CONTENTS

JUNE 22, 2017 Volume 24 Issue 8

14 WELCOME REVIVAL
Phazefest returns to celebrate the queer music
scene in a significantly larger venue

By Doug Rule

FOR THE LOVE OF SPORTS

Chris Mosier made history as the first out trans athlete on a
U.S. national sports team. Now, hes trying to ensure that other
LGBTQ athletes are able to compete in the sports they love.

Interview by John Riley

26
27 FORWARD MOTION
New albums from Beth Ditto and Lorde find
both artists in search of new voices

By Sean Maunier

SPOTLIGHT: BUCKINGHAM & MCVIE p.7 GAMELY NAKED: AMERICA THE GAME SHOW p.13
WELCOME REVIVAL: PHAZEFEST p.14 COMMUNITY: MAGIC WEEKEND p.18
SCENE: DC FRONT RUNNERS p.19 SCENE: BALTIMORE PRIDE p.22
COVER STORY: FOR THE LOVE OF SPORTS p.26 ATHLETIC SUPPORTERS p.31
SCENE: NIGHT OUT AT THE NATIONALS p.32 GALLERY: COLORED PENCIL SOCIETY p.35
STAGE: HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH p.36 MUSIC: BETH DITTO AND LORDE p.37
NIGHTLIFE p.39 SCENE: BALTIMORE EAGLE PRIDE p.39 LISTINGS p.41 LAST WORD p.46

Real LGBTQ News and Entertainment since 1994

Editorial Editor-in-Chief Randy Shulman Art Director Todd Franson Managing Editor Rhuaridh Marr Senior Editor John Riley Contributing Editor Doug Rule
Senior Photographers Ward Morrison, Julian Vankim Contributing Illustrator Scott G. Brooks Contributing Writers Andr Hereford,
Sean Maunier, Troy Petenbrink, Kate Wingfield Webmaster David Uy Production Assistant Julian Vankim
Sales & Marketing Publisher Randy Shulman National Advertising Representative Rivendell Media Co. 212-242-6863 Distribution Manager Dennis Havrilla
Patron Saint Steve Reed Cover Photography Philip Lee

Metro Weekly 1775 I St. NW, Suite 1150 Washington, DC 20006 202-638-6830
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4 JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY

PHOTO COURTESY OF WOLF TRAP
Spotlight

Lindsey Buckingham
& Christine McVie
T
WO PRINCIPALS FROM THE SUPERSTAR with an opening set by the Wallflowers featuring Jakob
quintet perform hits from their Fleetwood Mac Dylan. Monday, June 26, at 7:30 p.m. The Filene Center at
days, as well as selections from their new self-titled Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $45 to $95.
album of duets. Talk about a starry night. Things kick off Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit wolftrap.org.

JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY 7

 Spotlight
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
Malcolm McDowell is over-the-top magnificent
as a Beethoven-loving ringleader of a band of
thugs in one of Stanley Kubricks most shocking
and powerful films. Based on Anthony Burgesss
novel, the film, which featured extreme violence
and a horrific rape sequence, caused such an
uproar on its release in 1971 that Kubrick demand-
ed it be pulled from theaters. It remains one of
the most powerful films about the evils of society
ever made. Wednesday, June 28, at 7:45 p.m.
Arlington Cinema N Drafthouse, 2903 Columbia
Pike, Arlington. Tickets are $10. Call 703-486-
2345 or visit arlingtondrafthouse.com.

ROSANNE CASH
The eldest daughter of country music
legend Johnny Cash, the singer with
the deep, velvet-lined voice has carved
her own path to fame. Her most recent
album, the thrice-Grammy-winning
The River and the Thread, combines
roots-oriented music with her trade-
marked lushness. Soon after its release
in 2014, Cash told Metro Weekly that
the albums songs are meant to con-
vey the theme of Southern place and
time. Cash is one of those artists that
you dont want to miss, and the oppor-
tunity to see the legend with her band
in a local, legendary space as intimate
as The Birchmere is too good to pass

CLAY PATRICK MCBRIDE

up. Monday, June 26, at 7:30 p.m. The
Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave.,
Alexandria. Tickets are $69.50. Call
703-549-7500 or visit birchmere.com.

NATIONAL CAPITAL
BARBECUE FESTIVAL
Two weeks after Capital Pride, this festival takes over the same
stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the U.S. Capitol for
a solid two days of taking pride in everything barbecue. One of
the largest food festivals in the country, now in its 25th year,
the Giant Barbecue Battle draws cooks from across the coun-
PHOTO COURTESY OF GIANT BARBECUE BATTLE

try for the chance to win over $40,000 in cash and prizes and
bragging rights as Americas National Barbecue Champion. BBQ
Pitmasters are the Celebrity Chefs at this event, where 30 musi-
cal acts will perform from three stages. A Sampling Pavilion,
Local Flavors Tent and Beverage Gardens serving alcohol com-
plete the experience. Saturday, June 24, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.,
and Sunday, June 25, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Pennsylvania Avenue
between 3rd and 7th Streets NW. Tickets are $12 per day or $20
for both, plus an additional $20 for beverages; VIP BBQ Party
Passes run $85 to $145. Visit bbqindc.com.

8 JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY

 Spotlight
HOW I LEARNED
WHAT I LEARNED
Round House concludes a season
that began with Tony Kushners mag-
num opus Angels in America with an
autobiographical tour-de-force from
another of Americas greatest, Pulitzer
Prize-winning playwrights, the late
August Wilson (Fences). Co-conceived
and directed by Todd Kreidler, How
I Learned What I Learned explores
Wilsons days as a struggling young
writer in Pittsburgh. Eugene Lee stars
in this one-person show. To July 2.
Round House Theatre, 4545 East-West
GRACE TOULOTTE

Highway, Bethesda. Tickets are $50 to

$60. Call 240-644-1100 or visit round-
housetheatre.org.

NSO POPS:
THE MUSIC OF JOHN WILLIAMS
The most Oscar-nominated man alive and the com-
poser you think of when you think of film scores is
the focus of a National Symphony Orchestra con-
cert led by Steven Reineke and featuring the Choral
Arts Society of Washington. The composers credits
read like a whos who of popular films: Jaws, E.T.,
Raiders of the Lost Ark, Superman, Harry Potter,
and, of course, Star Wars, to which the evenings

PHOTO COURTESY OF KENEDY CENTER

entire second half is handed over. One question:
Will the ever-jubilant and playful Reineke conduct
with a light saber? Thursday, June 22, at 7 p.m.,
Friday, June 23, and Saturday, June 24, at 8 p.m.
Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets are $24 to
$99. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

STILL LIFE WITH ROCKET

Mollye Maxner blends theater, dance and art installation
for her new immersive theatrical experience that veers
from the norm. For one thing, during brief moments of the
show, the audience is asked to stand or move, as if they
were walking through a gallery or museum. For another,
audience entry will be staggered in 10-minute time slots
in groups of six-to-eight people. (Patrons are also asked to
arrive at least 10 minutes early.) Theater Alliance presents
this work exploring themes of female aggression, interra-
C. STANLEY PHOTOGRAPHY

cial adoption and the power of memory. Annie Houston

leads the cast as the matriarch whose approaching death
threatens to tear her family apart. To July 2. Anacostia
Playhouse, 2020 Shannon Place SE. Tickets are $30 to
$40. Call 202-241-2539 or visit theateralliance.com.

JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY 9

 Out On The Town

SIMONE DINNERSTEIN WITH THE HAVANA LYCEUM ORCHESTRA

The star American classical pianist first performed with this orchestra at a piano festival in Cuba in 2015. And that sparked
the idea of the joint new album Mozart in Havana and East Coast tour featuring Dinnerstein and the orchestra, comprised
of conservatory students, recent graduates and their teachers, and led by founding music director Jos Antonio Mndez
Padrn. It marks the Havana Lyceums American debut as well as the first time an orchestra of this size has traveled to
the U.S. from Cuba since the revolution. The National Orchestral Institute Orchestra will also perform at this concert of
Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Marquez and Farinas in a special collaboration. Wednesday, June 28, at 8 p.m. The Dekelboum
Concert Hall in The Clarice at the University of Maryland, University Boulevard and Stadium Drive. College Park. Tickets
are $25. Call 301-405-ARTS or visit theclarice.umd.edu.

Compiled by Doug Rule
FILM
JAWS
The original summer blockbuster,
which made big-budget action flicks
the preferred seasonal fare and in
the process gave everyone an irra-
tional fear of sharks as human pred-
ators. Steven Spielbergs 1975 clas-
sic kicks off a two-month weekly
series at U Streets historic Lincoln
Theatre, an air-conditioned alter-
native to the increasing popularity
of outdoor screenings. Upcoming
screenings include Spike Lees
masterpiece, Do The Right Thing,
Clueless, Blazing Saddle and Purple
Rain. Wednesday, June 28. Doors
at 7 p.m. 1215 U St. NW. Tickets
are $10. Call 202-888-0050 or visit
thelincolndc.com.
LINCOLN
Several blocks north of the U.S.
Capitol behind Union Station,
the NoMa BID offers an outdoor
screening series with the quintes-
sential Washington theme Power,
Politics & Popcorn. Stand-out fea-
tures to come in July include All
The Presidents Men and Wag The
Dog, with August bringing Legally
Blonde: Red, White & Blonde. First
up is Steven Spielbergs 2012 drama,
with a screenplay by Tony Kushner,
and starring Daniel Day Lewis in
an Oscar-winning turn as the 16th
president presiding over a pivot-
al moment in American history.
The screening starts at sunset on
Wednesday, June 28. Grounds open
at 7 p.m. NoMa Junction at Storey
Park, 1005 1st St. NE. Visit noma-
bid.org.
THE PRINCESS BRIDE,
DIRTY DANCING
The Golden Triangle Business
Improvement District presents free
Friday screenings of blockbusters
throughout the summer. Up next
are two classics from the 80s,
The Princess Bride, director Rob
Reiners fairy tale starring a young
and beautiful Robin Wright and an
equally young and beautiful Cary
Elwes. Friday, June 23. Meanwhile,
Dirty Dancing, starring the late
Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey,
screens Friday, June 30. Each film
starts at sunset around 9 p.m. at
912 17th St. NW, between K Street
and Connecticut Avenue. Call 202-
463-3400 or visit goldentriangledc.
com for more information.
TRANSFORMERS:
THE LAST KNIGHT
Michael Bay returns to once again
prove that talent isnt necessary
when you have skilled CGI artists
and copious amounts of explosions.
Itll make a billion dollars, theyll
commission a sixth film and no les-
sons will be learned. Now playing.
Area theaters. Visit fandango.com.
(Rhuaridh Marr)
STAGE
BROKEN GLASS
Theater J teamed up with histo-
rians from the U.S. Holocaust
Museum for a rare staging of this
gripping, psychological drama
by Arthur Miller set in Brooklyn
during the Kristallnacht in 1938.
Images from American newspapers
of the era will be projected directly
onto the set, showing Americans
reactions to the Holocaust. Aaron
Posner directs a stellar cast Lise
Bruneau, Kimberly Gilbert, Gregory
Linington, Paul Morella, Michele
Osherow and Stephen Patrick
Martin relating Millers tale of a
woman who suddenly, mysteriously
becomes paralyzed from the waist
down, and her husband, a self-de-
nying Jew, struggling to understand
why and confront his fears, assump-
tions and anguish. Now to July 9,
with historians-led discussions
after the Sunday matinees June 25,
July 2 and July 9. The Aaron and
Cecile Goldman Theater, Edlavitch
DCJCC, 1529 16th St. NW. Call 202-
777-3210 or visit theaterj.org.
DC BLACK THEATRE & ARTS
FESTIVAL
Now in its seventh year, this 10-day
festival showcases local talent in
all realms of the performing arts,
from contemporary dance to live
music. Theres even a film fes-
tival within a festival, featuring
screenings and competitions in six
film categories, including shorts,
documentaries and music videos.
The primary focus, however, is on
theatrical works, including mono-
logues and short plays, with com-
petitions for both. An impressive
21 full-length plays will get the
lightly staged treatment through
this years New Works Reading
Series, including at least two works
by LGBTQ playwrights: Alan
Sharpes Been There, Done That,
and Steve Langleys AIDS-themed
Never Letting Go. And 12 works
get full-scale staging, including

