CONTENTS

JULY 20, 2017 Volume 24 Issue 12

17 PRIDE RIDES
The annual Pride Splash & Ride lets queer D.C. take
over Six Flags for a day of fun

By John Riley

WIGGING OUT!
Studio Theatre enters the world of LGBTQ ballroom
culture with a thrilling, immersive production of
Tarell Alvin McCraneys poetic masterpiece

Exclusive Photographs by Todd Franson

and Julian P. Vankim
20
33 MEIN HAIR
Roundabouts Cabaret sizzles with sexuality, while
Studios Wig Out! is snatched for the gods

By Andr Hereford

SPOTLIGHT: KINSEY SICKS p.7 OUT ON THE TOWN p.10

BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS: SYNETIC THEATER p.13 WATER BASED: CIRQUE ITALIA p.14
COMMUNITY: PRIDE SPLASH & RIDE p.17 COVER STORY: WIGGING OUT! p.20
FILM: DUNKIRK p.31 STAGE: CABARET p.33 STAGE: WIG OUT! P.34
GAMES: SUPERHOT p.35 NIGHTLIFE p.37 SCENE: MIXTAPE AT TOWN p.37
LISTINGS p.39 SCENE: GAY/BASH AT TRADE p.44 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 Willi Ninja Cover Photography Todd Franson

Metro Weekly 1775 I St. NW, Suite 1150 Washington, DC 20006 202-638-6830
All material appearing in Metro Weekly is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publishers. Metro Weekly assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials submitted for publication. All such submissions are subject to
editing and will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Metro Weekly is supported by many fine advertisers, but we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers, nor can we accept responsibility for materials provided by advertisers or their
agents. Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles or advertising in Metro Weekly is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such person or organization.
2017 Jansi LLC.

JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY 5

 Spotlight
TONY VIRGO

Sicks & Stones

The Kinsey Sicks are back, singing things that would make a Jewish mother turn borscht red

T
HIS SHOW HAS GOTTEN THE BEST REACTION OF
any show weve done in twenty-four years. Im not going
to be shy, says Ben Schatz, an original founding member
of The Kinsey Sicks. I believe the appropriate phrase is, This is
a fucking amazing show. After last Decembers smash run of Oy
Vey in a Manger, the a cappella drag quartet returns to Theater J
with Things You Shouldnt Say. It has more vulnerability. Its a
hilarious show that, in some places, is heartbreaking.
The Trump administration and its increasingly dire impact
on the world has been a source of comedic gold for the provoc-
ative quartet.
I was talking to a journalist from a Scottish newspaper
right before this call and was like, The demise of the world has
been great for our career, he says. Our group was formed in
the darkest days of the AIDS crisis, and that is the DNA of our
comedy. Its comedy with an edge. Its comedy that comes from
pain and anger and an outsider status. Weve never forgotten
that. Things were looking more comfortable for a while, and
now theyre looking pretty bleak. After this show, more than any
other, people just want to stick around and talk to us. They want
to hug us.
But not always. We did a show in Palm Springs and someone
came up and said, Why arent you an equal opportunity destroy-
er? Why dont you make more jokes about Democrats? Why
always Republicans? Well, you dont have to be neutral. This
isnt the FCC, where you have to give equal time to everybody.
We have a point of view. He admits, though, that humor abso-
lutely can go too far, during a frank discussion of the debacle
involving Kathy Griffin and a photo that showed her holding the
dismembered head of President Trump.
Ive given a lot of thought to this, he says. Its a cop-out to
say, Im just being funny, its just a joke. Humor is just another
form of communication, and its a form of communication based
on surprise. I dont buy the you can say anything was a joke
thing. Every human being is responsible for the words that come
out of their mouths, and every one of us screw it up sometimes....
But comedy, when really done well, makes people see things in a
way they wouldnt have otherwise. Randy Shulman

The Kinsey Sicks perform Things You Shouldnt Say through July 30 at Theater J, 1529 16th St. NW.
Tickets are $47. Call 202-777-3210 or visit theaterj.org.

JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY 7

 Spotlight

LADY DAY AT EMERSONS

BAR AND GRILL
Lanie Robertsons play with music focuses on the
life of jazz legend Billie Holiday, taking place at a
run-down bar in South Philadelphia a few months
before Holidays death. Tom Flatt directs star
Anya Nebel and a live jazz combo with additional
accompaniment by LeVar Betts. Now to Aug. 6.
Anacostia Playhouse, 2020 Shannon Place SE.
Tickets are $30 to $40. Call 202-241-2539 or visit
MICHAEL DUBOIS

anacostiaplayhouse.com.

DIANA ROSS
Earlier this year, we had the
chance to see a bona fide legend
in concert (that would be Barbra).
Why not go for a twofer with
Diana Ross, who, even after all
these years, still has the pipes, the
power, and the stage charisma to
bring an audience to its knees or
to its feet. The Lady returns to the
area to relive her Motown hits and
disco classics on Tuesday, July
25, at 8 p.m. The Filene Center
at Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap Road,
Vienna. Tickets are $35 to $85.
Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit
wolftrap.org.

FORDS THEATRES
HISTORY ON FOOT
A local actor offers the guided tour Investigation:
Detective McDevitt, portraying Detective James
McDevitt, a D.C. police officer patrolling a half-
block from Fords Theatre the night President
Lincoln was shot. Written by Richard Hellesen and
directed by Mark Ramont, the 1.6-mile walking tour
revisits and reexamines the sites and clues from
the investigation into the assassination. Tours are
offered approximately three evenings a week at 6:45
p.m. Fords Theatre, 511 10th St. NW. Tickets are
$17. Call 202-397-7328 or visit fords.org.

8 JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY

ARTSCAPE

Out On The Town

ARTSCAPE
Billed as the nations largest free arts festival, Artscape attracts more than 350,000 people to Baltimore neighborhoods
Bolton Hill and Station North to take in fine/textile art in every medium from visual to fashion to sculpture, with more
than 150 artists represented. There are also multiple stages offering performances of live music from regional and nationally
known acts. Maryland restaurants and bars also participate in an event co-produced by the Baltimore Office of Promotion
and the Arts and the Baltimore Festival of the Arts. This years theme is Camp Artscape: Adventure Awaits. Friday, July 21,
through Sunday, July 23. Mount Royal Avenue and Cathedral Street, Baltimore. Free. Call 410-752-8632 or visit artscape.org.

Compiled by Doug Rule
FILM
ARRIVAL
On the surface, Arrival appears to be
yet another film about first contact
with aliens, but it quickly deepens
into something far more profound,
permeating almost every conceiv-
able level. A lot of this has to do
with star Amy Adams, magnificent
as a linguist brought in to decipher
an alien language. Later this year,
well see director Denis Villeneuves
latest work, Blade Runner 2049,
which should be the pinnacle film
of 2017. For now, relive this eight-
time Oscar-nominated work, one of
the best of last year, as part of the
Capitol Riverfront Outdoor Film
Series. Thursday, July 27. Gates
open at 6:30 p.m. with screening at
sundown, approximately 8:30 p.m.
Visit capitolriverfront.org. (Randy
Shulman)
GIRLS TRIP
Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith,
Regina Hall and Tiffany Haddish
lead this R-rated comedy about four
friends reuniting for a trip to New
Orleans Essence Festival. Expect
sex, swearing, alcohol, handsome
men, and pretty much all the other
good things in life. Opens Friday,
July 21. Area theaters. Visit fandan-
go.com. (RM)
HIDDEN FIGURES, LA LA LAND
Two of last years most noteworthy
films screen back to back as part of
this summers week-long Bethesda
Outdoor Movies series. First up is
Hidden Figures, on Friday, July 21,
starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia
Spencer and Janelle Monae. The
Oscar-nominated, feel-good drama
focuses on the untold story of three
female African-American NASA
employees, who helped launch
astronaut John Glenn into orbit.
Then, on Saturday, July 22, comes
Damien Chazelles old-fashioned
movie musical La La Land, featur-
ing an an infectious score and a
lithe, lovely performances by Emma
Stone. Screenings start at 9 p.m. on
both nights. Woodmont Triangle,
corner of Norfolk and Auburn
Avenues. Free. Call 301-215-6660 or
visit bethesda.org.
VALERIAN & THE CITY OF A
THOUSAND PLANETS
Based on the multi-million sell-
ing French comic Valrian and
Laureline, Luc Bessons sci-fi epic
follows Valerian (Dane DeHaan)
and Laureline (Cara Delevingne),
two special operatives tasked with
maintaining order in the universe.
Naturally, order is not maintained,
as intergalactic city Alpha with
residents from every corner of the
universe descends into chaos
when unseen forces threaten the
very existence of the human race.
Opens Friday, July 21. Area the-
aters. Visit fandango.com. (RM)
STAGE
ANNE & EMMETT
MetroStage presents a return
engagement of Janet Langhart
Cohens play that imagines a con-
versation between two famous teen-
age victims of racial intolerance and
hatred, Anne Frank and Emmett Till.
Styled as an uplifting tribute, Anne &
Emmett, which the Alexandria the-
ater offered in 2015 and has since
been performed around the country,
is a reminder and a call to action to
repair the world, or tikkun olam
in Hebrew. Opens Friday, July 28.
Runs to July 30. MetroStage, 1201
North Royal St., Alexandria. Tickets
are $35. Call 703-548-9044 or visit
metrostage.org.
CAPITAL FRINGE FESTIVAL
The 85 productions in this years
Fringe Festival arent curated,
with available slots filled on a first-
come, first-served basis, but that
shouldnt stop you from taking a
plunge. Shows with LGBTQ interest
include Melissa Kaplans Daggers
Mackenzie, a one-woman, lesbi-
an, knife-juggling rock opera, and
Penny Sterlings compelling Spy
in the House of Men, a one-wom-
an show about a woman who was
conceived with a pesky Y chro-
mosome and crashed the party in
the prosperous yet hidebound little
town of Corning, New York. The
festival runs to July 30. The Logan
Fringe Arts Space, at 1358 Florida
Ave. NE, serves as the central hub,
but performances are in various
locations. Tickets are $17 per show,
plus a one-time purchase of a $7
Fringe button. Multi-show passes

