Metro Weekly - 01-08-15 - Tarell McCraney

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JANUARY 8, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
METROWEEKLY.COM
JANUARY 8, 2015
EDITORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Randy Shulman
JANUARY 8, 2015
Volume 21 / Issue 35
ART DIRECTOR
Todd Franson
POLITICAL EDITOR
Justin Snow
NEWS & BUSINESS EDITOR
John Riley
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Rhuaridh Marr
NEWS

A New Bush
PFOXs Preemptive Strike?
12

2015: A Look Ahead
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Doug Rule
SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
Ward Morrison, Julian Vankim
CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATOR
Scott G. Brooks
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Julian Vankim
SPECIAL CALENDAR

by Justin Snow
by John Riley
by John Riley
15
Community Calendar
Preaching Past the Choir
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Christian Gerard, Brandon Harrison, Will OBryan
Troy Petenbrink, Kate Wingfield
WEBMASTER
David Uy
FEATURE
18
Tarell McCraney depicts the journey

of young black men in his work, includ-
ing his new play Choir Boy

by Doug Rule
SALES & MARKETING

PUBLISHER
Randy Shulman
BRAND STRATEGY & MARKETING
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Cunetto Creative
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Rivendell Media Co.
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COVER PHOTOGRAPHY
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JANUARY 8, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
OUT ON THE TOWN

24

Famished: Diner
by Doug Rule
TV

31

Delusional: My Husbands Not Gay
FILM

33

Into the Woods
GAMES

35

Pit Stopped: The Crew

by Rhuaridh Marr
PETS

39

Pet Resolutions
NIGHTLIFE

43

Otter Crossing at Green Lantern
CLUBLIFE

50

Smart Ass Trivia at Nellies
SCENE

51

DILF at Number Nine
54
Last Word
by Rhuaridh Marr
by Randy Shulman
by Doug Rule
photography by Ward Morrison
by Doug Rule
photography by Ward Morrison
METROWEEKLY.COM
JANUARY 8, 2015
GAGE SKIDMORE
LGBT
News
Now online at MetroWeekly.com
Virginia Mulling Anti-Gay Discrimination Bill

SCOTUS Asked to Review Idaho Marriage Case
Jeb Bush
A New Bush
With 2016 on the horizon, Jeb Bush softens his tone on marriage equality
by Justin Snow
S SAME-SEX COUPLES
began marrying in Florida on
Monday, Jeb Bush carved a
new path sort of.
In a statement first reported by The
New York Times, the former Republican
Florida governor softened his tone on
whether same-sex couples should be
allowed to marry. Although Bush did not
go so far as to endorse marriage equality,
his statement did not leave it out of the
realm of possibility in the future. Bush
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JANUARY 8, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
made no mention of his personal opposition to same-sex marriage and instead

expressed a sympathetic understanding
of not just those who believe marriage
should be between a man and a woman,
but of same-sex couples seeking equality.
We live in a democracy, and regardless of our disagreements, we have to
respect the rule of law, Bush said. I
hope that we can show respect for the
good people on all sides of the gay and
lesbian marriage issue including couples making lifetime commitments to
each other who are seeking greater legal
protections and those of us who believe
marriage is a sacrament and want to safe-
guard religious liberty.

Hours earlier, Miami-Dade Circuit
Judge Sarah Zabel lifted the stay on samesex marriages in Miami-Dade County a
half day before a federal judges ruling
legalizing same-sex marriage statewide
was set to take effect. Zabel then married
two of the plaintiff couples.
Bushs remarks were a departure from
comments made a day prior, in which the
potential 2016 Republican presidential
candidate showed little desire to weigh
in on the issue. Speaking Sunday to the
the Miami Herald after a round of golf,
Bushs indifference to the inevitable was
hard to miss. It ought be a local decision.
METROWEEKLY.COM
JANUARY 8, 2015
LGBTNews
I mean, a state decision, he said. The
state decided. The people of the state
decided. But its been overturned by the
courts, I guess.
Bush could have let those comments
stand. Indeed, the view that same-sex
marriage should be determined by the
states is not only shared by potential GOP
presidential candidates like Sen. Rand
Paul (Ky.), but presumptive Democratic
candidate Hillary Clinton. During an
interview with NPR this past summer,
Clinton said she believes marriage should
be left up to the states and expressed
her support for state-by-state efforts to
secure marriage equality, a position that
contradicts the majority of marriageequality advocates who believe a national resolution must come from the U.S.
Supreme Court.
But Bush chose to elaborate further
on his views a move that is encouraging for LGBT-rights advocates as Bush
continues to make moves toward a run
for president.
While its certainly not where we
want him to be, his own conflict is encouraging, said Fred Sainz, vice president of
the Human Rights Campaign. The vast
majority of Republican politicians only
express their adamant opposition to marriage equality. Bush acknowledges gay
married couples and encourages respect
for them. The fact that hes struggling
with this issue is something that many
Republicans will understand.
According to Gregory T. Angelo, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans,
Bushs sympathetic view could prove pivotal as he increasingly appears to be the
Republican front-runner in a race that
will likely include socially conservative
firebrands such as Sen. Ted Cruz and
Mike Huckabee.
Mr. Bushs statements on marriage
equality show hes part of the growing
movement of common-sense conservatives sympathetic to the desire of committed gay and lesbian couples to live
their lives in quiet dignity with the same
rights and protections as their straight
contemporaries, said Angelo. Its
a message that seems to be resonating
among the general electorate, and one
that can set the standard for 2016 given
Mr. Bushs head start in the race for the
GOP nomination.
Democrats, however, struck back, arguing that sympathy isnt good enough. It
took Jeb Bush 69 words to say absolutely
nothing 69 words not to say, I support
marriage equality. Nothings changed,
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JANUARY 8, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
Mo Elleithee, communications director

for the Democratic National Committee,
said in a statement. At the end of Bushs
statement, he still had the same position:
he opposes the right of gay and lesbian
Floridians and all LGBT Americans
to get married and adopt children. If he
wants to tell us hes changed his position,
great. But this was not that statement. It
was typical Jeb Bush.
Since Bush announced on Dec. 16 via
Facebook that he would actively explore
the possibility of running for President of
the United States, hes led the pack for
the Republican nomination. According
to a CNN/ORC poll released late last
month, Bush polled at 23 percent among
Republican primary voters, with his closest competitor, New Jersey Gov. Chris
Christie, trailing 10 points behind at 13
percent. And on Tuesday, Bush launched
a social media blitz announcing in videos
both in English and Spanish the formation of a political action committee, Right
to Rise PAC, intended to support likeminded conservative candidates.
A former governor and the son and
brother to two former presidents, Bush is
no stranger to political campaigns. He has
witnessed firsthand victories and defeats.
Speaking last month at a CEO forum
sponsored by the Wall Street Journal,
Bush said a successful GOP candidate
for president must be willing to lose the
primary to win the general, without vio-
lating your principles.

I kinda know how a Republican can
win, whether its me or somebody else,
and it has to be much more uplifting,
much more positive, much more willing to be practical, Bush said. With the
arrival of marriage equality to Florida,
approximately 70 percent of the nations
population lives in a marriage-equality
state. At this time last year, 105 million Americans lived in one of 16 states,
plus D.C., that allowed same-sex couples
to marry. One year later, 216 million
Americans live in one of 36 states, plus
D.C., that permit same-sex marriage.
Later this week, on Jan. 9, the Supreme
Court justices will meet behind closed
doors to consider taking up challenges
to same-sex marriage bans in five states:
Louisiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and
Tennessee.
No doubt Bush has an idea which
way the wind is blowing, and indeed
his statement Monday calling for respect
for the rule of law, as well as for the
good people on all sides of the gay and
lesbian marriage issue, could just as
easily apply to a ruling handed down by
the Supreme Court ushering in marriage
equality nationwide.
As Republicans appear increasingly unwilling to waste political capital
fighting same-sex marriage, national
resolution might be just what Bush is
hoping for. l
PFOXs
Preemptive Strike?
LGBT advocates question veracity of ex-gay groups billboard,

messaging ahead of push for ban on conversion therapy for minors
by John Riley
hen outrage erupted over

the appearance of a billboard along Interstate
95 in the Richmond
area, paid for by the ex-gay organization
Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays
(PFOX, which claims no one is born
gay, Richmond resident Apryl Prentiss
felt she had seen this movie before.
Prentiss, deputy policy director for
the Alliance for Progressive Values, pre-
viously testified before the D.C. Council

in June in favor of a bill, passed unanimously in December, that prohibits the
practice of conversion or reparative
therapy on those under the age of 18,
and plans to testify in favor of a similar
bill slated to go before Virginias General
Assembly this year. But Prentiss support for the measure goes beyond just
natural progressive-leaning, pro-LGBT
advocacy. Rather, for Prentiss, the fight is
personal, stemming from her own experience in conversion therapy during her
early 20s.
From the time I was 19 to about 27,
marketplace
METROWEEKLY.COM
JANUARY 8, 2015
NBC12 RICHMOND
LGBTNews
I was living in an emotional, psychological hell, says Prentiss, who grew

up in a conservative Christian home in
Virginia Beach and served as a religious
youth group leader during her teens
and early 20s.
Prentiss often talks of her own experiences in conversion therapy, noting
that, like the message contained on the
Richmond billboard, advocates of conversion therapy start from the assumption that no one is born gay. This belief
prompts them to go digging for a cause,
something negative that can be used
to explain a persons homosexual feelings. Because of her struggle to align her
Christian faith with her sexual orientation, Prentiss says she figured shed either
be single and celibate for the rest of her
life, or would try to make things work
with a man. But she says a turning point
for her was when, as a youth group leader, she found herself telling a 17-year-old
girl in a similar situation of her potential
options.
It started to sicken me, Prentiss says
of her advice to the girl.
Although Prentiss later broke away
from her attempts to become ex-gay,
and eventually managed to settle down
with a partner, she says she feels compelled to speak out on the issue, because
conversion therapy preys on a vulnerable population whos already at risk.
As for the billboard, Prentiss sees a
political motive behind it: namely, stopping or, at least, trying to intimidate
General Assembly lawmakers who might
be considering support for Del. Patrick
Hopes bill that would ban licensed therapists from practicing conversion therapy
on those under the age of 18. Even though
the therapy would not be banned for legal
adults who wish to subject themselves
to such treatments, Prentiss says ex-gay
advocates often try to muddy the waters
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JANUARY 8, 2015
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by claiming the bill is broader than it

actually is or will have unintended consequences for children with same-sex
attraction.
I absolutely believe this was a preemptive strike, Prentiss says of the billboard. Theres no doubt in my mind.
She also urged General Assembly
legislators of all parties to support the
measure, and not to be swayed by arguments that enrolling children in reparative therapy is somehow a family rights
issue. But she added that Democrats, in
particular, due to their partys stance on
LGBT rights, should all come out in favor
of Hopes bill, even if the Republican
majority in both chambers eventually
scuttles it.
This isnt just an LGBT issue, its a
mental health issue, Prentiss says. Im
not sure what the hindrance is, except for
the fact that opponents misrepresent it.
The PFOX billboard itself purports to
show a picture of twins, one straight and
one gay, to imply there is no genetic predisposition to homosexuality, relying on
a study by the Northwestern University
Department of Psychology in 2000 that
dealt with identical twins of differing
sexual orientations. When the billboard
first appeared, several local organizations objected to the message and organized against it, with hundreds of LGBT
people and allies gathering at the Gay
Community Center of Richmond posing
for a group photo that could be used for a
billboard to counter PFOXs message, as
first reported by GayRVA.
But PFOXs billboard ran afoul of
the Northwestern studys author, J.
Michael Bailey, who told the website
LGBTScience.org that he believes that
male sexual orientation is inborn and
resistant to change, and that, although
it is not genetic, homosexuality is not a
learned behavior. The billboards mes-
sage took another hit when the South

African male model whose image was
used for the billboard, Kyle Roux,
revealed to Virginia news outlets that
he was openly gay and not a twin, which
seemed to undercut the entire premise of
PFOXs message.
In a statement posted on their website, PFOX was defiant and included
follow-up posts on their blog telling the
story of a pair of female twins, one of
whom identified as lesbian and was able
to, with the help of her twin, renounce
her homosexuality.
We find it interesting that the attacks
against the billboard and ex-gay community have nothing to do with the facts,
PFOX wrote on its blog. Identical twins
have the same genes or DNA. They are
nurtured in equal prenatal conditions.
If homosexuality is caused by genetics or prenatal conditions and one twin
is gay, the co-twin should also be gay.
Because identical twins are always genetically identical, homosexuality cannot be
genetically dictated. No one is born gay.
Every person seeking positive life
change needs the love and support of
family, friends, the community and the
church, PFOX continued in its statement. Thousands of individuals have
made the decision to leave the homosexual life and will attest to the fact that
change is possible. PFOX believes people
deserve to know the truth and believes
respecting the lives of those who have
made a decision to seek change is part of
building a tolerant society.
Those points have been echoed in
media appearances by Chris Doyle, a
licensed counselor and former PFOX
board member and the head of the
Maryland-based International Healing
Foundation, which practices conversion therapy for people with unwanted
same-sex attraction, and David Pickup, a
therapist and advisor to PFOXs board of
directors. Both Doyle and Pickup claim
that they have successfully fought against
unwanted same-sex attraction.
But for Prentiss, the issues concerning the veracity of the billboard only
highlight the problems with conversion
therapy. She says, from her experience,
that ex-gay advocates rely on vague generalizations and dishonest portrayals of
gays and lesbians as promiscuous and
unable to have healthy relationships to
promote their cause.
Says Prentiss, In this incident, PFOX
gave a picture of who they are and what
their methodology is. l
marketplace
METROWEEKLY.COM
JANUARY 8, 2015
11
2015 A Look Ahead

Dates Youll Want
to
Circle
HE COMING YEAR PROMISES TO BE AN EXCITing one for the D.C. area, beyond just the usual
hustle and bustle of living in a major metropolitan area. On the national level, we anticipate a
Supreme Court decision on marriage equality. Well also see a
Republican-led Senate and an even larger Republican majority in the House of Representatives, setting up an inevitable
confrontation with the Democratic-occupied White House.
At a local level, we will begin to see the new Bowser
administration take shape, as well as the start of political
careers for several new faces on the D.C. Council. Meanwhile,
Democrat-heavy Maryland will navigate its own course
under the Republican leadership of Gov. Larry Hogan. In
Virginia, besides Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffes annual
combat with the Republican-dominated General Assembly,
LGBT allies are hoping to push through legislation that will
extend other rights and protections to LGBT people in the
commonwealth. Add the fact that 2015, in Virginia, is an election year for all 140 members of the General Assembly, and
JANUARY
FRIDAY, JAN. 9
2nd Annual
Lez Sing Karaoke Contest
Hosted by HRC, Brightest Young
Things, Tagg Magazine and Phase 1
Proceeds benefit annual
Her HRC event in February
525 8th St. SE
202-544-6831
General admission: $5
phase1dc.com
FRIDAY, JAN. 16 TO
MONDAY, JAN. 19
Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend 2015
Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill
400 New Jersey Ave. NW
Late Registration $200,
Rooms $175/night
(Various ancillary events and parties)
leatherweekend.com
centaurmc.org
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JANUARY 8, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
on
This Years Calendar
you can almost hear the political pandering and kowtowing

revving up.
As for whats going on in our own backyard, the Districts
various organizations, agencies, and community groups have
plenty prepared for the coming year.
In a year when Metro Weekly will mark its 21st anniversary, Capital Pride, the annual celebration of what it means
to be part of the LGBT community, will mark its own 40th
anniversary. Although organizers are currently tight-lipped
about their plans, there will undoubtedly be efforts to make
the big 4-0 a bash to remember. Add in D.C.s various charitable organizations, major organizations like the Human
Rights Campaign, and D.C.s active nightlife scene to the mix,
and 2015 is bound to have something to enjoy for even those
with the most discriminating of tastes.
Below are some of this years dates to remember. As more
information becomes available, well keep you apprised of
the changes. And remember, you can always find the latest
updates year round at MetroWeekly.com.
MONDAY, JAN. 19
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Day of Service
Hosted by the Corporation for
National and Community Service and
United We Serve
mlkday.gov
MONDAY, JAN. 19 TO
FRIDAY, JAN. 23
No Name-Calling Week
Hosted by the Gay, Lesbian, and
Straight Education Network
(GLSEN) and various schools
glsen.org/nonamecallingweek
THURSDAY, JAN. 22
Pride Reveal
Capital Pride gives attendees a sneak
peak at the plans for its upcoming
40th anniversary celebration
Malmaison
3401 Water St. NW
7 p.m.
202-719-5304
capitalpride.org
SATURDAY, JAN. 24
Brother, Help Thyself holds its
annual Grant Awards Reception
DC Eagle
3701 Benning Rd. NE
2 p.m.
(Snow date: Jan. 31)
202-347-2246
brotherhelpthyself.net
Capital Area Gay and Lesbian
Chamber of Commerce (CAGLCC)
hosts G.Life 2015: A Pop-Up Retail
Expo in the coolest city in The
Gayest Place in America
Washington Marriott Wardman Park
2660 Woodley Rd. NW
Expo runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Recruitment/Job Fair
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Village (pop-up) open
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Admission is free
caglcc.org
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 28
Equality Maryland holds LGBTQ
Youth Foster Parent
Information Session
Owen Brown Interfaith Center
7246 Cradlerock Way
Columbia, Md.
7 to 9 p.m.
410-685-6567
equalitymaryland.org
FEBRUARY
BLACK HISTORY MONTH

