Faces of

Change
ACTIVISM, DONALD TRUMP,
AND CREATING CHANGE
IN THE LGBTQ MOVEMENT.
 CONTENTS
FEBRUARY 1, 2018 Volume 24 Issue 38

12 LEG WORK
With 10 Hairy Legs, Randy James strives to dispel the
myth that all male dancers are gay.

By Doug Rule

FACES OF CHANGE
Activism, Donald Trump, and Creating Change in the
LGBTQ Movement.

Interviews and photography by John Riley,

Randy Shulman and Bailey Vogt
29
47 GREAT DANE
Michael Urie commands the stage in Michael Kahn’s
deeply elegant, daring production of Hamlet.

By Kate Wingfield

SPOTLIGHT: DRAGON FIRE p.7 OUT ON THE TOWN p 11 LEG WORK: 10 HAIRY LEGS p.12
WAY WITH MEANS: KRISTINE NIELSEN p.16 THE FEED: QUEERING THE HILL p.21
THE FEED: DANCING QUEERS p.23 FORUM: THE VANISHING p.24
COMMUNITY: PHILANTHROPIC FIFTIETH p.25 COVER STORY: FACES OF CHANGE p.29
SCENE: CREATING CHANGE 2018 p.40 STAGE: HAMLET p.47
STAGE: JEFFERSON’S GARDEN p.49 STAGE: 4,380 NIGHTS/UNNECESSARY FARCE p.51
MUSIC: THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS p.53 NIGHTLIFE p.55 SCENE: LURE 9TH ANNIVERSARY p.55
LAST WORD p.64

Real LGBTQ News and Entertainment since 1994

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

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

4 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Spotlight
PHOTO COURTESY OF IMAGE CHINA

Dragon Fire
An epic, culturally resonant Chinese ballet aims to dazzle
and delight American audiences.

A
SINGULAR THEATRICAL SPECTACLE OF CHINESE
culture, pageantry, history, and romance, the
award-winning dance-drama Dragon Boat Racing
arrives at the Kennedy Center for a limited engagement of
just four performances. Set during the 1930s Japanese occu-
pation of China, the show depicts two star-crossed lovers,
two opposing families, and a nation galvanized by song to
resist and overcome their oppressors.
Although the historical backdrop is key to the tale, which
was inspired by actual events, the epic’s truest aim is to cele-
brate the rich cultural expression of Chinese music and dance.
“When we’re talking about Chinese folk dance and
Chinese classical dance, [they] actually have a very long
history, over 1,000 years,” says Tan Ziqing, deputy director
of the China Performing Arts Agency’s Cultural Exchange
Division, which is presenting the show to U.S. audiences.
“You have some signs of a ballet, gestures, tip-toe move-
ments. But most of [our] original productions have the very
typical Chinese styles.”
Performed without spoken lines or singing, the lavish
piece features a cast of six actors leading the world-re-
nowned 38-person Guangdong Song & Dance Ensemble.
As Tan describes it, although the production focuses on
Chinese national heritage, the story and choreography
explore universal values.
“I think the basic idea of the [program] is just to present
the Chinese consciousness, particularly through dance, to
show our social values, our traditions,” says Tan. “But in
general, we view these concepts to show that as human
beings we have similarities. Everyone has their love.
Everyone has their family values. And everyone cherishes
their history. That’s our original purpose for this.”
But it’s not the only purpose. Dragon Boat Racing also is a
lush, colorful spectacle about the power of artistic creation.
Simply put by Tan, “It’s a love story, but with very beautiful
music.” —André Hereford

Dragon Boat Racing runs from February 2-4, at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater.
Tickets are $30 to $110. Call 202-467-4600, or visit Kennedy-Center.org.

FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 7

 Spotlight
SOVEREIGNTY
As its contribution to the Women’s Voices
Theater Festival, Arena Stage offers a world
premiere of Mary Kathryn Nagle’s explora-
tion into the state of Native American affairs.
Focused particularly on Washington’s histor-
ical treatment of the Cherokee Nation and
the present-day consequences, as examined
C. STANLEY PHOTOGRAPHY

through the work of a young Cherokee lawyer

fighting for her people while confronting the
ghosts of her grandfathers. To Feb. 18. Mead
Center for American Theater, 1101 6th St. SW.
Call 202-488-3300 or visit arenastage.org.

THE INSULT
One of five nominees for Best Foreign
Language Film at this year’s Academy
Awards, this powerful and reveal-
ing Lebanese film focuses on an insult
blown out of all proportion, exacerbating
already-high tensions between Muslims
and Christians in modern-day Beirut.
Kamel El Basha won Best Actor at the
2017 Venice Film Festival for his por-
trayal of Yasser, a Palestinian refugee
facing off in a media-hyped court case
against Adel Karam’s Tony, a Lebanese
Christian. Directed and co-written by Ziad
Doueiri (The Attack). Opens Friday, Feb. 2.
Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema, 7235
Woodmont Ave. Call 301-652-7273 or visit
landmarktheatres.com.

RAISING AMERICA’S ZOO

Local journalist Kara Arundel tells the story of her father-in-law, Arthur
“Nick” Arundel, a gorilla hunter-turned-activist who played an instrumen-
tal part in transforming the National Zoo into one of the world’s leading
conservation centers. (Fun fact: Arundel published the Times Community
Newspapers, for whom Metro Weekly’s editor-in-chief served as a film critic
for 15 years.) Tuesday, Feb. 6, at 6:30 p.m. Kramerbooks, 1517 Connecticut
Ave. NW. Call 202-387-1400 or visit kramers.com.

8 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Spotlight

MARY GAUTHIER
In a career spanning over two decades, the lesbian
country/folk artist has had her songs covered by
everyone from Jimmy Buffett (“Wheel Inside The
Wheel”) and Blake Shelton (“I Drink”) to Bettye
LaVette (“Worthy”) and Candi Staton (“Mercy
Now”). A native of New Orleans now based in
Nashville, Gauthier returns to the area for an inti-
mate concert supporting her powerful new concept
album Rifles & Rosary Beads, a collection of 11 deep-
ly personal songs that she co-wrote with U.S. vet-
erans and their families. Saturday, Feb. 10. Doors at
6:30 p.m. Jammin Java, 227 Maple Ave. E. Vienna.
Tickets are $20 to $22. Call 703-255-3747 or visit
LAURA E. PARTAIN

jamminjava.com.

BURLESQUE-A-PADES
IN LOVELAND
New York’s Angie Pontani, billed as the
“International Queen of Burlesque,” presents
the 11th anniversary of a Valentine’s Day-themed
show mixing performances in the revived art
of striptease with magic, music and comedy.
New York drag king and transgender comedi-
an Murray Hill returns as host of an evening
featuring performances by Potani, Baltimore
performance artist Cherie Nuit, LGBTQ bur-
lesque artist The Maine Attraction, The Evil
Hate Monkey, Philadelphia’s Peek-A-Boo Revue
featuring Goldi Fox, Ginger Leigh, and Cherry
Bomb, and Cleveland’s musical husband-and-
wife super-duo Pinch & Squeal. Friday, Feb. 9, at
7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave.,
Alexandria. Tickets are $29.50. Call 703-549-
7500 or visit birchmere.com.

GREENSKY BLUEGRASS
Known for fiery live shows complete
with a full light show that diehard fans
called the Campers travel far and wide to
see, the progressive bluegrass band from
Kalamazoo, Michigan, makes their debut
at The Anthem this weekend, with support
from fellow Michigander Billy Strings,
picked as one of “10 New Country Artists
You Need to Know” by Rolling Stone in
2017. Saturday, Feb. 3. Doors at 6 p.m. The
Anthem, 901 Wharf St. SW. Remaining
tickets are $40. Call 202-265-0930 or visit
DYLAN LANGILLE

theanthemdc.com.

FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 9

SASCHA VAUGHAN
Out On The Town

LES BALLETS TROCKADERO DE MONTE CARLO

Billed as “the world’s foremost all-male comic ballet company,” the Trocks, as they’re known, have only gotten better, big-
ger, and more popular in the 44 years since they first donned drag for a show in a tiny loft space in New York’s Meatpacking
District. “The dancing is better, more technically secure,” the company’s longtime artistic director Tory Dobrin told Metro
Weekly. “And that has allowed the comedy also to broaden out a lot, to be less subtle and more campy.” The troupe has
been nearly all gay from the beginning, and continues to perform mostly for a mix of gays and gay-friendly aficionados of
dance and theater, with the recent addition of a totally new demographic: “Now we have a lot of children.” Over the years,
the Trocks have performed for larger audiences and in bigger and more prestigious venues — notably the Kennedy Center
Opera House last year, and now the Concert Hall at George Mason University. Friday, Feb. 2, at 8 p.m. GMU Center for the
Arts, 4373 Mason Pond Drive, Fairfax. Tickets are $30 to $50. Call 888-945-2468 or visit cfa.gmu.edu.

Compiled by Doug Rule
FILM
BILAL
Billed as “A New Breed of Hero,”
Bilal ibn Rabah, the 7th century
companion of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad known for his beau-
tiful voice is the focus of this 3D
computer-animated action-adven-
ture film from, directed by Ayman
Jamal and Khurram H. Alavi. Bilal
won “Best Inspiring Movie” during
Animation Day at Cannes. Opens
Friday, Feb. 2. Area theaters. Visit
fandango.com.
FOXTROT
The Washington Jewish Film
Festival presents the latest critical
reflection on military culture from
Israeli filmmaker Samuel Maoz.
Foxtrot examines both the strength
and the absurdity of military service
from multiple points of view, and
relates a terrible tragedy at its heart
with many moments of mordant
humor, irony, and sincere emotional
connection, in addition to beautiful
cinematography. Tuesday, Feb. 13,
at 7:30 p.m. The Aaron and Cecile
Goodman Theater, 1529 16th St. NW.
Tickets are $13.50 for each film. Call
202-777-3247 or visit wjff.org.
MILDRED PIERCE
Joan Crawford snagged her only
Oscar with this Michael Curtiz-
directed classic from 1945. “She was
a queen at MGM for many years,
and then they kicked her out very
unceremoniously,” “Movie Mom”
film critic Nell Minow says of the
film. “I think that a large part of
why that is her best performance
is that she really was suffering in
real life. She really was very humil-
iated. And that comes across in the
role.” The film screens as part of the
Landmark Capital Classics series on
Wednesday, Feb. 7, at 1:30, 4:30, and
7:30 p.m., at the West End Cinema,
2301 M St. NW. Happy hour from
4 to 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 to
$12.50. Call 202-534-1907 or visit
landmarktheatres.com.
STAGE
#LAFOTO: A SELFIE AFFAIR
Two families are changed forever
when a selfie is sent to one person
but shared by another in Gustavo
Ott’s timely play, in a world-pre-
miere production by GALA
Hispanic Theatre. Performed in
Spanish with English surtitles pro-
jected above the stage. Abel Lopez
directs a cast including Luz Nicolas,
Carlos Castillo, Karen Morales, Jose
Gonzalez, Samantha Rios, and Maria
Peyramaure. Opens Thursday, Feb.
1. Runs to Feb. 28. GALA Theatre
at Tivoli Square, 3333 14th St. NW.
Tickets are $30 to $45. Call 202-
234-7174 or visit galatheatre.org.
IMOGEN
An adaptation of Shakespeare’s
Cymbeline by local artist Charlie
Marie McGrath, Imogen is note-
worthy as one of the first pro-
ductions of the second Women’s
Voices Theater Festival. McGrath, a
directing fellow at the Shakespeare

FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 11

 Theatre Company, has reimagined
Shakespeare’s original adventure
with Princess Imogen examining
her expectations when the fairytale
strays from the tried and true. Also,
because it’s from Pointless Theatre
Company, you can expect puppets.
To Feb. 11. Dance Loft on 14 Theater,
4618 14th St. NW, 2nd Floor. Tickets
are $30. Call 202-621-3670 or visit
pointlesstheatre.com.

IN SEARCH OF MY FATHER...
WALKIN’ TALKIN’ BILL HAWKINS
A one-man show tracing a bitter-
sweet journey of self-discovery,
writer/performer W. Allen Taylor
RACHEL NEVILLE

portrays a wide-range of colorful

characters in addition to sharing
personal stories and memories. As
it happens, the father he never got
the chance to know was the first
black DJ in Cleveland. Director

LEG WORK
Ellen Sebastian Chang helped the
Bay Area-based Taylor hone a show
that pays posthumous tribute to his
father by celebrating the rich cul-
tural legacy of black radio, with
With 10 Hairy Legs, Randy James strives to dispel the myth inclusion of standout tracks from
that all male dancers are gay. his father’s era. Taylor, who has
performed the work all over for

I
more than a decade now, brings it
T WAS A NEPHEW WHO SUGGESTED RANDY JAMES NAME HIS DANCE COMPANY to D.C. for a run presented by the
10 Hairy Legs. “I started laughing, and I thought it was perfect,” James says. “I knew I didn’t Atlas Performing Arts Center. To
Feb. 10. Lab Theatre II, 1333 H St.
want my name in the title, and obviously, I started with five male dancers, hence the 10 hairy NE. Tickets are $20 to $35. Call
legs. And we only ever tour with five dancers.” 202-399-7993 or visit atlasarts.org.
Starting an all-male modern troupe wasn’t exactly a long-held dream for James, who had
QUEENS GIRL IN AFRICA
previously led the mixed-gender Randy James Dance Works. But the New Jersey native was too Erika Rose plays a woman finding
inspired by his students at Rutgers University not to get back in the game. her place in war-torn Nigeria in
“I had this exceptionally talented group of male dancers,” he says. “I had choreographed a quar- this sequel from Caleen Sinnette
tet on these four men in their senior year, and after every rehearsal I would talk to a colleague about Jennings to Queens Girl in the
World, a New York Times-certified
how much I loved working with them. He suggested that I start another company.” hit from the first Women’s Voices
Now in its sixth season, 10 Hairy Legs is focused, in part, on dispelling assumptions about male Theatre Festival two years ago.
dancers. Part of the second iteration of
the festival, Mosaic Theater pres-
“If you watch two women dance on stage, you don’t normally assume that they are homosexu- ents a world premiere and its first
als,” James, himself a gay man, says. “But if you watch two men dance on stage, people do assume commission, becoming part of its
that sometimes. And hopefully, that is one of the things that we’re kind of educating audiences on.” series “Transformational Journeys:
The ingrained stereotype of the gay male dancer is what kept James from pursuing dance until Inspired Singular Explorations.”
Paige Hernandez directs. Closes
after high school. Sunday, Feb. 4. Lang Theatre in
“It’s one thing if you’re in the drama club — you’re suspect. But if you’re a dancer, you’re defi- Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333
nitely ‘a faggot,’” he says. “I’m gonna be 60 in May, and I did not go to a performing arts high school. H St. NE. Call 202-399-7993 or visit
mosaictheater.org.
There was not Will & Grace back then. It was very, very closeted. So even though I knew I was gay,
that was certainly a roadblock in starting my career, just because of the judgment and the bullying SOMETHING ROTTEN
that I received as a child.” The fictitious Bottom brothers (Rob
Over the years, James has noticed an appreciable change on that front. “Certainly the number of McClure and Josh Grisetti) set out
to write the world’s very first musi-
male dancers that I’ve experienced teaching has continually increased, and I believe the stigma is cal in an attempt to finally one-up
slowly leaving.” Case in point: Alex Biegelson, the company’s associate director and the only dancer their astoundingly successful con-
currently touring from that original group of Rutgers students, is straight. temporary William Shakespeare.
Adam Pascal (Rent) stars as the Bard
This weekend, Biegelsen will perform with four other dancers in a mixed-repertoire program in the touring production of 2015’s
that James says offers “five different pieces by five different choreographers and five very differ- Tony-nominated musical by broth-
ent ideas of what modern dance is. Sometimes modern dance, people can find it inaccessible and ers Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey
strange and bewildering, but I believe that at this concert, they will be — it’s not a bad word to say Kirkpatrick, with a book co-writ-
ten by John O’Farrell. Directed and
— entertained. It’s a very easy, accessible program.” choreographed by Casey Nicholaw
James also points out that the program is only 90 minutes in length, meaning Super Bowl fans can (Mean Girls, The Book of Mormon),
attend the Sunday performance and be out in time to catch the game. “I don’t know how many peo- New York Magazine referred to the
romp as “The Producers + Spamalot
ple love football and dance, but I do,” he says. “There must be another one in the world.” —Doug Rule + The Book of Mormon squared!”
Opens Tuesday, Feb. 6, at 7:30 p.m.
10 Hairy Legs performs on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 4, at 4 p.m., at Dance Place, To Feb. 18. National Theatre, 1321
3225 8th St. NE. Tickets are $30. Call 202-269-1600 or visit danceplace.org. Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Call 202-
628-6161 or visit thenationaldc.org.