10 JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY


MADHAVI ARTS PHOTOGRAPHY
PRAKRITI DANCE
The Faces of Goddess Earth visualizes the spiritual
cycle from creation to liberation and centers on
the earth goddess Garbini. Founded by co-artis-
tic directors Kasi Aysola and Madhvi Venkatesh,
Prakriti uses the movement of vocabulary of the
Indian classical dance form Bharata Natyam to
communicate inspirations from nature, philosophy
and human experience, explored through multifac-
eted presentations interwoven with lyrics, dance
and visual design. Saturday, July 22, at 8 p.m., and
Sunday, July 23, at 7 p.m. Dance Place, 3225 8th St.
NE. Tickets are $25 in advance, or $30 at the door.
Call 202-269-1600 or visit danceplace.org.
12 JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY
range from $60 to $320. Call 866-
811-4111 or visit capitalfringe.org.
MY FAIR LADY
The Lerner and Loewe classic, adapt-
ed 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. Extended to Aug. 6. Olney
Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy
Spring Road, Olney, Md. Call 301-924-
3400 or visit olneytheatre.org.
OBLIVION
A wry look at the nature of belief in
our current changing times, Carly
Menschs comedy focuses on a sec-
ular Brooklyn couple who become
unmoored when their 17-year-
old daughter decides to become a
Christian. Presented by Unexpected
Stage, the play challenges assump-
tions about parenting, religion and
the nature of spirituality. Zach
Brewster-Geisz, Jonathan Frye,
Ruthie Rado and Mindy Shaw star.
To Aug. 6. The Fireside Room in the
River Road Unitarian Universalist
Congregation, 6301 River Road in
Bethesda. Tickets are $10 to $27.50.
Call 301-337-8290 or visit unex-
pectedstage.org.
THE ORIGINALIST
Two years after its world pre-
miere and a year after its subject
died Arena Stage revives John
Strands play about one of the big-
gest enemies to the LGBTQ cause
and civil rights in general: Supreme
Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Helen
Hayes Award-winner Edward Gero
reprises his critically-acclaimed
role. To July 30. In Arenas Kreeger
Theater, 1101 6th St. SW. Call 202-
488-3300 or visit arenastage.org.
THURGOOD
George Stevens, Jr. wrote this play
about the first African-American
Supreme Court Justice, portrayed
by Brian Anthony Wilson. Walter
Dallas directs Brian Anthony
Wilson in a one-man show that
explores the long journey toward
justice that began with Brown v.
Board of Education. In previews.
Opens Saturday, July 22, at 7:45
p.m. Runs to Aug. 20. Mulitz-
Gudelsky Theatre Lab at Olney
Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy
Spring Road, Olney, Md. Call 301-
924-3400 or visit olneytheatre.org.
MUSIC
CREATIVE CAULDRON CABARET
The summer cabaret series at
ArtSpace Falls Church runs every
weekend through September 23 and
features shows by Kathy Halenda,
Dani Stoller, Jim Van Slyke, Clifton
Walker III, Will Mark Stevenson,
and Stephen Gregory Smith.
The series continues with Helen
Hayes Award winner Iyona Blake
in People, on Friday, July 21,
and Saturday, July 22, at 8 p.m.,
and Sandy Bainum Is Still Ever
Blondeward, a tribute to a bevy
of blondes, from Marilyn Monroe
to Barbara Cook to Doris Day, on
Friday, July 28, and Saturday, July
29, at 8 p.m. ArtSpace Falls Church,
410 South Maple Ave. in Falls
Church. Tickets are $18 to $20 per
show, or $55 for a table for two with
wine and $110 for four with wine.
Call 703-436-9948 or visit creative-
cauldron.org.
GREENSKY BLUEGRASS
The five-piece, string-based jam
band from Kalamazoo, Michigan,
tours in support of Shouted, Written
Down & Quoted, a passionate, romp-
ing set released last fall. The pro-
gressive bluegrass group, which
alternately styles itself as either a
drum-less rock band or a rock-and-
roll bluegrass band, is known for its
fiery live show, and fans who travel
the country to see them are referred
to as Campers. After an impressive
feat of selling out a three-night run
at the 9:30 Club in February, the
group, led by mandolin player Paul
Hoffman and guitarist Dave Bruzza,
was tapped as the first to head-
line Merriweathers new Chrysalis
Stage, across the lawn from the
storied, 50-year-old pavilion.
Saturday, July 22. Gates at 4:30 p.m.
Merriweather Park at Symphony
Woods, 10475 Little Patuxent
Parkway in Columbia, Md. Tickets
are $40. Call 800-551-SEAT or visit
merriweathermusic.com.
NSO@WOLF TRAP:
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA
Kelly Corcoran conducts the
National Symphony Orchestra and
the Linked Vocal Ensemble in an
exploration of the innovative music
and mesmerizing moments from
the hit videogame series. Footage
from the games will be displayed
on giant, high-definition screens
in-house and on the lawn at the
Filene Center. Fans are encouraged
to dress up. Saturday, July 22, at
8:30 p.m. Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap
Road, Vienna. Tickets are $35 to
$58. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit
wolftrap.org.
REGINA SPEKTOR, BEN FOLDS
NPR has called them cathar-
tic pop prodigies, and now the
classically minded singer-song-
writers are teaming up for a one-
night-only concert under the stars.
Wednesday, July 26, at 8 p.m. The
Filene Center at Wolf Trap, 1551
Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $35
to $65. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or
visit wolftrap.org.
SIGNATURES SIZZLIN SUMMER
NIGHTS CABARET SERIES
Signatures annual cabaret series
features mostly musical actors
known from productions at the
Shirlington complex. Among those
performing in the series final week-
end: Liam Forde with A Jubilee on
Thursday, July 20, at 8 p.m., Robbie
Schaefer with Coming Home on
Friday, July 21, at 7 and 9 p.m., Sam
Ludwig & David Landstrom with
You and Me, But Mostly Me, on
Saturday, July 22, at 7 p.m., and the
perennially popular Revenge of the
Understudies on Saturday, July 22,
at 9 p.m. The Ark at 4200 Campbell
Ave., in Arlington. Tickets are $35
per show. Call 703-820-9771 or visit
sigtheatre.org.

COMEDY

JOHNNY SHRYOCK
THE KENNEDY CENTERS
DISTRICT OF COMEDY FESTIVAL
The Kennedy Center presents a
second year of the comedy festi-
val, once again led by a month-

BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS
long run of a Second City show.
Among the one-night-only high-
lights over the course of the three-
day main festival: A free Stand-up
Showcase with rising comics from
around the country as organized
With its wordless Bible series, the movement-driven Synetic
by D.C.s Underground Comedy, pushes theatrical boundaries further than ever before
on Thursday, June 20, at 6 p.m.;

Jane Krakowski and Tituss Burgess
with the NSO Pops, on Thursday,
June 20, at 8 p.m.; an interview
with civil rights activist and orga-
nizer DeRay McKesson conduct-
ed by actor Michael Ian Black, on
Thursday, July 20, at 8:30 p.m.;
Puddles Pity Party on Friday, July
21, at 7 and 10 p.m.; The Daily
Show Correspondents Stand-Up
Tour featuring Roy Wood Jr.,
Ronny Chieng and Gina Yashere,
on Friday, July 21, at 8 p.m., the
Improvised Shakespeare Co. on
Saturday, July 22, at 5 and 9:30
p.m., Aparna Nancherla & Friends
on Saturday, July 22, at 6 p.m., and
Louie Anderson on Saturday, July
22, at 7 p.m. Call 202-467-4600 or
visit kennedy-center.org.
THE SECOND CITY:
...DIVIDED WE STAND
The Kennedy Center welcomes back
famed comedy troupe The Second
City for an update to last years
popular Almost Accurate Guide to
America. The comedians Angela
Alise, Ryan Asher, Tyler Davis,
Katie Kershaw, Chucho Perez and
Ross Taylor have cooked up a
new irreverent, mocking look at
America, from the red states to the
blue states to our orange head of
state. The run is the first offer-
ing in the second annual District
of Comedy Festival (see separate
entry). To Aug. 13. Kennedy Center
Theater Lab. Tickets are $49 to $69.
Call 202-467-4600 or visit kenne-
dy-center.org.
H
OW DARE YOU! YOU CANT TOUCH SHAKESPEARES WORDS. IMAGINE
the Bible without text! Imagine a meal without food! Paata Tsikurishvili heard
all of these and more when he started Synetic Theater with the provocative Silent
Shakespeare series. I loved what the theater community is doing here, he says, but I
realized I had something different that I was able to offer to audiences. [It] was my style, the
Synetic style of physical theater.
Fifteen years later, hes ready to shake things up again and directly responding to that
early criticism by imagining, among other things, the Bible without text. Another wordless
production, The Mark of Cain is the biblical figures journey throughout history, starting
from Adam and Eve and coming out and ending today, Tsikurishvili says. Through sym-
bolic and then through visuals we create that journey throughout history to see how Cain
gains power. The point is to convey the perennial message Absolute power absolutely
corrupts.
The visual play is the first devised theater production in Synetics history, a new collab-
orative work that everyone, from director to actor, helped shape, from curtains to concept.
Even though its a risk because its hard to market and its not a title that drives people
to the theater Im counting that for the long term, as a theater company, we need to do
something out of the box, something more than we are to find new things, he says. Its
gonna still be Synetic. Youre gonna have full Synetic power on the stage.
Following The Mark of Cain, Synetic will offer a full season of new works. The
Reawakening harkens back to the companys early days, which were a little bit dark and
weird. Most of my productions in the beginning the first 10 years, including Dracula and
Frankenstein were dark shows. I found that I miss that process and I missed creating it.
Next season will end with Synetics spin on The Wizard of Oz, part of a forthcoming
Synetic New Voice Series. Those Synetic actors and artists who have been around more
than 10 or 15 years, this is the time for them to step up as directors, playwrights, choreog-
raphers and creators. I see that they are ready for these tasks [and to become] even bigger
artists than they are now. Doug Rule
The Mark of Cain runs to Aug. 13 at the Theater at Crystal City, 1800 South Bell St.,
Arlington. Tickets are $20 to $60. Call 800-494-8497 or visit synetictheater.org.

JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY 13

 WASHINGTON IMPROV
THEATER: SUMMER SCHOOL
No two performances are alike
when performed by the Washington
Improv Theater, D.C.s answer to
comedy star-making groups such
as Chicagos Second City and L.A.s
Groundlings. Over the next month,
the organization offers a run of sum-
mer school-themed shows featuring
a different mix of WIT improvising
ensembles, including Bottom Shelf,
Man Feelings and Jive Turkey, plus
a cast of performers known as the
Stovetron in Rainy Day Smores
on the Stove. To Aug. 6. Source,
1835 14th St. NW. Tickets are $12
in advance, or $15 at the door. Call
202-204-7770 or visit witdc.org.