TUESDAY, FEB. 3
Equality Virginia holds Day of Action
2015 to lobby legislators in favor
pro-LGBT legislation
Library of Virginia
800 E. Broad St., Richmond
8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(Legislative Reception follows,
5:30 to 7:30 p.m.)
804-643-4816
equalityvirginia.org
SATURDAY, FEB. 7
National Black HIV/AIDS
Awareness Day
nationalblackaidsday.org
THURSDAY, FEB. 12
The Capital Area Gay and Lesbian
Chamber of Commerce (CAGLCC)
holds a Networking Thursday event
Sponsored by Wells Fargo
Hosted by Ruff Plastic Surgery
2440 M St. NW, #200
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
$35 for non-CAGLCC members; free
for members
caglcc.org
THURSDAY, FEB. 12 AND
SATURDAY, FEB. 14
Potomac Fever and the Rock Creek
Singers of the Gay Mens Chorus of
Washington presents Love Rocks!
New York Avenue
Presbyterian Church
1313 New York Ave. NW
8 p.m.
Tickets $39
202-293-1548
gmcw.org
SUNDAY, FEB. 22
The DC Center presents its
annual Oscar Gala,
Glamour, Glitter and Gold
Location and time TBD
202-682-2245
thedccenter.org
MARCH
WOMENS HISTORY MONTH

DATE TBA
The Latino GLBT History Project
celebrates its 4th Annual Womens
History Month Awards Celebration:
Mujeres en el Movimiento
Location and time TBA
latinoglbthistory.org
FRIDAY, MARCH 13 TO
SATURDAY, MARCH 14
Gay Mens Chorus of Washington
presents When You Wish
Lincoln Theater
1215 U St. NW
8:00 p.m. Friday;
3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Saturday
202-293-1548
gmcw.org
SATURDAY, MARCH 28
Miss Gay DC America Pageant
Location TBD
5:30 to 10:30 p.m.
missgaydcamerica.com
APRIL
DATE TBA
Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance
hosts its 44th Annual Reception
Location TBA
glaa.org
FRIDAY, APRIL 10
HIV Vaccine Awareness Day
bethegeneration.nih.gov
FRIDAY, APRIL 17
Day of Silence
Various locations, hosted by the
Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education
Network (GLSEN)
dayofsilence.org
SATURDAY, APRIL 18
Equality Virginia holds its 12th
Annual Commonwealth Dinner
Greater Richmond
Convention Center
403 North 3rd St., Richmond
Attire is black-tie optional
VIP Reception 5 p.m.
General Registration & Silent Auction
5:30 p.m.
Dinner at 7 p.m.
After Dinner Dance at 10 p.m.
Early-Bird Pricing $125 through
Feb. 13, $150 afterwards
804-643-4816
equalityvirginia.org
THURSDAY, APRIL 23
Food & Friends 19th Annual
Dining Out for Life
Various restaurants across D.C.
diningoutforlife.com/washingtondc
foodandfriends.org
FRIDAY, APRIL 24
Youth Pride Allies Reception
youthpridealliance.org
SATURDAY, APRIL 25
Youth Pride Day
Dupont Circle
Time TBA
youthpridealliance.org
TUESDAY, APRIL 28
Special D.C. Election for Ward 4 and
Ward 8 Councilmembers
Various voting locations
For polling place information, visit
dcboee.org
MAY
DATE TBA
Capital TransPride
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
capitaltranspride.org
DATE TBA
Whitman-Walkers Mautner Gala
whitmanwalker.org
SUNDAY, MAY 3
Gay Day at the Zoo/International
Family Equality Day
Sponsored by The DC Center and
Rainbow Families DC
Smithsonian National Zoo
3001 Connecticut Ave. NW
11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
gaydayatthezoo.com
THURSDAY, MAY 7
Next Generation Leadership
Foundation Awards Ceremony
Sponsored by Metro Weekly
nglf.org
metroweekly.com
FRIDAY, MAY 15 TO
SATURDAY, MAY 16
Gay Mens Chorus of Washington
presents Born This Way
Lincoln Theater
1215 U St. NW
8:00 p.m. Friday; 3:00 p.m. and 8:00
p.m. Saturday
202-293-1548
gmcw.org
METROWEEKLY.COM
JANUARY 8, 2015
13
MONDAY, MAY 18
HIV Vaccine Awareness Day
bethegeneration.nih.gov
FRIDAY, MAY 23 TO
SUNDAY, MAY 25
DC Black Pride Weekend 2015
Grand Hyatt Washington
1000 H St. NW
Opening Reception and Awards
Ceremony, Friday 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Full schedule and registration info at
dcblackpride.org
JUNE
DATE TBA
Whitman-Walker Health presents
Going the Extra Mile legal benefit
Location TBA
whitmanwalker.org
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3
Capital Pride Heroes Gala
Location TBA
6 to 9 p.m.
capitalpride.org
THURSDAY, JUNE 4 TO
SATURDAY, JUNE 6
The DC Center presents Capturing
Fire Spoken Word Summit and
Poetry Slam
Times and location TBA
capturingfire.org
FRIDAY, JUNE 5 TO
SUNDAY, JUNE 14
Capital Pride Celebrates its
40th Anniversary
Various events and times
capitalpride.org
MONDAY, JUNE 8
Capital Pride hosts
Music in the Night
capitalpride.org
TUESDAY, JUNE 9
Capital Pride Interfaith Service
capitalpride.org
Capital Pride hosts a
Women Spoken Word event
capitalpride.org
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10
DC Bike Party Pride Ride
capitalpride.org
THURSDAY, JUNE 11
Pride Rooftop Rally
capitalpride.org
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JANUARY 8, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
9th Annual Latino Pride Dance Party

Hosted by
The Latino GLBT History Project
Town Danceboutique
2009 8th St. NW
Time TBA
FRIDAY, JUNE 12
DC Front Runners Pride Ride 5K
capitalpride.org
SATURDAY, JUNE 13
Capital Pride Parade
4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
capitalpride.org
SUNDAY, JUNE 14
Pride Festival and Concert
Pennsylvania Avenue, between 3rd
and 6th Streets NW
11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
capitalpride.org
MONDAY, JUNE 15
Food & Friends 25th Annual Chefs
Best Dinner and Auction
Marriott Marquis
901 Massachusetts Ave. NW
VIP Reception at 5:30 p.m.
Doors open to general public
at 6:30 p.m.
Auction at 8:15 p.m.
foodandfriends.org
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17
Night Out at the Nationals
Sponsored by Team DC
Nationals Park
1500 S. Capitol St. SE
Pre-party 5:30 p.m., game 7:05 p.m.
Ticket prices TBA
teamdc.org
SATURDAY, JUNE 27
National HIV Testing Day
napwa.org
JULY
FRIDAY, JULY 31 TO
SUNDAY, AUG. 2
OutWrite LGBT Book Festival
Reeves Center
2000 14th St. NW
Times TBA
outwritedc.org
SEPTEMBER
DATE TBA
10th Annual Hispanic LGBTQ
Heritage Awards
Location TBA
SUNDAY, SEPT. 27
National Gay Mens HIV/AIDS
Awareness Day
napwa.org
OCTOBER
DATE TBA
The DC Center holds its
annual Fall Reception
Times, location and tickets TBA
202-682-2245
thedccenter.org
DATE TBA
The 29th Annual Walk to End HIV
Sponsored by
Whitman-Walker Health
aidswalkwashington.org
whitmanwalker.org
THURSDAY, OCT. 15
National Latino AIDS Awareness Day
latinoaids.org
SATURDAY, OCT. 24
The Human Rights Campaign
National Dinner
Time, location and tickets TBA
hrcnationaldinner.org
TUESDAY, OCT. 27
Annual High Heel Race
17th Street NW,
between Church and S Streets
6 p.m., race at 9
NOVEMBER
DATE TBA
Whitman-Walker Healths
Be the Care Annual Gala
whitmanwalker.org
TUESDAY, NOV. 3
Virginia State Senate and House of
Delegates Elections
Various locations
Visit sbe.virginia.gov for polling
information
FRIDAY, NOV. 20
Transgender Day of Remembrance
Metropolitan Community Church
474 Ridge St. NW
Time TBA
thedccenter.org
DECEMBER
TUESDAY, DEC. 1
World AIDS Day l
LGBTCommunityCalendar
Metro Weeklys Community Calendar highlights important events in
the D.C.-area LGBT community, from alternative social events to
volunteer opportunities. Event information should be sent by email to
calendar@MetroWeekly.com. Deadline for inclusion is noon
of the Friday before Thursdays publication. Questions about
the calendar may be directed to the Metro Weekly office at
202-638-6830 or the calendar email address.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 10
CENTER GLOBAL, a program of The DC Center
focusing on LGBT rights and providing resources
to LGBT binational couples, immigrants and asylym
seekers, meets at The DC Center. 12:00-2:00 p.m.
2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information,
visit thedccetner.org.
CHRYSALIS arts & culture group visits renovated
THURSDAY, JANUARY 8
BURGUNDY CRESCENT, a gay volunteer organization, volunteers today for Food & Friends. To
participate, visit burgundycrescent.org.
WEEKLY EVENTS
ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH offers
free HIV testing, 9-5 p.m., and HIV services (by
appointment). Call 202-291-4707, or visit andromedatransculturalhealth.org.
DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice session at

Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van Buren St. NW.
7:30-9 p.m. swimdcac.org.
DC LAMBDA SQUARES gay and lesbian squaredancing group features mainstream through
advanced square dancing at the National City
Christian Church, 5 Thomas Circle NW, 7-9:30 p.m.
Casual dress. 301-257-0517, dclambdasquares.org.
The DULLES TRIANGLES Northern Virginia social
group meets for happy hour at Sheraton in Reston,
11810 Sunrise Valley Drive, second-floor bar, 7-9
p.m. All welcome. dullestriangles.com.
HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker Health. The

Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center, 1701 14th St. NW,
9 a.m.-5 p.m. At the Max Robinson Center, 2301
MLK Jr. Ave. SE, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Call 202-7457000. Visit whitman-walker.org.
IDENTITY offers free and confidential HIV testing
in Gaithersburg, 414 East Diamond Ave., and in

Takoma Park, 7676 New Hampshire Ave., Suite 411.
Walk-ins 2-6 p.m. For appointments other hours,
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. 202-638-0750.
SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5 p.m., by
appointment and walk-in, for youth 21 and younger.

202-567-3155 or testing@smyal.org.
US HELPING US hosts a Narcotics Anonymous

Meeting, 6:30-7:30 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave. NW.
The group is independent of UHU. 202-446-1100.
WOMENS LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE for young
LBTQ women, 13-21, interested in leadership development. 5-6:30 p.m. SMYAL Youth Center, 410 7th
St. SE. 202-567-3163, catherine.chu@smyal.org.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 9
GAY MARRIED MENS ASSOCIATION (GAMMA)
is a confidential support group for men who are

gay, bisexual, questioning who is interested in
these topics and is looking for a safe, confidential
place to discuss and explore these issues with other
like-minded men is welcome. 7:30-9:30 p.m. 1772
Church Street NW, meet in Parish Hall. Visit gammaindc.org or email GAMMAinDC2@yahoo.com.
WOMEN IN THEIR TWENTIES, a social discussion

and activity group for LBT women in Washington,
meets the second and fourth Fridays of each month
at The DC Center to coordinate upcoming trips and
events. Dancing at Phase One after meeting. 8:009:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more
information, visit thedccenter.org.
WEEKLY EVENTS
appointment). 202-291-4707, andromedatransculturalhealth.org.
DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice session
at Hains Point, 927 Ohio Dr. SW. 6:30-8 p.m. Visit

swimdcac.org.
GAY DISTRICT holds facilitated discussion for
GBTQ men, 18-35, first and third Fridays. 8:30 p.m.

The DC Center, 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. 202682-2245, gaydistrict.org.
HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker Health,

9 a.m.-5 p.m. 202-745-7000, whitman-walker.org.

Suite 700. 202-638-0750.
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 GLBT and questioning youth, featuring
dance parties, vogue nights, movies and games.
More info, catherine.chu@smyal.org.
Youth Center, 410 7th St. SE. 202-567-3155,
testing@smyal.org.
American Wing of the Baltimore Museum of Art

(BMA), followed by visit to Baltimore Museum of
Industry. Brunch at Gertrudes restaurant inside
BMA. Carpool at 9:30 a.m. from Forest Glen Metro
Kiss & Ride lot, return by dark. Admission and
transportation costs will total under $20, plus
brunch. Craig, 202-462-0535. craighowell1@verizon.net.
The DC Center offers FREE HIV TESTING to those
intereinterested. Confidential. All welcome. 4:007:00 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more
information, visit thedccenter.org.
The DC Center hosts a VOLUNTEER

ORIENTATION session for all interested persons.
12:00-3:00 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. More
information, thedccenter.org.
WEEKLY EVENTS

appointment). 202-291-4707 or andromedatransculturalhealth.org.
BET MISHPACHAH, founded by members of the

LGBT community, holds Saturday morning Shabbat
services, 10 a.m., followed by Kiddush luncheon.
Services in DCJCC Community Room, 1529 16th St.
NW. betmish.org.
BRAZILIAN GLBT GROUP, including others interested in Brazilian culture, meets. For location/time,
email braziliangaygroup@yahoo.com.
Hains Point, 972 Ohio Dr., SW. 8:30-10 a.m. Visit
swimdcac.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/walking/social
club welcomes all levels for exercise in a fun and

supportive environment, socializing afterward.
Meet 9:30 a.m., 23rd & P Streets NW, for a walk; or
10 a.m. for fun run. dcfrontrunners.org.
DC SENTINELS basketball team meets at Turkey
Thicket Recreation Center, 1100 Michigan Ave. NE,

2-4 p.m. For players of all levels, gay or straight.
teamdcbasketball.org.
DIGNITY NORTHERN VIRGINIA sponsors Mass

for LGBT community, family and friends. 6:30 p.m.,
Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill, 3606 Seminary
Road, Alexandria. All welcome. For more info, visit
dignitywashington.org.
GAY LANGUAGE CLUB discusses critical languages and foreign languages. 7 p.m. Nellies, 900 U St.
NW. RVSP preferred. brendandarcy@gmail.com.
in Takoma Park, 7676 New Hampshire Ave., Suite
411. Walk-ins 12-3 p.m. For appointments other
hours, call 301-422-2398.
METROWEEKLY.COM
JANUARY 8, 2015
15
SUNDAY, JANUARY 11
BURGUNDY CRESCENT, a gay volunteer organization, volunteers today for DC Central Kitchen
and Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation in Potomac
Yards. To participate, visit burgundycrescent.org.
WEEKLY EVENTS
UNIVERSALIST NATIONAL MEMORIAL

CHURCH, a welcoming and inclusive church. GLBT
Interweave social/service group meets monthly.

