shouldnt be intimidated by opera. Zambello is not
we repeat, not an opera snob.
My whole goal is to make it accessible, she says. I want to
make opera for everyone.
Zambello loves all styles of opera, though she clearly regards
Wagners as a cut above the rest. Unlike the beautiful Italian
operas, with crazy twists and romantic trysts, Wagners works
are vigorous and somewhat more serious, focused on, as she puts
it, exploring the core of what it means to be human whether
motivated by power, romance, or a sense of belonging. We all
know what it is to hunger for something, she says during an
hour-long interview in her Georgetown home. And weve seen
how desire can push people to do things they wouldnt imagine
themselves capable of.
And then theres Wagners music, which Zambello considers
to be as primal as they come, to the point of being a potential
aphrodisiac.
Its just some of the sexiest music ever written, she says.
This is music to not just be romantic to, its music to have sex
to! Its so powerful. I strongly recommend it!
METRO WEEKLY: What on earth inspired you to take on the entire

Ring Cycle?
FRANCESCA ZAMBELLO: The Ring Cycle is the big chalice in our

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17

business. I think its the greatest set of operas ever written.

It constantly speaks to us, through its themes and music and
words. Why wouldnt you want to do it? Its like directing all
of Shakespeare. Its something thats a real challenge, not just
for the director, for everyone involved. Its a unique and often
life-changing experience. Its so powerful and its primal.
The characters, their emotions, their story. When you hear this
music everyday, day in and day out, it becomes like a drug. You
get addicted. And I think audiences get addicted to it. Thats why
there are people who travel the world just to see it. The same

all the time because the music is hypnotic. It uses an orchestra of

100 players, these voices that are sublime and huge, incredible
melodies that wrap around you, and get inside of your ear.
Wagner invented something called leitmotif he created a
sound or a melody that represents a character or a feeling. And
since the story is so complex, when you have that feeling or that
character, you hear that music. And that just bores down inside
of you. The orchestra is a huge protagonist in The Ring. Huge.
And they keep answering and commenting and telling the story.
MW: What was the very first opera you ever saw?
ZAMBELLO: Madama Butterfly.
My father brought me to it. I
dont know if I loved it, but I
was curious. I was probably six
or seven.
MW: What, then, was the first
opera that you loved?
ZAMBELLO: Probably Mozart,
when I was a teenager. Just the
sounds and the beauty and the
symmetry of the music. It was
very contagious.
MW: When did you know that
opera and directing in general
was what you wanted to do
with your life?
ZAMBELLO: I dont think you know that, so much as youre internally, spiritually guided to it. By the time I was in college, I knew
theater was what I was going to do. I didnt know it was going to
be opera. Opera sort of came as I got more and more involved in
it. Opera gives you the chance to think in a big tableau, a big canvas. And its not always totally naturalistic. And music is primal.
Music helps convey drama. I was just swept away by a lot of it.
MW: Youve directed big musicals as well, including Broadways
The Little Mermaid. Did you ever consider focusing solely on one
or the other?
ZAMBELLO: Never. I think its give and take, back and forth.
Theyre similar and dissimilar. I did Showboat here a few years
ago, which weve done a lot of places. Showboat is kind of like an
opera in a lot of ways and we cast it with mostly opera singers.
It has huge music, a big story. Its a big story being told through
words and music. But is Showboat any different than The Ring?
Well, yes and no both of them use music to tell huge, emotional dramas.
Musicals are American opera, in a sense. I think that in subject matter, many musicals have gone to much greater psychological and emotional depths since World War II. So that connects it to opera. I think the popularity of musicals in this country is like the popularity of opera in the 19th century in, lets say,
Italy. They tell the story through music, but far apart because the
kinds of voices and performers that we use are different. But the
musicals of today is Hamilton an opera? Its sung all the way
through like opera. It might be an opera. It might end up being
classified as an opera a hundred years from now. Musicals are
new. Theyre less than a hundred years old. So who knows?
MW: Theres also a distinction in scale everything in an opera is
several times grander than in a musical.
ZAMBELLO: Right, but musicals used to have an orchestra the
same size. When Rodgers and Hammerstein were writing, there
were fifty people in the pit. Not now. Economics have driven
that, more than taste.
MW: Does that account for part of the expense in staging an opera?
ZAMBELLO: Thats one of the reasons theres a big orchestra.

Its not always totally naturalistic.

And music is primal. Music helps
convey drama.
way people who have never seen it, and see it for the first time,
are completely drawn to it.
MW: Can you give an overview of the opera and its four parts?
ZAMBELLO: The story, simply put, is about who has the ring. And
the ring is the symbol of power and world domination. But it carries a curse to make the ring work, you must renounce love.
And what happens is, it starts by a character named Alberich,
who is a dwarf. He steals the ring, the gold that makes the ring,
from the Rhinemaidens the River Maidens. And when he does
that, he destroys the natural order. He breaks nature. Its like,
Dont screw with Mother Nature. He sets off a cataclysmic
cycle. The ring goes from him to a series of other people, who
each believe that it will give them total power, but it destroys
them. Eventually, a woman named Brunnhilde, who is the hero
of The Ring Cycle, gets the ring back to the Rhinemaidens, and
restores a kind of world harmony.
MW: Why has this production been christened The American Ring?
ZAMBELLO: The designers and I were in Washington the center
of power and the piece is about how greed and the quest for
power can destroy everyone, so it seemed kind of obvious. We
used a lot of American visual context to tell the story. Its not
like it hits you over the head, as though its set in the suburbs
in a gas station. Its much more about the power of the natural
world, Americas unspoiled, beautiful landscape in the 19th century. The way we do it, it moves forward through time, through
the American Industrial Age to the great Robber Barons, then
to World War II, then to the 1960s, where everything is falling
apart, to a time that is slightly futuristic. It also draws on a lot of
American films, like Citizen Kane who is very much like the
King of the Gods Wotan, who believes that he is untouchable.
So it uses American myth, iconography, and a visual language to
tell the story.
MW: What makes The Ring Cycle such a good work for interpretation?
ZAMBELLO: Its always been interpreted. Its like a mirror to the
world. These themes of the environment and power theyre
universal and contemporary all at once. We think about the music
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SCOTT SUCHMAN

Alan Held as Wotan and Catherine Foster as Brunnhilde in The Valkyrie

You have a chorus, which is usually at the least forty people.

And again, it depends on the opera. When we do The Ring Cycle,
there are some nights where there are four hundred people
involved there are ninety people in the chorus, a hundred people in the orchestra, fifty supers, extras, the crew, the wardrobe
department, and the performers. Sometimes I say Im trying to
figure out how to land at Heathrow. My job is like psychiatrist,
babysitter, air controller, planner, emotional/figure-out-yourlife person.
MW: People come to you for emotional support?
ZAMBELLO: All the time. I guess they think I can help them. I
just ask questions. Im a good question-asker. And I think when
youre trying to figure out things, its good to ask questions.
MW: One key difference between operas and musicals is that many
of the great operas are not performed in English.
ZAMBELLO: Right, but weve overcome that in some way with the
use of supertitles. Which I think musicals are probably going to
start to use soon. People want total clarity. They want to know
every word thats being said.
MW: Is there an effort to try and accommodate both sides of the
argument: opera purists who want the original experience, and
newcomers who are worried about the potential language barrier?
ZAMBELLO: For me its to make it as accessible as possible. Thats
why, like this Ring, the way weve directed and designed it, is to
make it really feel in-your-face and part of your world. We make
it feel like the Gods are a dysfunctional family you would recognize. Some of the characters live in a trailer park, for example.
Its iconic images that immediately tell you something.
MW: An operatic approach can also transform other subject matter.
Ive seen Showboat as a musical, yet it didnt have quite the same
impact as your opera version.

ZAMBELLO: Thats what opera does all the time.

MW: What would you say to those who may feel intimidated by the

idea of seeing an opera?

ZAMBELLO: Id say, Why are you limiting yourself? Thats like
saying, Im going to cook without garlic. Come on! Whats to
be afraid of? Nowadays, you can get a reasonably priced ticket.
Half the time its cheaper than going to a baseball game. Or a
rock concert.
MW: Or Hamilton.
ZAMBELLO: Forget it. Thats five times as expensive as what were
charging.
MW: The expense of going to the opera is a consideration for some,
though.
ZAMBELLO: We offer special pricing for the big hits. Next season
we have special pricing for Madama Butterfly, The Marriage of
Figaro, The Daughter of the Regiment like 25 dollars or something. Really reasonable. Thats important to me.
MW: How are you able to lower the ticket prices, especially considering the production costs of opera?
ZAMBELLO: Well, not every seat is inexpensive. But at WNO, we
do a lot of things like short new operas. We have a series called
the American Opera Initiative, where we do operas that are
twenty minutes-to-an-hour long, in English. To draw people in,
we have special pricing, where we do certain performances that
star all of our younger artists, that are very reasonably priced.
And weve got people coming.
Its funny about opera, because so many people want everything short. And thats why we started this thing of 20-minute
opera. But once you get into opera, sitting through 17 hours of
The Ring is like binge-watching House of Cards.
MW: Its odd that a lot of younger people wouldnt sit through an
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19

entire opera, yet theyll happily binge-watch Netflix.

ZAMBELLO: But they binge-watch. And I find that a lot of them
love opera. I find that we have a portion of a younger audience
who are drawn by the stories and the emotions. Its not superficial. A lot of life is superficial. Opera goes deep. It speaks to you.
MW: Is there any genre of music you listen to apart from classical
and opera?
ZAMBELLO: I like country western, like Iris DeMent or John
Prine.
MW: The two worlds never meet, do they? You would never hear a
bluegrass singer in an opera.
ZAMBELLO: No, no. Ive thought about it, but I havent brought
them together yet. But next year were doing a jazz opera called

and so youre trying to get people to come for several days to

see several operas to really experience a festival. And we do a
musical every year but we cast opera singers. We do it without amplification. This year were doing Sweeney Todd. We also
do a youth opera for kids. We do concerts, a lot of them in new
music that mixes styles. We do lectures interesting speakers
on really stimulating, intellectual topics. You can have a very
broad experience.
At WNO, mostly, youre providing entertainment. They go
to work, they see a show, they go home. But when you go to a
festival, people journey there, theyre there for a couple of days,
and they really get into it. So thats what makes it different by its
nature. Its a very small, intimate theater only 1,000 seats
in a beautiful setting in rural,
central New York. Dairy country. So you hear this amazing
music, go out and have a great
picnic. Hang out. Go hear a
concert after youve heard an
opera. Its that kind of experience. I love being there, and I
love programming there.
MW: Was it intimidating to take
over from Placido Domingo as
head of the WNO three years ago?
ZAMBELLO: No. I wanted to
focus on different things as a
company, and so I felt I had a
path. I wanted more American
work, more American artists, more new music. Some different
kinds of theatrical approaches. Build the young artist program.
I had a viewpoint on it, which weve been executing. Which
has been great. I love Placido, and I love what he left us, a great
legacy.
MW: Have you had any challenges as a woman in this field and line
of work?
ZAMBELLO: Oh, my whole life, sure. Theres hardly any women
still doing this job. Its terrible! There are very few women who
are general directors on this level. Very few. Theres still incredible sexism.
MW: What about the presentation of women in opera?
ZAMBELLO: Thats tricky. A lot of women are characterized as
victims. You dont always have to buy into it. You can work
around it, or reconceive it. When its appropriate, I do that. And
when its not, I dont. I always think, tell the story. Thats my
job. Whats the plot? How do I make it clear? How do I make
the characters clear? If you like the characters, if you know the
characters, you can tell the story. If you dont, dont bother, youll
screw up.
MW: Has your identity as a lesbian informed your work?
ZAMBELLO: I dont think it informs my work. I think being a
woman informs my work more. I think my work is political,
often, but not about a sexual choice so much as more about
socially responsible issues. Like this year, Appomattox, civil
rights. We did another piece, Lost in the Stars, again about apartheid. The Ring certainly has a feminist streak. It also has a streak
about ecology and the environment. I think that political and
social thinking is definitely part of what I think about. And what
I try to imbue in the pieces that I direct.
MW: Opera has a wealth of gay-friendly work to be explored.
ZAMBELLO: There are hundreds of gay-themed operas. Benjamin
Britten, famous British composer all his works, Billy Budd,
Peter Grimes. Theres been an opera about Harvey Milk.