EXHIBITS
A COLLECTORS VISION:
WASHINGTONIANA COLLECTION
In addition to incorporating
the Textile Museum, the recent-
FACEBOOK

ly opened George Washington

University Museum also houses the
Albert H. Small Washingtoniana
Collection. The exhibition A
Collectors Vision serves as a perfect

WATER BASED
introduction to the collection, fea-
turing maps and prints, rare letters,
photographs and drawings docu-
menting the history of Washington,
D.C. and donated by Small in 2011.
Cirque Italia brings its Broadway-style Water Circus to town Ongoing. The George Washington
University Museum, 701 21st St.

T
NW. Call 202-994-5200 or visit
museum.gwu.edu.
HE WATER, IT KIND OF GIVES US A NEW TYPE OF ANIMAL IN THE
business, I like to say, says Chant DeMoustas, the chief operating officer A SENSE OF RENEWAL
and producer of Cirque Italia. Dubbed the Water Circus, its a first-of- The Summer exhibition at the
Goldman Gallery at Rockvilles
its-kind traveling production currently touring the states. And while unaffiliated,
Jewish Community Center, this
comparisons between the Florida-based Cirque Italia and Quebec-based Cirque du group show features nature-fo-
Soleil often arise, given their focus on Broadway-style, multi-layered stagings and cused works by Pauline Jakobsberg,
animal-free productions. We focus on the circus arts of acrobatic talent and artists Miguel Perez Lem, Felisa Federman,
Nancy Nesvet and Terry Svat. To
from around the world, says DeMoustas. Aug. 13. The Goldman Gallery in
Cirque Italia goes beyond Cirque du Soleil, however, in that physical artists work the Bender Jewish Community
with water on a custom-built, high-tech design stage. It includes a digital water Center of Greater Washington, 6125
Montrose Rd., Rockville. Call 301-
curtain, used to display graphics and images while the artist is performing.
881-0100 or visit benderjccgw.org.
Cirque Italia was founded by Manuel Rebecchi, a native of Milan, Italy, where his
family runs Moira Orfei, one of the largest circuses in the world. Rebecchi wanted to ARTECHOUSE: XYZT:
move beyond the traditional and branch out to the U.S. He met DeMoustas, a trained ABSTRACT LANDSCAPES
An internationally traveling exhi-
dancer, in 2012 when he hired 14 dancers from her studio to develop his water circus bition by French digital artists
concept. We basically rebranded the company, she says. I saw a different image and multimedia choreogra-
[based on] the response, what people were liking, and what they didnt like. phers Adrien Mondot and Claire
Bardainne launches what a first-
Under her guidance, Cirque Italia has evolved into a national phenomenon, with
of-its-kind interactive digital art
two big-top tent shows touring concurrently. The variety shows feature every- museum in D.C. Founded by Sandro
thing from clowns and contortionists to trampolinists and rollerskaters performing Kereselidze and Tatiana Pastukhova
feats in water that defy gravity and imagination, causing spectactors to wonder, as of event producer Art Soiree,
ArTecHouse, near the Mandarin
DeMoustas puts it, How did they do a handstand bending backwards and shooting Oriental hotel in Southwest D.C.,
a bow and arrow, and then have the water aspect thrown into it? is dedicated to showcasing work at
And as for the audience bearing witness to such watery wonders? DeMoustas the intersection of art and technol-
ogy. First up is XYZT, an immersive,
laughs. They may get a little wet. Doug Rule
multisensory, multi-space exhibit
featuring, through 10 digital land-
scapes, experiences from walking
Cirque Italias Big Top Gold runs through Sunday, July 23, under the White & Blue on floors that react to movement, to
manipulating light particles with-
Big Top Tent near Marshalls at 2700 Potomac Mills Circle, in Woodbridge, Va. Also in a giant digital cube, to blowing
Thursday, July 27, through Sunday, July 30, at 797 E. Patrick St., in Frederick, Md. into glass boxes and witnessing
Tickets are $10 to $50. Call 941-704-8572 or visit cirqueitalia.com. virtual letters assemble and dis-

14 JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY

 YOU CAN GROW IT!
The United States Botanic Garden
presents an exhibit intended to help
experienced and novice gardeners
alike to have more fruitful expe-
riences. Discover foolproof plants,
pick up tips on plants that require
extra attention, learn about the right
plant for the right place, and get
specific advice through a series of
discussions. On display through Oct.
15. Conservatory Terrace and East
Gallery, 100 Maryland Ave. SW. Call
202-225-8333 or visit usbg.gov.

FOOD & DRINK

MASON & ROOK ROOFTOP:
AMERICAN-THEMED POP-UP
Radiator, formerly the Helix, the
MONUMENTAL THEATRE

floor-level restaurant at Kimptons

Logan Circle hotel, is taking over
the scenic rooftop with a patriot-
ic pop-up. Chef Jonathan Dearden
offers a full menu of hot dogs, from
kosher to veggie to masa corn,
which can be washed down with
concoctions from bartender Sarah
BONNIE & CLYDE Rosner including a red, white and
blue sangria (made with white
The fledgling, millennial-focused Monumental Theatre offers a run of Frank Wildhorn, Don wine, cherries and blueberries), and
Black and Ivan Menchells musical that relates the love-fueled crime spree of Bonnie Parker frozen whiskey Cokes. Throughout
and Clyde Barrow, which was a national fascination during the Great Depression. The July. 1430 Rhode Island Ave. NW.
Call 202-742-3100 or visit masonan-
show was a flop, lasting only four weeks on Broadway in 2011, but it still managed to snag drook.com.
two Tony nominations, including one for Wildhorn and Black for Best Original Score. Ryan
Maxwell helms the Monumental production, with music direction by Paige Rammelkamp
ABOVE & BEYOND
and choreography by Melrose Pyne. Now to July 31. Ainslie Arts Center in Episcopal High
School, 3900 W. Braddock Rd. Call 703-933-3000 or visit monumentaltheatre.org. A DRAG SALUTE TO THE DIVAS
AT THE KENNEDY CENTER
Shi-Queeta-Lee has moved on up to
the Kennedy Center with her group
assemble as if by magic. Viewed History, offering an in-depth explo- serves Andean communities today of local drag queens and the
in 45-minute timed-entry sessions ration of his early years and over in Colombia, Ecuador, Per, Bolivia, occasional king paying tribute to
daily through Sept. 4. ArTecHouse, 30 groundbreaking paintings from Argentina and Chile. This exhibi- the likes of Tina Turner, Beyonce,
1238 Maryland Ave. SW. Tickets for the 60s and 70s, including the tion explores the legacy of the Inka Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, Whitney
45-minute, timed-entry sessions are 40-foot-long Westwall (Siegfried Empire and technological feat of Houston, Marvin Gaye, and Liza
$15 for daytime or $25 for evening Line), on view for the first time in the road, recognized by the United Minnelli. Thursday, July 27, at 6
admission. Visit artechouse.com. the U.S. Runs to Sept. 10. Hirshhorn Nations as a World Heritage site in p.m. Kennedy Center Millennium
Museum, Independence Avenue 2014. Through April 2018. National Stage. Free. Call 202-467-4600 or
CONTEMPORARY URBAN LIFE and Seventh Street SW. Free. Call Museum of the American Indian, visit kennedy-center.org.
Susan Calloway Fine Arts pres- 202-633-1000 or visit hirshhorn. Independence Avenue at 4th Street
ents a group show featuring artists si.edu. SW. Call 202-633-1000 or visit FOUND FOOTAGE FESTIVAL:
whose works try to reconcile the nmai.si.edu. CHERISHED GEMS
dichotomy between intimacy and Nearly 50 works are in the com- Comedy writers Joe Pickett
isolation that city life encompasses. prehensive survey at the Phillips TWO-FISTED PATTY LUPONE and Nick Prueher, whose cred-
Featuring works in a range of media curated by Dorothy Kosinski in The citys swanky leather/fetish its include Late Show with David
by Rogers Naylor, Steven S. Walker, close collaboration with Lupertz complex features its next exhibition Letterman, The Colbert Report and
Leslie Nolan, John Sandy, Charles and Michael Werner and including of erotic imagery in the mezzanine The Onion, return for another round
Ross, and Lindsay Mullen. Now to works spanning his career, includ- of its second-floor Eagle Leathers of a festival that features found vid-
Aug. 5. Susan Calloway Fine Arts, ing important examples from his shop, subtitled Immortalizing the eos and live comedy drawn from
1643 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Call 202- dithyrambic pictures and provoc- Male Figure in Art. Included in the garage sales, thrift stores, ware-
965-4601 or visit callowayart.com. ative paintings of German motifs. show is regular Metro Weekly con- houses, and dumpsters around the
Runs to Sept. 20. The Phillips tributor Scott G. Brooks, as well as country including curiously pro-
MARKUS LUPERTZ Collection, 1600 21st St. NW. works by Nathanael Absher, Dale duced industrial training videos and
One of Germanys most prominent Tickets $12. Call 202-387-2151 x247 Alward, Grant Arnold Anderson, cheesy exercise tapes. Friday, July
and provocative living artists is cel- or visit phillipscollection.org. Russ Bloomquist, Scott Chapman, 28, at 8 p.m. Arlington Cinema N
ebrated at two D.C. museums with Damien Cheeks, Eric DAlessandro, Drafthouse, 2903 Columbia Pike,
two distinct but complementary THE GREAT INKA ROAD: Tim Goeke, Jasjyot Singh Hans, Arlington. Tickets are $13. Call 703-
displays of the neo-expressionists ENGINEERING AN EMPIRE Dorian Holliday, Doug Johnson, 486-2345 or visit arlingtondraft-
works. Taken together, the exhi- One of the monumental engineer- Jimmy Malone, Dave Marquardt house.com. l
bitions at the Hirshhorn Museum ing achievements in history, the and Ryan Thibeault. Closes Sunday,
and the Phillips Collection mark Great Inka Road is a network of July 23. The Gallery at Baltimore
the first in-depth U.S. survey of more than 20,000 miles, crossing Eagle, 2022 N. Charles St. Call 410-
Lupertzs practice, and the two mountains and tropical lowlands, 200-9858 or visit thebaltimoreea-
museums have teamed up for a joint rivers and deserts, linking the Inca gle.com.
catalog. Evelyn Hankins curates capital Cusco with the farthest
the Hirshhorn show, Threads of reaches of its empire and it still