Services at 11 a.m., Romanesque sanctuary. 1810 16th
St. NW. 202-387-3411, universalist.org.
MONDAY, JANUARY 12
LGBT-inclusive ALL SOULS MEMORIAL

EPISCOPAL CHURCH celebrates Low Mass at 8:30
a.m., High Mass at 11 a.m. 2300 Cathedral Ave. NW.
202-232-4244, allsoulsdc.org.
THE DC CENTER YOUTH WORKING GROUP,

focusing on programming and events aimed at
positively impacting the lives of D.C. youth, meets
on the second Monday of the month. 6:00-7:30 p.m.
2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information,
visit thedccenter.org.
BETHEL CHURCH-DC progressive and radically

inclusive church holds services at 11:30 a.m. 2217
Minnesota Ave. SE. 202-248-1895, betheldc.org.
WEEKLY EVENTS

Hains Point, 972 Ohio Dr., SW. 9:30-11 a.m. Visit
swimdcac.org.
Michael Brazell teaches BEARS DO YOGA, a program of The DC Center. 6:30 p.m., Green Lantern,
1335 Green Court NW. No cost, newcomers welcome. 202-682-2245, thedccenter.org.
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF

CHRIST welcomes all to 10:30 a.m. service, 945 G
St. NW. firstuccdc.org or 202-628-4317.
at Hains Point, 927 Ohio Dr. SW. 7-8:30 p.m. Visit

swimdcac.org.
HOPE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST welcomes
DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds practice, 6:30-8:30
GLBT community 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. lincolntemple.org.
METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH OF

NORTHERN VIRGINIA services at 11 a.m., led by
Rev. Onetta Brooks. Childrens Sunday School, 11

a.m. 10383 Democracy Lane, Fairfax. 703-691-0930,
mccnova.com.
METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH OF

WASHINGTON, D.C. services at 9 a.m. (ASL inter-
preted) and 11 a.m. Childrens Sunday School at 11

a.m. 474 Ridge St. NW. 202-638-7373, mccdc.com.
NATIONAL CITY CHRISTIAN CHURCH, inclusive
church with GLBT fellowship, offers gospel worship,

8:30 a.m., and traditional worship, 11 a.m. 5 Thomas
Circle NW. 202-232-0323, nationalcitycc.org.
RIVERSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH, a Christ-centered,

interracial, welcoming-and-affirming church, offers
service at 10 a.m. 680 I St. SW. 202-554-4330,
riverside-dc.org.
ST. STEPHEN AND THE INCARNATION, an
interracial, multi-ethnic Christian Community

offers services in English, 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., and
in Spanish at 5:15 p.m. 1525 Newton St. NW. 202232-0900, saintstephensdc.org.
UNITARIAN CHURCH OF ARLINGTON, an

LGBTQ welcoming-and-affirming congregation,
offers services at 10 a.m. Virginia Rainbow UU
Ministry. 4444 Arlington Blvd. uucava.org.
UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF
SILVER SPRING invites LGBTQ families and indi-
viduals of all creeds and cultures to join the church.

Services 9:15 and 11:15 a.m. 10309 New Hampshire
Ave. uucss.org.
16
JANUARY 8, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
p.m. Garrison Elementary, 1200 S St. NW. dcscandals.wordpress.com.
GETEQUAL meets 6:30-8 p.m. at Quaker House,

2111 Florida Ave. NW. getequal.wdc@gmail.com.
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.
testing. No appointment needed. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. 1012

14th St. NW, Suite 700. 202-638-0750.
NOVASALUD offers free HIV testing. 5-7 p.m. 2049

N. 15th St., Suite 200, Arlington. Appointments:
703-789-4467.

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. 202-682-2245, thedccenter.org.
US HELPING US hosts a black gay mens evening
affinity group. 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. 202-4461100.
WASHINGTON WETSKINS Water Polo Team
practices 7-9 p.m. Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van

Buren St. NW. Newcomers with at least basic swimming ability always welcome. Tom, 703-299-0504,
secretary@wetskins.org, wetskins.org.
Whitman-Walker Health HIV/AIDS SUPPORT
GROUP for newly diagnosed individuals, meets 7
p.m. Registration required. 202-939-7671, hivsupport@whitman-walker.org.
HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker Health. D.C.:

MLK Jr. Ave. SE, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. For an appointment call 202-745-7000. Visit whitman-walker.org.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 13
DC BI WOMEN, a support and social group for
bisexual women and their allies, meets in the

upstairs room at Dupont Italian Kitchen on the
second Tuesday of each month. 7:00-9:00 p.m. 1637
17th St. NW. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
GAY & LESBIAN ACTIVISTS ALLIANCE, a non-
partisan political lobbying group, meets in a private

residence in Dupont Circle to discuss building relationships with the incoming Bowser Administration
and the new Council. 7 p.m. All welcome. Rick, 202328-6278 for further details.
The LATINO LGBT TASK FORCE holds its monthly meeting at The DC Center. 3:00-5:00 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. afwash@aol.com,
afwashington.net.
Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van Buren St. NW.
7:30-9 p.m. swimdcac.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/walking/social
club serving greater D.C.s LGBT community and

allies hosts an evening run/walk. dcfrontrunners.
org.
THE GAY MENS HEALTH COLLABORATIVE
offers free HIV/STI screening every 2nd and 4th

Tuesday. 5-6:30 p.m. Rainbow Tuesday LGBT
Clinic, Alexandria Health Department, 4480 King
St. 703-321-2511, james.leslie@inova.org.
HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker Health. D.C.:

MLK Jr. Ave. SE, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. For an appointment call 202-745-7000. Visit whitman-walker.org.
THE HIV WORKING GROUP of THE DC CENTER

hosts Packing Party, where volunteers assemble
safe-sex kits of condoms and lube. 7 p.m., Green
Lantern, 1335 Green Court NW. thedccenter.org.
in Gaithersburg, 414 East Diamond Ave., and in

Takoma Park, 7676 New Hampshire Ave., Suite 411.
Walk-ins 2-6 p.m. For appointments other hours,
call Gaithersburg at 301-300-9978 or Takoma Park
at 301-422-2398.
KARING WITH INDIVIDUALITY (K.I.) SERVICES,
at 3333 Duke St., Alexandria, offers free rapid HIV

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

Suite 700. 202-638-0750.
OVEREATERS ANONYMOUSLGBT 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 or Gretchen, 703-307-9517
Handicapped accessible. Newcomers welcome.

Youth Center, 410 7th St. SE. 202-567-3155, testing@smyal.org.
SUPPORT GROUP FOR LGBTQ YOUTH ages 13-21

meets at SMYAL, 410 7th St. SE, 5-6:30 p.m. Cathy
Chu, 202-567-3163, catherine.chu@smyal.org.
US HELPING US hosts a support group for black

gay men 40 and older. 7-9 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave.
NW. 202-446-1100.
ins 2-7 p.m. For appointments other hours, call

Gaithersburg at 301-300-9978.
JOB CLUB, a weekly support program for job
entrants and seekers, meets at The DC Center. 2000

14th St. NW, Suite 105. 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. More info,
www.centercareers.org.
testing. No appointment needed. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. 1012

14th St. NW, Suite 700. 202-638-0750.
NOVASALUD offers free HIV testing. 11 a.m.2 p.m. 2049 N. 15th St., Suite 200, Arlington.
Appointments: 703-789-4467.
PRIME TIMERS OF DC, social club for mature gay

men, hosts weekly happy hour/dinner. 6:30 p.m.,
Windows Bar above Dupont Italian Kitchen, 1637
17th St. NW. Carl, 703-573-8316.
WHITMAN-WALKER HEALTH offers HIV
TESTING at its D.C. locations: Elizabeth Taylor
Medical Center, 1701 14th St. NW, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. At

the Max Robinson Center, 2301 MLK Jr. Ave. SE, 9
a.m.-4:30 p.m. 202-745-7000, whitman-walker.org. l
FOR MORE CALENDAR LISTINGS

PLEASE VISIT
WWW.METROWEEKLY.COM
WHITMAN-WALKER HEALTHS GAY MENS

HEALTH AND WELLNESS/STD CLINIC opens at
6 p.m., 1701 14th St. NW. Patients are seen on walkin basis. No-cost screening for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. Hepatitis and herpes testing
available for fee. whitman-walker.org.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14
THE LAMBDA BRIDGE CLUB meets for Duplicate
Bridge. 7:30 p.m. Dignity Center, 721 8th St SE,
across from Marine Barrack. No reservation needed.
703-407-6540 if you need a partner.
RAINBOW RESPONSE, a coalition of individuals
and agencies targeting intimate partner violence
in the Greater D.C. area, meets on the second
Wednesday of each month at The DC Center. 6:008:00 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more
information, visit rainbowresponse.org.
WEEKLY EVENTS
AD LIB, a group for freestyle conversation, meets
about 7:45 p.m., covered-patio area of Cosi, 1647
20th St. NW. All welcome. Jamie, 703-892-8567.
at Hains Point, 927 Ohio Dr. SW. 7-8:30 p.m. Visit

swimdcac.org.
DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds practice, 6:30-8:30
p.m. Garrison Elementary, 1200 S St. NW. dcscandals.wordpress.com.
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.
in Gaithersburg, 414 East Diamond Ave. Walk-
METROWEEKLY.COM
JANUARY 8, 2015
17
COURTESY OF THE JOHN D. & CATHERINE T. MACARTHUR FOUNDATION
PREA
PAS
18
JANUARY 8, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
ACHING
AST THE
CHOIR
Tarell McCraney depicts the journey of young

black men in his work, including
his new play Choir Boy
Interview by Doug Rule
T
ARELL
McCraneys new play Choir Boy isnt

about the recent incidents of police violence against young black men, just as
Shakespeares The Tempest isnt about
the African slave trade, which was burgeoning during the time it was written.
The Tempest depicts one character, usually played by a black actor, as monster,
slave.
Choir Boy is not a play set in
Ferguson, McCraney says. But if you
want to engage in the question of AfricanAmerican men young men and what
theyre interested in then I think that
is just as tantamount or related to these
issues. Because these young men are preparing to go into the world that will see
them as monsters, sometimes. Even without being prompted.
Choir Boy, now in a new production
at Studio Theatre, focuses on a group of
young black men preparing to become
leaders in their community. The play
revolves around the character of Pharus,
the leader of the school choir who is
taunted for being gay and effeminate.
Despite being tormented by his peers,
Pharus stays true to himself and turns the
other cheek to a magnanimous degree,
showing empathy for his bullies. Says
McCraney: I think that level of generosity is saintly.
The 34-year-old McCraney, who last
year was chosen as a MacArthur Fellow
(otherwise known as a Genius Grant),
grew up in Miami among similar real-life
practitioners of what he calls a spirit of
generosity.
I had many teachers, people in the
community, who were very supportive
and afforded me opportunities to participate in the arts, he says. There are a lot
of programs that dont exist anymore for
people who couldnt afford to go to art
classes, or have art study. And I was one
of those. I was very lucky.
METROWEEKLY.COM
JANUARY 8, 2015
19
African-American boys in [a prep school] and their journey

into becoming young men and leaders in the community. The
schools choir has yielded some financial gain but also a sort-of
branding for the school. And at the start of the play we watch a
very effeminate young man with an extraordinary gift become
the lead of that choir.
MW: Was this informed by your own experience?
MCCRANEY: I didnt go to a preparatory high school. I went to a
performing arts high school actually. And I was never the lead of
anybodys choir. I cant sing.
MW: What inspired this play?
MCCRANEY: I was interested in the cross-section of AfricanAmerican young men growing into manhood in todays society.
And oftentimes theres this depiction of sort-of their more
physical and urban life, but not necessarily what its like for
them to handle the traditions passed on to them from AfricanAmerican culture, and what theyre expected to hold and hold
on to when becoming men. I was interested in that portrait, in
how we prepare people who are constantly told to remember
theyre part of a particular group but also asked to be individuals. Are we allowing their individuality or are we hampering it?
How do we connect with young people and ask them to flourish and be our leaders of tomorrow? Are we allowing them the
space to do that? Are we really understanding their needs and
connecting to them as young people? Are we allowing them to
be children, or are we hampering them by putting way too many
restrictions on their ability to grow by asking them to take on so
many responsibilities?
MW: What about your childhood? Did you grow up in a religious
environment?
MCCRANEY: My grandfather was a Baptist minister, and I was
very close to him. And I identify as a Christian. And I identified
early on as a Christian myself. I was a student of hermeneutic
studies.
MW: When did you realize you were gay? And did that have an
impact on your religious outlook?
MCCRANEY: Pretty early. It did, to a degree. I think when you
realize that especially as a person of color theres always
a moment when you realize that theres something in society
thats not necessarily geared toward or for you. And I think
thats what Im interested in, in terms of Choir Boy and in terms
of my work in general. When you realize what society is asking
of you when you realize the world and its strange categories
and orders, some of them being man-made, some of them being
what we think of as natural what do you choose? How do you
move next? What do you do next? I do remember becoming
aware, and becoming conscious similarly to looking around
the room in classes and recognizing that I was the only black
person or the only tall person, or the only black, tall person who
people thought of as older for various reasons. I was the same
age as all the other kids in my class. But I was handed more
responsibility, expected to act a certain way. And you recognize
when people put those mores and expectations on you.
MW: How involved were you in the church? Did you ever see that
as a career path?
MCCRANEY: Very little. When I was younger I
thought being a pastor would be awesome. But
thats what all kids do. They see what their parents do and they think thats awesome. But in
terms of career, I dont think I ever pursued. I
started in theater very early, and I was in it so
intently that I just kind of didnt veer very far
ever.
MW: Choir Boy isnt set in a specific geographic
place. And on the topic of geography, you havent
set much of your work in your hometown of Miami.
Far more of it has taken place in Louisiana, including the critically acclaimed plays known as your
Brother/Sister trilogy. What is it about New
Orleans and the bayou that has inspired you so
much?
MCCRANEY: Well Ive only written one play based
in New Orleans proper. And that was The Breach.
And that was because I was commissioned to
write a play about Katrina. I love New Orleans.
Its an incredible place. The Brother/Sister plays
were all based in the bayou or in a place called
San Pere. And then some drop of turd, some
stage writer somewhere, some marketing group
decided that, Oh, its the bayou so it must be in
Louisiana. So I was like, sure. But if you want to,
you could very well place it in any bayou along
the Gulf of Mexico. As long as its in the South it
sort-of works that way.
We have our own bayou here in Florida that
we call the Everglades. And that swampland is
inspiring. Most of my plays Height of Passes
takes place out on passes of the mouth of the
Mississippi. And Wig Out! takes place somewhere
at a drag ball club, which I dont think is in New
Orleans proper. I try to write plays that can happen almost anywhere.
MW: Youve also spent a couple years working in London and
specifically for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). Have you
always enjoyed Shakespeare?
MCCRANEY: From 13 on we were exposed to Shakespeare, at least
on the page. I didnt see a lot of Shakespeare. Theres not a lot of
Shakespeare done in Miami. But my grandmother would recite
it to us. Monologues that she remembered from school. So yeah.
I mean, I love theater. There are very few things in theater that
I dont like.
MW: As part of your work with RSC you adapted two Shakespeare
works for children, Hamlet and Anthony and Cleopatra. Do you
hope that such efforts could help inculcate more appreciation for
Shakespeare?
MCCRANEY: I think Shakespeare is one of those resources that we
dont use enough to generate interest in the arts. Its timeless, in
lots of ways. It has a lot of interest points that can draw people in.
As artists, especially theater artists, our brand theater is not
easy to make, and its also sometimes cumbersome to keep going.
COURTESY OF TARELL MCCRANEY
METRO WEEKLY: How would you describe Choir Boy?

TARELL MCCRANEY: Its a coming of age play about a group of
Were waiting on the news sources to not just rabble-rouse our

ASKING OUR ARTISTS TO GO IN AND CREATE WORK THAT
20
JANUARY 8, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
So Shakespeare is a fantastic way to bring interest and focus.