12 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 FOLGER CONSORT: MUSIC OF
HILDEGARD VON BINGEN
In the Gothic nave of Washington
National Cathedral, the acclaimed
early music ensemble based at the
Folger Shakespeare Library per-
forms soaring and ecstatic melodies
of this great 12th-century vision-
ary and composer. Notably, the
program also includes works by
living female composers — Susan
Botti, Kate Soper, and Pulitzer
Prize-winner Shulamit Ran — per-
formed in new arrangements for
female voices and medieval instru-
ments. The female vocal ensem-
ble Trio Eos and vocalists Shira
Kammen and Christa Patton join
Robert Eisenstein on viol and violin
and Christopher Kendall on lute.
Friday, Feb. 2, and Saturday, Feb.
3, at 8 p.m. Washington National
GERT KRAUTBAUER

Cathedral, Massachusetts and

Wisconsin Avenues NW. Tickets
are $30 to $60. Call 202-544-7077
or visit folger.edu.

LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO

The Grammy-winning a cappel-
ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER la group from South Africa still
dazzles after more than 50 years
The celebrated dance company returns for its annual engagement at the Kennedy Center together. Must it’s the “sheer joy
kicking off Tuesday, Feb. 6, with two new productions: Members Don’t Get Weary, a and love that emanates from their
blues-inspired work from Ailey star Jamar Roberts identified as “a response to the current being,” as their most famous boost-
er Paul Simon put it. The group
social landscape in America” and set to music by John Coltrane, and The Golden Section, tours in support of last year’s Songs
a sizzling ensemble work by Twyla Tharp with breathtaking leaps, fine partnering, and of Peace & Love for Kids & Parents.
a rocking score by David Byrne. Works by the company’s Artistic Director Robert Battle Monday, Feb. 5, and Tuesday, Feb.
as well as Talley Beatty, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar are also 6, at 8 p.m. The Barns at Wolf Trap,
1635 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are
included in this year’s mixed-repertory programs, all of which end, per tradition, with $40 to $42. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or
Revelations, the masterpiece by the company’s namesake, who died of AIDS-related com- visit wolftrap.org.
plications in 1989. Opening Tuesday, Feb. 6, at 7 p.m., followed by a Black-Tie Gala on the
LAURA OSNES
Terrace. To Feb. 11. Kennedy Center. Opera House. Tickets are $49 to $175, or $1,000 for The two-time Tony-nominated
the gala. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org. stage starlet (Bonnie & Clyde,
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s
Cinderella) ventures from Broadway
to North Bethesda to perform a cab-
THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH nan Chu leads the cast as Josef K, changing world around them.” To aret as part of a series featuring
Thornton Wilder’s other Pulitzer with support from Synetic compa- March 4. Studio Theatre, 14th & P “Broadway’s finest voices” selected
Prize-winning play, less well- ny members Tori Bertocci, Kathy Streets NW. Call 202-332-3300 or by Michael Feinstein. The creative
known than Our Town, is an epic Gordon, and Ryan Tumulty, plus visit studiotheatre.org. force behind Feinstein’s/54 Below
saga, dating to 1943, that was far Chris Willumsen, Thomas Beheler, in New York as well as the leading
champion of the Great American
ahead of its time in mixing farce,
burlesque, satire and absurdism.
and Lee Liebeskind. Now to Feb.
18. Synetic Theater, 1800 South Bell MUSIC Songbook, the gay singing pianist
Who better than Constellation St., Arlington. Call 800-494-8497 or has partnered with Strathmore for
Theatre Company to bring that to visit synetictheater.org. ALICE SMITH & BILAL: this Cabaret Supper Club series at
life in the 21st century? Mary Hall FOR LOVERS ONLY its intimate dinner/concert venue
Surface directs an ensemble cast THE WOLVES Soul-pop singer-songwriter Alice in the Pike & Rose development.
acting out the time-traveling tragi- As its contribution to the Women’s Smith is understated, sophisticated Osnes, the 32-year-old Minnesota
comedy about the Eternal Family, Voices Theater Festival, Studio and every bit as vocally talented as native, first came to fame after win-
led by a couple who have been mar- Theatre commissioned this play fellow four-octave ranger Christina ning the role of Sandy in NBC’s
ried 5,000 years, with a baby dino- from Sarah DeLappe following a Aguilera — except her music is bet- competition show Grease: You’re
saur and a woolly mammoth saved pack of 16-year-old girls who are ter. Case in point is her most recent the One That I Want for the 2007
from extinction as family pets. To the stars of their school’s soccer album, the astonishing She, which Broadway revival of the musical.
Feb. 18. Source Theatre, 1835 14th team. Marti Lyons directs a work charts the ups and downs and ins Wednesday, Feb. 7, at 8 p.m. Amp
St. NW. Tickets are $25 to $55. Call about the “contact sport of adoles- and outs of love, even just friend- by Strathmore, 11810 Grand Park
202-204-7741 or visit constellation- cence” as told from the female per- ship, with musical twists and lyrical Ave. North Bethesda. Tickets are
theatre.org. spective. “I wanted to see a portrait turns as sharp and surprising as they $37 to $57. Call 301-581-5100 or visit
of teenage girls as human beings,” come. Smith returns to her home- ampbystrathmore.com.
THE TRIAL DeLappe says. “As complicated, town of D.C. in a double-bill concert
Two unidentified agents from an nuanced, very idiosyncratic people at the Kennedy Center with Bilal, MARCIA BALL
unspecified agency arrest a man who weren’t just girlfriends or sex the Grammy-winning neo-soul pio- East Texas blues meets southwest
for an unspecified crime in Kafka’s objects or manic pixie dream girls neer from Philadelphia. Saturday, Louisiana swamp rock in the music
century-old work, given an under- but who were athletes and daugh- Feb. 10, at the Kennedy Center of this Grammy-nominated pianist
ground interpretation by Paata ters and students and scholars and Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are and singer-songwriter, who offers
Tsikurishvili, the founding artistic people who were trying actively to $29 to $69. Call 202-467-4600 or tastes of roadhouse rock, jump
director of Synetic Theater. Shu- figure out who they were in this visit kennedy-center.org. blues, R&B, soul, and zydeco. Ball

14 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 playwrights of our time. “Theresa is one of them. And I feel very
privileged to be in this.”
Nielsen is starring in Rebeck’s modern adaptation of William
Congreve’s Restoration comedy, The Way of the World. She plays
Rene (Lady Wishfort in the original), a caustic woman who uses
her control of a dowry for selfish means.
“Nobody ever really wants to do Way of the World anymore,
because it’s convoluted, complicated, and even a little dry,” sighs
Nielsen, noting that Rebeck’s revamp enlivens the material’s
comedy while maintaining its core of corruption and immorali-
ty. “It’s a mean time right now,” she says. “Audiences recognize
that, and there’s more laughter, which I think is acknowledg-
ment of the state of the world right now.”
Nielsen, who was nominated for a Tony for her astounding
performance in Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and
Masha and Spike in 2013, is no stranger to Washington, having
been raised in Bethesda (her mother worked in the Carter
White House). Attending Arena Stage as a young woman, she
was inspired by watching its stars of the time — Richard Bauer,
Halo Wines, and Robert Prosky. She made her own D.C. debut
in 1985 at the Kennedy Center in Jose Quintero’s legendary
production of Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh, starring
Jason Robards.
TERESA WOOD

“Coming back to Washington now is very different,” she says.