16 JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY

WARD MORRISON
Community

2015 Pride Splash & Ride

PRIDE RIDES
The annual Pride Splash & Ride lets queer D.C. take over Six Flags
THURSDAY, July 20
The DC Center holds a meet-
ing of its POLY DISCUSSION
GROUP, for people interested
for a day of fun in polyamory, non-monogamy
or other non-traditional rela-
tionships. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th

T
St. NW, Suite 105. Visit thedc-
HE EXCITING THING ABOUT THE PRIDE SPLASH & RIDE EACH YEAR IS center.org.
those who participate, says Ryan Bos, executive director of Capital Pride. The
event originated as a way to bring our entire community and our whole region Weekly Events
together at Six Flags America. ANDROMEDA
Now in its fifth year, Splash & Ride offers LGBTQ attendees reduced price admis- TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH
sion $42 if purchased beforehand and $54 on the day and access to all theme park offers free HIV testing and HIV
services (by appointment). 9
and water park rides, from one of the areas premiere coasters, Superman (now with an
a.m.-5 p.m. Decatur Center,
optional VR component) to the Vortex/Riptide water slide, which plunges riders into 1400 Decatur St. NW. To
360-degree whirlpools. arrange an appointment, call
Brian Reach, executive director of NOVA Pride, recalls scoping out the theme park 202-291-4707, or visit androm-
edatransculturalhealth.org.
with Capital Pride members prior to the very first Splash & Ride.
We did a photoshoot when the park was closed, and they let us ride the rides, he says. DC AQUATICS CLUB practice
Along for the fun was local drag entertainer BaNaka, who came in full regalia. It was session at Takoma Aquatic
Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 300 Van
pretty hilarious watching a drag queen in full-on face go down the waterslides. The way
Buren St. NW. For more infor-
they come out on the bottom is always different, with wigs in the water and what not. mation, visit swimdcac.org.
To make sure as many people can join in the fun as possible, Capital Pride will provide
two shuttles from Nellies Sports Bar, departing at 12:15 p.m. and 2 p.m., returning later DC FRONT RUNNERS run-
ning/walking/social club
that night. welcomes runners of all ability
And youll want to stay, as Happy Hour is from 6 to 8 p.m. exclusively for Pride Splash levels for exercise in a fun and
& Ride ticket holders, with local D.C. drag queens performing. Soon afterwards, D.C.- supportive environment, with
socializing afterward. Route
area DJs will start spinning as part of an exclusive dance party that lasts until midnight.
distance is 3-6 miles. Meet at
Those not in a dancing mood are guaranteed extended access to the waterslides, whirl- 7 p.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW.
pools, and lazy river. For more information, visit
The day of the event is always fantastic, says Reach. Even the Warner Brothers dcfrontrunners.org.
characters come out and have fun. One year, we had Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck out on DC LAMBDA SQUARES gay
the dance floor together. John Riley and lesbian square-dancing
group features mainstream
through advanced square
dancing at the National City
The 5th Annual Pride Splash & Ride is Saturday, July 29, at Six Flags America and Christian Church, 5 Thomas
Hurricane Harbor, 13710 Central Ave. in Upper Marlboro, Md. from 10:30 a.m. to mid- Circle NW, 7-9:30 p.m. Casual
night. The after-hours Pride Pool Party and Dance starts at 8 p.m. Visit pridesplash.org. dress. 301-257-0517, dclamb-
dasquares.org.

JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY 17

 DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds prac-
tice. The team is always looking for
new members. All welcome. 7:30-
9:30 p.m. King Greenleaf Recreation
Center, 201 N St. SW. For more
information, visit scandalsrfc.org or
dcscandals@gmail.com.
The DULLES TRIANGLES
Northern Virginia social group
meets for happy hour at Sheraton
in Reston. All welcome. 7-9 p.m.
11810 Sunrise Valley Drive, sec-
ond-floor bar. For more informa-
tion, visit dullestriangles.com.
HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker
Health. 8 a.m.-8 p.m. at 1525
14th St. NW, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. at the
Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center,
1701 14th St. NW, and 8 a.m-5 p.m.
at the Max Robinson Center, 2301
MLK Jr. Ave. SE. For an appoint-
ment call 202-745-7000 or visit
whitman-walker.org.
IDENTITY offers free and confi-
dential HIV testing at two separate
locations. Walk-ins accepted from
2-6 p.m., by appointment for all
other hours. 414 East Diamond Ave.,
Gaithersburg, Md. or 7676 New
Hampshire Ave., Suite 411, Takoma
Park, Md. To set up an appoint-
ment or for more information, call
Gaithersburg, 301-300-9978, or
Takoma Park, 301-422-2398.
METROHEALTH CENTER
offers free, rapid HIV testing.
Appointment needed. 1012 14th
St. NW, Suite 700. To arrange an
appointment, call 202-638-0750.
SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5
p.m., by appointment and walk-in,
for youth 21 and younger. Youth
Center, 410 7th St. SE. 202-567-
3155 or testing@smyal.org.
Us Helping Us hosts a NARCOTICS
ANONYMOUS MEETING. The
group is independent of UHU.
6:30-7:30 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave.
NW. For more information, call
202-446-1100.
WOMENS LEADERSHIP
INSTITUTE for young LBTQ
women, 13-21, interested in lead-
ership development. 5-6:30 p.m.
SMYAL Youth Center, 410 7th St.
SE. For more information, call 202-
567-3163, or email catherine.chu@
smyal.org.
FRIDAY, July 21
GAY DISTRICT, a group for
GBTQQI men between the ages of
18-35, meets on the first and third
Fridays of each month. Dinner or
social outing to follow the meeting.
8:30-9:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW,
Suite 105. For more information,
visit gaydistrict.org.
On Friday, June 28, LGBTQ people
suffering from social anxiety can
attend an educational SOCIAL
18 JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY
ANXIETY WORKSHOP to learn
about social anxiety, its causes,
and how to overcome it. No one
is required to speak or interact at
the workshop. Pre-registration is
required to participate. Workshop
will take place in an office near
Tenleytown. To register or for more
details, visit socialanxietyhelp.com
or call licensed social worker Larry
Cohen at 202-244-0903.
The DC Center hosts a TRANS
AND GENDERQUEER GAME
NIGHT on the third Friday of the
month for an evening of card and
board games and fun. 7-9 p.m. 2000
14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more
information, visit thedccenter.org.
Volunteers are needed to help
with CASA RUBYS MONTHLY
DINNER. Held on the third Friday
of each month, in conjunction with
The DC Center, the event provides
a hot meal to those being housed
at Casa Ruby. Homemade or store
bought meals welcome. 6:30-7:30
p.m. Casa Ruby, 3530 Georgia Ave.
NW. For more information, contact
lamar@thedccenter.org.
Weekly Events
BET MISHPACHAH, founded by
members of the LGBT community,
holds Friday evening Shabbat ser-
vices in the DC Jewish Community
Centers Community Room. 8 p.m.
1529 16th St. NW. For more infor-
mation, visit betmish.org.
PROJECT STRIPES hosts LGBT-
affirming social group for ages
11-24. 4-6 p.m. 1419 Columbia Road
NW. Contact Tamara, 202-319-
0422, layc-dc.org.
SMYALS REC NIGHT provides a
social atmosphere for LGBT and
questioning youth, featuring dance
parties, vogue nights, movies and
games. For more info, email cather-
ine.chu@smyal.org.
SATURDAY, July 22
Join The DC Center as it vol-
unteers for FOOD & FRIENDS,
packing meals and groceries for
people living with serious ailments.
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.
Weekly Events
BRAZILIAN GLBT GROUP, includ-
ing others interested in Brazilian cul-
ture, meets. For location/time, email
braziliangaygroup@yahoo.com.
GAY LANGUAGE CLUB discusses
critical languages and foreign lan-
guages. 7 p.m. Nellies, 900 U St.
NW. RSVP preferred. Email bren-
dandarcy@gmail.com.
SUNDAY, July 23
Weekly Events
DIGNITYUSA offers Roman
Catholic Mass for the LGBT
community. All welcome. Sign
interpreted. 6 p.m. St. Margarets
Church, 1820 Connecticut Ave.
NW. For more info, visit dignity-
washington.org.
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL
UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
welcomes all to 10:30 a.m. service,
945 G St. NW. firstuccdc.org or
202-628-4317.
HOPE UNITED CHURCH OF
CHRIST welcomes GLBT commu-
nity for worship. 10:30 a.m., 6130
Old Telegraph Road, Alexandria.
hopeucc.org.
Join LINCOLN
CONGREGATIONAL TEMPLE
UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST for
an inclusive, loving and progressive
faith community every Sunday. 11
a.m. 1701 11th Street NW, near R in
Shaw/Logan neighborhood. lincol-
ntemple.org.
METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY
CHURCH OF NORTHERN
VIRGINIA services at 11 a.m., led
by Rev. Emma Chattin. Childrens
Sunday School, 11 a.m. 10383
Democracy Lane, Fairfax. 703-691-
0930, mccnova.com.
NATIONAL CITY CHRISTIAN
CHURCH, inclusive church with
GLBT fellowship, offers gospel wor-
ship, 8:30 a.m., and traditional wor-
ship, 11 a.m. 5 Thomas Circle NW.
202-232-0323, nationalcitycc.org.
MONDAY, July 24
Weekly Events
NOVASALUD offers free HIV test-
ing. 5-7 p.m. 2049 N. 15th St., Suite
200, Arlington. Appointments: 703-
789-4467.
The DC Center hosts COFFEE
DROP-IN FOR THE SENIOR LGBT
COMMUNITY. 10 a.m.-noon. 2000
14th St. NW. For more information,
call 202-682-2245 or visit thedc-
center.org.
WASHINGTON WETSKINS
WATER POLO TEAM practices 7-9
p.m. Newcomers with at least basic
swimming ability always welcome.
Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van
Buren St. NW. For more informa-
tion, contact Tom, 703-299-0504
or secretary@wetskins.org, or visit
wetskins.org.
TUESDAY, July 25
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 DC Center hosts a meeting
of HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS
GROUP FOR GAY AND BI MEN.
6-7 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite
105. For more information, visit
thedccenter.org.
Weekly Events
ASIANS AND FRIENDS weekly
dinner in Dupont/Logan Circle
area, 6:30 p.m. For more informa-
tion, email afwash@aol.com, or
visit afwashington.net.
OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS
LGBT focused meeting every
Tuesday, 7 p.m. St. Georges
Episcopal Church, 915 Oakland
Ave., Arlington, just steps from
Virginia Square Metro. For
more info. call Dick, 703-521-
1999. Handicapped accessible.
Newcomers welcome. liveandletli-
veoa@gmail.com.
WEDNESDAY, July 26
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 partner.
Weekly Events
AD LIB, a group for freestyle con-
versation, meets about 6-6:30 p.m.,
Steam, 17th and R NW. All wel-
come. For more information, call
Fausto Fernandez, 703-732-5174.
FREEDOM FROM SMOKING, a
group for LGBT people looking
to quit cigarettes and tobacco use,
holds a weekly support meeting at
The DC Center. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th
St. NW, Suite 105. For more infor-
mation, visit thedccenter.org.
HISTORIC CHRIST CHURCH
offers Wednesday worship 7:15 a.m.
and 12:05 p.m. All welcome. 118 N.
Washington St., Alexandria. 703-549-
1450, historicchristchurch.org. l
Submit your community event for
consideration at least 10 days prior
to the Thursday publication in which
you would like it to appear. Email to
calendar@metroweekly.com.
JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY 19
 ing Ou
Wigg
Theatre
Studio he world
enters t g ball
of dra
with
culture ng, immersive
i
a thrill tion of
produc Craneys
lvin Mc phs
Tarell A c masterpiece
. sive Photog ra
Exclu n
po e t i Franso
by Todd P. Vankim
ian
and Jul

20 JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY

ut!