MW: Do you have any other ideas for boosting interest in the arts,
or the overall state of todays performing arts?
MCCRANEY: Maybe I should, but I have less concern about the
state of the performing arts mostly because I think that the
state of our social, political, physical society is in a very curious,
precarious place. And I think that our job as artists is to somehow continue to reflect as best we can the intimate, unexplainable, larger questions that arent coming up right now. We cant
always count on accounts to tell us whats actually happening
and whats [not], as we used to. There used to be a time when we
sort-of relied heavily on people, on information being given to us
and sort-of knowing whats happening. But [now] theres a sortof haze over whats happening socially, politically, physically to
our society that we dont know, we just know that theres something amiss. And I think the investigation into those questions is
whats important. And if we dont do that, then I think the state
of the performing arts is in peril. If we decide to look away and
focus on our own navels, I think we will find ourselves in very

dangerous territory.
MW: Whats been happening after the recent incidents in Ferguson
and New York are you wanting to explore that, is that what
youre suggesting?
MCCRANEY: Theres no part of me that wants to write a play specifically about those incidents. Simply because they are true to
life. They are actual and biographical, and biography isnt what
I do. I only hope and pray that there will be writers in the media
who will investigate things like that. And really let us know in
the most proficient way and most honest, sincere way possible
what are the key things that are happening, whats causing them
or how theyre happening or how theyre unfolding, and then
allowing us to take in that information.
[Some] plays that are being done, or have been done in the
past few months, may not be about Ferguson specifically; may
not be based in Staten Island. Or in New Orleans. Or Sanford,
Fla. But they are about people of color. Theyre about privilege.
our emotions but to give us actual encounters. And then WERE

THAT IS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THOSE, BUT IN A DRAMA.
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JANUARY 8, 2015
21
ANYTIME I FIND O
RELATED COMPLICA
because t
COURTESY OF TARELL MCCRANEY
experience tells you is true, still jives

with todays world.
MCCRANEY: Have you ever seen The
Tempest? In that play, a black actor
normally plays the role of Caliban.
And the things that they call Caliban
are monster, slave. They call him a
brute, they say his tongue is thick
he cant speak the language well. Of
course the slave trade was beginning
and burgeoning during Shakespeares
time, and they were finding these new
colonies and territories. But to think
that in a society that is supposedly
so removed from that time and those
plays, to have that notion on stage
and for nobody to think that there are
parallels to that time? You have grown
men saying of 18-year-old boys that theyre a brute, theyre a
monster, theyre a demon. That same fanciful and fantastic language thats in a play thats almost 500 years old is being said on
a stage in 2015 about mostly actors of color.
The first thing as a black actor when youre approaching
Shakespeare, they go, Oh, Othello or Caliban. Whats the language that they use for Caliban? Monster. Whats the language
they use for Othello? Black or brute. War demon. You dont have
to look far to see the correlation. So for those of us who are just
writing about the state of being and may not be pointing it in
those specific places because I guarantee you, once you put
those names on things people go, Oh, Im so tired of hearing
about that. You see it already. You can hear it already. There
are people who are like, Im tired of hearing about that. That
happened, we should move on. Or, thats a terrible thing. Or:
It wasnt that terrible. He shouldnt have been doing X. And
then as artists we can go and put that on stage but you start to
build up filters. But what if theres a way for me to tell you that
story from another angle? What if theres a way to tell a story
about a convict who gets out of jail and is trying to do better and
is constantly pressured by the police harassment around him,
so much so that he ends up in the same situation that he was in
before. Is that a way to get into that story and still be relevant?
Or do I have to go to the streets of Ferguson and write verbatim
whats happening on the streets? Am I to be an artist or am I to
be a reporter? Are they the same?
MW: No.
MCCRANEY: Are you sure?
MW: No. But historically at least they are supposed to be distinct
pursuits.
MCCRANEY: Im not being facetious. Im actually asking. Ive
never studied journalism a day in my life I dont think. I may
have had a class here or there but Im sure I didnt do well in
it. But I get these questions a lot. [The assumption is that] as a
black artist, its kind of my job to be on the ground floor reporting whats happening and recording it, and writing it down and
putting it down. And Im thinking to myself, that doesnt sound
like my job. I was never trained to do that. Is my onus to go and
Theyre about the hierarchies of American society, and interact

using race and socioeconomic status and gender. And those
cross-sections the history of them and how they still play out
today. And yet, people wont respond until you say youre going
to write a play about Ferguson. Its like, well, if I write a play
showing how someone is being brutalized during and after the
Civil War, and then I write a play about someone who is falsely
accused, or is thought of as a brute and executed in Ferguson in
2014 I mean, do I have to point to it in order for you to see it as
the same? If it was happening then and its still happening now,
how many more connections do I need to make? We get polemic
when we think Oh, Im going to write a play about, because
we all know, or think we know, whats happened. So if you put
that in a play people are like, Well, youre just telling us things
we sort-of think we know already. So how do we get to crack
those things open?
I think it is necessary for us to engage in that conversation,
because sometimes, again, were waiting on people to give us
information. Were waiting on the news sources to not just
rabble-rouse our emotions but to give us actual encounters. And
then were asking our artists to go in and create work that is
specifically about those but in a drama. I think its a really interesting question; its a really interesting paradigm. Shakespeare,
he didnt go and write specifically about the bonfire night rebellion. He didnt write about those specific incidents in his plays.
Yet somehow he put them in. If you read the plays that he wrote
during certain events in history, or the history in the United
Kingdom at the time that he was alive, they somehow make their
way into the plays, even when hes writing about history that
happened hundreds of years before.
If you cant see Selma at the movie theater and see how those
protests are in league or are in kindred spirit to the protests that
are happening today, then thats where I fear for us. Because
if you cant see the parallels if theres a moment where you
think, Oh well, that was then and this isnt the same were
in trouble.
MW: I guess its incumbent to stay on top of current events, to make
sure what you think you know, or what youve learned and your
22
JANUARY 8, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
ND OUT SOMEBODYS PARENT PASSED AWAY FROM AIDSPLICATIONS, I FEEL SAD FOR THEM. It makes me sad, especially
ause there are so many people living long and full lives.
interview Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin and ask them about
the loss of their son [Trayvon Martin] and make that into a
piece? Or is that something CNN should be doing?
MW: I guess to an extent it depends on what you want to do. You
just made me think of Moises Kaufmans The Laramie Project,
which is a kind of mix of journalism and art and theater. So I guess
if you wanted to do that, you could.
MCCRANEY: Yeah, but what is that though? I dont think Moises
went to Laramie thinking to himself, Im going to write, I just
want this entire story to be out. There was something that drew
him specifically the friends and family, and what they were
going through. Theres something Im sure that drew Lynn
Nottage to Ruined to figure out what was going on specifically. I
dont think she was just like, Im going to encapsulate the entire
war [in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo]. But
again you have to ask those larger questions. And what Im
asserting is that in these moments right now, there are so many
questions and so much that I dont know, thats it hard to get a
handle on.
And what I do know Im not going to write a play about.
Thats uninteresting. Me being upset that black lives are being
murdered in the street doesnt make a good play. Its a quick and
quiet evening.
MW: Switching gears, a few months ago the Los Angeles Times ran
a profile of you, and it made passing reference to a fact I dont think
a lot of people know, that you lost your mother to AIDS-related
complications just over a decade ago. Have you ever touched on
the pandemic in your work?
MCCRANEY: No, I havent touched on it specifically. I think the
thing thats always important to me about work is that I try not
to write from a place of all knowing. Of course, we as human
beings think we know everything. Thats our hubris; its our
greatest downfall. And there are things that Im sort-of certain
about or have an unwavering understanding about right now. Im
sure something will happen to shake up my understanding about
that, which is fantastic. But I know that HIV is a phenomena that
happened, happens, is happening. I have lots of statistics and I
read tons of articles, and again I think I personally wouldnt be
writing a very good play if I just put all of the things that I know
about it up.
I think we can do a better job of caring for people who are
positive. But do you want me to write a play about people who
are caring for people who are positive? I try to be as informed as
I can, explain as much as I can, donate as much as I can, make
sure that resources are available. But writing a play about making sure resources are available, I dont necessarily know if thats
I dont know if I could make a good one. Thats the other thing:
As an artist you want to do something good. You want to be like,
This is a good play! And I dont know if I could make a good
play about that. There are tons of great plays about the pandemic
Larry Kramer, Tony Kushner. When I see those plays Im like,
Yep, they did a fantastic job. Can I do a fantastic job on it? Not
just yet. Maybe soon, maybe. Its not like I dont have interest in
the topic. For instance, there are tons of moments of sickness in
my plays, and people passing away, people with illnesses that
necessarily we dont know how to define. And so I think it comes
up in other ways.
MW: I dont know when your mother contracted HIV or how old
you were when you found out about it. But I suspect your perspective on the topic is different than a lot of peoples, especially other
gay peoples.
MCCRANEY: Probably because of my understanding I have a different perspective. Anytime I find out somebodys parent passed
away from AIDS-related complications, I feel sad for them. It
makes me sad, especially because there are so many people living
long and full lives. But no, I learnt it very early on in my early
teens. And had to learn a lot of information about a seemingly
very complicated disease [and] more complicated policy and
phenomena the disease actually was pretty simple to know or
understand.
MW: Returning to Choir Boy, I wanted to ask specifically about the
character Pharus. Do you identify with him?
MCCRANEY: Whether I identify with him or not, I think hes
amazing. Those people like Pharus who can, in the middle of a
place that is basically telling them to be something else [and yet]
they remain truly themselves, and somehow try to flourish within that thats just, I think, spectacular. And I also love people
who have generosity for others who may not be being generous
to them. I think thats fascinating. To be able to somehow find
empathy for people who are oppressing you, or being mean to
you, I think that level of generosity is saintly.
Of course hes not perfect. Hes not an angel-born saint, hes
a human-born saint. He has his flaws. But at the same time, still,
in his situation most of us would sort of bristle and either shut
down or try to remove ourselves from, he remains. And also finds
kindness and/or openhandedness and in some cases love from
people who are hurting him. And I think that is noble. Thats
inspiring. That is something to be protected, something to be
cherished and examined in a closer, more intimate way.
MW: Is the character informed by your own experience? Did you
suffer taunts and resistance from other kids who maybe didnt
understand you?
MCCRANEY: I definitely was bullied as a kid. I think the distinction
is that I am not like Pharus. Hes much more fascinating. He is
resilient. Do I know people like Pharus? Yes I do. Many people
who choose to remain who they are regardless of pressures
around them. And not in any sort of flagrant or flamboyant
way. Not in the way of like Im showing off who I am. But more
so I am being my most true self in every moment that I can.
Because at the end of the day that is what we all hope and wish
we are, right? Most of the time were not were throwing
on masks, were running around trying to do this and that for
everybody else. Were living in double-triple consciousnesses.
But for a person to say, Look, this is at root who I am and I am
going to try and enact that in all of the things that I do, thats
amazing. Thats powerful. And I think it sometimes scares
people. Its enviable. I wish I could be zero-to-one-hundred
myself all the time.
Tarell McCraneys Choir Boy runs to Feb. 22 at Studio Theatre,
14th & P Streets NW. Tickets are $44 to $88. Call 202-332-3300 or
visit studiotheatre.org. l
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JANUARY 8, 2015
23
JANUARY 8 - 15, 2015
CAROL ROSEGGG
Compiled by Doug Rule
Famished
Signature Theatres Diner doesnt ll or fulll needs
RITICS BEMOAN TODAYS TREND OF MAKing new musicals out of hit movies, because too
often the end result is a product that creates
buzz and makes money, but isnt compelling or
even very interesting_- at least not intellectually. Often not
artistically, either.
Diner, unfortunately, proves to be the latest case in point.
A lot of time, effort and money went into a stage adaptation of Barry Levinsons critically acclaimed 1982 fi lm.
Accomplished Tony-winning director and choreographer
Kathleen Marshall was enlisted to fl esh out the stories and
freshen up the material for a live environment. Marshall
and Levinson, who adapted his script, charged the equally
accomplished Grammy-winning pop star Sheryl Crow to
write original music and lyrics capturing the 1950s, when an
edgier pop sound was just starting to fi nd fl avor out of a stew
of R&B, blues and country.
In the end its only the music that lives up to the challenge. Through Crows score, we meet several of the women
factoring into the lives of the young men, who were the
fi lms sole focus. Chances are youll even end up caring more
about the women as written here. The men seem thoroughly
24
JANUARY 8, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
stuck in a sexist time warp, unwilling, maybe even unable, to

understand women and relationships and expressing no
broader sense of lifes meaning and purpose. By the time the
fi rst act ends in jail, after the surreal destruction of a nativity
scene, these one-dimensional male characters are almost as
much of a joke as the depicted three wise men and every
bit as unfunny.
If only more of the action took place within the stages
handsomely realized art deco diner (designed by Derek
McLane with assist from James Kronzer). If only there
were more character development, and conversations about
characters instead of just sex, love and football. And if only
Signatures great star Nova Y. Payton wasnt wasted as an
ensemble player who, as a stripper, shows off more of her skin
than her vocal range.
Gotta lotta woman, Payton sings in one of the shows last
numbers. But sometimes a lotta anything, or a lotta everything,
still isnt enough. Doug Rule
Diner (HHHHH) runs to Jan. 25 at Signature Theatre,
4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Tickets are $40 to $95.
Call 703-820-9771 or visit signature-theatre.org.
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JANUARY 8, 2015
25
TEDDY WOLFF
BAD JEWS
HHHHH
In Joshua Harmons acerbic dramedy Bad Jews, none of the four characters are lovable. They are, in fact, as the title would
have it, all bad, to varying degrees though only three of the four are Jewish, cousins reunited for their grandfathers funeral.
Irene Sofia Lucio as Daphna and Alex Mandell as Liam both turn in astonishing performances as the shows two tentpole
monsters, one an Israeli-dreaming Jewish hardliner, the other a thoroughly assimilated American atheist. Peace and goodwill
between these two is as impossible to imagine as it is between Israel and Palestine. Extended to Jan. 18. Studio Theatre, 14th
& P Streets NW. Tickets are $44 to $88. Call 202-332-3300 or visitstudiotheatre.org. (Doug Rule)
SPOTLIGHT
SPEAKEASYDCS TOP SHELF
KEVIN GRIFFIN OF BETTER THAN EZRA
Wolf Trap offers a rare solo show by the frontman and songwriting mastermind behind the New
Orleans-based alt-rock band Better Than Ezra.
Thursday, Jan. 15, at 8 p.m. The Barns at Wolf Trap,
1635 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $25 to $27. Call
877-WOLFTRAP or visit wolftrap.org.
NEO-IMPRESSIONISM AND
THE DREAM OF REALITIES
Top Shelf is the annual best-of showcase featuring the most popular tales told over the past year
at this hit storytelling organizations many events
at venues around town. Unlike other storytelling
organizations, SpeakEasyDC is focused on congenial
camaraderie rather than competition no judged
Story Slams here. Top Shelf is a curated group of
eight storytellers. Saturday, Jan. 10. Doors at 6 p.m.
Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW. Tickets are $25. Call
202-328-6000 or visit thelincolndc.com.
THE ILLUSIONISTS
The Phillips Collection offers an exhibition featuring

more than 70 paintings and works on paper demonstrating how Neo-Impressionists such as Georges
Seurat, Paul Signac and Theo van Rysselberghe
created landscapes and figures that went far beyond
observed nature. Closes this Sunday, Jan. 11. The
Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW. Tickets are
$12. Call 202-387-2151 x247 or visit phillipscollection.org.
The Kennedy Center welcomes a hit Broadway

spectacle billed as the worlds best-selling magic
show, featuring seven illusionists performing outrageous and astonishing acts. Remaining shows are
Thursday, Jan. 8, through Sunday, Jan. 11, at 7:30
p.m. Also Saturday, Jan. 10, and Sunday, Jan. 11, at
1:30 p.m. Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets are
$39 to $135. Call 202-467-4600 or visit
kennedy-center.org.
SAM SMITH
THE INSERIES: BELLINIS SONNAMBULA
IMP Productions offers another local stop of this

openly gay British crooner who, in just the past year,
has become a bona fide popstar. Monday, Jan. 12.
Doors at 6:30 p.m. Patriot Center at George Mason
University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax. Tickets
are $55. Call 703-993-3000 or visit
patriotcenter.com.
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JANUARY 8, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
The next opera in the In Series pocket opera

series is this infrequently performed Romantic story
of innocent young love, jealousy, intrigue and sleepwalking. Its a full production with chamber ensemble of a new English adaptation by Steven Scott
Mazzola. CarrieAnnie Winter, Joseph Haughton,