“It’s very weird, the unsettledness of everybody. Everybody is
just waking up with ‘hangovers’ every day, because everything
happening is just so overwhelming.” Still, she’s pleased to be part

WAY WITH MEANS

Kristine Nielsen brings her formidable comic
prowess to the Folger’s intimate space.
of the Folger’s production, part of the Women’s Voices Theatre
Festival, with Rebeck also serving as the show’s director.
“It’s taken a very long time for women to become endorsed
directors, do you know?” says Nielsen. “To see so many really
terrific female directors now is really, really, thrilling. It’s great
to see there isn’t any limit.

W
HEN THERESA REBECK SUMMONS, YOU HEED
the call. At least you do if you’re Kristine Nielsen.
“There are very few playwrights that could get me to
leave home and my family at the holiday time, which was when
we were rehearsing,” says the Tony-nominated Broadway
actress of her friend Rebeck, one of the most prolific female
“I marched [in the Women’s March] a year ago,” she contin-
ues. “It was my niece and I, together, in New York. It was such a
great experience. I would have done anything to do it again this
year, but I had two shows that day. I was, like, ‘I have a responsi-
bility.’ But I was there in spirit, because it’s a very great opening
up of doors — flinging them open, putting the fresh air through.”
—Randy Shulman

The Way of the World runs to Feb. 11 at Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol Street, SE. Tickets are $35 to $79.
Call 202-544-7077 or visit folger.edu.

is also a regular attraction at cel-
ebrated area concert venues from
the Hamilton to the Birchmere to
the Barns at Wolf Trap, where she
returns for a pre-Valentine show.
Friday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m. 1635 Trap
Road, Vienna. Tickets are $35 to
$45. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit
wolftrap.org.
PAT BENATAR & NEIL GIRALDO
Billed as “A Very Intimate Acoustic
Evening,” this concert featuring
the ‘80s hitmaker and her husband
and right-hand-man as band lead
guitarist is a different animal than
the powerhouse performances you
may have caught at Wolf Trap in
previous years. For fans, this will
register as an early Valentine’s
treat, the chance to sing-along to
stripped-down versions of “Hit Me
With Your Best Shot,” “Love Is
A Battlefield,” and “We Belong,”
among her standout hits. Monday,
Feb. 5, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere,
3701 Mount Vernon Ave. Tickets
are $115. Call 703-549-7500 or visit
birchmere.com.
PRESSENDA CHAMBER PLAYERS:
GREAT ROMANTICS
The Ensemble-in-Residence of the
Washington Conservatory offers
an early Valentine with a concert
highlighting two beloved piano
works from the Romantic period,
Dvorak’s Piano Quartet in E-flat
Major and Brahms’ Piano Quartet
in G Minor. Pianist Read Gainsford
is joined by other Pressenda mem-
bers violinist Aaron Berofsky, violist
Amadi Azikiwe, and cellist Tobias
Werner. Saturday, Feb. 3, at 8 p.m.
Westmoreland Congregational
Church, 1 Westmoreland Circle,
Bethesda. Tickets are free, donations
welcome. Call 301-320-2770 or visit
washingtonconservatory.org.
WASHINGTON NATIONAL
OPERA’S YOUNG ARTISTS
CONCERT
Opera buffs can see budding
next-generation stars — specifically
those from the WNO’s Domingo-
Cafritz Young Artist Program — in
a concert now in its 15th year at
the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery.
Staged and hosted by director
Nicholas Olcott, this program,
Transformations and Revelation,
focuses on excerpts from operat-
ic classics spanning three centu-
ries as composed by five heavy-
weights, from Mozart to Rossini
to Stravinsky. The roster includes
soloists Alexandria Shiner, Eliza
Bonet, Alexander McKissick,
Michael Hewitt, Arnold Livingston
Geis, Christopher Kenney, Allegra
De Vita, Frederick Ballentine,
Leah Hawkins, and Timothy J.
Bruno. Sunday, Feb. 4, at 2 p.m.
Bette Rubenstein Grand Salon, 1661
Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Free. Call
202-633-1000 or visit americanart.
si.edu/renwick.
DANCE
AMERICAN BALLET THEATER:
RATMANSKY’S WHIPPED CREAM
The highlight of the New York-
based company’s annual run of
dates at the Kennedy Center is
the D.C. premiere of a full-length

16 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 erated by poet, jazz scholar and
Vermont Public Radio host Reuben
Jackson. Monday, Feb. 5, at 7:30
p.m. 201 East Capitol St. SE. Tickets
are $15. Call 202-544-7077 or visit
folger.edu.

U.S. SENATOR CHRIS MURPHY:

READINGS, DISCUSSION ON GUN
VIOLENCE
Bullets into Bells: Poets & Citizens
Respond to Gun Violence is a new
anthology of poems by celebrated
writers — Patricia Smith, Natalie
Diaz, Mark Doty, and Rita Dove,
among them — complemented by
responses from gun violence activ-
ists, including Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Jody Williams, survivors
of shootings at Columbine, Sandy
Hook, Charleston Emanuel AME,
and Virginia Tech, and Samaria
Rice, mother of Tamir, plus a
foreword by former U.S. Rep
Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and
GIOVANNINI

an introduction from Irish writer

Colum McCann. Contributors to
the anthology and others work-
ing to prevent gun violence will
share readings and reflections,
BEAUTY PILL followed by a panel conversation
A decade ago, the experimental, cinematic-sounding, electronic/rock band was tout- with the Democratic Senator from
ed as a harbinger of a new era of homegrown D.C. music. And then its lead producer, Connecticut and the anthology’s
editor Brian Clements, poets Kyle
singer-songwriter and guitarist Chad Clark fell ill to a rare virus that infected his heart. Dargan and Taray Bray, Aimee
After two open-heart surgeries and several years recuperating, Clark revived the group Tavares of Moms Demand Action
in part to record and perform scores for theatrical productions by Taffety Punk and for Gun Sense in America, activists
Sarah Clements, Dennis Henigan,
Woolly Mammoth , as well as create novel sound art installations at the Arlington Arts
and Kate Ranta, and Daniel Webster
Center and the former Artisphere complex. The latter included an “Immersive Ideal” of the Johns Hopkins University
exhibition in which the group recorded live its most recent album, Beauty Pill Describes Center for Gun Policy and Research.
Things As They Are, named to Best Albums lists by NPR Music and Rolling Stone in 2015. Tuesday, Feb. 5, at 7 p.m. Sixth & I
Historic Synagogue. 600 I St. NW.
Beauty Pill members Basla Andolsun, Jean Cook, Drew Doucette, and Devin Ocampo Tickets are $10, or $20 including
join Clark in a rare live concert. Puff Pieces and Pearie Sol open. Saturday, Feb. 3. Doors a copy of the anthology, or $28 for
at 7 p.m. Rock and Roll Hotel, 1353 H St. NE. Tickets are $15. Call 202-388-ROCK or visit two tickets and a book. Call 202-
408-3100 or visit sixthandi.org.
rockandrollhoteldc.com.