10 JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY

 OPharrow Theatres production of
The Colored Museum, a 1986 satire
by two-time Tony-winning writer/
director George C. Wolfe (Jellys
Last Jam) and directed by compa-
ny founder Adriane N. OPharrow.
Another notable production is art-
ist/actor/musician Bryce Monroes
The Lower Frequencies, a series of
vignettes inspired by Ralph Ellisons
Invisible Man and incorporating
spoken-word, hip-hop, soul and
jazz. The festival runs Friday, June
23, through Sunday, July 2, at the
Smithsonian Anacostia Community
Museum and the Anacostia Arts
Center. Visit dcblacktheatrefestival.
com for more information.
DISNEYS THE LITTLE MERMAID
Based on the 1989 animated clas-
sic which is based on the 1837
Hans Christian Andersen fairy
tale the musical version of The
Little Mermaid features additional
songs by composer Alan Menken,
plus a book by Doug Wright. The
show makes its way to Wolf Trap
after stops at Kansas Citys simi-
larly outdoor Starlight Theatre and
Pittsburghs Benedum Center, in
a co-production of the Pittsburgh
Civic Light Opera and Kansas
Citys Starlight. Thursday, June 29,
through Sunday, July 2, at 8 p.m.
Also Saturday, July 1, at 2 p.m. The
Filene Center at Wolf Trap, 1551
Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $25
to $85. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or
visit wolftrap.org.
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim
Rices rock opera about Jesus
gets a sleek, modern makeover
in a Signature Theatre produc-
tion helmed by Joe Calarco and
starring Nicholas Edwards. The
cast includes Signature standouts
Natascia Diaz as Mary, Sherri L.
Edelen as King Herod, and Bobby
Smith as Pontius Pilate. Extended
to July 9. Signature Theatre, 4200
Campbell Ave., Arlington. Call 703-
820-9771 or visit sigtheatre.org.
KING LEAR
Lauded local actor Rick Foucheux
will retire after this starring turn
as Shakespeares most troubled
patriarch in his greatest tragedy.
Avant Bard makes some charac-
teristic tweaks to the classic with
this production helmed by Tom
Prewitt, including making the Earl
of Gloucester a female character,
played by Cam Magee. Meanwhile,
Christopher Henley, the companys
Artistic Director Emeritus, will play
the Fool. Closes Sunday, June 25.
Gunston Arts Center, 2700 South
Lang St. Arlington. Tickets are $30
to $35. Call 703-418-4808 or visit
avantbard.org.
MA RAINEYS BLACK BOTTOM
The legendary late playwright
August Wilson was inspired by
queer blues belter Ma Rainey in the
first of his award-winning Century
12 JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY
Cycle of plays, each capturing a dif-
ferent decade of the 20th century.
Directed by Deidra LaWan Starnes
and starring Thomascena Nelson.
Closes Sunday, June 25. 1st Stage,
1524 Spring Hill Rd., in Tysons
Corner. Tickets are $30. Call 703-
854-1856 or visit 1ststagetysons.org.
MY FAIR LADY
The Lerner and Loewe classic,
adapted from Georges Bernard Shaw
and Gabriel Pascals film Pygmalion.
Alan Souza directs a massive cast
including Danny Bernardy, Brittany
Campbell, Ian Anthony Coleman,
Warren Freeman, Chris Genebach,
Christina Kidd, Alex Kidder, Julia
Klavans, Ashleigh King, Valerie
Leonard, Benjamin Lurye, Jimmy
Mavrikes, Christopher Mueller
and Todd Scofield. In previews.
Opening Saturday, June 24, at 8
p.m. Olney Theatre Center, 2001
Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney,
Md. Call 301-924-3400 or visit
olneytheatre.org.
NEVER LETTING GO
Steve Langley wrote two short
plays in the mid-1990s about the
experience of being surround-
ed by friends, most in their 30s,
dying from AIDS complications.
Two decades later, the Oscar-
winning success of the gay-themed
Moonlight has inspired Langley to
revive the works, packaging them
together as Never Letting Go. The
DC Black Theatre & Arts Festival
offers a free staged reading of the
comedy-drama directed by Gregory
Ford and featuring Frednardo Davis
and Inestin Dantee Petit-Homme
in 2 Cotton Towels, about a cou-
ple wrestling with sexual fidelity
in their relationship, and Adiyb
Muhammad, Mericus Ryan Adams
and Bryce Monroe in Gone Fishin,
about a father clashing with a
stranger over the memory of his late
son, a former collegiate basketball
star. Saturday, June 24, at 4 p.m.
Smithsonian Anacostia Community
Museum, 1901 Fort Place SE. Free.
Call 202-633-4820 or visit dcblack-
theatrefestival.com.
SOURCE FESTIVAL
Throughout June, CulturalDC pres-
ents its annual festival dedicated to
up-and-coming works. This years
festival is designed as a toast to its
first decade, reprising six Best-Of
10-Minute Plays as well as the full-
length, LGBTQ-themed A Perfect
Arrangement, Topher Paynes 2017
Lambda Literary Award nomi-
nee. The dramedy enjoyed an Off
Broadway run in 2015, two years
after debuting at Source. The fes-
tival also features three full-length
play readings, six new 10-Minute
Plays and two artistic blind dates.
Runs through July 2. Source, 1835
14th St. NW. Tickets are $20 for
each show, $75 for a five-play pass
or $150 for VIP including reserved
seat, free concessions and restau-
rant partner discounts. Call 202-
204-7760 or visit sourcefestival.org.

THE RETURN
Mosaic presents the second play in
its 2017 Voices From a Changing
Middle East Festival, marking the
50th year since the Six Day War
and the start of the Occupation.
Palestinian-American playwright
and performer Hanna Eady
co-wrote the unsettling mystery
The Return with Edward Mast.
John Vreeke directs a U.S. premiere
starring Ahmad Kamal and Alyssa
Wilmoth Keegan as two mysteri-
ous former lovers who reunite to
untangle the trauma and thwarted
intimacy of their interconnected
history. To July 2. Atlas Performing
Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets
are $20 to $60. Call 202-399-7993
or visit mosaictheater.org.

STEREO VISION
THE SCHOOL FOR LIES
Michael Kahn helms David
Ives adaptation of Molires Le
Misanthrope, in an update of the
aristocratic, ruthless French satire.

GAMELY NAKED
Gregory Wooddell plays Frank,
whose barbed truth-telling wreaks
havoc in a world of pompous suit-
ors and extravagant ladies, until
rumors ricochet and alternative
facts become reality. To July 9. Chris Griffin is one of several actors who will doff their clothing
Lansburgh Theatre, 450 7th St. NW. in America the Game Show

Call 202-547-1122 or visit shake-
spearetheatre.org.
THE SOUND OF MUSIC
Yes, the Opera House is alive
with the sound of Rodgers and
Hammerstein in this touring pro-
duction of the blockbuster musical
directed by three-time Tony win-
ner Jack OBrien. Arena regular
Nicholas Rodriguez (Oklahoma!,
Carousel) is Captain von Trapp
and newcomer Charlotte Maltby
(daughter of Broadway legend
Richard) is Maria, who whips all
those Swiss tykes into harmonious
shape. To July 16. Kennedy Center
Opera House. Tickets are $49 to
$169. Call 202-467-4600 or visit
kennedy-center.org.
MUSIC
BEAUSOLEIL
Local band led by Michael Doucet,
a lifelong student of Cajun culture,
takes to the Kennedy Center stage
for a free concert of soulful accor-
dion-tipped music, presented in
collaboration with the Smithsonian
Folklife Festival and the Library of
Congress. Tuesday, June 27, at 6
p.m. Millennium Stage. Free. Call
202-457-4600 or visit kennedy-cen-
ter.org.
INES NASSARA
As part of its 2017 Artist-in-
Residence mentoring program,
Strathmore offers solo concerts of
its up-and-coming artists. The lat-
est to get the spotlight is this jazz/
soul/folk vocalist, a 2015 Helen
Hayes Award nominee for her sup-
O
NE YEAR AGO, KATE TAYLOR DAVIS AND JARED DAVIS DECIDED TO
make light of American history in the run-up to July 4th with a crazy romp they
called America the Game Show. F*ck Yeah!. It was a hit. A big hit. And, as with any
hit, theyre doing a second round this year.
Of course, things have changed in a year. Most significantly, America has Donald
Trump as its President. And that, says Chris Griffin, will alter the course of the night.
Its a little bit darker this year, says Griffin, who will appear as his familiar drag
alter-ego, Lucrezia Blozia. Its a little bit more subversive. Part of the evenings aim is to
remind the audience that America had many other dark chapters in its history, long before
Trump. Though it will do so in a way best described as completely nutso.
Take Drunkle Sam, for instance, a character who sits in a corner, stone-cold drunk,
and narrates a segment entitled Great Naked Moments in American History. Griffin
is one of several hapless actors forced into nudity in his case, exposing himself to, er...
enhance the tale of the Alamo. Griffin will also get to do some probing and its not what
youre thinking.
We have an alien probe game, he laughs, and I play the alien.
Aliens, coincidentally, play a part in Griffins own production, Tales from the Round
World: Calls to the Alien Crime Hotline. Debuting July 7 at the Black Cat as part of a
monthly series, the show pokes fun at the fact that the Trump administration established a
hotline for people to report illegal alien activity. Pranksters subsequently flooded the line
with calls reporting UFO sightings.
Alien Crime Hotline will benefit a good cause the nonprofit organization Many
Languages One Voice. They do a lot of sanctuary city work, Griffin says. They do a lot
of work with immigrant students who have English as a second language. And who said
crime doesnt pay? Doug Rule
America The Game Show. F*ck Yeah! is Friday, June 30, at 8 p.m. at GALA Theatre,
3333 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20. Call 202-234-7174 or visit astropopevents.com. Its also
Saturday, July 1, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, July 2, at 1 p.m., at Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern
Ave., Baltimore. Tickets are $20. Call 410-276-1651 or visit astropopevents.com.
Calls to the Alien Crime Hotline is Friday, July 7, at 9:30 p.m., at the Black Cat,
1811 14th St. NW. Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the door.
Call 202-667-4490 or visit facebook.com/buttthecircus.

JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY 13

14 JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY
porting work in Keegan Theatres
Hair. Wednesday, June 14, and
Wednesday, June 28, at 7:30 p.m.
The Mansion at Strathmore, 10701
Rockville Pike, North Bethesda.
Tickets are $17. Call 301-581-5100
or visit strathmore.org.