Brody Del Baccaro, Eduardo Castro and Kimberly
Christie make up the cast. Opens Sunday, Jan. 11,
at 3:30 p.m. To Jan. 25. Source, 1835 14th St. NW.
Tickets are $22 to $42. Call 202-204-7760 or visit
inseries.org.
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW
Landmarks E Street Cinema screens the biggest

cult classic of them all as part of its regular midnight
classics screenings. The screening comes with a live
cast, meaning its even more interactive than usual.
Friday, Jan. 9, and Saturday, Jan. 10, at midnight.
Landmarks E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call
202-452-7672 or visit landmarktheatres.com.
THE T PARTY
Forum Theatre stages an immersive theatrical event

celebrating gender transformation in D.C. Writer
and director Natsu Onoda Power tells the real-life
stories of local transgender people through a series
of scenes, songs, videos and even a dance party. Now
to Jan. 17. Round House Theatre Silver Spring, 8641
Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $30 to
$35. Call 240-644-1100 or visit forum-theatre.com.
FILM
he was tortured and punished until the end of the

war. Opens Thursday, Dec. 25. Area theaters. Visit
fandango.com.
INHERENT VICE
From the maker of Boogie Nights, There Will Be

Blood and The Master comes a new film based on the
novel of the same name by Thomas Pynchon. Paul
Anderson has enlisted a high-caliber cast including
Joaquin Phoenix, Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin and
Reese Witherspoon to adapt the psychedelic crime
romp billed as a comedy thriller and incorporating
surrealist drama. Opens Friday, Jan. 9. Area theaters.
Visit fandango.com.
INTO THE WOODS
Based on the eponymous Broadway musical, Into

the Woods is a reimagining of the Grimm fairy tales,
intertwining several characters from various books
into one plot. Meryl Streep is onboard as the Witch,
who curses The Baker (James Corden) and his Wife
(Emily Blunt), preventing them from having a family. In order to break the curse, they must venture
out into the world and interact with other storybook
characters, including Cinderella (Anna Kendrick),
Prince Charming (Chris Pine, in a perfect bit of casting), and Red Riding Hoods Wolf (Johnny Depp).
As its Disney, expect the film to be a little more
sanitized than the musical, but it is nevertheless
getting across-the-board acclaim. Now playing. Area
theaters. Visit fandango.com.
UNBROKEN
Angelina Jolie steps behind the camera to direct this

poignant war epic, about the life of Louis Zamperini,
the Olympic runner whose plane was shot down in
WWII, survived in a raft with two other crewmen
for 47 days and then was captured by the Japanese
Navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp, where
STAGE
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
The mostly wordless troupe Synetic Theatre presents brothers Ben and Peter Cuniss new, gothic
adaptation of the classic fairytale, illuminating the
Beautys own secrets and the Beasts true nature,
bringing wonder, magic and seduction to the tale.
The Cunis brothers previously developed The Three
Musketeers for Synetic, which earned Ben Cunis the
inaugural Helen Hayes Award for Best Movement.
Closes this Sunday, Jan. 11. Theater at Crystal City,
1800 South Bell St., Arlington. Tickets are $45 to $55.
Call 800-494-8497 or visit synetictheater.org.
all based. Writers and directors John Musker and

Ron Clements oversee this Olney Theatre Center
production featuring a large cast led by Lara Zinn
as Ariel, Nicholas Ward as her father King Triton,
Donna Migliaccio as the evil sea witch Ursula, and
Joe Chisholm as Prince Eric. Closes this Sunday,
Jan. 11. Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy
Spring Road, Olney, Md. Call 301-924-3400 or visit
olneytheatre.org.
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
HHHHH
While Arlingtons Synetic Theater offers a wordless,

gothic adaptation of this fairytale, across the river
the Warner Theatre welcomes a stop of the touring
production of the hit Broadway musical version based
on the Disney animated tale. Featuring music by Alan
Menken with lyrics by the late Howard Ashman as
well as Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton,
Disneys Beauty and the Beast is directed by Rob Roth.
Closes this Sunday, Jan. 11. Warner Theatre, 513 13th
St. NW. Tickets are $38.25 to $79.75. Call 202-7834000 or visit warnertheatredc.com.
You may have questioned the relevance of Fiddler

on the Roof as recently as a few years ago when the
last national tour of the show came to town, starring
Harvey Fierstein who, to be fair, was a hoot as
Tevye. But you wont question why Molly Smith has
revived it now. Arena Stages new 50th anniversary
production of the show by Joseph Stein, Jerry Bock
and Sheldon Harnick is an out-and-out revelation.
This show, of all shows, seems custom-made for the
in-the-round Fichlander Stage. For starters, peering
down on the huge, 28-person cast, regularly coming
and going in four directions, you get a real sense of
the energy of a village such as Anatevka, the small,
tight-knit Jewish community in Russia portrayed in
the show. Ultimately, its the struggle between tradition and modernity that makesFiddlerstill relevant
today especially when its presented as realistically and universally as it is at Arena Stage. Closes
this Sunday, Jan. 11. Mead Center for American
Theater, 1101 6th St. SW. Tickets are $50 to $99. Call
202-488-3300 or visit arenastage.org. (Doug Rule)
DISNEYS THE LITTLE MERMAID
THE TEMPEST
DISNEYS BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Composer Alan Menken, lyricists Howard Ashman

and Glenn Slater and book writer Doug Wright
adapted this musical from the famous film and
the Hans Christian Andersen story on which its
One of Shakespeares late masterpieces, a magical tale in which sprites, goddesses and fools hold
court on a deserted island after a shipwreck. Ethan
McSweeney directs a Shakespeare Theatre Company
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JANUARY 8, 2015
27
production. Extended to Jan. 18. Sidney Harman Hall, Harman Center for the
Arts, 610 F St. NW. Call 202-547-1122 or visit
shakespearetheatre.org.
MUSIC
BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Marin Alsop conducts a program headlined by Stravinskys The Rite of Spring but
also including other pieces brimming with ritualism and ethnic flair, Barbers
Medeas Meditation and Dance of Vengeance and Golijovs Rose of the Winds.
Thursday, Jan. 8, at 8 p.m. Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral
St., Baltimore. Also Sunday, Jan. 11, at 3 p.m. Music Center at Strathmore, 5301
Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. Tickets are $32 to $95. Call 301-581-5100 or
visit strathmore.org.
BOHEMIAN CAVERNS JAZZ ORCHESTRA
Every Monday night the 17-piece jazz orchestra performs a variety of music
from the big band repertoire including pieces by Duke Ellington, Count Basie,
Billy Strayhorn and Maria Schneider, plus originals from band members, at its
namesake venue. Founded by baritone saxophonist Brad Linde and club owner
Omrao Brown, featuring some of D.C.s best jazz musicians, including Linde and
trumpeter Joe Herrera, who co-direct. Performances at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. every
Monday night. Bohemian Caverns, 2001 11th St. NW. Tickets are $10. Call 202299-0800 or visit bohemiancaverns.com.
FOLGER CONSORT WITH LIONHEART
The Folger Consort teams up with the renowned vocal ensemble Lionheart for
a journey through the music of medieval England, characterized by a sweetness and cheerful liveliness not often found in continental music of the period,
between the 13th and 14th centuries. Included is a song mentioned in Chaucers
Canterbury Tales and ethereal motets from the Lady Masses celebrated in the side
chapels of cathedrals. Friday, Jan. 9, and Saturday, Jan. 10, at 8 p.m. Washington
National Cathedral, Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenues NW. Tickets are $30
to $50. Call 202-544-7077 or visit folger.edu.
NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC
Piotr Gajewski conducts Zuill Bailey in a performance of Haydns Cello Concerto

No. 2 as well as Mozarts Symphony No. 38 Prague and Haydns Symphony
No. 94 Surprise. Saturday, Jan. 10, at 8 p.m. Music Center at Strathmore, 5301
Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. Tickets are $28 to $84. Call 301-581-5100 or
visit strathmore.org.
NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Christoph Eschenbach conducts a program that includes a U.S. premiere of

an NSO co-commissioned piano concerto by the radical Wolfgang Rihm and
performed by Tzimon Barto. Also on the bill are works by Berliozs Symphonie
fantastique and Dvoraks Carnival Overture. Thursday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m., and
Saturday, Jan. 17, at 8 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets are $10 to $85.
Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.
THE KENNEDY CENTER CHAMBER PLAYERS
This acclaimed ensemble of eight National Symphony Orchestra musicians offers

a concert featuring works by Bartok, Ravel, Bowen and Arensky. Sunday, Jan. 11,
at 2 p.m. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Tickets are $36. Call 202-467-4600
or visit kennedy-center.org.
THE KNOCKS
The New York-based dance duo of Ben DJ B-Roc Ruttner and James JPatt
Patterson have opened for Ellie Goulding and Dragonette, but they return once
again to D.C. for a set at U Street Music Hall. If its anywhere near as bouncing
and rousing as B-Rocs solo DJ selections during last years All Things Go Fall
Classic music festival at Union Market, itll be a grooving treat. Caleb LEtoile and
Baronhawk open. Friday, Jan. 9, at 10 p.m. U Street Music Hall, 1115A U St. NW.
Tickets are $15. Call 202-588-1880 or visit ustreetmusichall.com.
THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS
The English new wave band, led by singer Robert Butler and his brother bass
guitarist Tim Butler, is still Pretty In Pink and performing to a Heartbreak
Beat. Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave.,
Alexandria. Tickets are $39.50. Call 703-549-7500 or visit birchmere.com.
THE YING QUARTET
The Los Angeles Times has praised performances of this well-regarded American
ensemble as being as close to the ideal as possible, delivering chamber music of
astonishing, refreshing exaltation and exhilaration. Expect all that when violinists Ayano Ninomiya and Janet Ying, violist Philip Ying and cellist David Ying
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drop by the Barns at Wolf Trap for a Romantic program of Schumann, Webern
and Brahms. Friday, Jan. 9, at 8 p.m. The Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road,
Vienna. Tickets are $35. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit wolftrap.org.
WILL CHASE
The latest Broadway sensation to the get the Barbara Cooks Spotlight treatment
at the Kennedy Center is this Tony Award nominee for his work in the recent
revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood but is better known for performing in Rent
and Miss Saigon as well as the TV series Smash and Nashville. Friday, Jan. 9,
at 7:30 p.m. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. $45. Call 202-467-4600 or visit
kennedy-center.org.
DANCE
LEVYDANCE
Ben Levys San Francisco-based contemporary dance company drops by Dance

Place for performances of Soar, a piece utilizing dance, theater and film to
conjure a world beyond reality. The piece involves some audience walking and
limited seats (stools only). Saturday, Jan. 10, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 11, at 4
p.m. Dance Place, 3225 8th St. NE. Tickets are $30. Call 202-269-1600 or visit
danceplace.org.
GALLERIES
AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE: TOURING THE GLOBE FOR 75 YEARS
A collection of 43 artifacts, including photographs, costume sketches, posters

and a short film of clips, tracing the history and impact of what was founded in
1939 as Ballet Theatre. This troupe incorporated American influences and helped
inspire American choreographers such as Jerome Robbins, Agnes de Mille and
Twyla Tharp, to transform this classical genre. Through Jan. 24. Performing Arts
Reading Room in The Library of Congresss James Madison Memorial Building,
101 Independence Ave. SE. Call 202-707-8000 or visit loc.gov/exhibits.
BEYOND BOLLYWOOD:
INDIAN AMERICANS SHAPE THE NATION
Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center presents this ambitious and colorful exhibition on the second floor of the National Museum of Natural History,
exploring the heritage, daily experiences and diverse contributions of Indians
and Indian Americans. Through Aug. 16. National Museum of Natural History,
10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Call 202-633-1000 or visit mnh.si.edu.
DECODING THE RENAISSANCE
The Folger Shakespeare Librarys latest exhibition focuses on the first great age
of mass communication, the Renaissance, which launched printing, developed
diplomacy and created postal systems. All of this triggered an obsession with
encryption and secret communication that produced some of the periods most
brilliant inventions, most beautiful books and most enduring legacies, including
that of code-breakers and cryptographers. Through Feb. 26. Folger Great Hall in
Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol St. SE. Free. Call 202-544-7077 or
visit folger.edu.
ELSABE DIXON: LIVE/LIFE
South Africa-born, Virginia-based artist Elsabe Dixon investigates our relationship with changing systems and networks using organic and repurposed material,
focused on the biological life cycle of insects. In Live/Life at Artisphere, Dixon
shows an insect life cycle as an ephemeral gesture over a period of five months.
To Feb. 22. Artist In Resident Studio at Artisphere, 1101 Wilson Blvd. Arlington.
Call 703-875-1100 or visit artisphere.com.
FACE VALUE:
PORTRAITURE IN THE AGE OF ABSTRACTION
The National Portrait Gallery presents an exhibition featuring the works of a group
of young artists in the mid-20th century who defied the prevailing style of the day
to focus on the face and figure. Chuck Close, Alice Neel, Elaine de Kooning, Robert
Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol are just some of the well-known artists included
who pushed the boundaries of portrait traditions and reinvented portraiture for
the next generation. Closes this Sunday, Jan. 11. National Portrait Gallery, 8th and F
Streets. NW. Call 202-633-8300 or visit npg.si.edu.
FOOD: OUR GLOBAL KITCHEN
National Geographic imports this exhibition from New Yorks American Museum
of Natural History exploring the complex and intricate farm-to-fork food system,
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with sections devoted to growing, transporting, cooking, eating, tasting and

celebrating. Through Feb. 22. National Geographic Museum, 1145 17th St. NW.
Tickets are $11. Call 202-857-7588 or visit ngmuseum.org.
JAMESON MAGROGAN: 12TH ANNUAL DC ARTIST SOLO EXHIBITION
Transformer presents its 12th annual solo exhibition with a focus on Jameson
Magrogan. Oil, Then Acrylic investigates the artists relationship to the mythos
of art history through painting, drawing, sculpture and print. Through Jan.
31. Transformer, 1404 P St. NW. Call 202-483-1102 or visit transformerdc.org.
PICTURING MARY: WOMAN, MOTHER, IDEA
The National Museum of Women in the Arts offers a landmark exhibition

bringing together Renaissance and Baroque masterworks from major museums, churches and private collections in Europe and around the U.S., all
depicting the Virgin Mary in one form or another as the ultimate conception of
motherhood. The exhibition includes more than 60 paintings, sculptures and
textiles from artists both male Botticelli, Michelangelo and Drer and to
a lesser extent female, including Artemisia Gentileschi and Elisabetta Sirani.
Through April 12. National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave
NW. Admission is $10. Call 202-783-5000 or visit nmwa.org.
THE SINGING AND THE SILENCE:

BIRDS IN CONTEMPORARY ART
A century after the extinction of the passenger pigeon and 50 years after
the Wilderness Act, the Smithsonian American Art Museum offers an
exhibition examining humankinds relationship to birds and the natural
world in the works of 12 contemporary American artists, including Rachel
Berwick, Barbara Bosworth, James Prosek and Tom Uttech. Through Feb.
22. Smithsonian American Art Museum, 8th and F Streets NW. Call 202633-1000 or visit americanart.si.edu.
THE VISIONARY EXPERIENCE: SAINT FRANCIS TO FINSTER
Baltimores quirky Visionary Art Museum offers its 20th annual exhibition,
this one championing lifes grand Eureka! moments, held in common
by Earths most dynamic and intuitive evolutionaries, from inventors,
scientists, Americas founding fathers, dreamers and saints. The show was
co-curated by filmmaker and publisher Jodi Wille and AVAM founder and
director Rebecca Alban Hoffberger. To Aug. 30. American Visionary Art
Museum, 800 Key Highway. Baltimore. Tickets are $15.95. Call 410-244-1900
or visit avam.org.
ZEN, TEA AND CHINESE

ART IN MEDIEVAL JAPAN
Well-known expressions of Japanese culture have their roots in Chinese arts and
ideas, from Buddhism to tea to ink painting. The Smithsonian Institutions Freer
Gallery of Art offers an exhibition featuring Chinese and Japanese paintings,
lacquer ware and ceramics from the 13th through the 19th centuries. To June
14. Freer Gallery of Art, Jefferson Drive at 12th Street SW. Call 202-633-1000 or
visit asia.si.edu.
ABOVE AND BEYOND