ballet from the company’s Artist
in Residence Alexei Ratmansky.
A “light-as-meringue” production
featuring a “lost ballet” score by
Richard Strauss, performed live by
the Opera House Orchestra, with
sets and costumes by pop surreal-
ist Mark Ryden, Whipped Cream
follows the plight of a young boy
who overindulges in pastries and
has to rely on Princess Praline and
her court to save him by whipping
up a satisfyingly sweet ending.
Thursday, Feb. 1, and Friday, Feb. 2,
at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 3, at 1:30
and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 4,
at 1:30 p.m. Kennedy Center Opera
House. Tickets are $49 to $249.
Call 202-467-4600 or visit kenne-
dy-center.org.
JANE FRANKLIN DANCE: THE
MIGRATION PROJECT
Explore human flight through sto-
ries of relocation in a work part
of a larger multimedia series. Jane
Franklin Dance members Emily
Crews, Kelly Hogan, Carrie Monger,
Amy Scaringe, Brynna Shank, and
Rebecca Weiss perform to music
by Mark Sylvester and David
Schulman at a free Happenings at
the Harman Happy Hour event that
includes a complimentary drink at
the Forum bar. Wednesday, Feb.
8, at 6 p.m. Sidney Harman Hall,
Harman Center for the Arts, 610 F
St. NW. Tickets are free, but reser-
vations required. Call 202-547-1122
or visit shakespearetheatre.org.
COMEDY
SASHEER ZAMATA
Best known from her stint as a writ-
er and performer on Saturday Night
Live from 2014 to 2017, Zamata is a
regular on the standup circuit and is
regarded for her work as an ACLU’s
Celebrity Ambassador for Women’s
Rights. Friday, Feb. 9, and Saturday,
Feb. 10, at 7 and 9 p.m. Drafthouse
Comedy, 1100 13th St. NW. Tickets
are $20. Call 202-750-6411 or visit
drafthousecomedy.com.
WASHINGTON IMPROV
THEATER: ROAD SHOW
D.C.’s leading company for long-
form improv offers a “Wintry Mix,”
a series of vignettes featuring differ-
ent ensembles, with each plot devel-
oped on-the-fly, spurred by a single
audience suggestion. Weekends to
Feb. 4. District of Columbia Arts
Center (DCAC), 2438 18th St. NW.
Tickets are $12 in advance, or $15 at
the door. Call 202-462-7833 or visit
witdc.org.
READINGS
O.B. HARDISON POETRY
SERIES: KWAME DAWES, SAFIYA
SINCLAIR
On the day before what would
have been the 73rd birthday of Bob
Marley, the Folger Shakespeare
Library features two lauded
Jamaican poets to celebrate the
musician and his reggae music. The
evening includes a reception and
book signing after readings and a
conversation with the poets mod-
EXHIBITS
ADRIENNE GAITHER:
HOW I GOT OVER
Transformer’s 15th Annual DC
Artist Solo Exhibition features
paintings and collage works
recounting the artist’s personal
recovery from traumatic events in
her life. A series of lively, varied,
and imaginative works, with under-
tones of violence and trauma, and
shapes and colors recalling specif-
ic emotions. Artist Talk on Feb. 3.
On exhibit to Feb. 24. Transformer,
1404 P St. NW. Call 202-483-1102 or
visit transformerdc.org.
CONTEMPORARY PORTRAITS OF
THE BLACK EXPERIENCE
Elements That Define Us is a new
exhibition showcasing 21 art-
ists working in various medi-
ums and styles on display at the
Prince George’s African American
Museum and Cultural Center.
Tomora Wright curated this exhi-
bition with works by regional art-
ists, among them Alonzo Davis,
Gina Marie Lewis, Taryn Harris,
Ylysses Marshall, James Terrell,