LORDE
The international sensation born
only 20 years ago as Ella Marija Lani
Yelich-OConnor, Lorde becomes
the second artist announced to
play D.C.s forthcoming large music
venue the Anthem the Southwest
Waterfront spot, part of the 9:30
Club family, that the Foo Fighters
will christen in October. The New
Zealand native will tour in sup-
port of her just-released sophomore
set Melodrama, full of the kind of
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE COOLOTS

sharp, dramatic and irresistible pop

that is the Grammy winners stock
in trade. Tickets on sale Friday,
June 23, at 10 a.m., for Sunday,
April 8, 2018 date. The Anthem, 901
Wharf St. SW. Cost is $100 to $175.
Visit ticketfly.com.

SERENADE 2017! WASHINGTON

D.C. CHORAL FESTIVAL
The Kennedy Center offers six
days of free choral music co-pre- The CooLots

WELCOME REVIVAL
sented by Classical Movements
as a toast to the 100th birthday of
President John F. Kennedy. The
focus is on choirs from countries
that have benefited from the work
of the Peace Corps a JFK creation
Phazefest returns to celebrate the queer music scene in a significantly
plus a select few other choirs larger venue

A
and all choirs will participate
in local service projects while in T THE SAME TIME PHASE 1 WAS ON THE VERGE OF CLOSING JUST OVER A YEAR
town. Serenade! kicks off with per- ago, the legendary lesbian bars longtime manager was on the verge of opening a new
formances of groups from Northern
Ireland, Panama and India, on chapter on life. I loved being a part of the dyke bar and being a butch lesbian, Archer
Wednesday, June 28, at 6 p.m. on Lombardi says. I loved that part of me, and that was something that was really tough to know
the Millennium Stage. China, Spain, that I was leaving behind.
Ghana and Kenya are represented
in the festival finale on Monday,
The 36-year-old had known he wanted to transition from Angela to Archer and identify as a
July 3, at 6 p.m. in the Concert Hall. more masculine me for at least a decade. But it took time to get comfortable with the idea. This
Call 202-467-4600 or visit kenne- is all still really new to me, he says, adding, I just officially came out to the world less than a
dy-center.org. month ago.
SPECIAL AGENT GALACTICA Hes ready to rekindle some of that old Phase 1 magic next weekend by reviving the annual
Jeffrey Johnsons spacey and pink- queer music festival he helped start at the former Capitol Hill haunt a decade ago.
haired singing drag act returns for When the opportunity arose, I jumped on it, he says. Mainly because Im missing Phase, and
a cabaret supported by a guitarist
named Captain Satellite. The show
I have such a love for this event. Now called Phazefest, the evening-long concert at the 9:30 Club
features new material as well as a features festival veterans the Coolots (You cant not have a good time at the Coolots show), the
smattering of signature covers and fun drag queen-fronted punk band Homosuperior, and the incredibly talented soulful queer pop
originals. Sunday, June 25, at 5 p.m. artist Be Steadwell, among others, showcasing just how special the queer D.C. music scene is..
Freddies Beach Bar, 555 South 23rd
St., Arlington. Free, just tip well. Lombardi concedes the evening is geared a little bit more towards queer women, but thats
Call 703-685-0555 or visit freddies- kind of been my jam for a very long time. This years festival welcomes several nascent lesbian
beachbar.com. acts Kellyn Marie Goler, Heather Mae, and Olivia & the Mates. The pioneering DC Kings will
reunite for the occasion, which ends with a dance party featuring DJ Tezrah.
DANCE I knew it had to happen, and I knew it was going to happen, Lombardi says when asked about
last years shuttering of Phase 1. I was just sad that we didnt get to really say goodbye. Phazefest
CHAMBER DANCE PROJECT:
BALLET, BRASS & SONG is not that goodbye, he stresses. Its geared more as a reunion even for Lombardi, who will return
The fourth seasonal offering from to D.C. specifically for the event. Two years ago, he moved to Chico, California, a quaint little
this New York-birthed, D.C.-based town where he owns and runs the Maltese bar with his girlfriend.
contemporary dance company
features six dancers, drawn from
One of the reasons why Im so excited is that I really feel like were going to have a huge crowd
major ballet companies, in five bal- that was the Phase 1 crowd, he says. Im really looking forward to that feeling again. Doug Rule
lets by three choreographers all
accompanied by some of D.C.s
finest brass, jazz and chamber Phazefest is Saturday, July 1, starting at 8 p.m. at the 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW.
musicians. Theres Songs by Cole, Tickets are $15. Call 202-265-0930 or visit 930.com.

JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY 15

 the red states to the blue states to
our orange head of state. The run
is the first offering in Julys second
annual District of Comedy Festival.
Now to Aug. 13. Kennedy Center
Theater Lab. Tickets are $49 to $69.
Call 202-467-4600 or visit kenne-
dy-center.org.

READINGS
ANNE-CHRISTINE DADESKY
The Pox Lover offers the person-
al history of the turbulent 1990s
for this investigative journalist/
documentary filmmaker, who was
an early member of ACT UP and
cofounder of the Lesbian Avengers
and daughter of French-Haitian
elites. DAdesky takes us through a
fast-changing East Village during
the peak of the AIDS epidem-
ic, before moving on to a Paris
rocked with waves of exiles flee-
ing violence in the Balkans, Haiti
and Rwanda fomenting the rise
of the right-wing, anti-immigrant
National Front. Thursday, June
AUSTIN COLBY & CAROLINE BOWMAN 29, at 6:30 p.m. Kramerbooks, 1517
Connecticut Ave. NW. Call 202-
These two theater stars Bowman known from Broadways Wicked and Evita national 387-1400 or visit kramers.com.
tour, Colby from Signature Theatres West Side Story and The Sound of Music national tour
are currently in the midst of planning their wedding. Before they get hitched, theyll ANDREW MCAFEE AND
ERIK BRYNJOLFSSON
perform love songs in A Premarital Cabaret accompanied by music director Walter The authors of 2014s The Second
Bobby McCoy (GALAs In The Heights). The evening doubles as a fundraiser for the Machine Age and co-founders
fledgling Millennial-focused Monumental Theatre Co. and its July production of Bonnie of MITs Initiative on the Digital
Economy suggest that the next
and Clyde. A silent auction, raffle and refreshments are also on the bill. Monday, June 26, stage of the digital era will rad-
at 7:30 p.m. Pendleton Hall at the Ainslie Arts Center in Episcopal High School, 3900 W. ically alter the balance of minds
Braddock Rd. Alexandria. Tickets are $30. Visit monumentaltheatre.org. and machines, products and plat-
forms, and the core and the crowd.
Furthermore, success, both profes-
sional and personal, will depend on
a premiere work by the Projects UNIVERSOUL CIRCUS SPEECHLESS: THE ULTIMATE mastering the demands of this new
founder and artistic director Diane A combination of circus arts, the- IMPROVISATIONAL GAUNTLET playing field, they argue in Machine,
Coburn Bruning inspired by the ater, music and audience interac- Presenters have to wing it with only Platform, Crowd: Harnessing the
timeless quality of Cole Porters tion, this D.C.-based group is said to a laser pointer and a deck of ran- Digital Revolution. The book illu-
music, which will be performed by push the limits of imagination and dom slides, giving a presentation minates what skill sets and attitudes
a live jazz trio; Rue Noir, Jennifer innovation among its performanc- theyve never seen before. Such a will be needed to thrive in the com-
Archibalds piece set to rousing es. The Kennedy Center welcomes test of ones improvisational mettle ing years. Tuesday, June 27, at 7 p.m.
New Orleans-style brass from the Universoul Circus for two free eve- is catching on at conferences and Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut
Mosche Brass Band; the provoc- ning shows on its Millennium Stage, workshops and in fields as diverse Ave. NW. Call 202-364-1919 or visit
ative beauty of Arranged and the presented in collaboration with as software engineers and academ- politics-prose.com.
athleticism of the poignant male the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. ics/scientists, in addition to come-
duet Exit Wounds, both by Bruning; Saturday, June 24, and Sunday, dians and actors. Chris Milner hosts DAVID FRANCE
and Sur, Jorge Amarantes sultry June 25, at 6 p.m. Kennedy Center. the next show from Speechless, The Library of Congress offers the
new take on tango. And every work Free. Call 202-467-4600 or visit Inc., featuring a cast including Josh last in its Pride in the Library
is accompanied by live chamber kennedy-center.org. Kuderna, Chelsea Shorte, Ahmed series of LGBTQ-themed activities
music onstage, including the com- Valeejos and Eric Dadourian. Dylan with a reading by the author of
panys string quartet, the Mosche How I Learned to Survive a Plague.
COMEDY Meyer will be one of three special
Brass Band and our jazz trio led guest judges. Thursday, June 29, at Unlike his 2012 Oscar-nominated
by acclaimed singer Lena Seikaly. 8:45 p.m. Drafthouse Comedy, 1100 documentary of the same name,
Opening Night, including post-par- ALEX MOFFAT 13th St. NW. Tickets are $10. Call the book tackles the AIDS epi-
ty with the artists, is Thursday, Eric Trump, Anderson Cooper, Joe 202-750-6411 or visit drafthousec- demic with a clear central voice.
June 22, at 7:30 p.m. Additional Scarborough and Al Franken are omedy.com. Readers view the early years of
performances Friday, June 23, and just a few of the celebrity impres- the epidemic from his perspec-
Saturday, June 24, at 8 p.m. Sidney sions Moffat has already performed THE SECOND CITY: ...DIVIDED tive, as both a journalist covering
Harman Hall, Harman Center for since making his fall debut as a cast WE STAND anti-AIDS activists, many of them
the Arts, 610 F St. NW. Tickets are member of Saturday Night Live. The The Kennedy Center welcomes back in a life-or-death struggle, and as
$30 to $45. Call 202-547-1122 or 35-year-old Chicago native stops the famed comedy troupe for an someone whose partner eventually
visit chamberdance.org. through the area for a run of shows. update to last years popular show died of the disease something
Expect plenty of impressions. Almost Accurate Guide to America. that made writing the book much
Friday, June 30, at 7:30 and 10 p.m., The comedians Angela Alise, Ryan tougher than anticipated. It was
and Saturday, July 1, at 7 and 10 p.m. Asher, Tyler Davis, Katie Kershaw, devastating, and very difficult, he
Arlington Cinema N Drafthouse, Chucho Perez and Ross Taylor told Metro Weekly earlier this year.
2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington. have cooked up a new irreverent, It sent me into therapy. Im in my
Tickets are $20. Call 703-486-2345 mocking look at America from mid-50s, Id never been to ther-
or visit arlingtondrafthouse.com. apy in my life. Book signing fol-