Is Hamilton an opera? Its sung

all the way through like opera.
It might end up being classified as
an opera a hundred years from now,
who knows?
Champion. Its about a boxer Emile Griffith and his Hispanic
lover. All idioms work in opera.
MW: Do you prefer directing operas or musicals?
ZAMBELLO: I like directing anything, if I like the material. You
have to love the material. The material has to grab you. Because
if it doesnt speak to you, you cant help the performers find their
way in it.
MW: Is there an opera that you have no interest in directing?
ZAMBELLO: There are operas that Ive directed that I dont need
to direct again, put it that way.
MW: Care to name any?
ZAMBELLO: No, because we might be doing them in three years!
So Ill get somebody else to do it. Opera lovers can be very
divided. There are some who love Italian opera, some who love
German opera, some who love French opera. I like them all. And
there are a lot of people who like them all too.
MW: What about American opera?
ZAMBELLO: Oh, I love American operas. I love contemporary
operas. I practically love that more than anything else. They
resonate more. This year we did Appomattox, which was a new
Philip Glass opera about the end of the Civil War and the Civil
Rights movement. I was very proud that we did it. Next year,
we have several great new contemporary operas coming. One
is called Dead Man Walking, based on the film and the book.
Another one is The Dictators Wife, which is a kind of satire
about a dictators wife and how she takes over a country.
The standard operas, as we call them Puccini, Verdi they
dont change. How you interpret them changes. Doing new
operas thats what speaks to me. I love new music, and the
challenge of creating new work.
MW: During the summer you serve as artistic director of the
Glimmerglass Festival in New York. How does that compare to
your work with WNO?
ZAMBELLO: Its different and the same. Its a summer festival,
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Brokeback Mountain, even. And opera queens are a major part

of an opera audience.
MW: Was coming out challenging for you?
ZAMBELLO: To some degree, but I think thats my age. I cant say
that the 70s and the 80s were the most welcoming time. I lived
in New York City and San Francisco those were welcoming
cities, but there were still a lot of issues around it. A lot. Very
political, very charged. You know, AIDS, fear, prejudice. It wasnt
like coming out for me personally was traumatic my family was accepting. It was more
about the world that we lived
in. When I think that in my lifetime, Ive become legally married to a woman, its a miracle.
MW: Something you couldnt
have imagined when you were
coming out.
ZAMBELLO: When I was 22, no.
My best friend, whos gay we
both got married around the
same time. He reminded me
that when we were that age,
we did a show together. And at
the party after, everybody was
dancing. There were gay couples it was a theater party.
But I said, Wouldnt it be amazing if we could marry the people
who we love? That would have been 1980, I guess. I wasnt out
at work, and I worked in the arts.
MW: When did you come out at work?
ZAMBELLO: Maybe in the 80s. Like out out, no just discreet. I
was always discreet. I think I still am. I mean, Ive never not said,
if somebody asks me, Are you gay? Ive never lied, or anything
like that. But I dont think Ive ever been wearing a badge.
I dont think that younger people can understand it. Like with
the Supreme Court ruling last summer I remember hearing it,
I was in a room with a lot of performers who were a lot younger.
And I just started weeping. One of them said, Why are you crying so much. And I said, You didnt experience prejudice. For
the most part. If youre in Mississippi, its a problem.
Time just moves so quickly. Laws move so quickly. For
people in their twenties and thirties, to understand what people
in their fifties even went through is very hard. And obviously, of
course, women suffered from AIDS, but they didnt suffer like
gay men did, its true. I lived in San Francisco in the 80s, and
I worked at the opera house. And the rampant fear Im not
touching him, hes gay, those kinds of things was everywhere.
That was every day. And of course people died. Friends died. A
lot of friends died.
MW: And a lot of younger people probably dont even know a lot of
the details of that. Including the fact that lesbians were often helping gay men afflicted with AIDS.
ZAMBELLO: All the time. I dont think that story is told that much.
I really dont. It was awful. And of course things like Harvey
Milk are documented. And the world of the Castro. But when I
look back, I think, Oh my god, I really lived through that. And
lived right near there. It happened so fast. Everything was
changing so quickly. People were dropping like flies.
For everybody of that generation, to be in your twenties, to
deal with so much death only a war would have made you deal
with that before, friends dying, all of that. I had a really good
friend, shes gay and her twin brother was gay. He died. It was
a different time.

MW: Its certainly the stuff from which operas are made.
ZAMBELLO: There have been plenty of operas about AIDS.

And plenty of plays. Terrence McNallys career was launched

because of that.
MW: Is that part of the future of opera? Keeping these issues alive
and relevant in our culture?
ZAMBELLO: I think we have to keep making it socially relevant,
because in its roots, thats what it was. The composers who were
writing in the 18th and 19th centuries were speaking to their

[The Ring Cycle has] some of the

sexiest music ever written. This is
music to not just be romantic to,

public about ideas, social action. I think we have to turn back to

that more. We are, in a way, turning back to it.
MW: How do you switch off from work?
ZAMBELLO: I love nature. Walking, hiking, being outdoors.
Anything outdoors, Im happy. Also Im a stepmother. Being
with a kid is extremely liberating, because you dont think about
yourself, you just think about them. Hes seven-and-a-half, so
hes a full-time event. Being with him and his friends, I find
it very uplifting. Hard work, but uplifting. Kids make you see
everything in a different way. They make you let go of a lot of
your selfish stress.
MW: What book are you currently reading?
ZAMBELLO: Gianni Riottas Prince of the Clouds, a novel, Ive been
enjoying it. I also read a lot of history books. I just read a huge
book on the French Revolution. For me, history is really the
thing I enjoy the most. The other guilty pleasure I have is reading cookbooks. History and cookbooks are like my porn.
MW: Do you read for recipes, or just for pleasure?
ZAMBELLO: No, just thumbing through. Often to go to sleep, to
calm down, Ill read one. Seriously. I was reading a book about
barbecuing last night. Its hard when you come home from
rehearsing The Ring Cycle Im like, Oh my God! Ive got to
calm down! l
The Washington National Opera presents all four operas in The
Ring Cycle three times one each week for three weeks, making
three complete cycles, starting Saturday, April 30, and running to
May 22, at the Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets are $75 to
$525 per opera. For specific performance dates and more information, call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.
Each performance is preceded by a free lecture offering insights
into that particular opera.
For more information on the Glimmerglass Festival, which runs
throughout July and August in Cooperstown, N.Y., call 607-5472255 or visit glimmerglass.org.
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APRIL 28, 2016

21

APRIL 28 - MAY 5, 2016

Compiled by Doug Rule

Cubs, Otters and Bears. Oh My!

Gay Day at the Zoo brings the Districts gay community together for an animal-inspired fundraiser

22

APRIL 28, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM

It is simply a relaxed, fun day to be at the zoo and be with

other members of the LGBT community, says David Mariner,
executive director of The DC Center. Its just a great opportunity to be out, enjoy the day, and to be visible in the community.
As part of Gay Day, various DC Center groups will organize
meet-ups with their members, starting with Center Aging at 11
a.m., followed by Rainbow Families DC and 495 Bears at noon,
Center Bi at 1:30 p.m., and members of GenderQueer DC, Gay
District, Women in Their Twenties and Center Global congregating at 2 p.m.
Its a great opportunity to connect with some of the groups
that meet at the DC Center, says Mariner. So if youre not
familiar with the groups that meet here, you can get to know
some of those folks. John Riley
Gay Day at the Zoo will take place on Sunday, May 1 from 11 a.m.
to 5 p.m. at the Smithsonian National Zoo, 3001 Connecticut Ave.
NW. Admission is free of charge. For more information, or to purchase Gay Day at the Zoo T-shirts, visit thedccenter.org.

ANGELA WAYE

OULL KNOW THEM BY THEIR T-SHIRTS.

Last year, the National Zoo was beset by a sea of red
as members of the LGBT community congregated and
took over the park. Every stand, every exhibit, every walkway
was filled with a smattering of red T-shirts as people posed for
selfies and made their way along the zoos many winding trails.
This year, organizers of the fourth annual Gay Day at the
Zoo are hoping youll see green. Bright green.
Organizers are selling the Kermit-hued Gay Day T-shirts,
complete with an affectionate pair of cartoon pandas, for $15 each,
with proceeds directly benefitting The DC Center. Prospective
zoo-goers can order their T-shirts online beforehand and pick
them up at The DC Center on Saturday, May 30, or on Sunday at
the zoos main entrance on Connecticut Avenue NW.
The social gathering and fundraising event is the brainchild
of Jacob Pring, a local party promoter who was, at the time,
volunteering for The DC Center. After the first year was so successful, the LGBT community center made it a permanent fixture this year, theyre expecting almost 1,000 people to attend.

COURTESY OF FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY

Bard
in
the
USA
Americas Shakespeare at the Folger documents
the Bards New World connection

LIKE SHAKESPEARE, BUT IM NOT PASSIONATE ABOUT

Shakespeare, to be perfectly honest, Georgianna Ziegler laughs.
Its a surprising admission, coming from the head of reference
and associate librarian at the Folger Shakespeare Library, who is also
a past president of the Shakespeare Association of America. Ziegler
even taught the Bard at the University of Pennsylvania. Ive taught a
lot of other things besides Shakespeare, she says. My personal interest tends to be women writers, early modern women. Im interested in
Shakespeare and women, and Ive done some work on that.

SPOTLIGHT

BOB BOILEN

BEN CARVER: NEW ORLEANS

Local photographer/filmmaker Ben

Carver spent three months walking the
neighborhoods of New Orleans to capture the city as it exists 10 years after
Hurricane Katrina. White Room DC
hosts two showings of selections from
the 600-plus images that comprise the
collection. Showings Saturday, April
30, and Monday, May 2, from 6 p.m. to
10 p.m. White Room DC, 1240 9th St.
NW. Visit whiteroomdc.com.