18 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

Toni Lane, Ronald Jackson,
Elana Casey, Shawn Lindsay, and
Zsudayka Nzinga Terrell. Opening
reception is Friday, Feb. 2, from 6
to 9 p.m. On display through May
26. 4519 Rhode Island Ave. North
Brentwood, Md. Call 301-809-0440
or visit pgaamcc.org.
IN TRANSIT: TOUCHSTONE
GALLERY GROUP EXHIBITION
The latest group show at the down-
town gallery was inspired by the
notion of a nation and people con-
stantly on the move — in the phys-
ical sense, per various means of
transport, as well as in the figura-
tive sense, by striving to get ahead
in life through advanced education
and career shifts. Member artists
explore transitions and mobility in
their works, ranging from photo-
graphs and hand-pulled prints, to
paintings and drawings, to collages
and sculptures. Opening Reception
is Friday, Feb. 2, from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
On display through Sunday, Feb. 25,
with a Closing Reception featuring
painting and collage demonstra-
tions. Touchstone Gallery, 901 New
York Ave. NW Call 202-347-2787 or
visit touchstonegallery.com.
MELANCHOLIA
For this immersive installation,
artist Marion Colomer collaborat-
ed with New York-based perfumer
Dana El Masri to create an origi-
nal scent reflecting the melancholy
of lost desire. With notes of green
leaves and rainforest, the smell is
of a lost paradise, an effluvia of
dampness and decomposing soil.
The scent is intended to add a layer
of sense to Colomer’s often con-
tradictory large-scale watercolors
on display, where beauty oscillates
between daydreaming and doubt.
Sometimes the artist portrays the
Edenic lush jungle, while other
times, an all-consuming and danger-
ous jungle of doom. Soft renderings
of human bodies with glum expres-
sions further paint a scene in which
carnal desire and hope for humanity
have faded from view. The installa-
tion is presented at an Atlas District
gallery started by collectors Dolly
Vehlow and Steve Hessler. Opening
Reception is Friday, Feb. 2, from
7 to 9:30 p.m. On display through
Feb. 23. Gallery O on H, 1354 H
St. NE. Call 202-649-0210 or visit
GalleryOonH.com.
FOOD & DRINK
BOURBON STEAK:
LOVE POTION NO. 9 DESSERT
AND COCKTAIL CLASS
Dinner at Bourbon Steak in
Georgetown’s Four Seasons — not
to mention an overnight stay at
the luxury hotel — would make
a lovely Valentine’s Day present
all its own. Yet Head Bartender
Torrence Swain and Pastry Chef
Yudith Bustos are teaming up to
offer another sweet option: A three-
course dessert tasting and cock-
tail-making class. Swain will show
20 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
participants how to make “Elixirs
of Love with Chartreuse, Absinthe,
and Benedictine” while Bustos will
complement them with desserts.
Saturday, Feb. 10, from 12 to 2 p.m.
Bourbon Steak at Four Seasons
Hotel Washington, DC, 2800
Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Tickets are
$65 per person, exclusive of tax and
gratuity. Call 202-944-2026 or visit
fourseasons.com/washington.
HANK’S DUPONT:
THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB
In a rather inspired twist on
Valentine’s Day, the upstairs area
at the original Hank’s Oyster Bar
becomes an oasis non-romantic
types out there. In the runup to the
Hallmark-manufactured holiday,
the bar features a drinks menu to
keep all the single lads and ladies
company, ranging from a S.A.D.
(Single Person’s Awareness Day)
offering of a half-carafe of red wine
to I Do Or Whatever with whisky,
pineapple, and lychee syrup and
garnished with a Ring Pop, plus a
variety of liquors available for Love
On The Rocks. You can also eat your
feelings while there of course, and
you can shed any gently used cloth-
ing you don’t want or need as part of
the Bring Your Ex’s Clothing Drive
for Martha’s Table. Nightly begin-
ning Friday, Feb. 9. To Wednesday,
Feb. 14. Up Bar, Hank’s Dupont,
1624 Q St. NW. Call 202-462-4265.
Visit hanksoysterbar.com.
RADIATOR:
GROUNDHOG DAY PARTY
Punxsutawney Phil may conjure
up six more weeks of winter on
Groundhog Day next week, but
even if he does, that’s no reason
to sulk in your shadow. Why not
try your hand at a better future
as part of an eccentric promotion
at 14th Street’s Kimpton Mason
& Rook Hotel (formerly Hotel
Helix). On the one hand, psychic
Ariana Lightningstorm will work
to upstage the groundhog with per-
sonal prognostications via compli-
mentary palm readings in Radiator,
the hotel’s restaurant and bar. On
the other hand, Radiator’s bar team
helmed by Sarah Rosner wants
to lift your spirits with a cocktail
menu featuring both hot and cold
offerings — ‘tis the lingering sea-
son. Also on hand will be a winter
menu of “elevated bar bites” from
Executive Chef Jonathan Dearden.
And speaking of, Dearden has been
in the news of late, having won DC
Refined’s “Best Chef on the Block”
cook-off, a feeder contest to a forth-
coming new national chef compe-
tition on ABC’s The Chew. As the
designated D.C. representative, that
means national and TV exposure
is in the cards for the Sterling, Va.,
native. Maybe he’ll be good luck on
Groundhog Day, too. Friday, Feb. 2,
with happy hour starting at 4 p.m.,
and the dining room open at 5 p.m.
Mason & Rook, 1430 Rhode Island
Ave. NW. Call 202-742-3100 or visit
radiatordc.com.
UNION MARKET: CHOCOLATE
LOVERS RETAIL POP-UP
As a kick-off to National Chocolate
Lovers Month — aka February —
Union Market will feature a week-
end of retail pop-ups from several
leading or up-and-coming artisanal
chocolate purveyors. Among those
selling gifts, treats, and more will
be Harper Macaw, whose factory
is just north of the Arboretum on
Bladensburg Road in N.E. D.C.,
New Hampshire-based single-or-
igin purveyor Vicuña, and Pacari
and Cimarron Cocoa Estates, two
companies based in Ecuador. Opens
Thursday, Feb. 1. To Sunday, Feb. 4.
Union Market, 1309 5th St. NE. Call
800-680-9095 or visit unionmar-
ketdc.com.
DRAG/SHOW
BRUNCHES
LA BOUM
Launched seven years ago at
L’Enfant Cafe, the incredibly popu-
lar boozy brunch/day party known
as La Boum has only gotten bigger
and boum-ier in recent years — even
earning a nod as one of Bravo TV’s
“Top 5 Raging Brunches in the U.S.”
The self-billed “revolutionary-style
brunch” welcomes patrons of all
genders and sexual orientations
for a multi-course dinner and four
hours of drinking, dancing to a DJ,
and doing “everything they weren’t
allowed to do under pure paren-
tal supervision as young adults.”
Yet you have to be very grown-up
and plan ahead in particular for
Saturday brunch, as those sell out
weeks in advance — as of press
time, Saturday, Feb. 24, is the first
available, and with only a few seats
left at that. Abigail Room, 1230 M
St. NW. Tickets are $32.50 to $35
per person, plus 20-percent gratuity
and drinks. Call 240-286-4286 or
visit laboumbrunch.com.
SALUTE TO THE DIVAS: SUPER
BOWL DRAG BRUNCH
Indefatigable local drag sensation
Shi-Queeta-Lee and her troupe of
local drag queens — and the occa-
sional king — pay lip-synched trib-
ute to pop divas ranging from Tina
Turner — Shi-Queeta’s specialty —
to Beyonce, Diana Ross to Adele,
Chaka Khan to Fantasia. Earlier this
month, Shi-Queeta flew the Nellie’s
Drag Brunch coop that she start-
ed a decade ago, moving her drag
home base to Chateau Remix in
Northeast D.C. a few blocks down
Benning Road from the DC Eagle.
Yet she’s always on the go, and
often on the road — to the point
sometimes you wonder if she has
a drag double allowing her to be in
two places at once. On the day of
the big game, she’ll take the field
at her main Bethesda venue to per-
form a Halftime-esque show with
her crew likely more entertaining
than the real one later in the eve-
ning. Sunday, Feb. 4. Doors at 11
a.m., with show at 1 p.m. Bethesda
Blues & Jazz Supper Club, 7719
Wisconsin Ave. Tickets are $25.
Call 240-330-4500 or visit bethes-
dabluesjazz.com.
SIR SUNDAYS AT SAX
Penn Quarter’s Moulin Rouge-
inspired restaurant Sax offers move-
ment-based spectacles, including
aerial stunts, hip-hop group rou-
tines, pole performances, and bur-
lesque, to add excitement beyond
the food. And male burlesque is
the showcase every Sunday during
brunch, as a group of male pro-
fessional dancers, aerialists, and
bodybuilders perform full-length
shows, accompanied by unlimited
mimosas delivered by by table ser-
vice studs. Sundays at 11 a.m. and 2
p.m. Sax Restaurant & Lounge, 734
11th St. NW. Tickets are $50 to $65
including appetizers and unlimited
mimosas. Call 202-737-0101 or visit
sirmaleburlesque.com.
ABOVE
AND BEYOND
MAX MAJOR: THINK AGAIN
The Maryland-native mentalist
and magician pulls out all man-
ner of psychological tricks to wow
audiences and “demonstrate the
untapped powers of the mind.” The
Atlas offers Major’s final show in
D.C. before heading to New York
and making his Broadway debut.
Friday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m., and
Saturday, Feb. 10, at 5:30 and 8:30
p.m. Atlas Performing Arts Center,
1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $35 to
$75. Call 202-399-7993 or visit atla-
sarts.org.
WASHINGTON AUTO SHOW
Several dozen manufacturers will
cram more than 600 new models
into the Convention Center for the
annual showcase that is the larg-
est public show in D.C. and touted
as one of the biggest shows in the
country. Once again, Queer4Cars.
com hosts LGBTQ Family Night on
Thursday, Feb. 2, expanded to run
from 5 to 9 p.m., followed by an
after-party hosted by Toyota and
Lexus at a nearby location TBA.
With additional sponsorship from
Cadillac and Mazda, the evening
includes a private room to escape
the crowds with snacks and iced
tea. Among other highlights, there’s
the 3rd annual “Art-of-Motion: A
Visual Art and Fashion Exhibition,”
an 8,000-square feet space on the
third floor where avant-garde
designers will paint vehicles and
murals in real-time, in addition to
other displays and discussions about
their graphic styles. Opens Friday,
Jan. 26. Runs to Feb. 4. The Walter
E. Convention Center, 801 Mount
Vernon Place, NW. Tickets are $12
per day, with various VIP Tours
available. For more information, visit
washingtonautoshow.com. l
 theFeed
SHADONNA JACKSON
QUEERING THE HILL
More than 500 Creating Change attendees overran the Hill
to lobby for pro-LGBTQ legislation. By John Riley
A
S SEN. TAMMY BALDWIN STEPPED OUT OF THE
Senate chamber and into one of the wings of the U.S.
Capitol, she bent down close to the floor to greet
a young girl in yellow shirt, black pants, and animal-print
shoes peeking out from underneath a heavy wooden table.
But 20-month-old Marietta Hargrove wasn’t ready to come
out just yet.
After several attempts to coax Marietta out of her hid-
ing place, Baldwin, with a smile on her face, turned to the
toddler’s older sister, Joella, 9, and her parents, Camden
Hargrove, 28, and Minta Dwyer, 36, of Madison, Wis., to give
them her full attention, while Marietta slowly clambered up
the table.
“She’s stolen the hearts of everyone in this room,” said a
nearby Senate staffer, while observers cooed and smiled at
Marietta’s antics.
The meeting with Baldwin was brief, but content-rich,
as Hargrove and Dwyer chatted with the senator about
her sponsorship of several pro-LGBTQ bills, including the
Equality Act, which would prohibit anti-LGBTQ discrimina-
tion, and the Do No Harm Act, a bill that seeks to ensure that
“Religious Freedom” is not used to justify discrimination,
particularly against the LGBTQ community.
“It matters a lot to me to talk to the senator about the
Do No Harm Act and the Equality Act,” said Hargrove, who
works as a field organizer for the National LGBTQ Task
Force. “As a black trans man, I know what it feels like to face
intersecting marginalization.”
To illustrate the importance of those bills, Hargrove told
Baldwin about how he was fired from his job as a nanny after
he decided to transition.
“I was nannying for some children, and we had made a
bond,” he recalled. “But as soon as I started testosterone to
transition, the mom said she didn’t think it was safe for them
to be around me because I was trans, and then fired me.”
Marietta Hargrove and Sen. Tammy Baldwin
For Hargrove, the chance to meet with Baldwin, share
his story, and introduce her to his family was powerful. It
helped him make the case that his family was worthy of
protection, just like the family of any of her cisgender con-
stituents.
“Senator Baldwin was very receptive and very sympa-
thetic to my story,” he said following the meeting. “I think it
was really important for me, specifically, to have my family
here, because my family means so much to me and they’re
such a big part of my life.”
Hargrove was one of more than 500 LGBTQ people who
took part in The Task Force’s “Queer on the Hill” advocacy
day on Thursday, Jan. 25, where LGBTQ people — many of
whom were in town for the Annual Creating Change confer-
ence — could lobby their elected representatives on behalf of
pro-LGBTQ legislation.
“This is where it all happens,” said Debra Hopkins, a
62-year-old transgender pastor and former secondary school
history teacher from Charlotte, N.C. “I’m actually feeling