BROWN GIRLS BURLESQUE
This New York-based wild burlesque troupe returns to the Black Cat with the
show Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: New Jack Swing Vol. II. Expect music
from Jodeci, Keith Sweat, Bobby Brown, Aaliyah and performances by the
troupes ladies and DJ Rimarkable. Saturday, Jan. 10, at 10 p.m. Black Cat, 1811
14th St. NW. Tickets are $15 in advance, or $20 at the door. Call 202-667-4490
or visit blackcatdc.com.
NOVA PRIDES LGBTUESDAYS AT IOTA
The organization NOVA Pride has recruited Iota to set aside one day every
week to explicitly serve LGBT residents and allies in the Clarendon community, part of its promotion of the first annual Northern Virginia Pride Festival,
held last fall. Each Tuesdays event starts with a Smasher Lunch at 11 a.m., and
includes a Happy Hour from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. that kicks off with Mikeys Bar
A Video Wall at 7 p.m. Iota Club and Caf, 2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. No
cover. Call 703-522-8340 or visit novapride.org.
THE WASHINGTON ANTIQUES SHOW
Ports of Call is the theme of this years annual antiques and fine arts
show featuring 45 premier dealers from the United States and Europe
offering a wide range of period furnishings and decorative arts, jewelry,
porcelains, ceramics and silver. The event also includes guided walks,
dealer talks, and special events. Friday, Jan. 9, through Sunday, Jan. 11.
The Katzen Arts Center at American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave.
NW. General admission is $20, with special events extra. Call 202-2487159 or visit www.washingtonwintershow.org. l
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tv
Tera & Curtis
Delusional
My Husbands Not Gay is a farce
that discredits everything its
subjects purport to believe in
by RHUARIDH MARR
ALLYSON BOS
AVE YOU EVER WATCHED A TRULY TERRIBLE

farce? One where the script makes no sense, and
the actors delivering their lines are dead behind
the eyes as they try their best to recite the material, hoping to convince the audience? Dont fret if you havent,
because that very same experience can be had while watching
TLCs new one-hour special, My Husbands Not Gay.
The special, which centers on couples in Salt Lake City, has
created controversy before it even airs. As the title suggests, it

documents the lives of three Mormon couples where the wives
arent the only ones who are attracted to men. TLCs decision to
air it has provoked a rather ferocious reaction. GLAADs president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis issued a statement calling the
special downright irresponsible, adding no one can change
who they love, and, more importantly, no one should have to. By
investing in this dangerous programming, TLC is putting countless young LGBT people in harms way.
Indeed, there is even a Change.org petition to have TLC
cancel the show, currently scheduled for January 11 at 10/9c,
though with this much free publicity its doubtful theyll do so.
Josh Sanders, who penned the petition, condemned the show
for promoting the false and dangerous idea that gay people
can and should choose to be straight in order to be part of
their faith communities. He added that, TLC is presenting
victims lives as entertainment, while sending the message
that...you should reject your sexual orientation by marrying
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someone of the opposite sex.

Strong words, indeed, though I have to ask whether GLAADs
members or Sanders have actually watched My Husbands Not
Gay. I have, thanks to a working cut sent by TLC, and I have to
say that the show manages to discredit everything said by the
men it follows because its all utterly ludicrous.
First, were introduced to each of the couples. Jeff and Tanya
are happily married, living in a nice house in Salt Lake City.
Jeff, who seems a little camp, professes his love for his wife, and
she returns the favor. Everything is lovely. Until Jeff drops the
bombshell. I experience SSA, or same-sex attraction, he says.
Cut to Tanya, who quickly reassures the audience (and herself),
Not gay, SSA. Clearly we need further reassurance, so Tanya
dutifully provides it: Its somebody that is attracted to the same
sex, but wants to be in a heterosexual relationship.
Not gay, you say? Okay, well play ball, Jeff and Tanya.
Cut to them walking through the suburbs with their dog, a
picturesque couple. Who will I notice first? A beautiful man
walking down the street or a beautiful woman? Jeff asks, to
no one in particular. Cue a shirtless, muscled man, who jogs
past them. Jeff, like a caricature from a bad sitcom, looks over
his sunglasses as the man passes by. Ill notice the beautiful
man. Nine times out of ten. Yeah, we kind of figured that for
ourselves, Jeff.
Couple number two are Pret and Megan, married eight years.
His eyebrows are shaped more fiercely than hers, but were not
supposed to notice that. Megan tells us about how they met at
age 15. I was always interested in him, but the feelings werent
reciprocal... For obvious reasons. Could that be because hes
gay, Megan? Was it obvious to you, too? Perhaps Pret can
straighten things out for us.
Growing up, I thought for a long time that I was gay. I
thought that these feelings defined me, he says. I didnt think
I was gonna be able to get married and have children and live
the life that Im now living. I feel like Im the winner of lifes
lottery. Have you seen her? We have, Pret, and while Megans
lovely, were pretty sure shes not your type. This is perhaps
confirmed by Megan, who acknowledges that there have been
periods in their marriage where she knew that the attraction
wasnt there. Dont worry, though, because theyve apparently
moved beyond it.
Our third couple are Tera and Curtis, married for 20 years,
which is impressive in todays divorce-prone society. Tera
wastes no time getting to the point. Curtis came to me one
morning and told me that he had same-sex attraction, she
states. Its hard not to feel a little bad for Curtis. He, more than
the others, feels like someone who married and then realized he
had feelings for men.
I really had not talked to anyone before in my life about
it, Curtis says. Id been building to that point and got up one
morning and I knew it was time. Before we start to worry, Tera
steps in to reassure us that her husband is totally not gay. I
didnt think that he was gay at that point because he told me that
he wasnt. Makes perfect sense. For those not entirely clear,
though, could you expand, Tera? He explained to me the difference at that time between having these feelings and not wanting
to act on them.
No, were still not clear. Producers, step in and get to the bottom of this mess. Is Curtis bisexual? Does he identify with that
word? I dont necessarily. And if you look at most of the studies
that have been done about sexuality, theyll show you that sexuality is fluid. It changes, he tells the off-screen producer. So far
so good. Curtis is making a lot of sense. But ultimately, when it
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comes to our faith and our belief, what matters is how we act.
Never mind.
Really, not making sense is at the heart of My Husbands Not
Gay. Both the men and the women are desperate to reassure us
that they love one another and are perfectly happy. None of us
feel oppressed. Weve chosen to be here, Tanya states. Thats
great, but then Tera stumbles in and announces that Curtis is
her girlfriend and [her] husband. Isnt that a contradiction in
terms? Indeed, on a hiking trip the wives take, Tanyas friend
asks what weve all been thinking. So, are they gay or not?
Tanyas not impressed. Her stern glare is our cue to this fact. I
get a little defensive when somebody calls my husband gay, she
says. Perhaps because the truth hurts, Tanya?
The men themselves are ridiculous. TLC stages a basketball
game naturally, the not gay husbands pick shirts and tell their
opponents to be skins, because what could be less gay than playing against sweaty, half-naked men? Cut to Pret and Jeff eyeing
up the talent. When Im out with the guys, well look at other
guys, Pret tells us. Indeed, they even use a Danger Scale to mark
their attraction to other men, which ranges from noticing and
looking to requiring restraint. When Jeff later tries to convince
the audience that women can be on the Danger Scale, Tanya
remarks that shes never heard him mention women in that context. Ouch, Jeff. Shot down by your own wife.
Its all the more insane when big, burly, basketball-loving
Tom enters the fray. Tom also experiences SSA, and in a support
group sequence tells the others that its caused a lot of troubles
for him. When the other guys take him shopping (because of
course they do), he remarks that for a long time he felt cursed.
Still, rather than explore his feelings, hed prefer to marry a
woman and have children, as the Mormon Church requires.
They even set him up on a blind date with a lovely woman named
Emily. Like a horror movie, we want to tell her to run, screaming, and leave Tom and the other couples who set them up. But
no. She gets sucked in, and states shed like to go on another date
with him. Poor Emily.
However, there is certainly some danger in My Husbands
Not Gay. Struggling youth could watch it and think that repressing homosexuality or bisexuality is healthy and safe given these
men seem to have happy marriages with women. However, it
mostly collapses when the men are allowed to voice their opinions. If it was accepted to be a homosexual in the church, would
I be gay? Pret asks. Maybe 8 or 9 years ago. The answer
would be yes.
Even sassy Jeff, who loves to stare at men, isnt immune to his
needs. When he announces to Tanya that hes going on a camping trip, shes notably concerned. Anything could happen, she
tells us. Why so nervous, though? Its not as if her wonderful, not
gay husband would ever do anything, right?
There was this one time, a couple of guys slept over at my
house, Jeff tells us, looking a little too happy at the memory.
And lets just say things got a little out of control.
So did this one-hour special, TLC, which is more farce
than documentary, more ridiculous than reality. But worthy
of GLAADs anger and a petition to have it cancelled? Hardly.
Jeff and his SSA cohorts are victims of a religion that mandates
heterosexuality above all else. Dont victimize TLC for airing
this garbage instead, get angry at the reason these men feel
the need to get married and suppress their true feelings in the
first place.
My Husbands Not Gay (HHHHH) premieres Sunday, Jan. 11, at
10 p.m. on TLC. Visit tlc.com
film
Corden and Streep
WALT DISNEY STUDIOS
Fractured
Fairy Tales
The magnificent Into the Woods
draws us into a world of witches and
giants while fielding issues of
infertility and infidelity
by RANDY SHULMAN
TS ONLY FITTING THAT DISNEY IS THE STUDIO

behind the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical
Into the Woods. Who better, after all, than the cinematic
keeper of the worlds fairy tales to bring to the screen
James Lapine and Stephen Sondheims darkly amusing, psychologically probing look at the desires and demons of adulthood
a world where the simple utterance of the words I wish brings
about severe consequences, a place where there is no Happily
Ever After but rather a Well Cope as Best We Can.
Its taken decades to get Into the Woods on screen, in large
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33
part due to the difficulty of bringing any major musical to screen.

You have to find the right cast, the right director, create the right
tone. Ironically, this is probably the best time for the film to surface, as over the past few years weve enjoyed a dismantling of
fairy tale tropes in popular culture. Witness ABCs Once Upon a
Time, also produced by Disney, which has turned fairy tale shenanigans into the stuff of soap opera. And NBCs Grimm, a procedural that takes a homicidal approach to the monsters of fairy
tale lore. Then theres the Shrek series, a ribald disfiguring of the
fairytale world that eventually found its way onto Broadway in
its own musical guise.
Into the Woods came first, however, and when it debuted on
Broadway in the mid-80s one might have called it revolutionary. James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim selected a few wellknown fairy tale figures Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and the
Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood and swirled them into a
confectionary storyline along with several generic figures a
baker and his wife, a manipulative witch, a couple of narcissistic
princes, and a vengeful giant. The increasingly dark narrative
not only picked off characters one-by-one but revealed their
psychological underbellies, their neuroses, their fears, and their
longings in a clever yet effectively simple format. Complexity
came courtesy of Sondheim, whose lyrics and music for the
show remain among his very best and certainly most fully
accessible from a melodic standpoint. Audiences responded
enthusiastically; the initial Broadway run of the show at the
Martin Beck Theatre banked $29 million.
Despite its accessibility, Into the Woods doesnt compromise Sondheims abundantly clever, complicated lyrics and
melody. The songs tell the story, sure. Yet, as with most
Sondheim works, there is no suddenly breaking into song
without rhyme or reason theyre interwoven directly into
the narrative; the players weave rapidly between interlocking
bursts of dialogue and melodic rapture. This is not an easy
thing to pull off on stage, let alone on screen. And when you
add the aligning of several distinct storylines that ultimately
must converge in ways both tragic and profound, the task
become rather formidable.
Rob Marshall is one of the few contemporary film directors
up to the task. He fully understands what it takes to transport
a musical from the confines of the stage to the vastness of the
screen. Hes tackled tougher projects: the tremendously successful, surreal Chicago, which won the Oscar for Best Picture,
and the far less satisfactory and even more surreal Nine. But
Into the Woods is Marshalls finest work yet. He opens it up
for the screen without going too far and yet retains a sense of
intimacy. Its grounded, replacing razzle-dazzle with full-on
emotion. Marshall creates magnificent, showstopping moments

out of several songs, including Cinderellas lovely On the Steps
of the Palace, breathtakingly performed by Anna Kendrick, and
Agony, brilliantly sung by the two princes (Chris Pine and Billy
Magnussen).
Anyone who feared Disney would sanitize the musicals
underlying themes (death, molestation, extramarital affairs) can
breath a sigh of relief. There was tremendous hubbub earlier
this summer when Sondheim claimed that one of the shows best
numbers, Any Moment, might be cut. Fear not. Its there, sung
by Emily Blunt in a performance of a lifetime. Its glorious. And
it will likely win Blunt a Golden Globe, if not an Oscar.
Vocally, Marshall has assembled a stunning cast. In addition
to Blunt, theres James Corden as the Baker: a genial, bearish
fellow who ultimately serves as the shows center. Two stunning
performances by Daniel Huttlestone as Jack and Lilla Crawford
as Riding Hood round out the company. Crawford, in particular,
has a voice perfectly suited to Sondheim and her spry, beautiful
rendition of I Know Things Now sticks with you long after the
movie has ended.
Meryl Streep plays the witch to perfection both in hag and
glamorous form but she isnt the best possible singer. At times,
it sounds as though shes channelling Bernadette Peters, who
originated the role on Broadway. Obviously, there was no way
they could have cast Peters and ensured box office success. Yet
those familiar with the Broadway cast will long to see her perform the role that, in only five months in 1987, she made iconic.
(Listen to the cast album, youll see what I mean.) Streeps big
number, Last Midnight should bring the house down and yet
its one of the rare moments where the movie gets a little too
caught up in intrusive visual bombast.
The biggest misstep Marshall makes and Im not sure it
was of his choosing was the reconfiguring of Riding Hoods
wolf into a child molestation theme. The material allows for
it, but its hidden beneath Sondheims artful lyrics. There
no way to describe how you feel, sings the wolf, when
youre talking to your meal. Perhaps it would have been a bit
much to have Depp outfitted in full Wolf garb, as CGI or in
makeup, but the solution they settled on (a zoot-suit with a
tail and whiskers sticking out of Depps face that look like pipe
cleaners run amok) doesnt jive with the naturalistic visual
tone occupied by the rest of the film. Depps performance is
icky and unseemly. And perhaps thats the point. But again,
Sondheim used cleverness to instill a molestation metaphor.
Marshall literalizes the idea by having Depps seducer flash
candy at Riding Hood. Its odd that Disney allowed such overt
references through. Fortunately, its only one number, is over
with early, and does not taint what follows.
Into the Woods has been in release for a few weeks now, and
its holding its own at the box office. But its also not what Id call
a runaway blockbuster. Live-action musicals remain hard sells.
And Sondheim musicals are, one can argue, the hardest sells of
all. Theyre sophisticated affairs, requiring full concentration
and engagement from the audience. Yet Marshall and company
succeed at the impossible, drawing us into a world of witches
and giants and princes and dealing with themes of infertility,
emerging sexuality and the loss of a loved one. The result, at
least at the screening I attended, was an audience that burst into
loud, prolonged cheers of approval at the films end. And that
definitely qualifies as a happily ever after.
Into the Woods (HHHH) is Rated PG and runs 125 minutes. Now
playing at area theaters. l
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games
Pit Stopped
The Crew is an immensely
frustrating game that fails to live
up to its incredible ambition
by RHUARIDH MARR
UBISOFT
ETS FACE IT, 2014 WAS A MIXED YEAR FOR