16 JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY

lows the discussion, presented in
association with Capital Pride and
LC-GLOBE. Wednesday, June 28,
at 12 p.m. Mary Pickford Theater
in the Library of Congresss James
Madison Memorial Building, 101
Independence Ave. SE. Free. Call
202-707-5000 or visit loc.gov/lgbt.
FOOD AND DRINK
ACADIANA: GRILLING CLASS,
3-COURSE FEAST PROMOTION
Now through Sunday, June 25,
Executive Chef Brant Tesky serves
a $33 three-course BBQ feast of
Bourbon Bacon Sliders with
Caramelized Onions, Brisket and
Ribs with Acadiana BBQ Sauce
accompanied by Collard Greens
with Bentons Bacon Red Beans &
Rice Cornbread, and Banana Cream
Pie served Southern-style on
one plate. Acadiana, 901 New York
Ave. NW. Call 202-408-8848 or
visit acadianarestaurant.com.
NATIONAL ARCHIVES: GLOBAL
SPIRITS: AMERICAN COCKTAILS
A week of activities celebrating
American independence at the
National Archives launches with
this History Happy Hour led by
the Archives Foundations Chief
Spirits Advisor Derek Brown.
Co-sponsored by The Tasting Panel
magazine, eight top mixologists
will create original concoctions
inspired by classic American cock-
tails and reviewed by a panel of
NIGHTLIFE artist, a scavenger hunt and roam-
ing performers plus, of course, a
judges and available for guests photobooth and Instagram print-
WE THE PARTY PEOPLE AT
to taste. Thursday, June 29, at 7 er. In addition, the gift shop will
AMERICAN HISTORY MUSEUM
p.m. National Archives Museum, be open. Saturday, July 1, from
Local promoter Brightest Young
Constitution Avenue between 7th 7 to 11 p.m. National Museum of
Things hosts an exclusive tour-
and 9th Streets NW. NW. Tickets American History, 14th St. and
ist-free, all-access, party-time take-
are $70, or $60 for Foundation Constitution Ave. NW. Tickets are
over of the National Museum of
members. Call 202-357-5000 or $45 to $65. Call 202-633-1000 or
American History. The primary
visit archivesfoundation.org/histo-
ry-happy-hour.
occasion is to celebrate Americas
visit eventbrite.com.
birthday, but it also doubles as a
party honoring what would have
TAQUERIA DEL BARRIO:
DRAG BRUNCH
been the 100th birthday of JFK. ABOVE & BEYOND
Megan James, the vocalist of the
A week after launching the first
Canadian electronic duo Purity HARIKARAOKE BAND
annual Petworth Pride celebration,
Ring, plays DJ for the event which PRIDE SHOW
the neighborhoods new Mexican
includes open bar on Skyy Vodka, Its not everyday you can sing
eatery from the DC Empanadas
Wild Turkey Bourbon and Appleton karaoke supported by a live band,
crew presents its first last-Saturday-
Estate Rum cocktails compliments although in recent years it has
of-the-month drag brunch. Desiree
of Cafe Saint-Ex and lite bites from become more popular. Silly props
Dik hosts a show featuring queens
restaurants including Awkpie, and extra surprises, plus a Gong
Bombalicious Eklaver and Jasmine
Sospeso, Highline RXR and Show Karaoke Contest add
Tea, who perform while guests eat
Franklin Hall. There will also be to the dynamic experience of a
dishes including churro French
short TED-style talks courtesy of the HariKaraoke Band show, co-host-
toast, chilaquiles and Taquerias
Washington Post, including Claire ed by drag queen Shaunda Leer.
signature tacos, washed down
Jerry on JFK: A New Speaker The next show is LGBTQ-themed
with $6 mimosas, Bloody Marys
for a New Generation, Shannon and includes drink specials and
and Absolut vodka cocktails. Two
Perich, JFK Through the Lens of prizes including a bar tab at host
seatings Saturday, June 24 at 10
Richard Avedon, Peter Manseau, venue the DC Eagle. Sunday, June
a.m. and 1 p.m. 821 Upshur St. NW.
Fear of a Catholic President, and 25, from 4 to 8 p.m. 3701 Benning
No cover charge, but reservations
Steve Olikara, Passing the Torch Rd. NE. Call 202-347-6025 or visit
encouraged. Call 202-723-0200 or
to a New Generation of Americans. dceagle.com. l
visit taqueriadelbarrio.com.
And on the outdoor terrace, there
will be a face painter, caricature

THURSDAY, June 22
The DC ANTI-VIOLENCE
PROJECT, a group dedicated
to combating anti-LGBT hate
crimes, holds its monthly meet-
ing at The DC Center. 7-8:30
p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite
105. For more information, visit
thedccenter.org.
The DC Center hosts a meet-
ing of the LATINX LGBTQI
COALITION, to debrief from
Pride season and discuss issues
affecting queer Latinos. 6-7:30
p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite
105. For more information, visit
thedccenter.org.
FRIDAY, June 23
The DC Center holds its
CENTER AGING MONTHLY
LUNCH social for members of
D.C.s senior community. 12-2
p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite
105. For more information, visit
thedccenter.org or call 202-
682-2245.
GAMMA is a peer support
group for gay or bi men who
are now or who have been in
a relationship with a woman.
Luther Place Memorial Church,
1226 Vermont Ave, NW. 7:30-
9:30 p.m. Meetings are also
held in Vienna, Va. and in
Frederick, Md. For more info,
visit gammaindc.org.
WOMEN IN THEIR TWENTIES
(AND THIRTIES), a social
discussion and activity group
for queer women, meets at The
DC Center on the second and
fourth Friday of each month.
Group social activity to follow
the meeting. 8-9:30 p.m. 2000
14th St. NW, Suite 105. For
more information, visit thedc-
center.org.
SATURDAY, June 24
ADVENTURING outdoors
group hikes 8 moderately
strenuous miles with 1400 feet
of elevation gain between two
highest peaks in Shenandoah
National Park. Bring lunch,
plenty of beverages, sturdy
boots, bug spray, sunscreen,
about $20 for fees and money
for blackberry ice cream and
other treats. Carpool at 8:30
a.m. from East Falls Church
Metro Kiss & Ride lot. For
more info, Jeff, 301-775-9660
or visit adventuring.org.
ADVENTURING outdoors
group bicycles 50 miles from
the Pentagon area to Baltimore,
returning by MARC train or
overnighting in Baltimore and
18 JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY
Community
cycling back on Sunday. Ride
begins at 8 a.m. Saturday morn-
ing near the marine building of
the Columbia Island parking
lot, accessible only off the
southbound lanes of the GW
Parkway. For more info, con-
tact Jerry, 703-920-6871 or visit
adventuring.org.
Join The DC Center as it vol-
unteers for FOOD & FRIENDS,
packing meals and groceries for
people living with serious ail-
PHOTO COURTESY OF CAPS
ments. 10 a.m.-12 p.m. 219 Riggs
Rd. NE. Near the Fort Totten
Metro. For a ride from the
Metro, call the Food & Friends
shuttle at 202-669-6437. For
more information, visit thedc-
center.org or foodandfriends.
org.
SUNDAY, June 25
MAGIC WEEKEND
CHRYSALIS arts and culture
group visits the Old Patent
Office Building downtown
This years annual MAGIC Softball Tournament to see Smithsonian muse-
um exhibits on JFK, actress
is several months earlier and all Marlene Dietrich, and Civil
the better for it War era photographer Mathew
G
Brady. Free. Lunch in the
neighborhood follows. Meet at
ETTING PEOPLE EXCITED ABOUT A TOUR- noon in the lobby near 8th &
nment a month after the Gay World Series proved G Streets, NW. For more info,
too formidable a task. So Washington, D.C.s contact Craig,
Chesapeake and Potomac Softball League decided to move 202-462-0535, or craighow-
ell1@verizon.net.
its Mid-Atlantic Gay Invitational Classic or MAGIC, for
short from October to July. And the results have been
nearly magical. MONDAY, June 26
Its one of those last regional tournaments before
Weekly Events
the World Series, says Tony Mace, commissioner of the
CAPS League, noting that registrations are up. Teams ANDROMEDA
that are going to the World Series can now get some extra TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH
practice. offers free HIV testing and HIV
services (by appointment). 9
Held in Prince Georges County, Md., next weekend, a.m.-5 p.m. Decatur Center,
MAGIC will feature 42 teams from across the country. 1400 Decatur St. NW. To
Teams engage in round robin-style play for seeding on arrange an appointment, call
202-291-4707, or visit androm-
Saturday, July 1, after which theyll take part in a double
edatransculturalhealth.org.
elimination tournament on Sunday, until a winner is
crowned. DC AQUATICS CLUB holds
MAGIC is free to the public, but CAPS will be selling a practice session at Dunbar
Aquatic Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 101
beer at the fields, to raise funds for next years event and N St. NW. For more informa-
spectators are encouraged to take part in the party in the tion, visit swimdcac.org.
park.
We like to have people come and hang out all day, GETEQUAL meets 6:30-8 p.m.
at Quaker House, 2111 Florida
watch softball, drink beer, says Mace. Well have corn- Ave. NW. For more informa-
hole. And were looking at doing a kickball game Sunday, tion, email getequal.wdc@
once teams start getting eliminated and fields start open- gmail.com.
ing up. We just have fun all day long. John Riley
HIV TESTING at Whitman-
Walker Health. 8 a.m.-8 p.m. at
The Mid-Atlantic Gay Invitational Classic Softball 1525 14th St. NW, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Tournament runs from July 1 to 2 at Tucker Road, 1770 at the Elizabeth Taylor Medical
Center, 1701 14th St. NW, and 8
Tucker Rd., Fort Washington, Md., and at Watkins a.m-5 p.m. at the Max Robinson
Regional Park, 301 Watkins Park Dr., Upper Marlboro, Md. Center, 2301 MLK Jr. Ave.
For more information and a full schedule of parties and SE. For an appointment call
202-745-7000 or visit whit-
events, visit magictournamentdc.com. man-walker.org.
Scene
The 5th Annual DC Front Runners Pride Run 5K at
Congressional Cemetery - Friday, June 9 Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY 19

 KARING WITH INDIVIDUALITY
(K.I.) SERVICES, 3333 Duke St.,
Alexandria, offers free rapid HIV
testing and counseling, 9 a.m.-4
p.m. 703-823-4401.
METROHEALTH CENTER offers
free, rapid HIV testing. No appoint-
ment needed. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. 1012
14th St. NW, Suite 700. For more
information, call 202-638-0750.
NOVASALUD offers free HIV test-
ing. 5-7 p.m. 2049 N. 15th St., Suite
200, Arlington. Appointments: 703-
789-4467.
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
DROP-IN FOR THE SENIOR LGBT
COMMUNITY. 10 a.m.-noon. 2000
14th St. NW. For more information,
call 202-682-2245 or visit thedc-
center.org.
US HELPING US hosts a black gay
mens evening affinity group for
GBT black men. Light refreshments
provided. 7-9 p.m. 3636 Georgia
Ave. NW. 202-446-1100.
WASHINGTON WETSKINS
WATER POLO TEAM practices 7-9
p.m. Newcomers with at least basic
swimming ability always welcome.
Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van
Buren St. NW. For more informa-
tion, contact Tom, 703-299-0504
or secretary@wetskins.org, or visit
wetskins.org.
TUESDAY, June 27
Queer-identifying women who
have survived violent or traumatic
experiences and are looking for
support are invited to take part
in a bi-weekly QUEER WOMEN
WORKING THROUGH TRAUMA
GROUP at The DC Center.
Participants are encouraged to
do an intake assessment with
moderator and social worker Sam
Goodwin. 6-7 p.m. 2000 14th St.
20 JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY
NW, Suite 105. For more infor-
mation, email Sam at samantha@
thedccenter.org.
The DC Centers GENDERQUEER
DC support and discussion group,
for people who identify outside the
gender binary, meets on the fourth
Tuesday of every month. 7-8:30
p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105.
For more information, visit thedc-
center.org.
The Watha T. Daniel Shaw Library
hosts RAINBOW FAMILY STORY
TIME. The event, held weekly during
the month of June, will explore sto-
ries about same-sex parents, adopted
children, and other nontraditional
families, as well as gender-bending
books showing that its okay not to
conform to stereotypical ideas of
how boys and girls behave. For all
ages. 7-8 p.m. 1630 7th St. NW. For
more information, email watha-
shawlibrary@dc.gov or call Gayle
Wagner, 202-727-1288.
WEDNESDAY, June 28
Team DC and the Gay Games host
committee hold a GAY GAMES
XI RALLY to generate support for
D.C.s bid to host the quadrennial
LGBTQ sporting event in 2022.
6-9 p.m. National Museum of the
American Indian, 4th Street SW and
Independence Avenue SW. For more
information, visit ggdc2022.org.
The DC Center hosts a monthly
meeting of its HIV PREVENTION
WORKING GROUP. 6-8 p.m. 2000
14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more
information, visit thedccenter.org.
THE LAMBDA BRIDGE CLUB
meets for Duplicate Bridge. 7:30
p.m. Dignity Center, 721 8th St. SE
(across from Marine Barracks). No
reservations needed, all welcome.
202-841-0279 if you need a part-
ner. l
Submit your community event for
consideration at least 10 days prior
to the Thursday publication you
would like it to appear. Email to
calendar@metroweekly.com.
 Scene
Baltimore Pride Parade and Block Party - Saturday, June 17
Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