Jamyl
JULY 20, 2017 Dobson as Rey-Rey, The House of Light
METROWEEKLY 21
 W
was a play that a lot of theaters wouldnt do.
E BEGAN act, sing, dance, lip-sync, and throw almost perpetual shade
working on Wig Out! ten years ago, says director Kent Gash, at one another. And then there is the matter of McCraneys
a friend and frequent collaborator to Tarell Alvin McCraney. verbiage. The playwright, oft compared to August Wilson, is
Early on, it was considered a very fringe kind of play, a very closer in kinship to William Shakespeare, such is his glorious,
outside kind of play. And because it had a large cast of color, it eloquent mastery of the poetics of modern language. He is at

A decade makes all the difference in the world. As does an

once grounded and accessible and theatrically stratospheric.
Its very like Shakespeare, says Gash. Tarell and I talk a
Academy Award. McCraney, who recently took over the post as lot about that the plays have Elizabethan bones. They really rise
chair of playwriting at the storied Yale School of Drama, was and fall in part on their language. The actors have to have great
awarded an Oscar for co-writing the language facility, but they also have
screenplay for Moonlight, which also to know how to be real and honest
took home the 2016 Academy Award even when the language is height-
for Best Picture. ened or poetic.
Were in a different place now, Gash, who last helmed McCraneys
says Gash, following Sundays after- Choir Boy at Studio, has a long rela-
noon press opening of Wig Out! at tionship with the playwright. He also
Studio Theatre (see review, page had the good fortune to work with
33). Were in a different moment. the legendary August Wilson.
The entire culture, and certainly I directed some of August
America, has begun to wrestle with Wilsons work while he was still
the idea of binary gender identity and alive, says the grey-bearded
cisgender versus the gender that you Gash, a handsome, youthful 57. He
truly feel you are. The struggle to be wears a crisply-pressed, bright red
ones authentic self is probably the Incredibles t-shirt. A small bone
greatest of all human struggles. And earring protrudes from his left
Tarell so eloquently and so artfully ear, a celebration of both style and
dramatizes the need for that. The African-American heritage. There
essential human needs that drive were two things that August always
most great plays are right in the cen- said that Ive never forgotten. He
ter of this play. said, My plays are about people that
Set amidst the voguing, competi- nobody else puts on stage. And he
tively charged underground drag ball said, I wanted to write a play for
world, Wig Out! is a supremely lay- every decade in our history about us
ered work. The core narrative deals because that actually doesnt exist
with romance, betrayal, loss, and the and it should, because all the sto-
need for fabricating a family out of ries of ours that dont get told, every
circumstance. Over that, McCraney Michael Rishawn as Ms. Nina time we see something that were not
layers the kind of poetics that evoke Greek drama. Few writers included in or were not a part of, the implication is that either
are as gifted at combining the grit and harshness of reality with we dont exist or our existence is not important enough to make
fanciful flights of imagination. And yet the results particu- art about. August did something that never existed before, and
larly an immersive, in-your-face production at Studio directed Tarell has continued to do the same.
by Gash and brilliantly choreographed by Dell Howlett are He clarifies his point. I said this to the cast today: the
nothing short of exhilarating. Gash evokes energized, nuanced scenes that theyre playing in Wig Out! dont exist any-
performances from a multi-talented cast a cast required to where else. There are no other plays that deal with continues

22 JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY

The Fates: Melissa Victor as Fate, Dane Figueroa Edidi as Faith, and Ysabel Jasa as Fay

JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY 23

 Michael Rishawn as Ms. Nina, The House
of Light, and Jaysen Wright as Eric, the Red

24 JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY

Frank Britton as Serena,
The House of Diabolique

JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY 25

 Alex Mills as Loki, The House of Diabolique

26 JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY

Michael Kevin Darnall as Lucian,
The House of Light

JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY 27

 Every single one of [Tarells] plays
is a singular and indelible adventure.
ALL THEATERS
SHOULD BE
TAKING THAT
JOURNEY.
continued from page 22 African-American intimacy between
two men, and in particular between one man whos not gen-
der defining.... No one else is writing those scenes and those
plays for men of color. No one else is writing this way about
the LGBTQ community.
The shows success rides not only on its words, but on its
movement. And for that the 37-year-old, Richmond, Va.-raised
Howlett, has taken the 11-person cast and created an electrify-
ing event, particular during the second act ball that is nothing
short of breathtaking. The voguing is both deliberate and spon-
taneous. Its a character in its own right.
Voguing is the perfect balance of improvisational, creative
movement and technique, says Howlett. Theres structure to
it. And form. The people who are masters of it have studied it
and worked on their craft like any good artist.... I think thats a
part of what popular culture is beginning to understand. The
idea of vogue came out of a kind of fascination with fashion, and
a lot of the structures within vogue culture are based on fash-
ion, but its evolved into a more aggressive form, its evolved into
a more rhythmic form. Its taken things from popular culture
and remixed them, become something wholly original.
Theres a deeper metaphorical thing happening in the
movement because it is symbolic of our need to carve out a
space and define it on our own terms, adds Gash. These are
characters that have to carve out a place to be. A place to belong.
And a place to be wholly authentic which includes physically
authentic, sexually authentic, honoring whatever your sexual
impulses are.
The director and choreographer, along with a few members
of the Wig Out! cast, will reunite in D.C. come Spring of 2018 for
The Wiz at Fords Theatre.
It was the first great African-American musical that was
not about any kind of suffering, says Gash of the 1975 original
Broadway production. It was the first great African-American
musical and...was the greatest celebration of black excellence,
of black style, that Broadway had ever seen.... People see black
faces on stage and think, Oh, thats a black musical. But The
Wiz was a black musical with a score by an African-American
28 JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY
composer and lyricist, and that matters. A black director and
choreographer, a black costume designer, a black orchestrator.
Hopefully, at Fords, we can capture some of that lightning in a
bottle and celebrate black excellence, celebrate black style, and
celebrate the great D.C., Baltimore and Virginia talent pool.
For now, however, the focus is squarely on Wig Out! and
on bringing works created by McCraney into the broader
American spotlight.
Any theater that commits to producing the work of Tarell
Alvin McCraney deserves my attention, Gash says of Studio,
which has become such a national home base for McCraneys
plays, that the author himself flew in to attend Sundays press
opening. Any time I can tell a story that Tarell has written, a story
thats about the many communities that Im a part of, as a black
man, as a gay man any time I get the opportunity to do that, I
show up because those opportunities dont come very often.
Still, the opportunities are arising more frequently, across
the nation, in its regional theaters.
Heres the good news, Gash smiles. August Wilson is the
most produced playwright in America as of this year. Thats fan-
tastic. Fantastic. And I think that one of the things Moonlight
and its success did is that [theaters] are now going, We didnt
really know if we could do Tarells plays, but now we can
advertise him as an Academy Award-winning playwright, so
maybe we can take a chance. Its interesting because so many
of Tarells plays intersect both the community of color and the
LGBTQ community in unique ways.
Thats still a risk factor for a lot of theaters, he concludes.
There are theaters who think, I am not sure if I could produce
that or not. Im hoping that with every production, that hesi-
tancy is being eroded. That the brilliance of his work is really
coming to the fore. And the great thing is that every single one
of his plays is a really singular and indelible adventure. All the-
aters should be taking that journey. Randy Shulman
Wig Out! runs to August 6, at Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW.
Tickets are $20 to $55. Call 202-332-3300, or visit
StudioTheatre.org.
Edwin Brown III as Venus and Desmond Bing as Deity, The House of Light

JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY 29

WARNER BROS
Movies

other in line for the lifeboats, and others,

like resourceful young soldiers Tommy

Battle Tested
Packed with harrowing suspense and relentless action, Christopher
(Fionn Whitehead) and Gibson (Aneurin
Barnard), choose valor as their ticket to
escape.
The two scramblers, strangers to one
Nolans war epic Dunkirk twists the knife deeply By Andr Hereford another, grab a wounded man on a stretch-
er and rush him up the mole, attempting

C
to gain entry to an evacuating ship. But,
HRISTOPHER NOLAN HAS A DISTINCT KNACK FOR SENDING ACTORS as Nolan depicts with terrifying intimacy,
hurtling in front of gamboling cameras, across multiple planes of scenery or even making it onto a ship is no sure key to
existence, while keeping the action and audience oriented firmly towards the survival when U-boat torpedoes are send-
storytelling. He did it, most notably, with Leonardo DeCaprio in Inception, lobbing the ing countless men to watery deaths. As one
actor and his costars through time, space, elevators, and dreams, while maintaining a soldier tells another, Survivals not fair.
steady hand the films looping narrative. In the skies above, Royal Air Force
In Dunkirk (HHHHH), the filmmaker trains his masterful eye on World War pilots Farrier (Tom Hardy) and Collins
II, in the late spring of 1940, devising with cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema (Jack Lowden) fight for some fairness for
(Interstellar) brutal new ways to sink ships, and plunge gallant seamen and soldiers the outgunned men below, but their mis-
into danger. Theres plenty of danger to go around, as tens of thousands of Allied troops sion seems like a constant upward climb.
from Britain, France, and Belgium, having been chased back by the Nazis to the north- Amidst such danger and catastrophe, and
ern coast of France, wait on the beaches of Dunkirk to be evacuated to safety. a few craven acts of cowardice, the story
Until the Queens Navy destroyers can cruise in to ship the men back across the is defined by the many heroic rescues and
Channel, they huddle on the sand by the dozens, lined up and down the rickety mole daring sacrifices, edited for maximum sus-
that juts into Dunkirks windswept harbor. Dejected, cold, and desperate, they mass at pense by Lee Smith and propelled by Han
the shore, like seals surrounded by sharks, ripe for picking off by the Germans deadly Zimmers spirited score.
air raids and U-boat attacks. For dramatic measure, drawn into
Throughout this frightening real-life ordeal, Nolan weaves multiple tales of military the fray is the small pleasure cruiser
men, and boys, trying to survive the onslaught and make it home. Some climb over each Moonston and its three-man crew the

JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY 31


WARNER BROS
boats owner, Mr. Dawson (Mark Rylance), his teen-aged son,
Peter (Tom Glynn-Carney), and George (Barry Keoghan), a
brave, cherubic stowaway. The Moonstone is just one among a
fleet of intrepid fishing boats, trawlers, and sporting craft who
answer the Navys call for civilian boats to hurry across from
England to Dunkirk, to help retrieve stranded sons, fathers, and
brothers.
When the Moonstone plucks one shipwrecked, shell-shocked
soldier (Cillian Murphy) from the sea, he insists they ignore the
Navys call to help and speed west towards home, his fellow
soldiers be damned. The crews decency is tested terribly, in
a fashion that builds as much suspense as any of the dogfights
between careening British Spitfires and the German Luftwaffe.
Nolan keeps the suspense-meter in the red from start to finish,
Dunkirk is rated PG-13, and opens in theaters everywhere on Friday, July 21. Worth catching in IMAX if you can. Visit Fandango.com.
32 JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY
lacing the proceedings with incisive
ethical points, and taking time to con-
vey the impact and damage of nearly
every bomb and bullet.
The action, fragmented among sev-
eral overlapping points of view, falls
prey to Nolans habit of re-shaping
time onscreen to further complicate
those moral quandaries. The twist in
chronology is subtle, yet it deepens the
films portrayal of survival instinct.
The director indulges in another
previously-employed device: strapping
a mask across Tom Hardys handsome
mug for the bulk of his screen time. Emoting admirably with just
his eyes, and at least more audible than when he portrayed Bane
in The Dark Knight Rises, fighter pilot Hardy remains strapped in
his cockpit, where he supplies some of the pictures most rousing
moments. Rylance, Glynn-Carney, Keoghan, and Murphy make
riveting drama of the self-contained battle of wills aboard the
Moonstone.
Its newcomer Whitehead, however, who truly leads this
sprawling, high-testosterone cast. Through Tommys keen eyes,
we witness both hope and carnage: bodies floating around him
one second, the celebrated arrival of a rescue, the next. War is
terrible, and combat is relentless. For an hour and forty minutes,
Dunkirk grips and doesnt let go. The evacuation might have
succeeded, but the war raged on. l
JOAN MARCUS
Stage

Larkin), turn the main stage into a thrust-

ing, contorting, naughty playground.

Mein Hair
Roundabouts Cabaret sizzles with sexuality, while Studios Wig Out!
is snatched for the gods By Andr Hereford
Sally is quite naughty herself. Shes
loose and a liar, snorts cocaine, and doesnt
care nearly as much as Clifford does about
the rising power of the Nazi party. Larkin
is delightfully brassy and sings marvel-
ously, but her Sallys more exasperating

R
than lovable. While she seizes every bit of
OUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANYS PRODUCTION OF CABARET humor in the bawdy Dont Tell Mama,
(HHHHH) bumps and grinds its way through a solid, legs-wide-open rendi- she pours enough acid into the deliber-
tion of Kander and Ebbs timeless musical. Inspired by Sam Mendes and Rob ately paced take on the shows classic title
Marshalls singular nineties production, the national tour, directed by BT McNicholl, tune to sear a hole through the stage.
turns up the naughtiness and puts the bi in bye-bye, Mein Herr. Eakeley sharply conveys Cliffs smarts,
In lieu of a truly galvanizing Emcee or Sally Bowles, Cabaret earns its money by plac- quickened pulse and bisexual curiosity,
ing the story front and center, filling the margins with tantalizing detail and a stunning- but he and Sallys romantic entanglements
ly talented ensemble. Benjamin Eakeley, who appeared alongside Alan Cumming and dont engender half the interest generated
Michelle Williams in the musicals 2014 Broadway revival, takes the lead as Clifford by the love story between Cliffs land-
Bradshaw, an aspiring American writer arriving in Berlin in 1929. lady, Frulein Schneider (Mary Gordon
Guided by his new German friend and pupil, Ernst Ludwig (Patrick Vaill), Cliff Murray), and her widower tenant, Herr
quickly discovers the citys louche, licentious underbelly at the Kit Kat Club, where the Schultz (Scott Robertson). As Schneider,
twisted Emcee (Jon Peterson) holds court behind a mask of white makeup and red- Murray gathers steam throughout the
rouged bare nipples. Populated by societys sexual rebels and outcasts, the Kit Kat is a show, both funny and endearing as an
divey, dark reflection of the waning years of Germanys post-WWI Weimar Republic. exceedingly practical woman who must
Inside, anything goes and everythings for sale. measure whether shed give her life for
Expressive lighting extends the club into the audience, infusing the Eisenhower love. By the time she performs What
Theater with a speakeasy sense of underground rebellion. The Kit Kat girls and boys Would You Do?, shes usurped the heart
grab attention before the show begins, prowling and stretching across the multi-level set of Cabaret.
either shirtless or in lingerie. All of the Kit Kat players deliver: the band blazes through The politics of the show come across
often inventive arrangements of Kander and Ebbs fantastic songs, while backup danc- cogently, though theyre somewhat muted
ers and singers for the Emcee, and the clubs star performer, Sally Bowles (Leigh Ann by the Petersons almost-warm portrayal

JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY 33

 of the Emcee. The greater (and more persuasive) emphasis
seems to be on sexual politics, and the storys timely message of
fluidity and acceptance, imparted as much by the stew of attrac-
tions and betrayals as by McNicholls full-bodied staging and
the original, suggestive choreography, recreated for the tour by
Cynthia Onrubia.
Theres only one lady in this Kit Kats hot and handsy Two
Ladies, but its plenty delightful, as the Emcee gives a little and
gets a little from Lulu (Chelsey Clark) and Bobby (Joey Khoury).
Peterson might not capture the indomitable edge of menace the
Emcee can add to the club, but he sells the imps lustful attitude
and appetite for provocation.
The Emcee takes pleasure in thumbing his nose at conven-
tion, just as Cabaret uses outr carnality and violence to tell a
story about believing in love during a time of shocking inhuman-
ity. The heat shoots like lightning from the Kit Kat players, who
transform the Eisenhower Theater into a sultry and intimate
club, where life is beautiful, the girls and boys are beautiful, and
everyones troubles wait outside.
TERESA WOOD
TARELL ALVIN MCCRANEYS WIG OUT! (HHHHH) should
hit close to home for those living, or living for, black LGBTQ
underground ball and drag culture. The Ovid-inspired, music-
filled romantic drama might appear to take place in some
Oz-adjacent land where Jay-Z is the Wizard, Bey is the Good
Witch of the South, realness means well-faked, and worthy
queens are blessed by ever-billowing wind machines. But arent
we all worthy?
Not always, as the Fates might remind us. The dazzling trio
Faith (Dane Figueroa Edidi), Fate (Melissa Victor), and Fay
(Ysabel Jasa) are the singing, dancing chorus that chime in
with just the right tune, be it SWV, Xscape or N.E., on cue with
each significant turn of the plot, which follows drag queen Ms.
Nina, played with tender strength and self-assurance by Michael
Rishawn, as she embarks on a halting courtship with Eric
(Jaysen Wright), a cute boy she meets on the subway.
Attracted yet reticent, Eric explains that he likes his men
masculine, so Nina obliges, introducing him to her boy side,
Wilson. Played for the light humor of the quick switcheroo,
Wig Out! runs to August 6, at Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20 to $55. Call 202-332-3300, or visit StudioTheatre.org.
Cabaret runs to August 6, at Kennedy Center, Eisenhower Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW. Tickets are $59 to $149.
Call 202-467-4600, or visit Kennedy-Center.org.
34 JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY
director Kent Gashs nimble staging of Nina/Wilson and Erics
first meeting captures the profound statement of this gay mans
emphatic expression of both feminine and masculine identity.
Nina, fortunately, has found in the ball culture a community
that feeds her confidence, and, estranged from her own family,
has found a new one in the House of Light, run with a firm
hand by house Father Lucian (Michael Kevin Darnall). He leads
beside house Mother, drag queen Rey-Rey (Jamyl Dobson), who
is recognized as Legendary among all the houses, although her
status has of late come into question.
At a ball, unworthy gets chopped, or dismissed. But in life,
defining whos worthy can be a far greater dilemma than decid-
ing who slayed on the ballroom floor. The ensemble has a good
time working that floor to the crowds delight, while McCraneys
drama plumbs the thorny mess of emotions and notions, external
pressure and internalized prejudice, that affect whether two
people decide to stick it out, or move on for the sake of their
happiness and self-respect. Bound up in those decisions are the
expectations Nina, Eric, Lucian, and Rey-Rey have for them-
selves, or have to live up to, as gay men, friends, and
family. For every amorous pair in Wig Out!, whos on
top is a matter not to be determined just by gender
traits or presentation.
While occasionally melodramatic in its presen-
tation, the production never stops serving glamour,
fashion, sexiness, humor, and insight. Set designer
Jason Sherwood, building naturally around a nar-
row runway, has crafted a space decorated as an
ode to gay history and black fabulousness, the walls
busily adorned with photos and mementoes repre-
senting icons from Angela Davis to Frank Ocean, and
acknowledging the struggle against HIV/AIDS.
Also engaging in flights of fancy like Erics
drag-infused dream sequence resembling something
from American Horror Story: Butch Queen the show
throws a breathlessly entertaining house ball for
much of the second act. The talented company deliv-
ers voguing, gowns, smoke, mirrors, a drum-tight lip
sync by Serena (Frank Britton), Mother of the House
of DiAbolique, and a well-timed use of Stravinskys Firebird.
And the Fates are the jukebox that keeps on giving, jubilantly
spinning through Destinys Child, Dreamgirls, and even hits like
I Dont Want to be Alone Tonight, an underrated girl-group
jam from Spike Lees School Daze.
McCraney ponders gender and sexuality from a transgres-
sive point-of-view, adding the audacious twist of Nina feeling at
times as confined by her femme identity as her alter-ego Wilson
is by the conventions of black masculinity. Rishawn is persua-
sive in depicting every facet of the characters persona. Wright,
meanwhile, conveys a puppy dog curiosity that endears. Future
productions will labor to find any actor who so adorably puts
forth Erics naivet, along with the sex appeal of a boy whos not
that innocent.
The play is not that innocent, either. Eric and Wilson do make
love, and their post-sex conversation is staged as if between two
reclining nude sculptures. Its a sweet tableau, charged with
erotic energy and with the lovers hope that maybe this time,
theyll be lucky. l
 Games