Ubisoft. While the French game developer shipped
some standout titles, including Valiant Hearts, Far
Cry 4 and South Park: The Stick of Truth, it was also
guilty of committing several gaming sins chief among them
Assassins Creed Unity and Watch Dogs. The former was a
sprawling, gorgeous world ruined by countless bugs and glitches
and achingly long loading screens. The latter suffered under its
own hype, ultimately delivering a watered-down version of what
Ubisoft originally promised.
However, neither of those games were bad, per se, and they
still rewarded the player for sticking with them. I was almost
able to forgive the company for its shoddy quality control.
Almost, until I received my copy of The Crew, a game Id been
eagerly waiting to play since it debuted last year. By the end
of my time with it, Ubisoft had no excuses left. The Crew is a
botched, inexcusable disappointment.
In many ways, The Crew is a spiritual successor to Test Drive
Unlimited, a massive, online racing game on Xbox 360 that let

players race with their friends and strangers across a giant island
world, in a variety of exotic and incredible cars. How does one
expand on such a concept? Simple: give players an entire country to race across. Yes, The Crew picked the continental United
States as its setting and its an incredible, condensed highlights
reel of this great nation. Players can start in Los Angeles and end
an hour or two later on the other side of the country in Miami
or New York City, and you wont be alone. The Crews world is
constantly connected, letting you race with three other people in
your crew or with random strangers you encounter on the road.
In theory, that should make for a perfect racer. Huge variety
in locales and racing courses, a myriad of people to compete
with and taking three of your friends with you into automotive
combat? Yeah, that sounds like a game I really want to play. And
then I actually did, and everything fell apart.
First impressions count, and The Crew certainly opens in
bombastic fashion. It launches players into a mission that
involves escaping cross country from the police in a Ford F-150
Raptor. Thundering over bumps and through swamps, crashing
into barriers and evading the numerous squad cars chasing your
vehicle, youll get to grips with The Crews floaty, arcadey driving
style and busy UI. Once it ends, however, youll be introduce to
one of the games weakest points: its garbage plot.
If youve ever played a Need for Speed game, or watched
a Fast and Furious film, or absorbed any poorly written, carrelated media, you know whats on the menu here. Players control Alex Taylor, whose brother Dayton is the leader of the 5-10
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35
motor club. Dayton is murdered in the games opening scenes

and Alex is arrested as his suspected killer. Five years later, hes
let out of jail by FBI agent Zoe, who wants his help in catching
the new leader of the 5-10s, now involved in various illegal activities, and the crooked FBI agent aiding the club. Its an awful
premise, with awful writing, and has numerous plot holes and
illogical inclusions. The most egregious is Alex scaring 5-10
members by racing them and winning, which somehow means
theyll gladly leave their area and never return. These guys trade
in guns. Surely theyd just shoot Alex in the face after the race
and get back to business as usual?
I could forgive The Crews weak narrative if the missions
it inspired were suitably enjoyable. And at times, they are
theres the usual lap races, checkpoint races and cross country
dashes, but there are also additional missions intended to make
the most of The Crews multiplayer aspects. These range from
escaping police squads, to running a car off the road, to racing
from hordes of angry 5-10 members.
With friends, these missions can be tough but fun. Working
together, only one person needs to complete the objective for
the entire group to win the mission. Three people can block
the police or enemies, or slow down the escaping vehicle, while
the fourth player escapes or rams the enemy from the road.
However, what if you dont have a crew to drive with? Youre
out of luck. Playing The Crew without friends is one of the most
frustrating, obnoxiously tedious experiences Ive had in years.
Its not that theres anything wrong with the missions,
its that Ubisoft has coded in AI that is punishingly unfair.
Regardless of how powerful or strong your car is, the computercontrolled cars will always be faster and tougher. Normal races
have extreme examples of rubber-banding, where AI cars will
speed up or slow down at illogical rates to keep them within a
certain distance of the player. Countless times Id spend a race
stuck in second, as the lead car kept an impossible pace, until the
last checkpoint or lap when it would suddenly slow down and
provide a chance to overtake.
Its the evasion missions, however, that are just ludicrous.
Either the police or angry gang members will be chasing you,
and without a crew to help out, youre a fish in a barrel except
the barrel is filled with landmines and the water is leaking out.
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JANUARY 8, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
Enemies are absurdly overpowered, with their sedans or SUVs

able to bring you to a crashing halt, regardless of what youre
driving. Theyll execute perfect PIT maneuvers, set up roadblocks and chase you in ever-increasing numbers. Whats more,
the police draft in helicopters, making it almost impossible to
outrun them for long enough to let the achingly long timer tick
down until they give up the chase. No matter how fast you travel,
enemies will often keep up yes, that 200+ mph supercar can be
easily bested by a Ford Crown Victoria. On top of that, the game
will happily spawn enemies in front of your car, making evasion
a complete game of luck. And to further rub salt into a wound,
when enemies take you down, youll have a limited time to get
away before the mission fails. When I say limited, I mean three
seconds, max. Its punishing on a whole new level, and I cant
quite believe Ubisoft let this into the final game as is.
Perhaps, then, things could be easier if you had a better car?
Well, there are two ways of doing this. The Crew works like a
racing RPG, with your car given upgradeable stats and attributes
which can be customized and changed at whim to improve speed,
acceleration, strength, braking and more. Its a simple system
your car has an overall score, and adding new and better items
increases that number. Winning races and random events unlocks
new items, while your car can also be customized to fit several
classes, such as sports, dirt and race, which alters its attributes and
allows it to better compete in certain regions and race types. The
customization is deep and slickly animated cars will blow out,
fit the new parts, and then screw themselves back together in your
garage and it really makes a difference to your vehicle. Initially,
that Dodge Challenger will feel sluggish and heavy. After a few
hours, youll be throwing it around Americas roads with aplomb.
However, rather than upgrade your current car, you could
always buy a new one. Its here that The Crew rears another of
Ubisofts awful traits which have crept into several games: payto-win. Yes, in addition to dollars, which can be won by completing races and events and multiplayer matches, you can also
buy with real money Crew credits that can be exchanged
for any number of vehicles. Ubisoft has deliberately balanced
the game in favor of buying vehicles with Crew credits, as making the hundreds of thousands of dollars some cars cost requires
spending dozens of hours grinding through races and multiplay-
UBISOFT
er events. Why waste all of that time when you can spend money
and unlock a McLaren 12C right from the start?
Do that, and youll instantly gain a lead in one of The Crews
supposed selling points, its multiplayer races. Once youve
unlocked multiplayer, youll be asked to pick a faction and
compete in races as a representative of that faction. Win races
and events and youll increase the daily income you receive
as a faction member. Unfortunately, multiplayer is another
undercooked area of the game. Its unfairly balanced towards
whomever has the most powerful car in any race if you jump
into an event and easily win, you then get to choose the next race
and track. If you know you can win, you can keep choosing the
same event and keep winning in your overpowered vehicle, until
everyone else quits or someone finally beats you.
Of course, thatd require you to actually make it into a multiplayer event. For a world so devoted to being online, The Crews
world is worryingly sparse. Players congregate in major cities,
and even then there are relatively few of them. Jump into a
multiplayer race and youre more likely to be kicked back out
after ten minutes of waiting because the game couldnt find
players this happened multiple times as the game desperately
searched for players who clearly werent online or had no interest in playing multiplayer races. This carries through to story
missions and races. In the absence of a crew, players can choose
to invite random strangers into the mission to help them defeat
someone or offer a new dynamic to a race. I have to ask: why
would you ever want to? The few times someone accepted my
invitation (again, nobody seems interested in the multiplayer in
this multiplayer game) that person had no interest in communication and proceeded to try and beat me, rather than work with
me to defeat the enemy or win the race. Indeed, one racer was
so rabidly intent on winning a race that he tried to ram me off of
the road it failed, spectacularly, sending us both crashing into
a wall. I instantly pressed the reset button, my car jumped back
onto the road, and I sped off towards the finish line. Single player
may be frustrating, but playing with others isnt much better.
Really, frustration best describes The Crew, because beneath
the barren multiplayer, obvious pay-to-win elements and awful
AI behavior, lie the solid elements of a good game. When the
game got out of my way and let me simply drive across America,
it was wondrous. I started in Detroit, wound my way over to

Chicago, travelled through the snowy midwest and then south
to Vegas, the Strip glowing in the distance as the sun set behind
the Rockies. After exploring Sin City, I moved north and across
the Rockies, through dense, towering forests, before reaching
California and Los Angeles, hitting Venice Beach as the sun
rose behind me. It was utterly glorious and driving across
the nation with a group of friends is a wonderful experience.
Similarly, the skill missions which dot the landscape tasking
you with driving through barriers, making epic jumps or sticking
to a specific driving line are often more enjoyable and a better
challenge than the main missions.
Even with its many shortcomings, The Crew cant escape the
feeling that its a game which should have launched a few years
ago. Car models which bizarrely include vehicles from the mid2000s, that have been updated since the game was announced
are of a lower quality than its racing peers Forza and Driveclub,
as is the rest of the world. Density of objects is high, but the detail
of individual textures and buildings is surprisingly low, while the
cars populating the world are laughably generic (complete with
opaque glass) though some, randomly, are name-brand models,
such as Fords Explorer. Its scale is mightily impressive and worthy of applause, but when you look closely at The Crew, it doesnt
quite stand up as a current generation game.
Ubisoft teased The Crew as a fun, action-packed, heavily
customizable racer. What they delivered was an empty, underwhelming variation on racing games weve seen countless times
before. At its heart is a solid idea a giant map of America free
from loading times and featuring a stunning variation of racing
opportunities but it all comes crashing down under a truly
terrible plot, punishingly unfair AI, and an underutilized multiplayer component. The Crew is at its best when the game gets
out of your way and lets you drive (but even then, its still not as
rewarding as its peers). Like Watch Dogs and Assassins Creed
Unity, The Crew is yet another lesson in incredible ambition
being ruined by woefully inept game design. Except this time,
the underlying game isnt good enough to redeem it.
The Crew (HHHHH) retails for $59.99 and is available on PS4,
Xbox One, PC and Xbox 360. l
METROWEEKLY.COM
JANUARY 8, 2015
37
38
JANUARY 8, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
pets
Pet Resolutions
Here are five ways you
can be a better pet parent
JAVIER BROSCH
by DOUG RULE
WEEK INTO 2015, MAYBE YOUVE ALREADY

started to let that diet lapse. And has the gym
always been such a chore to get to?
You know whats not a chore? Giving your
favorite furry friend some extra love and attention. If youre
already at risk of breaking that new years resolution to be a better person, here are five ways you can opt to be a better owner
instead beyond the most basic, which is scheduling and adhering to that annual checkup with your pets vet.
Quality Time Together Ultimately, the best new years
resolution you can make to your pet is also the easiest to keep:
More attention, more often. Take your dog on an extra leisurely
walk around the neighborhood and on a different route than
usual. Consider regularly visiting a second dog park for added
variety and stimulation. Vow to get your cats favorite laser toy
out more often for some fun and aerobic activity. At the very
least, just resolve to carve out 15 minutes of your busy schedule
several nights during the week to play and just be fully present
with your dog or cat, rather than glued to your TV or chained to
your devices. Give them a little extra attention and theyre sure
METROWEEKLY.COM
JANUARY 8, 2015
39
pets ix
i
Pet P
/pets
y.com
Weekl
Metro
urs at
yo
Upload
Sloan
Julian Vankims 5-year-old Pomeranian
Sloan is a Pomeranian. Hes a strange one, who likes to be lazy by sleeping
on his favorite spot on the couch, but goes crazy by barking at the tiniest
noises that suddenly happen around the house. He doesnt like to cuddle,
but I love to randomly cuddle with him. We got him from a breeder after our
other dogs were rescued.
by ??????
40
JANUARY 8, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
to put on a good show (and maybe give you some

good, uninterrupted sleep at night, too).
Dieting and Weight Loss As with humans,
fat cats have more health problems and a shorter
lifespan than their skinny counterparts. Also, over
50 percent of pets in the U.S. are classified as
overweight. Dont let yours be a statistic. Resolve
to feed them just enough by using a measuring
cup or scoop and giving them the same amount of
food every time and refrain from over-treating
between meals. Regularly tack on some extra playtime or an extra walk to make this a one-two punch
of a resolution.
Agility and Exercise Classes In addition to
regular walks and dog park visits, another way to
bond with and simultaneously slim down your dog is
to try a new activity. Rockvilles Zoom Room offers
a whole slate of classes that can improve a dogs
agility, obedience and social skills, plus a growing
category of enrichment classes including a sniffdetective class called Scent. But perhaps the most
appropriate and necessary especially if youve
already given up on the gym is a Canine CrossTraining exercise in which your dog will work out
and shape up in tandem with you.
Dental Care Vow to brush your pets teeth with
a proper pet toothbrush every day or at least once
a week if you dont currently have this as part of your
routine. If your dog absolutely refuses to grin and
bear this treatment from you, consider incorporating water additives and dental treats into his daily
routine. And schedule an appointment to have your vet give a

thorough cleaning once a year. Good oral hygiene offers much
more than just a brighter smile and milder breath: It also helps
prevent bacteria from the mouth entering the bloodstream and
affecting the heart and lungs. If your dog is already active and
doesnt need to diet, this is probably the best resolution you can
make for his long-term health.
Spa Days Try to devote a few minutes every few nights, at
least once a week, to brushing your dog. This removes excess
fur and keeps it from clumping or shedding of course, but it also
helps distribute oils from the skin to the fur to maintain a shiny
and healthy coat. You could also treat your dog to a trip to the
groomers. That may seem like more of a treat to you and it
is but letting a professional trim and clean your dogs coat and
clip claws the right way will provide some relief to both of you. l
pets
by ??????
METROWEEKLY.COM
JANUARY 8, 2015
41
NIGHT
LIFE
LISTINGS
THURS., 01.08.15
9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm Multiple
TVs showing movies,
shows, sports Expanded
craft beer selection No
Cover
ANNIES/ANNIES
UPSTAIRS
4@4 Happy Hour, 4pm-7pm
$4 Small Plates, $4 Stella
Artois, $4 House Wines,
$4 Stolichnaya Cocktails,
$4 Manhattans and Vodka
Martinis
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $6 Call
Martini, $3 Miller Lite, $4
Rail, $5 Call, 4-9pm $3
Rail Drinks, 10pm-midnight,
$5 Red Bull, Gatorade
and Frozen Virgin Drinks
Locker Room Thursday
Nights DJs Sean Morris
and MadScience Ripped
Hot Body Contest at midnight, hosted by Sasha
J. Adams and BaNaka
$200 Cash Prize Doors
open 10pm, 18+ $5 Cover
under 21 and free with
college ID
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm
JR.S
$3 Rail Vodka Highballs, $2
JR.s drafts, 8pm to close
Throwback Thursday featuring rock/pop retro hits
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Beat The Clock Happy Hour
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) Buckets of
Beer $15 Drag Bingo
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers
Shirtless Thursday DJ
NUMBER NINE
drink, 5-9pm No Cover
METROWEEKLY.COM
43
44
JANUARY 8, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
scene
Otter Crossing at Green Lantern
Friday, January 2
scan this tag
with your
smartphone
for bonus scene
pics online!
Photography by
Ward Morrison
Tim-e in Secrets 9pm

Cover 21+
FRI., 01.09.15
9 1/2
Open at 5pm Happy Hour:
2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
Friday Night Videos with
resident DJ Shea Van Horn
VJ Expanded craft beer
selection No cover
ANNIES
4@4 Happy Hour, 4-7pm
Martinis Upstairs open
5-11pm
COBALT/30 DEGREES
All You Can Drink Happy
Hour $15 Rail &
Domestic, $21 Call &
Imports, 6-9pm Guys
Night Out Free Rail
Vodka, 11pm-Midnight, $6
Belvedere Vodka Drinks all
night DJ Keenan Orr in
Cobalt, DJ Barronhawk in
30 Degrees $10 cover
10pm-1am, $5 after 1am