24

APRIL 28, 2016

Your Song Changed My Life...35

Beloved Artists on Their Journey and
the Music That Inspired It is an oral
history written by the arbiter of pop
music. The host and creator of NPRs
All Songs Considered podcast and Tiny
Desk Concerts, one-time musician Bob
Boilen was in the band that first played
the original 9:30 Club 35 years ago.
Hell be in conversation at Sixth and I
with Carrie Brownstein, co-creator of
Portlandia and a former featured guest
on All Songs Considered. Monday,
May 2, at 7:30 p.m. Sixth & I Historic
Synagogue. 600 I St. NW. Tickets are
$35 for one ticket, one book, or $50
for two tickets and one book. Call 202408-3100 or visit sixthandi.org.

METROWEEKLY.COM

Passionate or not, Ziegler is enthusiastic about the

new exhibition she has curated at the Folger, focused
on Shakespeare in America. Shakespeare entered this
country very early, coming in with the English immigrants to the New World, Ziegler says. To be taxt or
not to be taxt, that is the question, is how American
colonists spun one popular phrase from Hamlet. French
political scientist Alexis de Tocqueville famously wrote
about seeing copies of Shakespeare alongside copies of
the Bible in log cabins on his tour of the U.S.
Shakespeares language, like the language of the
Bible, became part of the currency of American English,
Ziegler says. And was used all through, from early
times to the present. Although English immigrants may
have been the ones to seed Shakespeare, the Americas
Shakespeare exhibition includes examples showing the
language of the worlds most famous playwright/poet
sprouting among other immigrant and ethnic groups,
including Italian, Jewish and African-American. It also
documents Shakespeares influence on several notable
American works, from Leonard Bernsteins musical
West Side Story to Measure for Measure, a 2014 poem by
Rowan Ricardo Phillips. Shakespeare has even inspired
American advertising copywriters.
I think Shakespeare was often used to sell things
because of the idea of class, Ziegler says. It brought
a cachet to whatever you were selling. We have a good
example of that with a Coke ad. It shows that CocaCola is American, but its also classy. And the cultural
exchange wasnt just one-way. In the early 17th century, pamphlets reported on a shipwreck off the coast of
Virginia. Its pretty obvious that he knew these reports
about the New World, and that that influenced him
when he wrote The Tempest, Ziegler says.
The exhibition doesnt include anything related to
Zieglers personal interest, or to LGBT matters. It is an
important issue in this country, but I just didnt deal with
issues of gender and sexuality, Ziegler says. But she
agrees that it could prove interesting fodder for another
exhibition, one beginning with the whole idea of boys
performing as women on Shakespeares stage, and then
you just kind of take it from there. Doug Rule
Americas Shakespeare runs through July 24 in the Great Hall in
Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol St. SE. Free. Call
202-544-7077 or visit folger.edu.

DISGRACED

Arena Stage offers a production of Avad

Akhtars Pulitzer Prize-winning incendiary examination of ones self and
ones beliefs of American identity and
South Asian culture. Timothy Douglas
directs Felicia Curry, Joe Isenberg,
Nehal Joshi, Samip Raval and Ivy
Vahanian. To May 29. Kreeger Theater
in the Mead Center for American
Theater, 1101 6th St. SW. Call 202-4883300 or visit arenastage.org.

ESTELLE

Ive felt so much love and acceptance,

its overwhelming, Estelle told Metro
Weekly in 2012. [And] gay people,
its a whole different level. The love
has only grown stronger since then,
especially after her guest-starring turn

as a duet partner with Jussie Smollett

on Foxs Empire, performing her hit
Conqueror. The Grammy-winning
British soul singer continues to tour
in support of her latest release True
Romance. Special guest Familiar Faces.
Thursday, May 5, at 8 p.m. Bethesda
Blues & Jazz Supper Club, 7719
Wisconsin Ave. Tickets are $55 to $75.
Call 240-330-4500 or visit bethesdabluesjazz.com.

NATIONAL SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA WITH STORM LARGE,
HUDSON SHAD

Pink Martini vocalist Storm Large will

sing a concert version of Bertolt Brecht
and Kurt Weills delightful work The
Seven Deadly Sins, about a transgres-

sive young woman tempted by the

gentlemen of the vocal quartet. Large
makes her NSO classical subscription
debut with the program, led by young
American conductor James Gaffigan,
and also including Rodgers Carousel
Waltz, Dvoraks American Suite, and
Ravels La valse. Thursday, April 28, at
7 p.m., and Saturday, April 30, at 8 p.m.
Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets
are $15 to $89. Call 202-467-4600 or
visit kennedy-center.org.

TERESA WOOD

RE-BALL!: RAISE/RAZE IN THE

DUPONT UNDERGROUND

Scrambled Shakespeare

Reduced Shakespeare offers a mild, blunt, family-friendly play

NONSTOP CROWD-PLEASER FOR SHAKESPEARE-LOVERS, THE REDUCED

Shakespeare Companys William Shakespeares Long Lost First Play (abridged)
(HHHHH) is a vaudevillian mashup of the Bards greatest hits and one-liners. Think
one part The Carol Burnett Show, one part childrens theater, and a dash of The Three Stooges
(circa Joe), and youve got the idea.
The hook here is a pretend first-ever play of the Bards in which everyone from Hamlet
to Puck appear in a jumble of a plot that as will be obvious draws from many of his later
classics. The result of course is contained chaos. The fun for Shakespeare fans is in following the references of coauthors and actors Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor, as they graft
together myriad plots, people and well-known lines into their own madcap play. With the two
of them, and third man Teddy Spencer, playing all the characters in a whirlwind of cheesy
props, its fast and furious entertainment.
Will you find it clever and funny? Well, thats a matter of sensibilities. Suffice to say that
if you carry a tote with a pithy saying on it and believe your cat knows what you are thinking,
then this is likely right up your alley. If you are of a cynical bent and prefer your humor in the
form of an acerbic bloodletting, you will find this heavier going.
But take it for what it is broad entertainment for a narrow audience and it will likely
please more people than it bores. Tichenor sets the tone, writing it big and bold, thoroughly
enjoying himself and at the same time suggesting everyone is in on the joke. As for Martin,
although he may not have the prettiest voice for Shakespeare, he certainly has the fluidity.
More importantly for this accessible adventure, he manages to suggest a guy who was grilling hamburgers a minute ago before deciding to join the dramatic fray. Rounding out the trio,
Spencer savors his campier moments and occasionally offers a glimpse of the kind of gravitas
he no doubt brings to his real Shakespeare. But whatever the nuances, these three are richly
in synch and revel equally in the speed, antics and word play of the show. Just as importantly,
they play to the audience, inviting everyone to bask in the atmosphere of grownups having fun.
Still, in the tradition of educated parody, this is pretty mild stuff and it makes for a rather
blunt, family-friendly, object (and a few gay references are, in this day and age and metropolitan area, family-friendly). Unless they start putting on a better midnight show, this is strictly
for She Who Must Be Obeyed. Kate Wingfield
William Shakespeares Long Lost First Play (abridged) runs to May 8 at Folger Theatre.
Tickets are $35 to $75. Call 202-544-7077 or visit folger.edu.

26

APRIL 28, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM

The long-shuttered, former streetcar

station and one-time food court
below Dupont Circle reopens after
two decades. This site-specific installation features the 650,000 translucent plastic balls from last summers
Beach exhibit at the National Building
Museum. The New York architecture
and design studio Hou de Sousa has
assembled them into a fully reconfigurable block system like sand in
a giant sandbox that visitors are
encouraged to refashion into their own
objects and spaces. Opens Saturday,
April 30. Runs to June 1. The Dupont
Underground, Dupont Circle NW.
Admission by reservation only, with
priority given to those who donate
$25 to the Indiegogo campaign Open
These Doors. Due to the interactive
nature of the installation, small groups
only. Visit dupontunderground.org.

SUEDE

Capitol Hill Arts Workshop presents a

return concert by the lesbian cabaret
artist. Suede has spent decades wowing crowds with her rich contralto
voice and playful, charismatic stage
presence. She also occasionally plays
the trumpet, guitar and piano in her
performances of jazz standards, along
with some pop and a lot of blues.
Thursday, May 5, at 7:30 p.m. Atlas
Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE.
Tickets are $30 to $50. Call 202-3997993 or visit atlasarts.org.

THE INSERIES: COSI FAN TUTTE

GOES HOLLYWOOD

In Cosi Fan Tutte Goes Hollywood, Nick

Olcott offers a funny English retelling of Mozart/DaPontes masterpiece,
turning it into a tale about two sisters
from Sandusky, Ohio, who venture to
Hollywood in search of movie stardom and escorted by their fiancs, a
vaudeville duo. Shirley Serotsky directs
this InSeries production with maestro
Stanley Thurston and a cast including
Melissa Chavez, Samuel Keeler, Sasha
Olinick, Erin Passmore, Sean Pflueger
and Randa Rouweyha. Remaining performances are Saturday, April 30, at
8 p.m., and Sunday, May 1, at 4 p.m.
Lang Theater in the Atlas Performing
Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are
$22 to $45. Call 202-399-7993 or visit
atlasarts.org.

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE

SHOW AT THE EAGLE

The DC Eagle is getting into the business of screening films. The leather
and fetish complex plans to screen

The Rocky Horror Picture Show the

last Saturday in April, when local performers The Sonic Transducers shadowcast the iconic cult film with props
and lighting effects just as theyve
done the second weekend of every
month for more than seven years at
Landmarks E Street Cinema. Patrons
are encouraged to dress up in costume
and not just the usual leather or
gear. Saturday, April 30, at midnight,
preceded by social hour starting at
10 p.m. The Exile in DC Eagle, 3701
Benning Rd. NE. Tickets are $10, or
$15 for guaranteed seating, $40 for a
VIP Frank N Furter Package including
premium seating, a prop goodie bag,
and wristband for open bar. Call 202347-6025 or visit dceagle.com.

FILM
FEMALE TROUBLE

It doesnt get much trashier or campier than this, and if its not a perfect fit for the Cine-Insomnia series
of cult-popular midnight movies at
Landmarks E Street Cinema, then I
dont know what is. The sublimely sordid saga of Dawn Davenport
(Divine), the 1974 Female Trouble
is considered by some to be John
Waterss Citizen Kane. Friday, April
29, and Saturday, April 30, at midnight. Landmarks E Street Cinema,
555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672 or
visit landmarktheatres.com.