good, and I think it’s the adrenaline working.” Hopkins and
a contingent of North Carolinians visited their senators,
Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, and several congressmen.
For Hopkins, the chance to be “smack dab in the middle of
government” was a chance she just couldn’t pass up.
“We didn’t come here to be passive, go to parties, or
eat,” she said. “We need to have purpose in this existence
we have. If we’re not doing that, you need to ask yourself at
some quiet moment, ‘What have I done to contribute?’”
Elsewhere on the Hill, Ball State University students
Evan Schacherer, 19, of McCordsville, Ind., and Carli Kiser,
19, of Evansville, Ind., were attempting to visit the office
of their senator, Joe Donnelly, a Democrat who is up for
re-election this year and is one of the GOP’s top targets.
Both wanted to express their views to Donnelly about the
importance of the Equality Act, but ended up speaking with
FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 21
 theFeed
the senator’s legislative counsel instead.
“They gave us pretty standard comments about their
support,” said Schacherer, noting that the senator’s staffer
didn’t explicitly say he supported the Equality Act. “I think
it was mainly to cover themselves so it couldn’t bite them in
the butt later.”
“Donnelly has an interesting record on LGBTQ issues,”
added Kiser. “He has voted against two forms of the Equality
Act, although he has changed some of his views on the
LGBTQ community since 2013, and his [counsel] says he’s
always been supportive. If I could, I’d like to stress to him the
importance of every Hoosier, feeling safe and secure, feeling
as if they belong in our state, and, if they want to stay in the
state, feeling like it’s possible for them to do that.”
Brennan Keiser, a 27-year-old university employee from
St. Louis, Mo., visited his the offices of his state’s senators,
Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt, and his congressman, Lacy
Clay, to lobby on behalf of the “Ending Racial and Religious
Profiling Act.” He said that McCaskill’s staff, in particular,
was very responsive to his concerns.
“I felt positive about how receptive they were to every-
thing,” he said after the meetings. “I thought they were lis-
tening, they were writing things down, and they seemed to be
willing to continue having a conversation.”
Nicole Skinner, a 19-year-old University of Idaho student
from Meridian, Idaho, came to the Hill alone — she was the
only Idahoan to sign up for the lobby day. She visited her
senators, Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, to ask them to support
the Equality Act as well as a clean version of the DREAM
Act, which would ensure undocumented people brought to
22 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
this country as youths would be allowed to stay without fear
of deportation.
“Their staffers were very polite about everything I said,”
said Skinner. “Obviously, Idaho’s a very conservative state, so
I don’t see my senators backing either of these pieces of leg-
islation anytime soon. But I definitely think I brought some
new points to the table, where maybe they had not heard
those same perspectives before.”
For example, with the Equality Act, Skinner talked about
the importance of protections for LGBTQ people in public
accommodations by highlighting a specific coffee shop in
Moscow, Idaho, where the University of Idaho is located,
that has kicked out patrons that the owners believe are
LGBTQ or on dates with someone of the same gender.
“I think that’s something that a lot of straight people
don’t have to think about,” said Skinner. “Especially because
the senators are graduates of the University of Idaho, giving
them a specific coffee shop name that does that, that they’ve
been to, gives them an idea of what’s going on.”
While some people at the lobbying day event might have
been frustrated not to talk with their senator or congressman
directly, Skinner said sharing personal stories, even if it’s just
with staffers, felt worthwhile, because information does get
passed along.
“I think one-on-one conversations are the best way to cre-
ate change,” said Skinner. “We hear statistics and numbers
and facts all the time — and those are important to back up
our claims. But, at the end of the day, sharing our personal
experiences is going to change more minds than anything
else will.” l
 theFeed
BAILEY VOGT
DANCING QUEERS
Hundreds convened on Trump International Hotel to protest
through the power of dance. By Bailey Vogt
D
ANCE IS NOT ONLY A FORM OF ARTISTIC
expression, but also a powerful form of healing,”
says Fasir Nasr, founding organizer of Werk for
Peace. “Dance has always served as a base for the queer and
trans community.... That’s why we feel dance is such a pow-
erful mechanism for social change.”
And dance they did. Wildly. Outside the Trump
International Hotel, where hundreds of LGBTQ people, many
of them in town for the Task Force’s Creating Change confer-
ence, convened to protest the current administration. Werk for
Peace staged the event, much as it had staged similar dances
outside Vice-President Mike Pence’s D.C. residence and the
Kalorama abode of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.
More than 1,200 people came to protest. Some, like Rissy
Berliner, were there to push back against the decision-mak-
ing of the Trump administration. “We’ve got to show reason
in this country,” she says. “We’ve got to show the rest of the
world that we have sensibility, and that we have empathy.”
“This administration has completely undone a lot of the
good work that was starting to be made for the LGBT com-
munity,” says Mary Rudden, part of the Werk for Change
team. “In reality, there’s still so much work to be done.”
The protest’s official hashtag was #WerkForConsent,
which Nasr said was to push local and federal governments
to stop taking away the bodily autonomy of the LGBTQ
community.
“Our bodies are inscribed with social and political narra-
tives, and a lot of times the way that our bodies are inscribed
with that narrative is through violence, such as sexual vio-
lence or walking out into the street and being harassed for
who you are,” he says. “Our work and our event was really
about occupying the streets and claiming them as our own, as
our safe space to assert our bodies and be free as who we are.”
Rodney Taylor, of Charleston, S.C., was, in fact, dancing
for respect for consent and body autonomy. “Everyone has
their own body and everyone needs to have respect for the
one body that they were given. As long as they respect each
other’s bodies, then we can truly accomplish things, because
then everyone can work on their own terms.”
The protest, which started at President Trump’s hotel
before moving through the streets of D.C., took place on the
one-year anniversary of the president’s attempt to ban immi-
grants from several Muslim-majority nations. At one point,
a No Muslim Ban Ever march converged with the Werk for
Peace participants, becoming one grand protest.
“It was a beautiful synergy of individuals with multiple
identities,” says Nasr. “Being Arab and queer, [I] felt that it
was a very beautiful mechanism for highlighting our inter-
sectional identities and celebrating those identities.”
The route took dancers past the D.C. Council offices on
Pennsylvania Ave., which Rudden said was to highlight the
importance of following LGBTQ issues on a local level, not
just national, including promoting bills that would decrimi-
nalize sex work and address hate-based harassment.
“Keep an eye on what’s happening to LGBT issues in
town, what’s happening with the D.C. government, in terms
of legislation,” she says. “And just [be] aware that we are
your neighbors and we need your help.”
That sentiment is one Taylor agrees with, adding that
people should be mindful of other LGBTQ struggles and not
get complacent.
“We may have things like marriage, but we also need
to fight for things like no job discrimination, no housing
discrimination, making sure that we have equal access to
healthcare. All those things that we are denied says that we
do not belong in this society and that we will not be allowed
to survive and thrive. And if we can’t survive and thrive then
we’re not supporting at all. And we have to support every-
one’s rights in that.”
He adds that everyone is telling a story of who they
are through the expression of dance. “When people try to
silence us, we become our authentic selves and perform as
our authentic selves. No one can take away that narrative
and no one can tell us who we are because we control what
we see, we control what we put forth, and dancing is one of
the ways that we do that.” l
FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 23
 Forum
THE VANISHING
Thanks to Trump’s tabloid antics, the LGBTQ community has been pushed
to the backburner in most mainstream media.
By Zeke Stokes
O
VER THE LAST YEAR, GLAAD RECORDED
56 explicit anti-LGBTQ attacks by the Trump
Administration, tracked legislation that directly
targets transgender youth in 14 states, documented almost
a dozen cases of U.S. LGBTQ centers being targeted and
vandalized, and honored the lives of 26 transgender people
killed in the U.S. this past year — nearly all trans women
of color. Despite all this, the mainstream press has largely
failed to give stories that center on
the LGBTQ community the atten-
tion they warrant.
Meanwhile, after measuring his- “We tracked
toric levels of LGBTQ acceptance
by non-LGBTQ Americans last year,
a decline in
GLAAD’s Accelerating Acceptance acceptance
report, an index that gauges attitudes
and comfortability toward LGBTQ of LGBTQ
people and issues, revealed this year
a new and shocking reversal. people at the
Breaking from the steady trend
of increasing acceptance tracked
same time that
over the past three years, the 2018 anti-LGBTQ
report showed the first-ever rise
in discomfort. GLAAD also found violence and
that 55 percent of LGBTQ adults
reported experiencing discrimina- discrimination
tion because of sexual orientation or
gender identity, spiking 11 percent-
are on the rise.”
age points from the previous year.
Pause for a moment and let that
sink in — we tracked a decline in acceptance of LGBTQ
people at the same time that anti-LGBTQ violence and
discrimination are on the rise. This trend cannot continue,
and the way to fight back is to make certain our voices and
stories are heard.
During the last election cycle and the first year of the
Trump administration, LGBTQ issues were largely ignored
by the mainstream press, who focused on Trump’s tweets
and brash antics. Accurate and nuanced coverage of the
LGBTQ community was so lacking in mainstream broad-
cast news and publications last year, several major outlets
didn’t even publish a single piece of journalism that could
contend for a GLAAD Media Award this Spring.
We know that returning power to national leaders who
support LGBTQ people is essential — and this midterm
election year gives us a chance to start that process. But
there’s something else equally essential: We must regain
24 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
control of the media narrative that, since he announced
his candidacy for President, has been under the Trump
thumb — quite literally — as the media breathlessly reports
on every tweet and every reaction his 240 characters elicit.
Indeed, it is long past time for the mainstream press to
shift away from falling for Trump’s tabloid news strategy
and focus in-depth on the LGBTQ community and other
vulnerable populations facing near constant attacks from
this administration.
This shift in mainstream cov-
erage is not going to happen over-
night, but we can all play a role in
demanding this necessary change.
Just as it is critical to register to
vote and work to counter Trump’s
anti-LGBTQ agenda at the ballot
box, it is also essential to combat
Trump’s control over mainstream
press coverage. Write a letter to
the editor about why highlighting
LGBTQ voices is vital, show up to
2018 debates and town halls and
ask about LGBTQ rights and local
anti-LGBTQ legislation, and consid-
er sharing your story or attending
a GLAAD Media Institute training.
Through our decades of work,
GLAAD has leveraged the media’s
powerful influence to impact how
people treat others, how they vote,
and their daily decisions. By refusing to allow Trump to
lead the conversation, we have the power to reshape the
narrative and provoke dialogue that can lead to cultural
change.
Our stories have always been and will continue to be the
front lines when it comes to accelerating acceptance and
we must not allow them to be pushed out of mainstream
media coverage. At a time in our political history where
there is so much hate, our stories have the power to save
lives. l
Zeke Stokes is the Vice President of Programs at GLAAD.
Follow GLAAD’s work on Twitter @GLAAD.
The opinions expressed in Forum do not necessarily reflect
those of Metro Weekly or its employees. Add your voice to
Forum. Learn how at metroweekly.com/forum.