22 JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY

JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY 23
24 JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY
JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY 25
For the
Love of
Sports
Chris Mosier made history as the first out trans athlete on a U.S. national sports team.
Now, hes trying to ensure that other LGBTQ athletes are able to compete in the sports they love.
Interview by John Riley
I
LOVED PLAYING SPORTS WHEN I WAS GROWING
up, says Chris Mosier. It was a way that I made friends
and found community. No matter how strange people
thought I was, or what they thought of me off the courts,
or the field, they liked me when we were playing sports
because I was a good player. I was a great teammate, and
I made a lot of friends that way.
Growing up in suburban Chicago, sports had always featured
prominently in Mosiers early life. During high school, he was a
three-season athlete, playing volleyball, basketball, and softball.
But when he went off to college, he walked away from compet-
itive sports entirely.
I really wanted to play basketball, says the 36-year-old,
who identifies as a transgender man. But I was raised and
socialized as female, and therefore was playing on womens and
girls sports teams growing up. I didnt know I was trans going
into college, but I knew that being on a womens basketball team
didnt feel comfortable to me. At that point I sort of stepped
away from athletics.
He couldnt stay on the sidelines for long. After college,
Mosier began running to get back into shape, using it as a way
to reconnect with himself as he began to explore his gender
identity.
I used running and weightlifting as a way to feel a little bit
more connected with my body, when my body didnt really feel
like a home. There were certain parts of my body that I felt didnt
really fit the way that I thought I would grow up to be, and so I
thought, if I lift weights a little bit, and I can get a broader back,
maybe make my shoulders look a little bigger, I could feel as
though my body fits a little bit more with what my perception of
who I am, and how I want people to interact with me.
Mosier intensified his training regimen, eventually tackling
marathon running. After his first marathon, he began looking for
26 JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY
other ways of pushing himself physically. He bought a bike and
started riding, and taught himself how to swim competitively.
For a year-and-a-half, he competed in several triathlons, earn-
ing high rankings in the womens category before deciding, in
2010, to officially transition and compete in the mens category.
In 2015, Mosier became the first out trans athlete to join Team
USA, earning a spot on the mens duathlon team for the 2016
World Championship.
Its been interesting seeing just how much sports has been
a safe space for me to be my authentic self, he says. My team-
mates and the people I compete against really have been some
of my biggest supporters, which was not what I expected, to be
totally honest. I thought that I would have a harder time transi-
tioning in sports, but the people who knew me as an athlete, and
the people who have competed with me and against me, or com-
pete against me now, respect me as an athlete first and foremost,
and embrace me as a transgender person.
I think thats the beauty of sports they really can tran-
scend any differences that we have, he says. It doesnt matter
your background, it doesnt matter your history, it just matters
how you are when you show up to play.
Its a message Mosier finds himself repeating in his job at the
LGBTQ advocacy group You Can Play, where he serves as vice
president of program development and community engagement.
He also moderates the website Transathlete.com, which he cre-
ated in 2013 to serve as a resource for transgender athletes, their
coaches, and sports administrators. The website currently lists
the policy for every state high school sporting association in the
United States, from the most inclusive to those he calls really
horrible and discriminatory.
When I was living in that year-and-a-half of delaying my
PHILIP LEE
transition, I was really looking for information to see, Will I be
able to participate in the sports that I love as a trans person?
says Mosier. A lot of places didnt have policies, and they
didnt have policies published. I wanted to create a website so
that all of these policies were in one place. Ive been able to use
that website as a way to advocate for change in different sports
organizations, by helping to change their policies to be more
inclusive.
Mosier is an honorary co-chair of D.Cs bid to host the 2022
Gay Games XI, along with tennis legend Billie Jean King, former
NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, and former U.S. Attorney
General Eric Holder.
I think Chris story embodies one of our core principles,
which is inclusion, says Brent Minor, chair of Gay Games DC
2022, the group assembling the bid (see story, page 31).
We want to have every person feel as if they belong at the
Gay Games, Minor continues. Its important to show that in
real examples, not just by words. And I think Chris embodies
that not just through his advocacy work on behalf of the
transgender community, but through his strong advocacy for
the inclusion of the entire LGBTQ communtiy through his work
with the You Can Play project.
Ever since he was shown the plans for D.C.s bid, Mosier has
been enthused about the prospects: I truly believe that we will
be bringing the Gay Games to Washington, D.C. in 2022.
METRO WEEKLY: Lets start with coming out. What was yours like?
CHRIS MOSIER: Coming out was a very long process, and I think a
big part of my story is that sport definitely influenced my coming
out. I delayed my transition and coming out to people for over a
year because I was worried about not being able to continue to
compete in sports that I loved running races and triathlons. I
had never seen another trans person transition, Id never seen a
trans man compete against men after a medical transition, and
thats really what I wanted to do. I didnt really know if it was
possible because I didnt see it.
I came out to my brothers and my mom, and it was fine, and
I think Im closer with my brothers since coming out, which has
been a really amazing thing, to have family support and embrace
me as the person that I know and that theyve probably always
known that I really am.
In terms of coming out publicly, I wanted to because I felt
that my story of being a transgender athlete, and not seeing
other transgender men competing against men, I could provide
that example for other people so they could know that it was
possible. A big part of my experience is just wondering could I
even do this? I think it would have been a total game changer
for me to have seen someone doing what I wanted to do, to have
that example. If you can see it you can be it. I really wish that I
had had that role model, or that person to look to, in my process.
After I did my first Ironman race as male, I came out publicly
in The Advocate, and a little bit after that there was an article in
The New York Times, and I think thats what really was my big
public coming out.
MW: After you transitioned, how long did you have to wait before
you could compete as a male athlete?
MOSIER: The USA Triathlon, which governs U.S. races, and the
International Triathlon Union, which does the international
races, both follow the International Olympic Committee policy
guidelines on transgender participation. Previously, they fol-
lowed what was called the Stockholm Consensus. When I made
Team USA in 2015, I was ineligible to compete at the world stage
because of the Stockholm Consensus, which said that transgen-
der athletes needed to have a full lower surgery internal and
external genital modification in order to compete in interna-
28 JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY
tional competition.
I challenged that policy and in January of 2016 it was changed,
creating the more inclusive guidelines that said that transgender
men did not need to wait in order to participate. Trans men can
compete whether theyre taking hormones or not. Transgender
women have to wait one year of cross-hormone therapy, as
opposed to the previous guideline which said two years, and
[the IOC] struck down and removed the surgery requirement
completely, saying that it was a human rights violation.
MW: What can be done for trans student athletes, like Texas wres-
tler Mack Beggs, who are forced to compete according to their
biological sex?
MOSIER: I think that people saw in Mack Beggs case, that the
Texas policy was very wrong, and I think that people saw and
understood that it was really unfair for Mack. It was unfair to
be forced to have to choose to either wrestle with girls or not
wrestle at all, and as an athlete, a competitor, of course he chose
to wrestle. Nobodys been blaming Mack. Its a very bad policy in
Texas that put him in that position.
I think a big part of the issue in Texas is purely a lack of
education about transgender athletes and transgender people.
People have these stereotypes, these misconceptions, and none
of them are true.
For me, as an advocate, the best that I can do is highlight the
inequality in some of these policies, and the discrepancies in the
policy, and what would make the policy better. I can highlight
good policies and show how those are actually working to pro-
tect all students, and help to educate while advocating for the
participation and inclusion of all athletes, including transgender
athletes.
All young people should have access to sports, regardless of
their gender identity. Young people learn so many good things
from participating in sports, they gain so many skills and learn
so many good values, and its an important part of their physical,
mental, social, and intellectual development.
MW: Connecticut has pro-transgender policies, but people com-
plained after trans freshman Andraya Yearwood won titles in
girls track. How do we better educate people about trans athletes,
even in states with strong policies?
MOSIER: I think Andraya is a great example of a young person
who has the courage to continue to play the sport that they love
as a trans person. As we have more of these brave young athletes
with support systems that enable them to continue to be the
person that they know that they truly are, and play the sports
that they love, we will start to have more conversations about the
inclusion of transgender athletes.
Its complicated. Theres not just one way to be a transgen-
der athlete. My situation as a transgender man, particularly as
a transgender man taking testosterone, is very different than a
trans high school girl. I think that as we have all of these differ-
ent ways to be a transgender athlete, were going to need to have
conversations about each of them, because each case is different.
Its going to take time to educate people.
MW: How did you get involved with You Can Play?
MOSIER: Ive been a friend of You Can Play for many years, since
Ive been doing advocacy work. Previously, I was the director of
GO! Athletes, a national network of current and former LGBTQ
student athletes. In my work with GO! Athletes, and working
directly with the students, we often paired with You Can Play,
as they did panel discussions and workshops and things like that.
Ive been working peripherally with the organization through
GO! Athletes and Transathletes.com for several years. A posi-
tion opened up and it seemed like a perfect fit for the skills and
experiences that I had. It allowed me the amazing opportunity
to be a full-time advocate and to also focus on my training as a
transgender athlete. Before this, I was working in higher edu-
cation. I had a regular nine-to-five job, and was doing all this
advocacy work in my spare time, just as a passion. You Can Play
really been an amazing opportunity for me to match my passions
to my full-time gig.
MW: What are your main responsibilities?
MOSIER: My responsibility is to create our educational materi-
als. I think people know You Can Play for our visibility, for our
game nights, and for our partnerships with professional leagues.
What they may not know is the amazing education work that we
do in helping to fight against casual homophobia, and to create
safer and more inclusive spaces in
sports. I am responsible for creating
those materials, for our our college
I went to the Gay Games for the first time in
partnerships. We work with a lot of Cleveland. As a trans athlete, it was one of the
student athletes and coaches, so Im
responsible for that. most amazing sporting experiences of my life.
I also oversee our regional
boards. You Can Play relies on the
THE FEELING OF BEING SURROUNDED BY A
volunteer efforts of a lot of very pas- COMMUNITY OF OTHER LGBTQ ATHLETES STILL
sionate current and former athletes,
people who want to be involved in GIVES ME GOOSEBUMPS.
the sports equality movement. So we
have ways to help them fulfill their
participation, to be active in their local area. We have many
former athletes who have come out, who have experience in
advocacy, who want to be involved in the movement, and we
empower them to go to their former high schools or colleges,
or local sports leagues, to spread our message of inclusion and
respect in sports.
MW: Has homophobia in sports decreased?
MOSIER: Change happens over time. You Can Play is a relatively
young organization. Weve been doing this work since 2012, and
weve been taking steps to create change over time. First, we are
having conversations about how homophobic language is not
acceptable in professional sports. Ten years ago, players werent