21+
DC BEAR CRUE
@Town Bear Happy
Hour, 6-11pm $3 Rail,
$3 Draft, $3 Bud Bottles
Free Pizza, 7pm Hosted
by Charger Stone No
cover before 9:30pm 21+
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm
JR.S
Buy 1, Get 1, 11pm-midnight Happy Hour: 2-for1, 4-9pm $5 Coronas, $8
Vodka Red Bulls, 9pm-close
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
DJ Matt Bailer Videos,
Dancing Beat The Clock
Happy Hour $2 (5-6pm),
$3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm)
Buckets of Beer $15
NUMBER NINE
Open 5pm Happy Hour: 2
for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
No Cover
PHASE 1
DJ Styalo Dancing
$5 cover
PWS SPORTS BAR
9855 Washington Blvd. N
Laurel, Md.
301-498-4840
Drag Show in lounge
Half-price burgers and fries,
4-8pm
TOWN
Drag Show starts at
10:30pm Hosted by Lena
Lett and featuring Miss
Tatianna, Shi-QueetaLee, Epiphany B. Lee
and BaNaka DJ Wess
upstairs, BacK2bACk
downstairs Doors open
at 10pm For those 21 and
over, $5 from 10-11pm and
$10 after 11pm For those
18-20, $12 all night 18+
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers,
hosted by LaTroya Nicole
Ladies of Illusion with host
Kristina Kelly, 9pm DJ
Steve Henderson in Secrets
DJ Don T. in Ziegfelds
Cover 21+
SAT., 01.10.15
9 1/2
$5 Absolut & Titos, $3
Miller Lite after 9pm
Expanded craft beer selection No Cover
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Drag Yourself to Brunch
at Level One, 11am-2 and
2-4pm Featuring Kristina
Kelly and the Ladies of
Illusion Bottomless
Mimosas and Bloody Marys
Happy Hour: $3 Miller
Lite, $4 Rail, $5 Call, 4-9pm
AFTERGLOW Blacklight
Dance Party DJ Team
Eletrox & Milko in the
lounge, DJ Barronhawk on
the dancefloor $3 PBR,
$5 Red Bull & Vodka, $4
Fireball Doors open 10pm
18+
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Diner-style Breakfast
Buffet, 10am-3pm
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Freddies Follies Drag
Show 8pm-10pm, hosted

by Ms. Destiny B. Childs
Karaoke, 10pm-1am
JR.S
$4 Coors, $5 Vodka highballs, $7 Vodka Red Bulls
NELLIES
Guest DJs Zing Zang
Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer,
House Rail Drinks and
Mimosas, $4, 11am-5pm
Buckets of Beer, $15
NUMBER NINE
PHASE 1
Dancing, 9pm-close
PWS SPORTS BAR
Karaoke in the lounge
Charity Bingo with Cash
Prizes 3rd Sat. of Every
Month Half-price cheesesteaks and fries, 4-8pm
TOWN
DC Rawhides host Town
& Country: Two-Step, Line
Dancing, Waltz and West
Coast Swing, $5 Cover to
METROWEEKLY.COM
stay all night Doors open

6:45pm, Lessons 7-8pm,
Open dance 8-10:30p DJ
Keenan Orr spins upstairs,
10pm-close Drag Show
starts at 10:30pm Hosted
by Lena Lett and featuring
Miss Tatianna, Shi-QueetaLee, Epiphany B. Lee and
BaNaka Music and videos by DJ Wess downstairs
Cover $8 from 10-11pm,
$12 after 11pm 21+
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
Men of Secrets, 9pm
Guest dancers Ladies
of Illusion with host Ella
Fitzgerald, 9pm DJ Steve
Henderson in Secrets
DJ Joey O in Ziegfelds
Doors 8pm Cover 21+
SUN., 01.11.15
9 1/2
TVs showing movies,
Cover
JANUARY 8, 2015
45
COBALT/30 DEGREES
$4 Stoli and Miller Lite all
day Homowood Karaoke,
10pm-close
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Champagne Brunch Buffet,
10am-3pm Crazy Hour,
4-7pm Karaoke 8pm-1am
JR.S
Sunday Funday Liquid
Brunch Doors open at
1pm $2 Coors Lights &
$3 Skyy (all flavors), all day
and night
NELLIES
Drag Brunch, hosted by
Shi-Queeta-Lee, 11am-3pm
$20 Brunch Buffet
House Rail Drinks, Zing
Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie
Beer and Mimosas, $4,
11am-close Buckets of
Beer, $15
NUMBER NINE
Pop Goes the World with
Wes Della Volla at 9:30
pm Happy Hour: 2 for
1 on any drink, 5-9pm
No Cover
46
JANUARY 8, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
Decades of Dance DJ
Tim-e in Secrets Doors
8pm Cover 21+
MON., 01.12.15
9 1/2
Multiple TVs showing
movies, shows, sports
ANNIES
Martinis
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $2 Rail, $3
Miller Lite, $5 Call, 4-9pm
Drag Show hosted by
Kristina Kelly Doors open
at 10pm, show starts at
11pm $3 Skyy Cocktails,
$8 Skyy and Red Bull No
Cover, 18+
FREDDIES
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm
JR.S
Happy Hour: 2-for-1, 4-9pm
Showtunes Songs &
Singalongs, 9pm-close
DJ Jamez $3 Drafts
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
Beer $15 Poker Texas
Holdem, 8pm Dart
Boards
NUMBER NINE
No Cover
TUES., 01.13.15
9 1/2
Multiple TVs showing
movies, shows, sports
ANNIES
Happy Hour, 4-7pm $4
Stella Artois, $4 House
Wines, $4 Stolichnaya
Cocktails, $4 Manhattans
and Vodka Martinis
COBALT/30 DEGREES
SIN Industry Night
Half-price Cocktails, 10pmclose
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm
JR.S
Underground (Indie Pop/Alt/
Brit Rock), 9pm-close DJ
Wes Della Volla 2-for-1,
all day and night
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
Beer $15 Karaoke and
Drag Bingo
NUMBER NINE
No Cover Safe Word: A
Gay Spelling Bee, 8-11pm
Prizes to top three
spellers After 9pm, $3
Absolut, Bulleit & Stella
and Miller Lite No Cover

21+
WED., 01.14.15
JR.S
Trivia with MC Jay Ray,
8pm The Queen, 10-11pm
$2 JRs Drafts & $4
Vodka ($2 with College I.D./
JRs Team Shirt)
9 1/2
TVs showing movies,
Cover
ANNIES
Happy Hour, 4-7pm $4
Stella Artois, $4 House
Wines, $4 Stolichnaya
Cocktails, $4 Manhattans
and Vodka Martinis
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Wednesday Night
Karaoke downstairs, 10pm
$4 Stoli and Stoli Flavors
FREDDIES BEACH BAR

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

SmartAss Trivia Night, 8pm
and 9pm Prizes include
bar tabs and tickets to
shows at the 9:30 Club
$15 Buckets of Beer for
SmartAss Teams only
Bring a new team member
and each get a free $10
Dinner
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
Shirtless Night, 10-11pm,
12-12:30am Military
Night, no cover with
military ID DJ Don T. in
Secrets 9pm Cover 21+
THURS., 01.15.15
9 1/2
TVs showing movies,
Cover
ANNIES/ANNIES
UPSTAIRS
4@4 Happy Hour, 4pm-7pm
Martinis
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $6 Call
Martini, $3 Miller Lite, $4
Rail, $5 Call, 4-9pm $3
Rail Drinks, 10pm-midnight,
$5 Red Bull, Gatorade
and Frozen Virgin Drinks
Locker Room Thursday
Nights DJs Sean Morris
and MadScience Ripped
Hot Body Contest at midnight, hosted by Sasha
J. Adams and BaNaka
$200 Cash Prize Doors
open 10pm, 18+ $5 Cover
under 21 and free with
college ID
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm
JR.S
$3 Rail Vodka Highballs, $2
JR.s drafts, 8pm to close
Throwback Thursday featuring rock/pop retro hits
NUMBER NINE
NELLIES SPORTS BAR

Open at noon for Bowl
Games, Nellies Breakfast
and Hangover Specials
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
Beer $15
NUMBER NINE
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
Shirtless Thursday DJ
Tim-e in Secrets 9pm
Cover 21+
FRI., 01.16.15
9 1/2
Friday Night Videos with
resident DJ Shea Van Horn
VJ Expanded craft beer
selection No cover
ANNIES
METROWEEKLY.COM
JANUARY 8, 2015
47
Martinis Upstairs open
5-11pm
COBALT/30 DEGREES
All You Can Drink Happy
Hour $15 Rail &
Domestic, $21 Call &
Imports, 6-9pm Guys
Night Out Free Rail
Vodka, 11pm-Midnight, $6
Belvedere Vodka Drinks all
night DJ Keenan Orr in
Cobalt, DJ Barronhawk in
30 Degrees $10 cover
10pm-1am, $5 after 1am
21+
DC BEAR CRUE
@Town Bear Happy
Hour, 6-11pm $3 Rail,
$3 Draft, $3 Bud Bottles
Free Pizza, 7pm Hosted
by Charger Stone No
cover before 9:30pm 21+
48
JANUARY 8, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM
FREDDIES BEACH BAR

Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm
JR.S
Buy 1, Get 1, 11pm-midnight Happy Hour: 2-for1, 4-9pm $5 Coronas, $8
Vodka Red Bulls, 9pm-close
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
DJ Matt Bailer Videos,
Dancing Beat The Clock
Happy Hour $2 (5-6pm),
$3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm)
Buckets of Beer $15
NUMBER NINE
No Cover
PHASE 1
DJ Styalo Dancing
$5 cover
PWS SPORTS BAR
9855 Washington Blvd. N
Laurel, Md.
301-498-4840
Drag Show in lounge
Half-price burgers and fries,
4-8pm
TOWN
Drag Show starts at
10:30pm Hosted by Lena
Lett and featuring Miss
Tatianna, Shi-QueetaLee, Epiphany B. Lee
and BaNaka DJ Wess
upstairs, BacK2bACk
downstairs Doors open
at 10pm For those 21 and
over, $5 from 10-11pm and
$10 after 11pm For those
18-20, $12 all night 18+
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers,
hosted by LaTroya Nicole
Ladies of Illusion with host
Kristina Kelly, 9pm DJ
Steve Henderson in Secrets
DJ Don T. in Ziegfelds
Cover 21+ l
SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT AT WWW.METROWEEKLY.COM/SCENE
49
BY DOUG RULE
CLUBLIFE
50
Trivialities
Smart Ass Trivia at Nellies continues to stand out among bar trivia nights
TS A GREAT
hump day
activity,
says Andrew
Grossman. Plus
Im friends with so
many of the trivia
regulars now, its
become something of a community for me.
A trivia connoisseur, Grossman is
part of the Erotic
Photo Hunters,
one of Smart Ass
Trivias longest
running teams.
Played in two
hourly back-toback games starting at 8 p.m. every
Wednesday night,
JANUARY 8, 2015
Smart Ass Trivia is going

seven years strong, thanks
to the dedication of Andy
Austin and Josh Housdan,
who organize and host the
weekly festivities.
Wacky and wild and,
quite frankly, not as easy
as youd think, the game
started years ago at the
now-defunct Titan on 14th
Street. If Smart Ass was a
moderate draw at Titans,
it really hit its stride once
it moved to Nellies. The
first night we were only
planning on playing in
the dining room, Austin
says. The place was so
packed, we ended up having people playing upstairs
as well.
Austin and Housdan
METROWEEKLY.COM
write all of Smart Asss

questions and categories, often drawing on
their roots (Michigan for
Austin, Charlottesville for
Housdan) their careers
(urban planning, art and
architecture) and their
pop culture predilections
(reality TV, college football, indie-pop and dance
music). Winning teams
whether consisting of one
person or up to eight
get tickets to concerts at
the 9:30 Club, local movie
premieres and sporting
events, or buckets of beer
or a discount on a Nellies
tab for the night. There
are also prizes for the
group that comes up with
the most original, outland-
ish name.
I think we have a
reputation for being one of
the tougher trivia nights in
town, says Austin. And
that just goes back to our
crowd of really smart people who challenge us to
write good questions. We
have to toughen up the
questions to keep it challenging enough to keep
the regulars in check [so]
they dont run away with
it every week.
Smart Ass Trivia runs
every Wednesday at 8
and 9 p.m., at Nellies
Sports Bar, 900 U St. NW.
Admission is free. Call
202-332-NELL or visit
nelliessportsbar.com. l
scene
DILF at
Number Nine
Saturday, January 3
scan this tag
with your
smartphone
for bonus scene
pics online!
Photography by
Ward Morrison
SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT AT WWW.METROWEEKLY.COM/SCENE
51
52
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METROWEEKLY.COM
JANUARY 8, 2015
53
The Queen honored a politician who

blamed Hurricane Katrina & AIDS on LGBT people ...
fuck that.
Actress ELLEN PAGE in a tweet regarding Queen Elizabeths annual New Years Honours list, in which the British monarch
grants her subjects orders of chivalry and other official honors. Queen Elizabeth awarded an MBE (Member of the Most
Excellent Order of the British Empire) to Northern Irish Councillor Maurice Mills, who has previously stated that
Hurricane Katrina was Gods punishment for New Orleans LGBT Pride Festival and that the spread of
HIV/AIDS in Africa was because of the filthy practice of sodomy.
Were looking into this now and

our page for the film remains the same as it has for
months.
CBS Films, in a statement to Pink News, after the publication found that the American DVD release of the film Pride had
references to its gay and lesbian activists removed from the cover and a banner which stated
Lesbians & Gays Support The Miners removed from the rear cover.
It ought be a local decision.

I mean, a state decision. The state decided.
Former Florida Governor JEB BUSH (R), speaking with The Miami Herald regarding a state judges ruling that allowed samesex couples to start marrying in parts of Florida. Bush later told the New York Times: I hope that we can show respect for the
good people on all sides of the gay and lesbian marriage issue including couples making lifetime commitments to
each other who are seeking greater legal protections.
Often times, theyre just

broad, foppish, loud caricatures.
Actor CHRIS LOWELL (Veronica Mars, Private Practice), speaking with Rage Monthly about the depiction of LGBT people in
film and on television. I get very frustrated at how LGBTs are portrayed, he stated. He made the comments with regard to
his directorial debut Beside Still Waters, which features a gay couple that Lowell states [go] against those tropes and that he
didnt feel it necessary to explain why [the character] has to be gay, which is something, for some stupid reason, that film and
television seems to think they need an explanation for.
Alan Turing was a war hero, he was a gay icon

and he was and is the father of modern computing science.
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, who portrays Turing in The Imitation Game, in a speech as he collected the Ensemble Performance
Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, reports Popsugar. Cumberbatch honored a man who died tragically
early due to a government that he helped free from fascism...for quietly confessing to who he was as a gay man in a time of
intolerance in the 50s. Turing committed suicide when the government subjected him to chemical castration after
he was arrested for being homosexual.
54
JANUARY 8, 2015
METROWEEKLY.COM

Metro Weekly - 01-08-15 - Tarell McCraney

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2

PFOXs Preemptive Strike?

2015: A Look Ahead

Preaching Past the Choir

Tarell McCraney depicts the journey

SALES & MARKETING

2015 Jansi LLC.

OUT ON THE TOWN

Delusional: My Husbands Not Gay

Into the Woods

Pit Stopped: The Crew

Otter Crossing at Green Lantern

Smart Ass Trivia at Nellies

DILF at Number Nine

photography by Ward Morrison

photography by Ward Morrison

Now online at MetroWeekly.com

Virginia Mulling Anti-Gay Discrimination Bill

made no mention of his personal opposition to same-sex marriage and instead

guard religious liberty.

Mo Elleithee, communications director

lating your principles.

LGBT advocates question veracity of ex-gay groups billboard,

hen outrage erupted over

viously testified before the D.C. Council

I was living in an emotional, psychological hell, says Prentiss, who grew

by claiming the bill is broader than it

sage took another hit when the South

2015 A Look Ahead

This Years Calendar

you can almost hear the political pandering and kowtowing

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

WOMENS HISTORY MONTH

9th Annual Latino Pride Dance Party

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice session at

HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker Health. The

in Gaithersburg, 414 East Diamond Ave., and in

METROHEALTH CENTER offers free, rapid HIV

SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5 p.m., by

appointment and walk-in, for youth 21 and younger.

US HELPING US hosts a Narcotics Anonymous

is a confidential support group for men who are

WOMEN IN THEIR TWENTIES, a social discussion

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice session

at Hains Point, 927 Ohio Dr. SW. 6:30-8 p.m. Visit

GAY DISTRICT holds facilitated discussion for

GBTQ men, 18-35, first and third Fridays. 8:30 p.m.

HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker Health,

Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center, 1701 14th St. NW,

METROHEALTH CENTER offers free, rapid HIV

PROJECT STRIPES hosts LGBT-affirming social

group for ages 11-24. 4-6 p.m. 1419 Columbia Road

American Wing of the Baltimore Museum of Art

The DC Center hosts a VOLUNTEER

free HIV testing, 9-5 p.m., and HIV services (by

BET MISHPACHAH, founded by members of the

DC FRONT RUNNERS running/walking/social

club welcomes all levels for exercise in a fun and

DC SENTINELS basketball team meets at Turkey

Thicket Recreation Center, 1100 Michigan Ave. NE,

DIGNITY NORTHERN VIRGINIA sponsors Mass

UNIVERSALIST NATIONAL MEMORIAL

Interweave social/service group meets monthly.

LGBT-inclusive ALL SOULS MEMORIAL