But there are tactical advantages to taking

Time Machine
Superhot and Superhot VR are intense puzzle games masquerading
risks. Throw an item at an enemy holding
a weapon and theyll let go as they stum-
ble, launching it towards the player. You
can snatch guns out of the air, allowing
as exciting first-person shooters By Rhuaridh Marr for some insane run and gun gameplay
throwing a wine bottle at an enemy,

I
catching a shotgun, emptying its two shots
F YOUVE EVER WONDERED WHAT IT WOULD FEEL LIKE TO BE IMMERSED and then lobbing the gun at another enemy
in one of the slow-motion bullet time sequences from The Matrix, Superhot becomes second nature. And if all else
(HHHHH) is the game for you. Not so much a first-person shooter as a puzzle with fails, let an enemy get close enough, stand
guns (and baseball bats, katanas, axes, and wine bottles), its a devilishly complex game still so that time slows to a crawl, and then
built around an incredibly simple concept: time only moves when you do. just take the weapon from their hands. I
Strung together by a wafer-thin yet mildly engaging narrative the player controls cant count the number of times I casually
a version of themselves in-game, until the circumstance gradually start to control the reached over to someone who was pre-
player Superhot is a series of mini-puzzles. The player is dropped into an environ- paring to sink a bullet into my skull and
ment, given a few seconds to get their bearings, and then the fun begins. With a stark instead returned the favour, watching the
aesthetic enemies are red, objects you can hold are dark blue, everything else is white faceless entity shatter into red shards. For
or grey Superhot distills the kill or be killed elements of most first-person shooters the sheer amount of times that will have
to its barest elements. Red is bad, death is final, and you have the skills to survive, but you saying, Holy shit, that was awesome,
can you figure out how? Superhot really has no equal.
Superhot teases out its small moveset over the first few levels. Any time the player And thats before you pick up a VR head-
moves, be it throwing a punch, taking a step, bending down to pick up a gun, or deflect- set and play Superhot VR. A standalone
ing a bullet with an ashtray (yes, this is possible), time will advance. That gameplay game built around the same basic concepts
element, where time suddenly becomes both a weapon to wield as well as a constant of the original, it adds extra dimensions
nagging fear, is what makes Superhot so successful. Do you attempt to punch the per- to the idea of time moving when you do.
son running towards you, knowing theres another enemy behind reaching for a gun? Suddenly gameplay isnt dependent on
Or do you grab an item, lob it at the person reaching for the gun to stall them for a few not touching the analogue sticks. Now,
seconds, and then go for the punch? Will firing a submachine gun at a distant enemy every hand gesture, every head turn, every
allow one much closer to sink a bullet into your body? Can you run for cover without step is a potential split second of advan-
giving enemies enough time to advance on your position? Every move is calculated tage given to enemies. If Superhot with
down to the millisecond, forcing players to rethink how and when to attack, and what a controller can make a player feel like
theyll use to survive. a badass, Superhot VR (HHHHH) will
Everything has been designed to remove the element of comfort. Guns have limited turn them into adrenaline-fuelled, sweat-
ammunition, throwables will shatter upon impact, and punches can only reach so far. soaked wrecks. Suddenly, those bullets

JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY 35

flying towards your face become
incredibly real. The advancing
enemies are right up in your face.
The environments have a depth
and texture that wasnt apparent
before. And above all else, youll
suddenly start to feel your body
react as if you were actually there.
When enemies threw punch-
es, I dodged. When bullets flew
towards me, I bent backwards
and watched them soar, in super
slow-motion, over my head. When
the environment offered cover, I dropped down and hid. Each
action that felt slick and cool with a controller suddenly became
visceral and real. Throwing items at enemies, aiming weapons,
grabbing guns out of midair, everything took on a new resonance
in VR. And every failed encounter be it a bullet in my body, or
an enemy that had snuck up and stabbed me, or failing to duck
behind scenery in time only heightened the urge to try again,
to best the system, to prove my body could contort, freeze, and
aim with the precision the game frequently demands.
Its helped by the fact that Superhot never punishes play-
ers, in either VR or standard mode. Die and youll instantly
respawn at the start of each scenario, which usually involves
three to five individual environments. And while youll some-
times have to restart multiple times to really get to grips with
enemy patterns and item layouts, theres always a way or
Superhot and Superhot VR cost $25 each, or $40 in a bundle, and are available now on PC and launch July 21 for PS4.
36 JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY
multiple ways to complete each
level, it just requires thought
and planning. This is, after all, a
puzzle game masquerading as a
shooter.
And once youve wrapped up
the levels, theres challenges and
endless modes to keep you playing.
Fancy working through the whole
game with just a katana? Thats
here. Wonder if you can beat the
game without dying? Youd be
insane to try, but thats an option.
Theres no multiplayer, and both games wont take more than a
few hours to complete, but theres a lot of replayability beyond
the story.
Ultimately, Superhot offers a lot from a refreshingly simple
concept. If youre looking for a fun twist on first-person shoot-
ers, or an addictive new puzzle game, or an intense workout,
Superhot offers all that, and more. And players can pick up both
the standard and VR versions and know theyre getting two great
experiences. With a controller, its a precise, complex puzzler.
With VR, its a little looser, a little lighter, but brings an immer-
sion thats relatively unparalleled, especially on the PlayStation
4. Indeed, if you ever want to show the benefits of virtual reality
to someone, strap them into a headset, load up Superhot VR and
watch the bullets fly. I guarantee theyll be doing Matrix-style
bends in no time. l
NightLife
Photography by
Ward Morrison

JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY 37

 Scene
MixTape at Town - Saturday, July 8
Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

DrinksDragDJsEtc... GREEN LANTERN TRADE BALTIMORE EAGLE FREDDIES BEACH BAR

Happy Hour, 4-9pm Doors open 5pm Huge Baltimore Bear Happy Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Ladies Drink Free Power Happy Hour: Any drink Hour, 5-9pm, all liquors, Karaoke, 8pm
Hour, 4-5pm Shirtless normally served in a cock- beers and wines up to 50%
Thursday, the Tavern, 9pm-close
Beige Hip-Hop Dance Party
Thursday, 10-11pm tail glass served in a huge off ArtScape Review GREEN LANTERN
July 20 in the Nest, featuring DJ
Men in Underwear Drink
Free, 12-12:30am DJs
glass for the same price,
5-10pm Beer and wine
Show in the Nest, 10pm
$10 tickets in advance,
Happy Hour, 4-9pm $5
Smirnoff, all flavors, all
Waterzz, 10pm-close
BacK2bACk only $4 $12.50 at the door Bad night long
9 1/2 thebaltimoreeagle.com
Bears After Dark in the
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
NELLIES SPORTS BAR ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS Code Bar $5 Cover after NELLIES SPORTS BAR
drink, 5-9pm Multiple COBALT/30 DEGREES
Beat the Clock Happy Hour All male, nude dancers 9pm Elyx Vodka and Any DJ Matt Bailer Videos,
TVs showing movies, Happy Hour: $6 Top
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), DJ 9pm Cover 21+ Red Bull Flavor for $7 all Dancing Beat the Clock
shows, sports Expanded Shelf, $3 Rail, $3 Bud
$4 (7-8pm) Buckets of day long thebaltimoreea- Happy Hour $2 (5-6pm),
craft beer selection Light, 4-9pm Locker
Beer $15 Drag Bingo gle.com $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm)
Music videos featuring Room Thursday Nights,
DJ Wess 10pm-close $3 Rail
NUMBER NINE
Friday, COBALT/30 DEGREES
Buckets of Beer $15
Drinks, 10pm-midnight, $5
BALTIMORE EAGLE Red Bull and Frozen Virgin
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any July 21 All You Can Drink Happy NUMBER NINE
drink, 5-9pm No Cover Hour $15 Rail and Open 5pm Happy Hour:
Happy Hour, 5-9pm, Drinks DJs Sean Morris
9 1/2 Domestic, $21 Call & 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
all liquors, beers and and MadScience Best
SHAWS TAVERN Open at 5pm Happy Imports, 6-9pm Fancy No Cover Friday Night
wines up to 50% off Package Contest at mid-
Happy Hour, 4-7pm $3 Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, Ass Fridays, 10pm $6 Piano with Chris, 7:30pm
$3 Well Drinks All Night night, hosted by BaNaka &
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, 5-9pm Friday Night Grey Goose all night
Underwear Night, Kristina Kelly $200 Cash
$5 Rails and House Wines Videos, 9:30pm Rotating Two 30-minute open bars SHAWS TAVERN
9pm-2am For men in Prize Doors open 10pm,
& Half-Priced Pizzas DJs Expanded craft beer featuring Grey Goose, Happy Hour, 4-7pm $3
underwear, all well drinks 21+ $5 Cover or free
Paint Nite, Second Floor, selection No Cover 11-11:30pm and 1-1:30am Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$2, 9pm-12am Best with college ID
7pm DJ MadScience $5 Rails and House Wines
Underwear Contest at
upstairs DJ Keenan Orr & Half-Priced Pizzas
Midnight Code enforced FREDDIES BEACH BAR
downstairs $10 cover
in Code Bar after 9pm Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
10pm-close 21+
House and Top 40 DJ in Karaoke, 8pm

JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY 39

 TOWN
Patio open 6pm DC Bear
Saturday,
Crue Happy Hour, 6-11pm July 22
$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 HybridNine
18-20, $15 Club: 18+ Beast Bash in the Nest,
Patio: 21+ 9pm-2am Featuring
DJ Ryan Doubleyou
TRADE $5 Cover GoGo
Doors open 5pm Huge Dancers, Shot Jocks, Gear
Happy Hour: Any drink Encouraged thebalti-
normally served in a cock- moreeagle.com
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price, COBALT/30 DEGREES
5-10pm Beer and wine Drag Yourself to Brunch at
only $4 Level One, 11am-2pm and
2-4pm Featuring Kristina
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS Kelly and the Ladies of
Men of Secrets, 9pm Illusion Bottomless
Guest dancers Rotating Mimosas and Bloody
DJs Ladies of Illusion Marys Happy Hour:
Drag Show Doors at Tops Down $6 Top Shelf,
9pm, Shows at 11:30pm Bottoms Up $3 Rail, $3 Bud
and 1:30am DJ Don T. in Light, 4-9pm Latin Night,
Ziegfelds Cover 21+ 10pm Doors open 10pm
$5 Cover 21+

40 JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY

FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Drag Queen Broadway
SHAWS TAVERN
Brunch with Bottomless
Brunch, 10am-3pm Mimosas, 10am-3pm
Starring Freddies Happy Hour, 5-7pm $3
Broadway Babes Crazy Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
Hour, 4-7pm Freddies $5 Rails and House Wines Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
Follies Drag Show, hosted & Half-Priced Pizzas
by Miss Destiny B. Childs,
8-10pm Karaoke, TOWN
10pm-close Doors open 10pm
TempTation: Neon,
GREEN LANTERN featuring DJ TWiN DJ
Happy Hour, 4-9pm $5 Wess downstairs Drag BALTIMORE EAGLE
Bacardi, all flavors, all Show starts at 10:30pm
night long JOX: The Hosted by Lena Lett and
GL Underwear Party, featuring Tatianna, Shi-
9pm-close Featuring DJ Queeta-Lee, Riley Knoxx
David Merrill $5 Cover and BaNaka Cover $15 (excluding energy drink
(includes clothes check) from 10pm-midnight and
$12 after midnight 21+
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Guest DJs Zing Zang TRADE
Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer, Doors open 12pm Huge
House Rail Drinks and Happy Hour: Any drink
Mimosas, $4, 11am-5pm normally served in a cock-
Buckets of Beer, $15 tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
NUMBER NINE 12-10pm Beer and wine
Doors open 2pm Happy only $4
Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink,
2-9pm $5 Absolut and ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS FREDDIES BEACH BAR
$5 Bulleit Bourbon Men of Secrets, 9pm-4am
Jawbreaker, featuring DJs Guest dancers Ladies Buffet, 10am-3pm Crazy
BacK2bACk, 9:30pm of Illusion Drag Show
with host Ella Fitzgerald
Doors at 9pm, Shows
at 11:30pm and 1:30am
DJ Don T. in Ziegfelds
DJ Steve Henderson in
Secrets Cover 21+
Sunday, GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm Open
July 23 Mic Night Karaoke with
Kevin, 9:30pm-close
9 1/2
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
drink, 2-9pm Multiple Drag Brunch, hosted by
TVs showing movies,
shows, sports Expanded
Shi-Queeta-Lee, 11am-3pm
$20 Brunch Buffet
craft beer selection House Rail Drinks, Zing
No Cover Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie
Beer and Mimosas, $4,
11am-close Buckets of
T-Dance Sundays, 4-9pm Beer, $15
Buy a cup for $5 and fill
it with any Absolut Flavor NUMBER NINE
and Mixer for $3 each time Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on
any drink, 2-9pm Pop No Cover
mixers) thebaltimoreea- Goes the World with Wes
gle.com Della Volla at 9:30pm
No Cover
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $6 Top Shelf, SHAWS TAVERN
$3 Rail, $3 Bud Light, Brunch with Bottomless
4-9pm $4 Stoli, Stoli Mimosas, 10am-3pm
Flavors and Bud Light Stoli Sundays: $5 Stoli
all night Homowood Specials with DJ, 3:30pm
Karaoke, hosted by Robert Happy Hour, 5-7pm $3
Bise, 10pm-close Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 Rails and House Wines
& Half-Priced Pizzas
Champagne Brunch
TRADE
Hour, 4-7pm Karaoke, Doors open 12pm Huge
8pm-1am Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cock-
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
12-10pm Beer and wine
only $4
JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Decades of Dance DJ Singles Night Karaoke,
Tim-e in Secrets Doors 8pm
9pm Cover 21+
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour all night
Monday, long Singing with the
Sisters: Open Mic Karaoke
July 24 Night with the Sisters
of Perpetual Indulgence,
9 1/2 9:30pm-close
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm Multiple NELLIES SPORTS BAR
TVs showing movies, Beat the Clock Happy Hour
shows, sports Expanded $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
craft beer selection $4 (7-8pm) Buckets of
Beer $15 Texas Holdem
Poker, 8pm Dart Boards
BALTIMORE EAGLE
Happy Hour, 5-9pm, all NUMBER NINE
liquors, beers and wines up Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
to 50% off Micro Brew drink, 5-9pm No Cover
Draft/Bottle Mondays
$4 all day SIN: Service SHAWS TAVERN
Industry Night, 11pm-2am Happy Hour, 4-7pm $3
First Well Drink or Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
Domestic Beer Free 10% $5 Rails and House Wines
off your Food Order all day and Half-Priced Pizzas
thebaltimoreeagle.com Trivia with Jeremy, 7:30pm
COBALT/30 DEGREES TRADE
Happy Hour: $6 Top Shelf, Doors open 5pm Huge
$3 Rail, $3 Bud Light, Happy Hour: Any drink
4-9pm Monday Nights normally served in a cock-
A Drag, featuring Miss tail glass served in a huge
Kristina Kelly Doors open glass for the same price,
at 10pm Showtime at 5-10pm Patio open until
11:30pm Doors open at 11pm Beer and wine
10pm No Cover 21+ only $4
41
 Tuesday, FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
SHAWS TAVERN
Half-Priced Burgers and
BALTIMORE EAGLE
Happy Hour, 5-9pm,
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm $6
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
July 25 Karaoke, 8pm Pizzas, 5-10pm $5 House all liquors, beers and Burgers Drag Bingo drink, 5-9pm No Cover
Wines and $5 Sam Adams wines up to 50% off Night, hosted by Ms.
9 1/2 GREEN LANTERN Domestic Bottles are Regina Jozet Adams, 8pm SHAWS TAVERN
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any Happy Hour all night long, TRADE $3 all day Fetlife: The Bingo prizes Karaoke, Happy Hour, 4-7pm $3
drink, 5-9pm Multiple 4pm-close Doors open 5pm Huge Next Generation Happy 10pm-1am Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
TVs showing movies, Happy Hour: Any drink Hour, 8pm Team Trivia, $5 Rails and House Wines
shows, sports Expanded NELLIES SPORTS BAR normally served in a cock- 8-10pm thebaltimoreea- GREEN LANTERN and Half-Priced Pizzas
craft beer selection Beat the Clock Happy Hour tail glass served in a huge gle.com Happy Hour all night Piano Bar with Jill, 8pm
No Cover $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), glass for the same price, long, 4pm-close Bear
$4 (7-8pm) Buckets of 5-10pm Beer and wine COBALT/30 DEGREES Yoga with Greg Leo, 6:30- TRADE
BALTIMORE EAGLE Beer $15 Karaoke and only $4 Happy Hour: $6 Top Shelf, 7:30pm $10 per class Doors open 5pm Huge
Happy Hour, 5-9pm, all Drag Bingo $3 Rail, $3 Bud Light, Happy Hour: Any drink
liquors, beers and wines 4-9pm $4 Stoli and Stoli NELLIES SPORTS BAR normally served in a cock-
up to 50% off Well
Bomb Shots $4 all Day
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
Wednesday, Flavors and Miller Lite
all night Wednesday
SmartAss Trivia Night, 8pm
and 9pm Prizes include
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
thebaltimoreeagle.com drink, 5-9pm No Cover July 26 Night Karaoke, hosted bar tabs and tickets to 5-10pm Beer and wine
After 9pm, $3 Absolut, by India Larelle Houston, shows at the 9:30 Club only $4 l
COBALT/30 DEGREES Bulleit & Stella 9 1/2 10pm-close No Cover $15 Buckets of Beer for
Happy Hour all night: $6 Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any 21+ SmartAss Teams only
Top Shelf, $3 Rail, $3 drink, 5-9pm Multiple Bring a new team member
Bud Light SIN Service TVs showing movies, and each get a free $10
Industry Night, 10pm-close shows, sports Expanded Dinner
craft beer selection
No Cover

42 JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY

JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY 43
 Scene
Gay/Bash at Trade - Saturday, July 15
Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

44 JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY

JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY 45
 LastWord.
People say the queerest things

How will the Potty Police know Im transgender

if the Governor doesnt?

ASHLEY SMITH, a transgender woman in San Antonio, Texas, writing on Facebook after taking a photo with Governor
Greg Abbott, who supports introducing an anti-trans bathroom bill in the state and who was apparently unaware of her gender
identity. Smith told the San Antonio Express-News that he didnt think shouting about the bill would work,
and was more interested in the getting the photograph and not getting thrown out.

We strongly support diversity and inclusion.

This legislation threatens our ability to attract and retain the best talent in Texas.

An excerpt from a letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott from the heads of 14 companies, asking that he abandon plans for an
anti-transgender bathroom bill in the state. The letter, which was signed by American Airlines, AT&T, Southwest Airlines, and
Texas Instruments, among others, states that the bill would seriously hurt the states ability to attract new businesses,
investment and jobs.

Closed door? Cmon guys, its 2017, its ok to come out. Let your hate flag fly!
Youre here, you fear, were used to it.
STEPHEN COLBERT, in a monologue on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, blasting Attorney General Jeff Sessions for giving
a closed-door speech to an anti-LGBTQ organization. Sessions reportedly told the Alliance Defending Freedom
that the Trump administration planned to allow religious discrimination against LGBTQ people.

Over 100 days weve known about gays targeted in Chechnya, and
the White House remains silent.
RUPAUL, in a tweet promoting a new MTV initiative that aims to raise the volume on the public outcry with regards
the persecution of gay men in Chechnya. Lena Dunham, Tituss Burgess, and Carson Kressley are some of the other
elebrities participating in the #EyesOnChechnya campaign.

A few hateful verses in the Old Testament have led to

hundreds of years of prejudice, hatred,
violence, and pain.
RUTHIE ROBERTSON, an adjunct professor at the Mormon Church-affiliated Brigham Young University in Idaho, in a Facebook
post coming out in support of gay people. This is my official announcement and declaration that I believe heterosexuality and
homosexuality are both natural and neither is sinful, she wrote. After refusing to rescind her views,
Robertson was fired by the university, according to KUTV.

46 JULY 20, 2017 METROWEEKLY