KEANU

While Key & Peele may have ended,

fans can look forward to more from
Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan
Peele in Keanu. Here, Rell (Peele)
adopts a kitten, Keanu, after a painful
breakup, only for him to be stolen. Rell
and Clarence (Key) then set out to find
him, posing as drug dealers to infiltrate a notorious gang, while trying
to prevent their suburban identities
from being discovered. Its an absurd
premise, but if anyone can make a
movie about finding a kitten hilarious, this duo can. Opens Friday, April
29. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com.
(Rhuaridh Marr)

MOTHERS DAY

Heres a starry cast, with Julia Roberts,

Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Jason
Sudeikis, Timothy Olyphant and
Margo Martindale, among others.
Theyre starring in another of those
holiday ensemble films from Garry
Marshall (Valentines Day, New Years
Eve, etc.) we all know and loathe love.
Mothers and daughters clash, have
problems, and worry about their lives
while surrounded by cliches. Opens
Friday, April 29. Area theaters. Visit
fandango.com. (RM)

RATCHET & CLANK

Call us crazy, but were totally on

board with Sony adapting their hit
PlayStation game series into a feature
animated film. The titular duo has
always enjoyed some of the funniest,
prettiest cutscenes in gaming, with
rich characters, intriguing lore, and
plenty of opportunity for expansion
into a full-length product. It retells the
events of the first game in the series,
as Ratchet, a Lombax mechanic, and
his robot friend Clank set out to save
the galaxy from destruction. Expect
absurd weapons and beautiful animation. Opens Friday, April 29. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com. (RM)

THE MEDDLER

Susan Sarandon is an aging widow

who moves to Los Angeles with her
daughter (Rose Byrne), only to end up
meddling incessantly in her life. The
film was conceived by writer/director Lorene Scafaria as a love letter to
her mother, and Sarandon is drawing
praise for her performance as Marnie.
Opens Friday, April 29. Area theaters.
Visit fandango.com. (RM)

STAGE
110 IN THE SHADE

Marcia Milgrom Dodge directs and

choreographs a new production of
this old-fashioned musical, set during a sweltering Texas summer in the
mid-1950s and featuring a lively score
from the creators of The Fantasticks.
The focus is on a self-proclaimed rainmaker who promises to reverse fortunes in the drought-stricken town,
to say nothing of its leading spinster,

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APRIL 28, 2016

27

played by Tracy Lynn Olivera. To May

14. Fords Theatre, 511 10th St. NW.
Tickets are $28 to $69. Call 800-9822787 or visit fordstheatre.org.

ALL THE WAY

Robert Schenkkans 2014 Tonywinning drama examines the red,

white and blue-blooded leadership of
President Lyndon B. Johnson. Now in
previews. To May 8. Fichandler Stage
in the Mead Center for American
Theater, 1101 6th St. SW. Tickets are
$40 to $70. Call 202-488-3300 or visit
arenastage.org.

BLACK PEARL SINGS!

Over 20 American folk and spiritual songs factor into Frank Higgins
story inspired by the real-life discovery of Huddie Lead Belly Ledbetter
by folklorist John Lomax. Sandra
Holloway directs this MetroStage
production featuring Roz White as
Alberta Pearl Johnson and Teresa
Castracane as Susannah Mullally. To
May 29. MetroStage, 1201 North Royal
St., Alexandria. Tickets are $55. Call
800-494-8497 or visit metrostage.org.

CHRONICLE OF A DEATH
FORETOLD

Gabriel Garcia Marquezs novella is

the source for another stage adaptation, though this time as a straight
play, unlike the 1995 Tony-nominated
musical. Jose Zayas directs GALA
Theatres production of the tale about
a murderous mission of revenge by a

28

APRIL 28, 2016

band of brothers in Colombia, adapted by Jorge Triana and performed

in Spanish with English surtitles.
To May 8. GALA Theatre at Tivoli
Square, 3333 14th St. NW. Tickets are
$20 to $42. Call 202-234-7174 or visit
galatheatre.org.

DETROIT 67

Center Stage offers a production of

Dominique Morisseaus sharp-eyed
drama about racial and generational
differences during the riots of the
Motown era. Kamilah Forbes directs
this co-production with Detroit
Public Theatre and offered at Towson
University, while Center Stage renovates its downtown Baltimore venue.
To May 8. Mainstage at Towson
Universitys Center for the Arts, 1 Fine
Arts Dr., Towson, Md. Tickets are
$10 to $59. Call 410-986-4000 or visit
centerstage.org.

EMPERORS NIGHTINGALE

Adventure Theatre MTC presents a

re-imagining of the Hans Christian
Anderson fairytale about an aimless prince who ultimately becomes
king. Natsu Onoda Power directs
Damon Chuas adaptation. To May
30. Adventure Theatre MTC, 7300
MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo. Tickets
are $19. Call 301-634-2270 or visit
adventuretheatre-mtc.org.

HKEELEE (TALK TO ME)

As part of its Voices from a Changing

Middle East Festival, Mosaic Theater

METROWEEKLY.COM

presents this one-woman show by

Leila Buck, an interactive exploration of what it means to be American
in this probing portrait of a young
womans Lebanese grandmother.
Performances are Saturday, April 30,
at 8 p.m., Sunday, May 1, at 2 p.m.
and 8 p.m. Kogod Cradle in the Mead
Center for American Theater, 1101 6th
St. SW. Tickets are $60. Call 202-4883300 or visit arenastage.org.

HUGO BALL: A SUPER

SPECTACULAR DADA
ADVENTURE

A one-of-a-kind performance loosely

based on the life of one of the founders of the Dada anti-art movement.
Pointless Theatre Companys latest
experimental, multi-disciplinary puppet theater piece explores art, love
and faith and contains puppet
sexuality, profanity and violence. To
May 14. Logan Fringe Arts Spaces
Trinidad Theatre, 1358 Florida Ave.
NE. Tickets are $20 to $25. Call 202733-6321 or visit pointlesstheatre.com.

JOURNEY TO THE WEST

Constellation Theatre Companys

Allison Arkell Stockman directs the
fanciful global tale adapted by Mary
Zimmerman from an ancient Chinese
novel about a Buddhist monk who travels in search of sacred scriptures, meeting a monkey, a pig, a river monster and
a monk along the way. Tom Teasley
returns to Constellation to provide his
percussive-based world music style of

live accompaniment. To May 22. Source

Theatre, 1835 14th St. NW. Tickets are
$35 to $45. Call 202-204-7741 or visit
constellationtheatre.org.

MOMENT

Director Ethan McSweeny makes his

Studio debut with Deirdre Kinahans
Irish tale about a family reunion and
long-simmering sibling resentment.
With a cast of eight, including Dearbhla
Molloy, Emily Landham, Peter
Albrink, Caroline Bootle Pendergast,
and Ciaran Byrne. Extended to April
30. Studio Theatre, 14th & P Streets
NW. Call 202-332-3300 or visit studiotheatre.org.

PROOF

Alex Levy directs actors Katrina Clark,

Ray Ficca, Sam Ludwig and Liz Osborn
in Virginias 1st Stage production of
David Auburns 2001 Pulitzer Prize
winner. To May 8. 1st Stage, 1524
Spring Hill Rd. Tysons, Va. Tickets are
$30, or $200 for 2016 1st Stage benefit
performance on Friday, May 6, which
includes food and drink and starts at 6
p.m. Call 703-854-1856 or visit 1ststagetysons.org.

THE BODY OF AN AMERICAN

Theater J presents the regional premiere of Dan OBriens breathtakingly provocative drama, based on a
true story, about the friendship that
develops between a playwright and a
photographer and traverses Rwanda,
Afghanistan and the Canadian Arctic.

Jose Carrasquillo directs a production

featuring Eric Hissom and Thomas
Keegan. Now in previews. Opens
Tuesday, May 3, at 7:30 p.m. Pride
Night is Thursday, May 12, at 7:30 p.m.
Runs to May 22. The Aaron and Cecile
Goldman Theater, Washington, D.C.s
Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th
St. NW. Call 202-777-3210 or visit
theaterj.org.

THE ELECTRIC BABY

Known for ambitious stagings

of eccentric or out-there tales,
Rorschach Theatre presents Stefanie
Zadravecs lyrical play exploring
the theme of loss with humor and
folklore. Reviewing another production, a critic for the Pittsburgh PostGazette was both charmed and
enthralled by its delicacy and its
strength. Randy Baker directs a production featuring William Aitken, J.
Shawn Durham, Jennifer J. Hopkins,
Cam Magee, Kiernan McGowan and
Sarah Taurchini. Now to May 15. Atlas
Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St.
NE. Tickets are $15 to $30. Call 202399-7993 or visit atlasarts.org.

THE MYSTERY OF LOVE & SEX

Signature Theatre offers this play

from Bathsheba Doran, a writer better known for his work on premium
cable, from HBOs Boardwalk Empire
and Showtimes Masters of Sex. The
Mystery of Love & Sex is an unexpected story of an evolving friendship
between a man and a woman, who
arent quite straight and arent quite in
love with each other but they consider romance anyway, for the sake of
the parents. Pride Night is set for April
29. Runs to May 8. Signature Theatre,
4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Call
703-820-9771 or visit signature-theatre.org.

THE NETHER

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

presents Jennifer Haleys modern
crime drama, exploring themes of
desire, technology and morality in
a futuristic Earth wasteland. Shana
Cooper directs a cast led by Edward
Gero, in his Woolly debut, supported by Woolly company members
Gabriela Fernandez-Coffey and Tim
Getman. To May 1. Woolly Mammoth,

641 D St. NW. Call 202-393-3939 or

visit woollymammoth.net.

TRANSMISSION

A three-year-old D.C.-based playwriting collective, and one of this

years Helen Hayes Award winners
as Outstanding Emerging Theatre
Company, the Welders offers its latest
production, an immersive, participatory performance play written and
performed by Gwydion Suilebhan.
Devised for a small audience of 20
people, all seated in 1930s armchairs
clustered around period radios,
Transmission focuses on the viral evolution of culture, from the radio age to
the present day. Touted as part-jazz,
part-science lecture and part-ritual
invocation, the show investigates
what it means to be inundated in our
always-connected, always-sharing culture, which demands skepticism and
inquisitiveness. Opens in previews
Thursday, April 28, and Friday, April
29, at 8 p.m. Runs to May 28. Atlas
Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE.
Tickets are $15 to $30. Call 202-3997993 or visit atlasarts.org.

COMMUNITY STAGE
THE LION IN WINTER

Baltimores Vagabond Players offers

this story of the battle for the royal
crown from James Goldman. Steve
Goldklang directs Eric C. Stein as King
Henry II and Cherie Weinert as his
estranged Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine
in this witty political drama. Weekends
to May 5. Vagabond Theatre, 806 S.
Broadway, Baltimore. Tickets are $10
to $20. Call 410-563-9135 or visit vagabondplayers.org.

MUSIC
ARTURO SANDOVAL

A protg of the legendary jazz master Dizzy Gillespie, the Cuban-born

Sandoval was granted political asylum
in the U.S. decades ago. Hes revered
as one of the worlds best jazz trumpeters and flugelhorn players, as well
as a renowned pianist and composer.
Thursday, May 5, through Sunday,
May 8, at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Blues

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APRIL 28, 2016

29

Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW.

Tickets are $50 to $55, plus $10 minimum purchase. Call 202-337-4141 or
visit bluesalley.com.