fined for saying things. They werent being disciplined in the
same way for saying homophobic terms. We know that most ath-
letes know that thats not acceptable, and that teams and leagues
take action when something happens.
I think one of the really cool things is, if we see something
like this happen, if a player says something that they shouldnt
say, something thats homophobic or transphobic, theres an
educational moment that happens afterwards, where many of
these athletes become advocates and allies themselves later on.
A lot of the homophobia in sports is very casual. It has
become, over time, just a part of the culture of sports that people
have accepted. What were doing is shifting the perception of
what is acceptable in the culture of sports. Were challenging
that actively, not only in the locker rooms, but on the courts and
on the fields, saying this needs to be a safe and respectful place
for everyone, regardless of your sexual orientation and your
gender identity.
Were seeing more athletes step up as advocates, wearing the
equality shirts, making You Can Play videos, saying that they
would be representatives on their team to speak out against
homophobia. I think thats huge. Thats something that we
didnt see ten years ago. I think that theres a cultural shift thats
happening in sports. There are some lingering pieces of casual
homophobia that still exist, but I feel like we are seeing the slow
move of change in the right direction.
A great example is with America East Conference, a college
conference in the Northeast that is a partner of You Can Play,
and every single school in that conference does You Can Play
games. What we see is that the athletes have taken so much own-
ership over this partnership that they cant wait for their games.
They ask their coaches and their athletic directors, When is
your You Can Play game? They set up tables, they set up infor-
mation for people to sign on to do pledges, to combat homopho-
bia on campus. Theyve really taken the ownership of making
that partnership real and meaningful for the athletes. They also
have many out athletes in their league as a result of it. They have
athletes who feel safe and comfortable on their teams, who can
be their authentic self, because their teammates who are not part
of the LGBT community have stepped up and said, We want to
make this a safe place for everyone.
MW: What differentiates a You Can Play game from a regular
game?
MOSIER: A You Can Play game looks different depending on
what that mission is. Weve done You Can Play games with pro-
fessional sports teams, as well as college and high school teams,
but it really is a night to highlight the You Can Play message,
which is, If you can play, you can play. That all athletes are
judged on their ability and their desire to compete, their work
ethic, their competitive spirit, their skills, and not their sexual
orientation or their gender identity. Theres usually an educa-
tional component, where some facts and statistics are posted
so that people can see why this is important. Many of the teams
have customized rainbow color logo shirts, or spread the mes-
sage of You Can Play in some visual way. It could also be some-
thing like having LGBTQ members singing the national anthem.
Its similar to a pride event, its to highlight participation in the
LGBTQ community, and to show that sport is a safe place for all
people: athletes, coaches, and fans.
MW: Have professional sports made sufficient strides in being
accepting of LGBTQ people? We still dont really have many out
players in professional sports.
MOSIER: I think we need to stop focusing so much on being pub-
licly out. Being out is not the be-all, end-all to inclusion. While
we might not have publicly out people, we know that there are
out LGBTQ athletes, people who are out to their teams, and just
not out publicly.
What were seeing is that sport has become a more inclusive
space, and you really cant underestimate the impact and the
power that visibility has. I know that it would be important
for us to have out athletes, but just having these spaces where
we are highlighting and including the LGBTQ community in a
really meaningful way, in a You Can Play night, shows athletes,
coaches, and fans that it would be a safer, more respectable envi-
ronment than one might think.
We are extremely proud of partnerships that weve had with
JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY 29
professional sports teams and leagues, specifically the work that
weve done with the NHL this year. February was Hockey Is
For Everyone Month, and we had ambassadors for You Can
Play on every NHL team. I think thats not only a powerful ges-
ture, but a powerful activation, because it wasnt just for show.
These athletes really wanted to be outspoken advocates and
allies for the community. They volunteered for those positions. I
think that was really meaningful and important for the LGBTQ
community to see a sport like hockey take that step to actively
A LOT OF HOMOPHOBIA IN SPORTS IS VERY
CASUAL. It has become a part of the culture of
sports that people have accepted. Were saying
this needs to be a safe and respectful place for
everyone, regardless of your sexual orientation
and your gender identity.
advocate for inclusion in sports. And in a sport that many people
wouldnt guess would be at the cutting edge of inclusion. I think
thats really amazing work that theyve been doing in their part-
nership with You Can Play.
MW: The NCAA, the NBA and other associations have been crit-
icized for betraying the LGBTQ community by allowing North
Carolina to host events after the so-called repeal of the anti-
LGBTQ HB 2 law, which actually kept some of the laws worst
provisions in place. What are you doing to respond to such issues?
MOSIER: I personally was involved in fighting against HB 2 and
HB 142, and was publicly outspoken about my disappointment
in the NCAA returning there. As a transgender athlete, I felt
it was an extremely disappointing decision for them to return,
which really compromised the safety of members of the LGBTQ
community in a way that didnt align with what the NCAA says
its values are.
MW: Lets turn to your role in the Gay Games bid. A couple of years
ago, D.C. lost out to Cleveland for the 2014 Gay Games. Now,
were a finalist, along with Guadalajara and Hong Kong. Why is it
important to have D.C. host the games?
MOSIER: I went to the Gay Games for the first time in Cleveland.
As a trans athlete, I have to say, that was one of the most amazing
sporting experiences of my life, and I was really shocked that it
happened in Cleveland, of all places. The excitement, and the
buzz, and the feeling of being surrounded by a community of
other LGBTQ athletes at such an important event still gives me
goosebumps. It is an experience that I will never forget in my
entire life.
I can think of no better place for the games in 2022 than
Washington, D.C. Can you imagine playing sports with this sort
of iconic backdrop of the national monuments behind you? If
youre thinking of one location in the United States that rep-
resents inclusion, that has an international draw, it really is
Washington, D.C.
MW: How many people will the Gay Games draw to the city, if we
win?
MOSIER: I believe that, for the bid in Washington, D.C., we said
that Gay Games XI would draw between 12,000 and 15,000
competitors, and then upwards of 80,000 to 100,000 spectators
to the metro D.C. region. They estimate an economic impact of
30 JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY
over $100 million.
MW: Hosting an event like the Gay Games requires police presence,
public transportation, lodging, food and more. Has the D.C. bid
committee addressed all of those needs in its proposal?
MOSIER: Absolutely. Like I said, I can think of no better place
in the United States than Washington, D.C. to host Gay Games.
D.C. is a destination for many large-scale events, and has suc-
cessfully hosted large events in the past. The city itself is well-
equipped to handle the influx of people, and there are things for
those people to do that are easily accessible,
such as the free museums.
What Ive been most impressed with,
as a co-chair, is seeing how invested the
D.C. community is in getting this bid, and
making sure that the Gay Games come to
Washington D.C. One of the reasons this bid
is so strong is that it has the buy-in of the
community. Many of the sports at the Gay
Games have a Team DC-affiliated sports
team that will be involved in the actual
planning of the sport when the Games are
held in Washington. Its not just excitement
from the leadership structure, from the bid
committee, but its really filtering down to the teams that will be
competing.
The fact that the mayor has pledged support, and is a great
ally and advocate for the Gay Games, shows that its not just one
group that wants to bring them here. It really is the entire com-
munity. D.C. as a whole wants to host the Games. I think thats
really important, to have that buy-in from people in leadership
positions to say, Not only do we want to bring the Games here,
we want to make it the best Games ever.
MW: Was there any concern about whether anti-Trump sentiment
might hinder the bid?
MOSIER: I dont think so. Its almost a non-factor. In some ways,
Id even say its a motivating factor. What better way to show our
resilience, our power as a community, than to gather everyone
in that location, and have the games right there in the White
Houses back yard? It just shows that we are a lot more powerful,
a lot more resilient, and that we wont stop living our lives in a
meaningful way because of one persons policy-making.
MW: Will you be part of the delegation that goes to Paris and makes
the final presentation?
MOSIER: I sure hope so. Youll have to ask Brent Minor. We hav-
ent handed out the details of that yet, but Im just so excited and
enthusiastic about bringing the Gay Games to Washington, D.C.
We had such amazing Games in Cleveland, and I think about
what that experience was like for me in Cleveland, a place that I
wouldve never gone to otherwise. But Washington is a destina-
tion city for so many people. Outside of the Gay Games, there are
so many reasons to come to Washington, D.C., and it would just
be such an iconic location to host the Gay Games, to really bring
people together and celebrate participation, inclusion, and unity
amongst LGBTQ athletes. l
For more information on Washington, D.C.s bid to host Gay
Games XI in 2022, visit ggdc2022.org.
For information and resources to help support transgender
athletes, visit transathlete.com.
For more information on You Can Play,
visit youcanplayproject.org.
 FACEBOOK.COM/GGDC2022
Athletic Washington, D.C. is doing all it can to bring Gay Games XI to the nations capital in 2022
Supporters
A
FTER LOSING OUT TO CLEVELAND FOR THE
chance to host Gay Games IX in 2014, Brent Minor is
determined to make sure D.C. succeeds in 2022. D.C. is
the most visible city in the world, and the story of the Gay Games
needs to be heard and seen by as many people as possible, says
Minor, chair of Gay Games DC 2022, the executive committee
handling Washingtons bid.
We are a strong and experienced group that can ensure a
successful Gay Games, not just in terms of quality competitions,
but in terms of strong fundraising and strong attendance, he
says. And I think that would help the federation to ensure the
strength of the Gay Games movement for future generations.
The bid committee has only a few months before October,
when it must make a final presentation before the annual meet-
ing of the Federation of Gay Games in Paris the site of the
2018 Gay Games. In order to convince the FGG that D.C. should
be chosen over Guadalajara, Mexico, and Hong Kong, China, the
bid committee will be spending its summer months recruiting
more corporate sponsors, ensuring that its proposed venues are
all in order, and holding events to promote public support for
the games.
One such event is a Gay Games XI rally on Wednesday, June
28. The rally will feature political figures, including Mayor
Muriel Bowser, performances from the Gay Mens Chorus of
Washington, DC Different Drummers, and Cheer DC, as well as
an appearance by Briana Scurry, a two-time Olympic gold med-
alist and World Cup champion with the U.S. Womens Soccer
team.
The bid committee also plans to hold a progressive dinner
with three different embassies in D.C. to help raise money for
the bid, and is in talks with Town to bring in a big name for
a party that will serve as a send-off for the committee members
who will argue D.C.s case before the FGG.
Some sponsors of the bid will be donating their services to
help the process. Hilton, for example, is providing rooms to the
FGGs site inspection team when they examine D.C.s sporting
facilities later this summer.
Everybody is bringing what they do best to this bid. And
that is going to help us get through this process, says Minor,
adding that the bid has support from each of D.C.s 34 LGBTQ
sports teams.
We want each sports team to help raise money through this
bid with support from our liquor and beer sponsors, because we
want to be able to go to Paris and say every single team is sup-
porting this bid and not just with a letter. They all have skin
in the game, they want to see these games held here. Thats a big
statement in my mind. John Riley
The official Gay Games XI Rally is Wednesday, June 28, from 6
to 9 p.m. at the National Museum of the American Indian, 4th
Street and Independence Avenue SW. For more information, visit
ggdc2022.org.
JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY 31
 Scene
Team DCs Night OUT at The Nationals - Tuesday, June 13
Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