BALTIMORE SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA

Dariusz Skoraczewski performs

Tchaikovskys cheerful and demanding cello showpiece, Variations on
a Rococo Theme, as part of a program led by Andrey Boreyko that
also features Prokofievs triumphant
Symphony No. 5 a work about the
greatness of the human spirit written in the midst of World War II.
Also includes Victoria Borisova-Ollas
The Kingdom of Silence. Friday, April
29, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, May 1, at
3 p.m. Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony
Hall, 1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore.
Also Saturday, April 30, at 8 p.m.
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301
Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda.
Tickets are $10 to $99. Call 410-7838000 or visit bsomusic.org.

BEN FOLDS WITH YMUSIC

Six months after his performance with

the National Symphony Orchestra,
extraordinary classical crossover artist Ben Folds returns to the Kennedy
Center Concert Hall, this time with
the extraordinary contemporary classical ensemble yMusic. The focus
will be on his stellar 2015 solo album
So There. Tuesday, May 5, at 8 p.m.
Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets
are $25 to $55. Call 202-467-4600 or
visit kennedy-center.org.

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APRIL 28, 2016

CAPITAL CITY SYMPHONY

Great Masters, Young Stars features Beethovens Symphony No. 6 in

F Major and Brahms Violin Concerto
in D Major, the latter performed with
Lara Boschkor, the winner of the
Johansen International Competition.
Sunday, May 8, at 5 p.m. Atlas
Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St.
NE. Tickets are $15 to $25. Call 202399-7993 or visit atlasarts.org.

CHRISTOPHER HOULIHAN

National Symphony Orchestra presents this gifted young American

organist who will take to the
Rubenstein Family Organ to play a
recital of Bach, Franck, Bach, Alain,
and Vierne. Wednesday, May 4, at 8
p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall.
Tickets are $15. Call 202-467-4600 or
visit kennedy-center.org.

FAIRFAX SYMPHONY WITH

AWADAGIN PRATT

Peabody Conservatory graduate, one

of Ebony Magazines 50 Leaders of
Tomorrow, will perform Beethovens
Piano Concerto No. 3 in a program led
by FSO artistic director Christopher
Zimmerman and headlined by the
German giants Symphony No. 3,
known as Eroica. Also on the bill is
the East Coast premiere of Bresnicks
The Way It Goes. Saturday, April 30,
at 8 p.m. George Mason University
Center for the Arts, 4373 Mason Pond
Drive, Fairfax. Tickets are $34 to $58.
Call 888-945-2468 or visit fairfaxsymphony.org.

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GEORGETOWN CHORALE
Live at 10th and G presents Vaughan
Williams Dona Nobis Pacem, blending the poetry of Walt Whitman with
a cry for peace, is the centerpiece of a
spring concert that also includes classic choral works by Handel and Parry
and features soprano Laura Choi.
Saturday, April 30, at 3 p.m. Live! at
10th and G, 945 G ST. NW. TIckets
are $25 in advance, or $30 at the door,
which includes post-concert dessert
reception with wine and beer. Call
202-628-4317 or visit facebook.com/
liveat10thandg.

ITZHAK PERLMAN
AND EMANUEL AX

Washington Performing Arts presents

a concert by two celebrated statesmen of classical music, touring in support of a new Deutsche Grammophon
recording of Faure and Strauss violin
sonatas. This is the rescheduled date
for the concert, originally scheduled
in September but postponed due to
Perlmans emergency gallbladder
surgery. Tuesday, May 10, at 7 p.m.
Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets
are $55 to $135. Call 202-467-4600 or
visit kennedy-center.org.

JOHN EATON

A regular at the Barns at Wolf Trap,

this local jazz veteran and pianist
offers one of his Jazz Masters
themed educational concerts, this
time at McLeans Alden theatre. The
focus is on the work of jazz master
Hoagy Carmichael. Saturday, April 30,

at 1 p.m. Alden Theatre at the McLean

Community Center, 1234 Ingleside
Ave., Mclean, Va. Tickets are $12. Call
703-790-0123 or visit www.mcleancenter.org/alden-theatre.

MIAMI HORROR

Although named after the city, this

indie-electronica band hails from
Australia and now calls Los Angeles
home. The resulting music is a melting pot reflecting all three locales: A
slightly hazy, sunny, trippy, uptempo
sound. After debuting in its space last
year, U Street Music Hall presents the
four-piece at the 9:30 Club in support
of their eclectic new record All Possible
Futures though three months later
than originally intended, yet another
victim of Januarys Snowzilla. Friday,
April 29. Doors at 10 p.m. 9:30 Club,
815 V St. NW. Tickets are $20. Call
202-265-0930 or visit 930.com.

MURRAY PERAHIA

Washington Performing Arts presents

a concert by this Grammy-winning
classical pianist, described by the Los
Angeles Times as one of the most
satisfying, illuminating and all-around
impressive pianists of any generation. Murray Perahia will perform
a program of sonatas by Mozart and
Beethoven and several intermezzos
by Brahms. Sunday, May 1, at 4 p.m.
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301
Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda.
Tickets are $45 to $100. Call 301-5815100 or visit strathmore.org.

NATIONAL CHAMBER ENSEMBLE

Allison Silberberg, Mayor of

Alexandria, guest hosts a Mothers
Day Concert, All About Dvorak,
featuring music by one of the most
enchanting composers of all time,
including Songs My Mother Taught
Me and his Piano Quintet in A Major.
Saturday, May 7, at 7:30 p.m. Rosslyn
Spectrum Theater, 1611 North Kent
St., LL Level. Arlington. Tickets are
$33. Call [703-276-6701 or visit nationalchamberensemble.org.

OPERA LAFAYETTE
Opera and the French Revolution

is a fully staged program, directed by

Mirenka Cechova, with three dramatic scenes from classical Greek tragedies set by Martini, Cherubini and
Sacchini and staged during the revolution. Friday, April 29, at 7:30 p.m.
GW Lisner, The George Washington
University, 730 21st St. NW. Tickets
are $30 to $50. Call 202-994-6851 or
visit lisner.org.

THE RE-LIVES: A TRIBUTE TO

LUTHER VANDROSS

William Smooth Wardlaw, said to

be the spitting image and sound of the
man known as The Velvet Voice,
will lead this tribute performance to
the late R&B superstar. Friday, May
6, at 8 p.m. Amp by Strathmore, 11810
Grand Park Ave. North Bethesda.
Tickets are $25 to $35. Call 301-5815100 or visit ampbystrathmore.com.

THE WASHINGTON CHORUS

The Rubenstein Family Organ at

the Kennedy Center will sound for
a Parisian Spring program featuring French organist Thierry Escaich,
accompanying the chorus led by
music director Julian Wachner and
the Washington National Cathedral
Choir of Boys and Girls. The program showcases glorious gems of
the French repertoire, including
the sumptuous Requiem by Maurice
Durufle, considered one of the great
choral masterworks, Louis Viernes
Kyrie and Gabriel Faures Cantique
de Jean Racine. Also on the bill is
Wachners At the Lighting of the
Lamps, written in the French choral style. Sunday, May 1, at 5 p.m.
Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets
are $18 to $72. Call 202-467-4600 or
visit kennedy-center.org.

WILD BELLE

Nobody move, nobody get hurt,

Natalie Bergman sings in a slow,
reggae-inflected drawl on Thrown
Down Your Guns, drawn from new
album Dreamland by Bergman and
her multi-instrumentalist brother
Elliot. Wild Belles first single Keep
You was featured in the original Pitch
Perfect in 2013. Since then the band,
whose music is as psychedelic as it is
soulful and thoroughly steeped in the
Caribbean, has worked with Diplo and
Major Lazer. Sunday, May 1. Doors at
7:30 p.m. Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW.
Tickets are $15. Call 202-667-4490 or
visit blackcatdc.com.

X AMBASSADORS

After opening for Muse at the Verizon

Center in January, the upstate New
York quartet returns to town to offer
another round of its emotional, bluesy, syncopated chants (Renegades,
Hang On, Nervous) that youve no
doubt heard in commercials. Maybe
youve seen images of the bands lead
singer Sam Harris, whose as easy on
the eyes bald and bearded as
his voice is on the ears. Los Angelesbased dance-pop provocateur Robert
DeLong opens along with Sara
Hartman. Thursday, May 12, at 7 p.m.
Echostage, 2135 Queens Chapel Rd.
NE. Tickets are $35. Call 202-5032330 or visit echostage.com.

YUNA

Malaysias first international pop star

has been making the rounds of area
concert venues, hitting roughly one a
year in recent years, from GW Lisner
to Rams Head on Stage. Now the 9:30
Club presents the most intimate venue
yet for this 29-year-old artist, whose
engaging voice, similar to Feist and
Lorde, is matched by a melodically
rich blend of pop, folk and R&B and
songs you feel youve heard before
and often, you have, accompanying
performances on So You Think You
Can Dance, for example. Atlanta-bred
hip-hop/house artist Bosco opens.
Friday, April 29, at 7 p.m. U Street
Music Hall, 1115A U St. NW. Tickets
are $25. Call 202-588-1880 or visit
ustreetmusichall.com.

DANCE
CITYDANCES DREAMSCAPE

CityDance presents its annual gala

performance co-produced with Rasta
Thomas, in which Thomas and dancers with the CityDance Conservatory
and students from its Dream program appear alongside guest artists: Matthew Golding of the Royal
Ballet, Anna Tsygankova of the Dutch
National Ballet, Pete Walker of Aspen
Santa Fe Ballet, Anna Gerberich of the
Joffrey Ballet, Cartier Williams Dance
Theatre, Gallim Dance and more.
Saturday, May 7, at 8 p.m. Lincoln
Theatre, 1215 U St. NW. Tickets are
$25 to $38. Call 202-328-6000 or visit
citydance.net.

NEJLA YASEMIN YATKIN DANCE/

NY2DANCE

What Dreams May Come is a multimedia dance solo from the Chicagobased choreographer, exploring
oppression, freedom, identity and
anonymity, and incorporating contemporary movement with traditional
Turkish dance elements and video
projection body mapping designed by
video artist Enki Andrews. Saturday,
April 30, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, May
1, at 7 p.m. Dance Place, 3225 8th St.
NE. Tickets are $25 in advance, or $30
at the door. Call 202-269-1600 or visit
danceplace.org.

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COMEDY
LEWIS BLACK

Known for crotchety delivery and

acerbic satire from his former Back
in Black segments on The Daily Show
with Jon Stewart, the Silver Spring
native returns to the area for a run of
stand-up on his The Emperors New
Clothes: The Naked Truth Tour.
Thursday, April 28, through Saturday,
April 30, at 8 p.m. Warner Theatre,
513 13th St. NW. Call 202-783-4000 or
visit warnertheatredc.com.

WOLF TRAPS 28TH ANNUAL

EVENING OF COMEDY

Will Durst, Bob Nelson and Maureen

Langan are the stand-up comedians
who will provide the laughs at this
years annual event in the Wolf Trap
Barns. Friday, May 1, at 8 p.m., and
Saturday, May 2, at 7 p.m. and 9:30
p.m. The Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635
Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $25
to $28. Call 703-255-1900 or visit
wolftrap.org.