32 JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY

 Gallery
COLORED PENCIL SOCIETYS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION
A
SELECTION OF THE WORLDS MOST AMAZING
colored pencil works are featured at this 25th Annual
event juried by Joann Moser, the former senior cura-
tor of graphic arts at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
The exhibition highlights the versatility of this surprisingly
vibrant, distinct medium. Lest you doubt it, see the Texas-
Adrenaline by Jesse Lane
based artist Jesse Lane, whose attractive features and mus-
cular physique are brought to vivid, photographic-caliber
life through stunningly realized self-portraiture. Opening
Reception is Sunday, June 11, at 2 p.m. Runs to Aug. 6. The
Mansion at Strathmore, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda.
Free. Call 301-581-5100 or visit strathmore.org.
JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY 35
JOAN MARCUS
Stage

tour is the largely unhealthy, codepen-

Punked
Euan Morton makes an entertaining Hedwig, but you cant say
dent relationship between Hedwig and
Yitzhak (Hannah Corneau), her assistant
and backup singer.
Corneau makes the perfect foil to
the same for the current touring production By Doug Rule Mortons Hedwig: shy, self-effacing,
steady. Given the chance to belt, in The

H
Long Grift, its clear shes Mortons equal
EDWIG ROBINSON LOOKS A LITTLE LOST IN THE EISENHOWER in terms of talent. The two share a touch-
Theater. Youre likely to feel a little lost, too, especially if the national tour ing moment when Hedwig hands Yitzhak
of Hedwig and the Angry Inch ( ) is your first encounter with the her wig, a subtle sign suggesting a more
self-described slip of a girly boy who became the internationally ignored song stylist. promising future for the couple.
Euan Morton puts his all into the meaty role of this transgender force of nature, Still, theres plenty to appreciate about
oft-victimized but irrepressible and indefatigable. The actor is as sharp, quick-witted the production, starting with its setting
and charismatic as any who has come before him in the part from John Cameron on the abandoned stage of a failed pro-
Mitchell, who wrote the wildly imaginative script 20 years ago, to the man who brought duction of Hurt Locker: The Musical.
it into the Tony-winning mainstream three years ago, Neil Patrick Harris. The tour has gone out of its way to be
A Tony-nominated actor for his portrayal as Boy George in Taboo, Morton has punk- a localized, wholly up-to-date affair,
rock star pipes and presence, making him a natural fit to lead a five-piece band in the with references to the newly annoying
concert-style musical. Its too bad, then, that director Michael Mayer decided to drown H Street Corridor, Dupont Circle and
out the story by pumping up the lighting and sound to almost distracting extremes. Bethesda, as well as a few jabs at Donald
Its blustery to the point of confusing almost the moment Hedwig struts out on stage, Trump. Were all Melania now, Hedwig
following her band as it leads into Tear Me Down, the song that sets the stage for the laments.
evening. You cant miss the particulars of her situation, yet a fair portion of Mitchells Morton sees to it that the evening
clever lyrical wordplay and nuance gets lost in the excessively loud hubbub. The same becomes a worthwhile diversion. And
goes for much of the melodic and harmonic subtleties found in Stephen Trasks rich, he does a great job in service of Trasks
infectious glam-rock score. pop ballads that, in an earlier era, would
The amped-up camp adds energy and enthusiasm, but the show still drags as it have been chart-topping hits (The Origin
soldiers toward Hedwigs Lament and grows sloppy and unfocused. Hedwigs rela- of Love, Wicked Little Town). But if
tionship with Tommy Gnosis, the superstar who stole her heart and her songs but is youre already a fan, its not likely that his
never seen on stage, is shunted to the side and what we get instead in this national portrayal or this production will register

36 JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY

MARY MCCARTNEY
Music

When Ditto plays to her strengths,

Forward Motion
New albums from Beth Ditto and Lorde find both artists
Fake Sugar is excellent. She seems to be
working out what kind of artist she wants
to be the unevenness on the album is
forgivable. After all, she has proven her-
in search of new voices By Sean Maunier self again and again during her time with
Gossip. If Fake Sugar is any indication,

W
her solo career will be just as much fun
ITH ALL DUE RESPECT TO THE OTHER MEMBERS OF GOSSIP, to witness.
BETH Dittos voice, personality, and style always had a way of command-
ing most of the attention. And now that her band of 17 years has officially AMID THE SOARING arrangements and
split up, Ditto is free to set out on her own and explore some other avenues. On pop shimmer of Melodrama (HHHHH),
Fake Sugar, ( ) the familiar dance punk is gone, replaced by a sort of you might be tempted to ask, what exactly
indie-rockabilly. Her old bands political overtones, if they are there at all, are much happened to Lorde? Where are the sparse
less obvious. The whole thing may be distinctly more radio-friendly, but Ditto, a vocals and minimal drum beats of Pure
self-described fat, feminist lesbian, is as confident and defiant as ever. Heroine? Where has our goth princess
At its best, Fake Sugar is a powerful solo debut. In its most well-realized moments, gone? The answer seems to be that like
Ditto embraces her Southern roots, returning with a more sympathetic eye to the so many former teenage goth princesses,
region she once fled. Many of the songs have an anxious, atmospheric feel to them Lorde has grown up, become a bit more
that seems to draw on Southern Gothic. Its a little bit rural Arkansas and a little bit self aware, and picked up a healthy sense
New Orleans at midnight. Her full, powerful voice, always distinct in Gossip, suits the of self-deprecation along the way.
aesthetic well, whether she is belting out lyrics to Oo La La, gliding over the hazy, Breakup albums has been done count-
haunting guitar of Savoir Faire, or growling on the folklore-inspired single Fire. less times in countless ways, but oddly
Fake Sugar is at least partly about Ditto trying to define a post-Gossip identity for enough, Lorde has added some genuine
herself. Shes trying a lot of things on the album, though at times might be trying to do complexity to the format. Just like any
too much. Especially on the second half of the album, Ditto begins to give the feeling breakup, Melodrama is frequently messy
that she began with too many ideas and wasnt sure where she wanted to take them. and self-indulgent, but the title itself is a
Tracks like We Could Run veer a little too much into indie pop anthem territory, sign of the wry self-awareness that runs
which might have been fine on another album, but late into Fake Sugar, they seem out through the album. The breakup is clearly
of place. They do the job of once again highlighting Dittos stellar voice, but unfortu- a melodramatic mess, but Lorde knows it,
nately, they do so by dragging out their choruses to the point of awkwardness. and more importantly, knows we know

JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY 37

 it too. on its surface,
We find Lorde was all about a
wrestling with disengagement
the question of from the world
whether or not to of pop. It sought
care, whether to an escape from
mourn the rela- spectacle and
tionship or shrug artifice into a
it off and charge private world
forward into shared between
adult life. At first, a couple. On
she opts to do Melodrama,
the former. She Lorde turns the
thinks you like idea on its head,
the beach/youre signalling an
such a liar, she escape into the
spits on the venomous opener, Green Light. Boisterous, ener- spotlight from the ashes of that private world. With her rela-
getic tracks like this one, along with Homemade Dynamite tionship over, she is free to embrace an artform that gives her
and Supercut, are Lorde at her most distant from her earlier permission to address, explore and wallow in the mess of emo-
work. With a hand from producer Jack Antonoff, she has found a tions left in the aftermath.
sound that is warmer, brighter, more celebratory. Melodrama is After attaining fame at 16, it would have been understandable
the most fun when Lorde is indulging the more cathartic side of if Lorde had felt she had something to prove, now that shes
things, but thanks in part to Antonoffs arrangements, the excite- reached her twenties. She could have made a very serious record
ment is balanced by feelings of loneliness and confusion that to prove to everyone that shes now a very mature adult and a
mark the more nakedly introspective tracks like The Louvre, very serious artist. Fortunately for us, shes opted to have some
and the mournful piano ballad Liability. fun with her introspection, allowing Melodrama to speak for
To see just how much the artist has evolved since her debut, itself, and letting other people worry about how much she has
compare Melodrama to her first big single. Royals, at least grown up. l

Melodrama and Fake Sugar are available for purchase from Amazon.com and iTunes, as well as various on streaming services.
JOAN MARCUS

as your favorite Hedwig whether your previous exposure was always the movie, starring Mitchell himself.
Signature Theatres 2002 outing that snagged Rick Hammerly a If Hedwig makes newcomers eager to take in that noteworthy
Helen Hayes Award, or even the scrappy version from 2009 by 2001 musical film, well, as Hedwig herself might say, there are
the now-defunct No Rules Theatre Company. And then, theres much, much worse things in life. l

Hedwig and the Angry Inch runs to July 2 in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $59 to $159.
Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

38 JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY

NightLife Photography by
Ward Morrison

JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY 39

 Scene
Baltimore Eagle Post-Pride Party - Saturday, June 17
Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

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and Any Red Bull Flavor for Videos, featuring VJ Tre,
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any COBALT/30 DEGREES
NELLIES SPORTS BAR ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS $7 all day long thebalti- 9pm-close
drink, 5-9pm Multiple Happy Hour: $6 Top
Beat the Clock Happy Hour All male, nude dancers moreeagle.com
TVs showing movies, Shelf, $3 Rail, $3 Bud
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), DJ 9pm Cover 21+ NELLIES SPORTS BAR
shows, sports Expanded Light, 4-9pm Locker
$4 (7-8pm) Buckets of COBALT/30 DEGREES DJ Matt Bailer Videos,
craft beer selection Room Thursday Nights,
Beer $15 Drag Bingo All You Can Drink Happy Dancing Beat the Clock
Music videos featuring 10pm-close $3 Rail
DJ Wess Drinks, 10pm-midnight, $5
NUMBER NINE
Friday, Hour $15 Rail and
Domestic, $21 Call &
Happy Hour $2 (5-6pm),
$3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm)
Red Bull and Frozen Virgin June 23
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any Imports, 6-9pm Fancy Buckets of Beer $15
BALTIMORE EAGLE Drinks DJs Sean Morris
drink, 5-9pm No Cover Ass Fridays, 10pm $6
Happy Hour, 5-9pm, and MadScience Best 9 1/2
Grey Goose all night NUMBER NINE
all liquors, beers and Package Contest at mid- Open at 5pm Happy
SHAWS TAVERN Two 30-minute open bars Open 5pm Happy Hour:
wines up to 50% off night, hosted by BaNaka & Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink,
Happy Hour, 4-7pm $3 featuring Grey Goose, 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
$3 Well Drinks All Night Kristina Kelly $200 Cash 5-9pm Friday Night
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, 11-11:30pm and 1-1:30am No Cover Friday Night
Underwear Night, Prize Doors open 10pm, Videos, 9:30pm Rotating
$5 Rails and House Wines DJ MadScience Piano with Chris, 7:30pm
9pm-2am For men 21+ $5 Cover or free DJs Expanded craft beer
& Half-Priced Pizzas $4 upstairs DJ Keenan Orr
in underwear, all well with college ID selection No Cover
Heineken and Coronas, downstairs $10 cover SHAWS TAVERN
drinks $2 from 9pm-12am
5pm-close Paint Night, 10pm-close 21+ Happy Hour, 4-7pm $3
ONLY Best Underwear FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Second Floor, 7pm Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
Contest at Midnight Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
$5 Rails and House Wines
Code enforced in Code Bar Karaoke, 8pm
& Half-Priced Pizzas
after 9pm Beige Hip-Hop
Dance Party, featuring

JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY 41

 TOWN
Patio open 6pm DC Bear
Saturday,
Crue Happy Hour, 6-11pm June 24
$3 Rail, $3 Draft, $3 Bud
Bottles Free Pizza, 7pm 9 1/2
No cover before 9:30pm Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
21+ Drag Show starts drink, 2-9pm $5 Absolut
at 10:30pm Hosted by & Titos, $3 Miller Lite
Lena Lett and featuring after 9pm Expanded
Miss Tatianna, Shi- craft beer selection
Queeta-Lee, Riley Knoxx No Cover
and BaNaka DJ Wess
upstairs, DJs BacK2bACk BALTIMORE EAGLE
downstairs following the $5 Drinks all day Leather
show GoGo Boys after and Fetish Saturdays, Code
11pm Doors open at Bar, 8pm-2am Code
10pm For those 21 and enforced after 9pm in the
over, $12 For those Code Bar DILF, 9pm-2am
18-20, $15 Club: 18+ Dance Party in the Nest,
Patio: 21+ 9:30-2am thebalti-
moreeagle.com
TRADE
Doors open 5pm Huge COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: Any drink Drag Yourself to Brunch
normally served in a cock- at Level One, 11am-2pm
tail glass served in a huge and 2-4pm Featuring
glass for the same price, Kristina Kelly and the
5-10pm Beer and wine Ladies of Illusion
only $4 Bottomless Mimosas and
Bloody Marys Happy
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS Hour: Tops Down $6 Top
Men of Secrets, 9pm Shelf, Bottoms Up $3 Rail,
Guest dancers Rotating $3 Bud Light, 4-9pm
DJs Ladies of Illusion Arabian Nights Returns,
Drag Show Doors at 10pm-close Doors open
9pm, Shows at 11:30pm 10pm $5 Cover 21+
and 1:30am DJ Don T. in
Ziegfelds Cover 21+

42 JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY

FREDDIES BEACH BAR SHAWS TAVERN
Brunch with Bottomless
Drag Queen Broadway
Brunch, 10am-3pm Mimosas, 10am-3pm
Starring Freddies Happy Hour, 5-7pm $3 of Illusion Drag Show
Broadway Babes Crazy Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
Hour, 4-7pm Freddies $5 Rails and House Wines
Follies Drag Show, hosted & Half-Priced Pizzas
by Miss Destiny B. Childs,
8-10pm Karaoke, TOWN
10pm-close Doors open 10pm CTRL
DC: Bababall upstairs,
GREEN LANTERN 11pm-close Featuring
Happy Hour, 4-9pm $5
Bacardi, all flavors, all
DJs Jeff Prior, Devon
Trotter and Adam Koussari-
night long JOX: The Amin DJ Wess down-
GL Underwear Party, stairs Sasha Velour per-
9pm-close $5 Cover forms in the Drag Show
(includes clothes check) Doors open 9pm for Meet
and Greet with Sasha
NELLIES SPORTS BAR (ticket required) Drag
Guest DJs Zing Zang Show starts at 10:30pm
Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer, Hosted by Lena Lett and
House Rail Drinks and featuring Tatianna, Shi-
Mimosas, $4, 11am-5pm Queeta-Lee, Riley Knoxx
Buckets of Beer, $15 and BaNaka Cover $15
from 10pm-midnight and
NUMBER NINE $12 after midnight 21+
Doors open 2pm Happy
Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, TRADE
2-9pm $5 Absolut and Doors open 12pm Huge
$5 Bulleit Bourbon Happy Hour: Any drink
Jawbreaker, featuring DJs normally served in a cock-
BacK2bACk, 9:30pm tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
12-10pm Beer and wine
only $4
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
Men of Secrets, 9pm-4am
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $6 Top Shelf,
ROCK HARD SUNDAYS
@The House Nightclub
Monday,
Guest dancers Ladies $3 Rail, $3 Bud Light, 3530 Georgia Ave. NW June 26
4-9pm $4 Stoli, Stoli Diverse group of all
with host Ella Fitzgerald Flavors and Bud Light male, all nude dancers 9 1/2
Doors at 9pm, Shows all night Homowood Nonstop on three stages, Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
at 11:30pm and 1:30am Karaoke, hosted by Robert 9:30pm-close Intimate drink, 5-9pm Multiple
DJ Don T. in Ziegfelds Bise, 10pm-close setting Doors open 9pm TVs showing movies,
DJ Steve Henderson in $12 Cover For reserva- shows, sports Expanded
Secrets Cover 21+ FREDDIES BEACH BAR tions, call 202-487-6646 craft beer selection
Champagne Brunch rockharddc.com No Cover
Buffet, 10am-3pm Crazy
Sunday, Hour, 4-7pm Karaoke,
8pm-1am
SHAWS TAVERN
Brunch with Bottomless
BALTIMORE EAGLE
Happy Hour, 5-9pm, all
June 25 Mimosas, 10am-3pm liquors, beers and wines up
GREEN LANTERN Stoli Sundays: $5 Stoli to 50% off Micro Brew
9 1/2 Happy Hour, 4-9pm Specials with DJ, 3:30pm Draft/Bottle Mondays
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any Mamas Trailer Park Happy Hour, 5-7pm $3 $4 all day SIN: Service
drink, 2-9pm Multiple Karaoke, downstairs, Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, Industry Night, 11pm-2am
TVs showing movies, 9:30pm-close $5 Rails and House Wines First Well Drink or
shows, sports Expanded & Half-Priced Pizzas Domestic Beer Free 10%
craft beer selection NELLIES SPORTS BAR off your Food Order all day
No Cover Drag Brunch, hosted by TRADE thebaltimoreeagle.com
Shi-Queeta-Lee, 11am-3pm Doors open 12pm Huge
BALTIMORE EAGLE $20 Brunch Buffet Happy Hour: Any drink COBALT/30 DEGREES
T-Dance Sundays, 4-9pm House Rail Drinks, Zing normally served in a cock- Happy Hour: $6 Top Shelf,
Buy a cup for $5 and fill Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie tail glass served in a huge $3 Rail, $3 Bud Light,
it with any Absolut Flavor Beer and Mimosas, $4, glass for the same price, 4-9pm Monday Nights
and Mixer for $3 each time 11am-close Buckets of 12-10pm Beer and wine A Drag, featuring Miss
(excluding energy drink Beer, $15 only $4 Kristina Kelly Doors open
mixers) Furry Happy at 10pm Showtime at
Hour, 4-9pm thebalti- NUMBER NINE ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS 11:30pm Doors open at
moreeagle.com Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on All male, nude dancers 10pm No Cover 21+
any drink, 2-9pm Pop Decades of Dance DJ
Goes the World with Wes Tim-e in Secrets Doors FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Della Volla at 9:30pm 9pm Cover 21+ Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
No Cover Singles Night Karaoke,
8pm
JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY 43
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour all night long
Open Mic Night Karaoke
with Kevin, 9:30pm-close
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Beat the Clock Happy Hour
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) Buckets of
Beer $15 Texas Holdem craft beer selection
Poker, 8pm Dart Boards
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm No Cover
SHAWS TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 Rails and House Wines
and Half-Priced Pizzas
Trivia with Jeremy, 7:30pm
TRADE
Doors open 5pm Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cock-
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
5-10pm Beer and wine
only $4
44 JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY
Tuesday, GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour all night long,
June 27 4pm-close
9 1/2 NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any Beat the Clock Happy Hour
drink, 5-9pm Multiple $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
TVs showing movies, $4 (7-8pm) Buckets of
shows, sports Expanded Beer $15 Karaoke and shows, sports Expanded
Drag Bingo craft beer selection
No Cover
NUMBER NINE
BALTIMORE EAGLE Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
Happy Hour, 5-9pm, all drink, 5-9pm No Cover
liquors, beers and wines After 9pm, $3 Absolut,
up to 50% off Well Bulleit & Stella
Bomb Shots $4 all Day
thebaltimoreeagle.com SHAWS TAVERN
Half-Priced Burgers and
COBALT/30 DEGREES Pizzas, 5-10pm $5 House
Happy Hour all night: $6 Wines and $5 Sam Adams
Top Shelf, $3 Rail, $3
Bud Light SIN Service TRADE
Industry Night, 10pm-close Doors open 5pm Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
FREDDIES BEACH BAR normally served in a cock-
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm tail glass served in a huge
Karaoke, 8pm glass for the same price,
5-10pm Beer and wine
only $4
Wednesday, FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm $6
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
June 28 Burgers Drag Bingo drink, 5-9pm No Cover
Night, hosted by Ms.
9 1/2 Regina Jozet Adams, 8pm SHAWS TAVERN
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any Bingo prizes Karaoke, Happy Hour, 4-7pm $3
drink, 5-9pm Multiple 10pm-1am Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
TVs showing movies, $5 Rails and House Wines
GREEN LANTERN and Half-Priced Pizzas
Happy Hour all night long, Piano Bar with Jill, 8pm
No Cover 4pm-close Bear Yoga
with Greg Leo, 6-7pm TRADE
BALTIMORE EAGLE $10 per class Doors open 5pm Huge
Happy Hour, 5-9pm, Happy Hour: Any drink
all liquors, beers and NELLIES SPORTS BAR normally served in a cock-
wines up to 50% off SmartAss Trivia Night, 8pm tail glass served in a huge
Domestic Bottles are $3 and 9pm Prizes include glass for the same price,
all day Fetlife: The Next bar tabs and tickets to 5-10pm Beer and wine
Generation, 8pm thebal- shows at the 9:30 Club only $4 l
timoreeagle.com $15 Buckets of Beer for
SmartAss Teams only
COBALT/30 DEGREES Bring a new team member
Happy Hour: $6 Top Shelf, and each get a free $10
$3 Rail, $3 Bud Light, Dinner
4-9pm $4 Stoli and Stoli
Flavors and Miller Lite
all night Wednesday
Night Karaoke, hosted
by India Larelle Houston,
10pm-close No Cover
21+
JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY 45
 LastWord.
People say the queerest things

Trans and LGBTQ folks are still experiencing a lot of discrimination in this country and
our lives should be acknowledged.
LAVERNE COX, speaking on The View about Donald Trumps refusal to issue a proclamation for Pride Month. Asked why she
thought Trump hadnt recognized Pride Month, Cox jokingly responded, Well, hes really busy. Hes now under investigation,
so...hes got a lot to deal with.

By adopting such laws, the authorities had

reinforced stigma and prejudice
and encouraged homophobia.
THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS, ruling that Russias gay propaganda law is discriminatory. Judges argued that Russia
had discriminated against three gay rights activists who brought the law before the court. The ECHR called the law,
passed in 2013, incompatible with the values of a democratic society.

This gay rights movement is ungodly,

its from the pit of hell.
DENISE WALKER, of Everlasting Light Ministries, addressing the National Organization for Marriages March for Marriage, attend-
ed by just 50 people according to Right Wing Watch. NOMs president blamed the pitiful turnout on scheduling and permit issues.

No one is going to assume

the big football player is gay.
Its why a football team is such a good place to hide.

RYAN OCALLAGHAN, former NFL player for the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs, coming out publicly in an interview
with OutSports. OCallaghan hid his sexuality for fear of his conservative family rejecting him, even considering suicide should his
sports career end. In high school, football turned into a way to go to college, he said. In college football was a great cover for
being gay. And then I saw the NFL mainly as a way to keep hiding my sexuality and stay alive.

I haveNovember
had connections to about as many homophobic incidents since
2016 as I have in my entire 11 years being out.

Toxic masculinity is everywhere.

JEFF DELUCA, legislative assistant to North Carolina Senator Jay Chaudhuri, in a Facebook post. DeLuca and Michael Wilson,
assistant to a state Rep. Chaz Beasley, were in The Architect in Raleigh when a man took issue with their sexuality and physically
threatened them. After reporting the incident, an employee told the men to Save the drama for your mama. The owner has
since fired the employee and said all are welcome at The Architect and we intend to keep it that way.

46 JUNE 22, 2017 METROWEEKLY