GALLERIES
EXPLORING YELLOWSTONES
GREAT ANIMAL MIGRATIONS

Part of the National Park Services

centennial celebration. This Invisible
Boundaries exhibition, in conjunction with the May issue of National

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APRIL 28, 2016

Geographic, uses stunning photographs, immersive video, interactive

migration maps, cultural objects,
and original artwork to explore the
compelling story behind some of the
most amazing animal migrations
on the planet. To Sept. 30. National
Geographic Museum, 1145 17th St.
NW. Free. Call 202-857-7588 or visit
ngmuseum.org.

STORIES OF MIGRATION:
CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS
INTERPRET DIASPORA

The George Washington University

Museum presents this extremely
timely juried and invitational exhibition, through which 44 artists
share personal and universal stories of migration. Through Sept. 4.
The George Washington University
Museum, 701 21st St. NW. Call 202994-5200 or visit museum.gwu.edu.

THE OUTWIN 2016: AMERICAN

PORTRAITURE TODAY

Every three years the Smithsonians

National Portrait Gallery presents
finalists of the Outwin Boochever
Portrait Competition, named for a
late volunteer and benefactor. The
portraits are works drawn from all
over America, mostly featuring unheralded, everyday citizens and generally
presented in innovative ways through
various media, from standard photography to three-dimensional installation. This years winner is a stunning,
slightly surreal painting of a young

METROWEEKLY.COM

African-American girl by Amy Sherald

of Baltimore. Among the 43 finalists,
more than a half-dozen are LGBTthemed, including: Jess T. Dugan
of St. Louis and her masculine selfportrait; a print of two transgender
teenagers in love by Evan Baden of
Oregon; an oil painting focused on
a recently married, older gay couple
by Paul Oxborough of Minnesota;
and a flamboyant, patriotic painting by D.C.s Tim Doud featuring
his spouse, cultural theorist Edward
Ingebretsen, in full plume. Through
Jan. 8. National Portrait Gallery, 8th
and F Streets. NW. Call 202-633-8300
or visit npg.si.edu.

TWISTED TEENAGE PLOT

Named after the band featuring artist

Kevin MacDonald, the Apler Initiative
for Washington Art offers this exhibition at the American University
Museum showcasing other local visual
artists who also played in bands in the
late 70s and early 80s. Represented
in the exhibition which includes
sound recordings, posters and videos are Dick Bangham, Michael
Baron, Jay Burch, Kim Kane, Clark
Vinson Fox (aka Michael Clark),
Steve Ludlum, Michael McCall, JW
Mahoney, Michael Reidy, Robin Rose,
Judith Watkins Tartt and Joe White.
Through May 29. American University
Museums Gallery 252 at the Katzen
Arts Center, 4400 Massachusetts Ave.
NW. Call 202-885-1300 or visit american.edu/cas/museum.

ABOVE AND BEYOND

THE ASK RAYCEEN SHOW

Rayceen Pendarvis hosts this monthly

LGBT event, a combination panel discussion and variety show. The May
edition features a discussion on health
and wellness featuring Nicole Cutts,
Lanada Williams, Candice Camille,
Dr. Linda Spooner, Eleasa Du Bois,
and Ruby Lathon. Performances will
come from music group AfloCentric
and poet/burlesque performer Rae
Monet. Curt Mariah will be the
announcer, with tunes spun by DJ
Honey. Wednesday, May 4. Doors at 6
p.m. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
Library, 901 G St. NW. Free. Visit facebook.com/AskRayceen.

THE EVASONS

Circus of Wonders, an area presenter of magic and variety shows,

welcomes to Baltimore an act billed
as a World Famous Mind Reading
Duo. Jeff Evason and Tessa Evason
are said to offer mind-blowing feats
of telepathy and ESP, even enticing
skeptics with promises of a $100,000
reward for proof of advanced scouting
or sleuthing of information beforehand
they promise they do no such thing.
Saturday, April 30, at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Baltimore Theatre Project, 45 West
Preston St. Baltimore. Tickets are $50,
or $100 for a bonus show after the
main show, or $80 to $120 for VIP
options. Call 410-752-8558 or visit theatreproject.org. l

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music

Return of the Saints

All Saints cool and emotional
brand of pop exceeds
expectations
by GORDON ASHENHURST

HILST MOST GIRL BANDS IN THE LATE

90s were in the shadow of the Spice Girls, All
Saints held firm to their own musical identity, favouring sleek RnB influences over the
instant gratification posturing of their power-pop competition.
While both groups sometimes overlapped in style, the marketing and image of each was defiantly different. That the Saints
favoured a more sultry sound is likely why they have arguably
more seamlessly continued where they left off.
Red Flag (HHHHH), their first album in ten years, is not only
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APRIL 28, 2016

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a return to form, but a bold stroke forward. Stitching together

pop, RnB, tribal, adult contemporary and gospel, it all works as
if they had never been away. The common thread is the blend of
their distinctive, streetwise but unjaded voices.
Album opener and first single One Strike emerges from the
shadows with brooding synths, clearing the air beautifully with
a sombre, yet lethally effective, chorus. The soothing harmony
that ignites the chorus is a delicious heartache remedy. When
the girls softly chant as Natalie Appleton poignantly croons broken promises, time to leave. I had everything that you needed,
theres a palpable chemistry that will surely strike a chord. Such
an intimate sense of connection is not surprising given that the
inspiration for the groups main songwriter Shaznay Lewis was
a phone call with fellow member Nicole Appleton on the subject
of her divorce from Oasis singer Liam Gallagher.
Orchestral and deceptively groovy, the heavenly chorus in
One Woman Man is girl band perfection. Between swooping
choruses, were treated to judicious turns from Lewis and Mel
Blatt, with the formers particularly gritty middle eight climaxing with the neo-camp delivery of didnt she hear me say? I

aint going nowhere sung at her vocal bursting point. Pushed to

the top of the album for good reason, if there were any justice it
would also be pushed to the top of the charts.
Always at ease with a funky RnB soundscape, Make U Love
Me recalls Luscious Jackson in Fever In Fever Out, and sprinkles their discerning knack for a haunting pop hook or two on
top. A subdued, guitar-laden track, it is a strangely exotic sound,
with lyrics almost sweet enough to disguise the threat. With a
twang of country blues, Summer Rain equally stretches both
the groups genre-shifting and vocal range. One of the albums
most obvious flourishes of personal reflection, Lewis breathless vocal is a gutsy approach that works wonders alongside the
unexpected musical direction.
Who Hurt Who is half Janet Jackson, half The Carpenters).

Natalie issues the most exquisitely delivered vocal of her career.

Nothing short of ravishing, her dulcet tones combine with the
gorgeous arrangement to transform a relatively simple song into
something hauntingly artful.
Exploiting a brighter pop sound, Puppet on a String is
positively dripping with energy, hanging off a Caribbean current of electronica and faint splashes of house music. Expanding
their repertoire to reggae and dancehall is nothing new for the
group, and here the more boisterous Ratchet Behaviour offers
a similar, if heavier, dosage of it. The elastic rhythms and selfconscious sass may prove to be an acquired taste for some, but
arguably the move pays off on repeated plays when its melody
works its way under the skin. Off the cuff, outlandish, thumping,
jarring, bitchy and faintly embarrassing, it is surely destined to
become a fan favourite for a variety of reasons.
Elsewhere, the stylishly hooky Red Flag and Tribal
are both tempered with worldly atmospherics and unexpectedly lo-fi dance beats. The albums biggest strength is their vocal
vigor, making these songs sound incredibly liberated. As on
Pieces, they often sound on the verge of simply sighing along
to the dreamy backdrops. Sometimes singing softly on top of
lustrous and breezy beats is all it takes.
If in their hey day All Saints could often be accused of focusing more on groove and texture than on fully-fledged, memorable pop songs, Red Flag not only retains their elegant, laid-back
aesthetic, but shapes their sound into something more multilayered and introspective. It pulsates with a sense of renewed
thirst and discovery. l
Red Flag is available now from Amazon, iTunes, Google Play and
through streaming services.

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35

games

Reimagination
Ratchet & Clank may retread familiar
ground, but it does so in addictive,
engaging, and beautiful fashion
by RHUARIDH MARR

HIS GENERATION OF CONSOLES HAS BECOME

something of a punchline for relying on dressing up
older games in high-def clothing in order to provide
content. As gamers cry out for more and better
games to run on their Xbox Ones and PlayStation 4s, it can be all
too easy to take a gaming classic, slap a fresh coat of digital paint
on it, and demand hard-earned dollars. Its perhaps with more
than a hint of irony, then, that one of the best games released
so far for either console isnt a new game its a remake of a
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14-year-old PlayStation 2 classic.

Ratchet & Clank (
) on PS4 isnt strictly a remake.
Instead, its a reimagining of the original, through the lens of
a soon-to-be-released animated film, that is itself a remake of
the story told in the PS2 version. Still with us? As such, while a
lot of the content will be familiar to anyone who played through
the duos first game, there are tweaks, additions, and changes as
a result not only of the film, but of the sixteen years Insomniac
Games have had to further hone their craft. The end product is a
game thats as instantly addictive as it is intoxicatingly nostalgic.
For anyone not au fait with Ratchet and his robotic buddy
clank, lets get you up to speed. Clank is a manufacturing defect
from a factory tasked with churning out giant, robotic soldiers.
The tiny, self-aware robot escapes after learning that the Blarg,
a fishy race ruled by Chairman Drek, plan to use the robots to
take control of entire planets. Clanks ship crashes on Veldin,
home to Ratchet, a lonely Lombax. Ratchet dreams of being a
Space Ranger a group of heros led by Captain Qwark and
upon stumbling across Clank and fixing him up, the two set out

to warn the Rangers about Dreks plans.

There are differences to the original story, however. Here,
Qwark, an incompetent, deluded coward who loves the limelight, narrates Ratchets story to the inmates of a prison he finds
himself in. Its incredibly meta a prisoner tells Qwark about a
game based on Ratchets life, Qwark asks if he means a film, the
prisoner responds that both are being released and Qwarks
narration becomes a mainstay of this reimagined game. As you
navigate through the various worlds in Ratchet & Clank, Qwarks
bombastic, blowhard narration will follow you, to frequently
humorous effect. Hell get exasperated if you wander off course,
comment on certain actions, and praise himself should the player encounter any statues or memorabilia of Qwark in-game. Its
all Insomniacs way of appealing to fans new and old if this is
your first encounter with the series, the story is here to entertain.
If you already know whats going to happen, theres in-jokes,
meta humor and Qwarks narration to enjoy.
Really, though, the rich humor, gorgeously animated
cutscenes (several ripped straight from the film), and well-paced
story all take a backseat to the main star of the show: gameplay.
Ratchet & Clank is bursting at the seams with the same wonderful, enjoyable, beautifully polished gameplay that has kept the
series going across multiple games on multiple consoles.
At its core, Ratchet & Clank is a third-person platformer,
with the duo bouncing around levels and exploring areas as they
complete whatever arbitrary tasks have been assigned when
they land on the planet. Its everything in between, however, that
makes it such a joy to play. The series has always been known
for its outlandish, oversized weaponry, and here its no different.
While Ratchet starts with his trusty OmniWrench for swatting
at enemies and bashing open crates, players will quickly amass
an almost bewildering array of weaponry.
Many are from the first game: the Bomb Glove, which lobs
deadly explosives at enemies; the Pyrocitor, which is essentially
a supercharged flamethrower; and the Glove of Doom, which
spawns kamikaze robots. But there are also several weapons
from later games and their inclusion here is greatly appreciated, as Insomniac crafted some truly inspired creations in the
years that followed the original. They include the Sheepinator,
which turns enemies into fluffy sheep; the Pixelizer, which turns
enemies into giant, pixelated versions of themselves, complete
with retro sound effects; Mr. Zurkon, a flying robotic sidekick
who shoots enemies and makes frequently hilarious quips
thanks to a sadistic sense of humor; and the Groovitron, one of
the most famous weapons in the series, which lobs a giant disco
ball that causes any enemy within range to be compelled to bust
a groove, rendering them an easy target for other weapons.
Ratchet & Clank forces players to constantly mix up their
arsenal, thanks in part to a paucity of ammo. You wont always
get ammo for the weapon you use most, so youre encouraged to
experiment with different setups. It helps that every weapon can
be levelled up, making it more powerful, as well as upgraded to
increase ammo capacity, or unleash more projectiles, or further
its range, among others. Snipe enemies from a distance, run in,
lob a Groovitron, break out Mr. Zurkon and then tag team dancing foes with rockets and gunfire thats just one of countless
strategies for navigating your way through the game, all thanks
to its slick controls and satisfying gunplay.
Its also refreshing that, even fourteen years later, this isnt an
easy game. Theres a casual mode for younger gamers, but even
on its normal setting, Ratchet & Clank isnt afraid to challenge.
Health and ammo appear frequently, but theyll be drained fre-

quently, too. Tightly choreographed platforming sections will

test your hand eye coordination, waves of enemies will tax your
aiming skills, while inventory management becomes key as you
work through your ammo reserves but the game is still so well
balanced that, should you find yourself with just your wrench
and a sliver of health left, its possible to dispatch enemies and
advance to the next ammo and health cache.
Thankfully, one of the series biggest draws remains as
addicting and compelling as ever: smashing stuff. Swinging your
wrench through crates, lamp posts, toolboxes, signs, flower pots
anything that looks remotely destructible rewards players
with a shower of the games currency: nuts and bolts. Collecting
them becomes a quest in an of itself, finding every nook and
cranny in a level to extract as many as possible, then using them
to buy new weapons or refill depleted ammo reserves. It helps
immensely that each explosion, every shattering crate, all of
those glimmering nuts and bolts that rain down on Ratchet and
Clank look so incredibly beautiful.
Back in the hazy days of 2002, Ratchet & Clank was a revelation. Its vibrant color palette, impressive particle effects
and expansive levels were a joy to behold. When the PS3 rolled
around, Tools of Destruction wowed gamers with the power
of Sonys console, presenting a brighter, more colorful, more
luscious experience. But with its outing on PS4, the series has
reached an almost unbelievable new height. As beautiful as it
is breathtaking, Ratchet & Clank is a constant, welcome assault
on the retinas. Expansive, impeccably detailed vistas await,
whether navigating a gargantuan, towering city, sliding along
rails in a frozen wasteland, or blasting a jetpack over seas of
lava. Lighting, texture work, character models, particle effects,
weapon fire, enemy movement, destruction animations, graphics, holograms, 2D animated infobot cutscenes whatever
Ratchet & Clank throws at players, they can be assured that it
will be impossibly pretty.
Its matched by audio thats as crisp as the animation.
Dialogue, of which there is a lot, be it cutscenes, banter between
characters, or Qwarks narration, is among the best youll hear in
gaming. The various weaponry on offer explodes, shoots, blasts
and ricochets with a cacophony of sound. Music blends seamlessly between various genres, depending on location, danger
level and whether or not youve just thrown out the Groovitron
something you should absolutely be doing on a regular basis.
Theres also the added benefit of both longevity and replayability. Collectibles abound, including Gold Bolts, which unlock
extras such as image galleries and cheats, and cards, which
can be collected to unlock additional upgrades, weapons, or
boost stats. Finding everything the game has to offer will suck
up numerous hours. Theres also Challenge Mode, which is
unlocked after beating the game. Players will start the story
again, but keep all weapons, upgrades, and nuts and bolts.
Enemies will be harder to beat and theres the added incentive
of unique, powerful upgrades to weapons Omega versions, as
theyre known.
It bears repeating, but its truly incredible that Ratchet &
Clank is as good as it is. Even if youve played it before, that same
itch to smash crates, obtain every weapon and find every nut
and bolt quickly sinks in. For both new players and old, this is a
beautifully rendered, wonderfully polished, eminently enjoyable
game. Who cares that, in 2016, one of the best games out there
is a title from 2002? When the end result is as good as Ratchet &
Clank, its PlayStation 4 owners who are reaping the rewards. l
Ratchet and Clank is available now on PlayStation 4.
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NIGHT

LIFE
LISTINGS
THURS., 04.28.16
9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm Multiple TVs
showing movies, shows,
sports Expanded craft beer
selection Music videos
featuring DJ Wess
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $6 Call Martini,
$3 Miller Lite, $4 Rail, $5
Call, 4-9pm $3 Rail Drinks,
10pm-midnight, $5 Red
Bull, Gatorade and Frozen
Virgin Drinks Locker Room
Thursday Nights DJs Sean
Morris and MadScience
Best Package Contest at
midnight, hosted by BaNaka
$200 Cash Prize Doors
open 10pm, 18+ $5 Cover
under 21 and free with college ID
DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Happy Hour, 5-8pm
dcnine.com
DC EAGLE
Doors open at 5pm Happy
Hour, 5-8pm $2 Bud and
Bud Light Draughts, $3
Domestic Bottles, $4 Rail
and Import Bottle Beer, $6
Call Strip Down Thursdays
Happy Hour starts with
shirtless men drink free rail
and domestic, 5-8pm Men
in jocks drink free rail and
domestic, 10pm-12am DJ
Switch starts spinning, 9pm1am No Cover 21+
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm

JR.S
All You Can Drink for $15,
5-8pm $3 Rail Vodka
Highballs, $2 JR.s drafts,
8pm-close Flashback:
Music videos from 19752005 with DJ Jason Royce,
8pm-12am

GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm Ladies
Drink Free Power Hour,
4-5pm Shirtless Thursday,
10-11pm DJs BacK2bACk

METROWEEKLY.COM

39

scene
Uproar
Friday, April 22
scan this tag
with your
smartphone
for bonus scene
pics online!

Photography by
Ward Morrison

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
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm No Cover
SHAWS TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm Dining
Out For Life, 5pm-Close
Magician Danny Dubin,
7:30pm
THROBBING THURSDAYS
@THE HOUSE
NIGHTCLUB
3530 Georgia Ave. NW
Diverse group of all male, all
nude dancers Doors open
9pm Shows all night until
close, starting at 9pm $5
Domestic Beer, $6 Imports
$12 cover For Table
Reservations, 202-487-6646
rockharddc.com
TOWN PATIO
Open 6pm Happy Hour All
Day, $4 drinks and draughts
21+

TRADE
1410 14th St. NW
Doors open 5pm Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cocktail
glass served in a huge glass
for the same price, 5-10pm
Beer and wine only $4
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers
Shirtless Thursday DJ
9pm Cover 21+
FRI., 04.29.16
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
COBALT/30 DEGREES
All You Can Drink Happy
Hour $15 Rail and
Domestic, $21 Call &
Imports, 6-9pm Guys
Night Out Free Belvedere
Vodka, 11pm-Midnight, $6
Belvedere Vodka Drinks all
night DJ MadScience
upstairs DJ Keenan Orr
downstairs $10 cover
10pm-1am, $5 after 1am
21+

DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Happy Hour, 5-8pm
dcnine.com
DC EAGLE
Doors open at 5pm Happy
Hour, 5-8pm $2 Bud and
Bud Light Draughts, $3
Domestic Bottles, $4 Rail
and Import Bottle Beer, $6
Call Geared Up at the
Exile on 3rd Floor, 10pm-3am
Featuring DJ David Merrill
Tickets $15, available at
EagleNExile.Ticketleap.com
Fetish Friday Two for
One drinks, 8-10pm No
Cover 21+
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm $5
Smirnoff, all flavors, all
night long
JR.S
Happy Hour: 2-for-1, 4-9pm
$2 Skyy Highballs and $2
Drafts, 10pm-midnight Pop
and Dance Music Videos
with DJ Darryl Strickland
$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
SHAWS TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm Luke
Shaffer sings live, 8pm
TOWN
Patio open 6pm DC Bear
Crue Happy Hour, 6-11pm
$3 Rail, $3 Draft, $3 Bud
Bottles Free Pizza, 7pm
No cover before 9:30pm
21+ Drag Show starts at
10:30pm Hosted by Lena
Lett and featuring Miss
Tatianna, Shi-Queeta-Lee,
Riley Knoxx and BaNaka
DJ Wess upstairs, DJs
BacK2bACk downstairs
GoGo Boys after 11pm
Doors open at 10pm For
those 21 and over, $10 For
those 18-20, $15 18+

TRADE
1410 14th St. NW
Doors open 5pm Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cocktail
glass served in a huge glass
for the same price, 5-10pm
Beer and wine only $4
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers,
hosted by LaTroya Nicole
Ladies of Ziegfelds,
9pm Rotating Hosts
DJ in Secrets VJ Tre in
Ziegfelds Cover 21+
SAT., 04.30.16
9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 3-9pm $5 Absolut
& Titos, $3 Miller Lite after
9pm Expanded craft beer
selection No Cover
Music videos featuring various DJs
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Drag Yourself to Brunch
at Level One, 11am-2pm
and 2-4pm Featuring
Kristina Kelly and the Ladies
of Illusion Bottomless
Mimosas and Bloody Marys
Happy Hour: $3 Miller
Lite, $4 Rail, $5 Call, 4-9pm

METROWEEKLY.COM

Pandora Boxx The Worst

Show Ever! Comedy Show,
8:30-9:30pm Risque
Dance Party, sponsored by
Swiss Navy, 10pm-close
Featuring DJ Chi Chi
LaRue with Jack Hunter and
Wesley Woods Doors
open 10pm $7 cover
before midnight, $10 cover
after 21+
DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Happy Hour, 4-6pm
dcnine.com
DC EAGLE
Doors open at 8pm Happy
Hour, 8-10pm $2 Bud
and Bud Light Draughts, $3
Domestic Bottles, $4 Rail
and Import Bottle Beer, $6
Call Rocky Horror Picture
Show in all its glory with the
Sonice Transducers shadowsing this iconic film with
props and lighting effects
Doors open 10pm Show
starts at midnight Tickets
available at EagleNExile.
Ticketleap.com No Cover
21+
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Drag Queen Broadway
Brunch, 10am-3pm
Starring Freddies Broadway

APRIL 28, 2016

41

Babes Crazy Hour, 4-7pm

Freddies Follies Drag
Show, 8-10pm, hosted by
Miss Destiny B. Childs
No Cover
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm $5
Bacardi, all flavors, all
night long SkinTight
presents First Annual Mr.
Green Lantern Competition,
9pm-2am
JR.S
$4 Coors, $5 Vodka
Highballs, $7 Vodka Red
Bulls
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Guest DJs Zing Zang
Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer,
House Rail Drinks and
Mimosas, $4, 11am-5pm
Buckets of Beer, $15
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 3-9pm No Cover
SHAWS TAVERN
Bottomless Mimosas, 10am3pm Happy Hour, 5-7pm
The Harvey Sometimes Band
on 2nd Floor, 9pm

42

APRIL 28, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM

TOWN
Patio open 2pm DC
Rawhides host Town &
Country: Two-Step, Line
Dancing, Waltz and West
Coast Swing, $5 Cover to
stay all night Doors open
6:45pm, Lessons 7-8pm,
Open dance 8-10:30pm
CTRL Dance Party, 11pmclose Music and videos
with DJ Wess downstairs
Thorgy Thor of RuPauls
Drag Race performs in the
Drag Show Thorgy Thor
Meet and Greet, 9pm $20
Cover for Meet and Greet
Tickets available online
at Flavorus.com Drag
Show starts at 10:30pm
Hosted by Lena Lett and
featuring Miss Tatianna,
Shi-Queeta-Lee, Riley Knoxx
and BaNaka For general
admission, doors open 10pm
$12 Cover 21+
TRADE
1410 14th St. NW
Doors open 2pm Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cocktail
glass served in a huge glass
for the same price, 2-10pm
Beer and wine only $4

ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
Men of Secrets, 9pm
Guest dancers Ladies
of Illusion with host Ella
Fitzgerald Doors at 9 p.m.,
first show at 11:30 p.m.
DJs Doors open 8pm
Cover 21+
SUN., 05.01.16
9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 3-9pm Multiple TVs
showing movies, shows,
sports Expanded craft beer
selection No Cover
COBALT/30 DEGREES
$4 Stoli, Stoli flavors
and Miller Lite all day
Homowood Karaoke, hosted
by Robert Bise, 10pm-close
21+
DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Happy Hour, 2-6pm
dcnine.com
DC EAGLE
Doors open at 12pm $2
Bud and Bud Light Draughts
all day and night, $3
Domestic Bottles, $4 Rail
and Import Bottle Beer, $6
Call Sunday Buffet $10

includes first rail or domestic

drink Check Facebook
page for menu No Cover
21+
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Champagne Brunch Buffet,
10am-3pm Crazy Hour,
4-7pm Karaoke, 8pm-1am
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm
Bears Can Party, 6-10pm
Featuring DJ Jeff Eletto
Mamas Trailer Park Karaoke
downstairs, 9:30pm-close
JR.S
Sunday Funday Liquid
Brunch Doors open at
1pm $2 Coors Lights and
$3 Skyy (all flavors), all day
and night

ROCK HARD SUNDAYS

@THE HOUSE
NIGHTCLUB
3530 Georgia Ave. NW
Diverse group of all male, all
nude dancers Doors open
9pm Shows all night until
close, starting at 9pm $5
Domestic Beer, $6 Imports
$12 cover For Table
Reservations, 202-487-6646
rockharddc.com
SHAWS TAVERN
Bottomless Mimosas, 10am3pm OVDC presents The
Naturals: Born to Do This
Cabaret Show on 2nd Floor,
7:30pm $15 Cover at Door
TOWN PATIO
Open 2pm Cornhole, Giant
Jenga, and Flip-cup

NELLIES SPORTS BAR

Drag Brunch, hosted by
Shi-Queeta-Lee, 11am-3pm
$20 Brunch Buffet
House Rail Drinks, Zing Zang
Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer
and Mimosas, $4, 11amclose Buckets of Beer, $15

TRADE
1410 14th St. NW
Doors open 2pm Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cocktail
glass served in a huge glass
for the same price, 2-10pm
Beer and wine only $4

NUMBER NINE
Pop Goes the World with
Wes Della Volla at 9:30pm
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 3-9pm No Cover

ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers
Decades of Dance DJ
Tim-e in Secrets Doors
9pm Cover 21+

MON., 05.02.16
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
4@4 Happy Hour, 4-7pm
$4 Small Plates, $4 Stella
Artois, $4 House Wines,
$4 Stolichnaya Cocktails,
$4 Manhattans and Vodka
Martinis
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $2 Rail, $3
Miller Lite, $5 Call, 4-9pm
Monday Nights A Drag,
hosted by Kristina Kelly
Doors open at 10pm $3
Skyy Cocktails, $8 Skyy and
Red Bull $8 Long Islands
No Cover, 18+
DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Happy Hour, 5-8pm
dcnine.com
DC EAGLE
Doors open at 5pm Happy
Hour, 5-8pm $1 Bud and
Bud Light Draughts Free
Pool all day and night

Men in DC Eagle T-Shirts

get Happy Hour, 8pm-close
$3 Domestic Bottles, $4
Rail and Import Bottle Beer,
$6 Call No Cover 21+
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour all night long
Puppy-Oke: Open Mic Night
Karaoke, 9:30pm-close
JR.S
Happy Hour: 2-for-1, 4-9pm
Showtunes Songs &
Singalongs, 9pm-close
DJ James $3 Draft Pints,
8pm-midnight
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Beat the Clock Happy Hour
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) Buckets of
Beer $15 Texas Holdem
Poker, 8pm Dart Boards
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm No Cover
SHAWS TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm Trivia
w/Jeremy, 7:30pm

TRADE
1410 14th St. NW
Doors open 5pm Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cocktail
glass served in a huge glass
for the same price, 5-10pm
Beer and wine only $4
TUES., 05.03.16
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
4@4 Happy Hour, 4-7pm
$4 Stella Artois, $4 House
Wines, $4 Stolichnaya
Cocktails, $4 Manhattans
and Vodka Martinis
COBALT/30 DEGREES
DJ Honey Happy Hour:
$2 Rail, $3 Miller Lite, $5
Call, 4-9pm SIN Service
Industry Night, 10pm-close
$1 Rail Drinks all night
DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Happy Hour, 5-8pm
dcnine.com

METROWEEKLY.COM

FREDDIES BEACH BAR

Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour all night long,
4pm-close
JR.S
Birdie LaCage Show,
10:30pm Underground
(Indie Pop/Alt/Brit Rock),
9pm-close DJ Wes
Della Volla 2-for-1, 5pmmidnight
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Beat the Clock Happy Hour
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) Buckets of
Beer $15 Karaoke and
Drag Bingo
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm No Cover
Safe Word: A Gay Spelling
Bee, 8-11pm Prizes to the
top three spellers After
9pm, $3 Absolut, Bulleit
& Stella
SHAWS TAVERN
Half Priced Burgers & Pizzas,
5pm-Close $5 House
Wines & Sam Adams Drafts,
5pm-Close

APRIL 28, 2016

43

TOWN PATIO
Open 6pm Yappy Hour
Bring Your Dogs $4 Drinks
and Draughts

DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Happy Hour, 5-8pm
dcnine.com

TRADE
1410 14th St. NW
Doors open 5pm Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cocktail
glass served in a huge glass
for the same price, 5-10pm
Beer and wine only $4

FREDDIES BEACH BAR

Crazy Hour, 4-7pm $6
Burgers Drag Bingo Night,
hosted by Ms. Regina Jozet
Adams, 8pm Bingo prizes
Karaoke, 10pm-1am

WED., 05.04.16
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
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $2 Rail, $3
Miller Lite, $5 Call, 4-9pm
Wednesday Night Karaoke,
hosted by Miss India Larelle
Houston, 10pm-2am $4
Stoli and Stoli Flavors and
Miller Lite all night No
Cover 21+

44

APRIL 28, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM

GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour all night long,
4pm-close
JR.S
Buy 1, Get 1 Free, 4-9pm
Trivia with MC Jay Ray,
8pm The Feud: Drag
Trivia, hosted by BaNaka,
10-11pm, with a $200 prize
$2 JR.s Drafts and $4
Vodka ($2 with College ID or
JR.s Team Shirt)
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
SmartAss Trivia Night, 8pm
and 9pm Prizes include bar
tabs and tickets to shows at
the 9:30 Club $15 Buckets
of Beer for SmartAss Teams
only Bring a new team
member and each get a free
$10 Dinner

NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm No Cover
SHAWS TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm Piano
Bar Second Floor, 8pm-Close
TOWN PATIO
$4 drinks and draughts,
5-9pm Nashville
Wednesdays: country music
and line dancing, with line
dancing lessons from DC
Rawhides every other week
TRADE
1410 14th St. NW
Doors open 5pm Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cocktail
glass served in a huge glass
for the same price, 5-10pm
Beer and wine only $4
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers
Shirtless Night, 10-11pm,
12-12:30am Military
Night, no cover with military
ID DJ Don T. in Secrets
9pm Cover 21+ l

METROWEEKLY.COM

APRIL 28, 2016

45

We see...how swiftly progress can hurtle backward, how easy it is to single out a small group and
marginalize them because of who they are or
who they love.
First Lady MICHELLE OBAMA, referencing Mississippis recently passed anti-LGBT law during an address at Jackson State
University. Weve got to stand side by side with all our neighbors straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender;
Muslim, Jew, Christian, Hindu immigrant, Native American, she continued.

Im taking a Glock .45 to the ladies room.

It identifies as my bodyguard.

ANITA STAVER, president of Liberty Counsel, the right-wing organization that defended Kim Davis in court, on Twitter.
Staver is one of many Republicans turning trans bathroom access into a wedge issue, with her inflammatory tweet aimed
at Target, which recently reiterated that transgender customers can use the restroom of their choosing in its stores. I want
protection from the perverts who will use the law to gain access to women, Staver continued.

We abhor this senseless act of violence

and urge the Government of Bangladesh in the strongest terms to apprehend the criminals behind these murders.

U.S. Ambassador MARCIA BERNICAT, responding to the news that Xulhaz Mannan, a U.S. Embassy worker and founder of
Bangladeshs only LGBT magazine, had been hacked to death along with a friend in his apartment. Islamic militants are
suspected in the attack, which also injured a third person.

We know the cancellation of these shows is disappointing to our fans, but

we trust that you will stand united with us against this
hateful law.
DEMI LOVATO, announcing that she and Nick Jonas have cancelled a joint concerts in North Carolina in protest over
the states anti-LGBT laws.

Im not serving them two.

A DOLLAR STORE CASHIER in New Orleans, refusing to serve a lesbian customer and the man who defended her. After hearing
the female employee making homophobic jokes, Melissa Langford informed her that she was gay, which the employee angrily
responded to. Dollar Store is investigating the incident, which was recorded on Langfords phone,
after the stores manager failed to respond appropriately.

46

APRIL 28, 2016

METROWEEKLY.COM