THURSDAY, FEB. 1
The DC Center holds a meet-
ing of its ASIAN PACIFIC
ISLANDER QUEER SUPPORT
GROUP. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th St.
NW, Suite 105. For more infor-
mation, visit thedccenter.org.
Weekly Events
ANDROMEDA
TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH
offers free HIV testing and HIV
services (by appointment). 9
a.m.-5 p.m. Decatur Center,
1400 Decatur St. NW. To
arrange an appointment, call
202-291-4707, or visit androm-
edatransculturalhealth.org.
DC AQUATICS CLUB practice
session at Takoma Aquatic
Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 300 Van
Buren St. NW. For more infor-
mation, visit swimdcac.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS run-
ning/walking/social club
welcomes runners of all ability
levels for exercise in a fun and
supportive environment, with
socializing afterward. Route
distance is 3-6 miles. Meet at
7 p.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW.
For more information, visit
dcfrontrunners.org.
DC LAMBDA SQUARES gay
and lesbian square-dancing
group features mainstream
through advanced square
dancing at the National City
Christian Church, 5 Thomas
Circle NW, 7-9:30 p.m. Casual
dress. 202-930-1058, dclamb-
dasquares.org.
DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds
practice. The team is always
looking for new members. All
welcome. 7:30-9:30 p.m. King
Greenleaf Recreation Center,
201 N St. SW. For more infor-
mation, visit scandalsrfc.org or
dcscandals@gmail.com.
THE DULLES TRIANGLES
Northern Virginia social
group meets for happy hour at
Sheraton in Reston. All wel-
come. 7-9 p.m. 11810 Sunrise
Valley Drive, second-floor bar.
For more information, visit
dullestriangles.com.
HIV TESTING at Whitman-
Walker Health. 9 a.m.-12:30
p.m. and from 2-5 p.m. at 1525
14th St. NW, and 9 a.m-12
p.m. and 2-5 p.m. at the Max
Robinson Center, 2301 MLK Jr.
Ave. SE. For an appointment
call 202-745-7000 or visit whit-
man-walker.org.
IDENTITY offers free and
confidential HIV testing at
Community
two separate locations. Walk-
ins accepted from 2-6 p.m.,
by appointment for all other
hours. 414 East Diamond Ave.,
Gaithersburg, Md. or 7676
New Hampshire Ave., Suite
WARD MORRISON / FILE PHOTO
411, Takoma Park, Md. To set
up an appointment or for more
information, call Gaithersburg,
301-300-9978, or Takoma Park,
301-422-2398.
METROHEALTH CENTER
offers free, rapid HIV testing.
Appointment needed. 1012 14th
St. NW, Suite 700. To arrange
PHILANTHROPIC
an appointment, call 202-638-
0750.
SMYAL offers free HIV Testing,
50th
3-5 p.m., by appointment and
walk-in, for youth 21 and
younger. Youth Center, 410 7th
St. SE. 202-567-3155 or test-
ing@smyal.org.
Robert York’s 50th birthday blowout
will raise money for local charities. STI TESTING at Whitman-
Walker Health. 10 a.m.-12:30
W
p.m. and 2-3 p.m. at both 1525
HEN ROBERT YORK MOVED TO D.C. 24 YEARS AGO, 14th St. NW and the Max
he knew very few people in the city. Young, gay, only Robinson Center, 2301 Martin
recently out and in need of friends, he began volunteer- Luther King, Jr. Ave. SE.
ing with local LGBTQ organizations to meet other members of the Testing is intended for those
without symptoms. For an
community. appointment call 202-745-7000
Later this month, York will celebrate his 50th birthday. And or visit whitman-walker.org.
as a mark of respect to the organizations that welcomed him two
decades ago, York is holding a club night fundraiser to benefit US HELPING US hosts a
several charities and nonprofits special to him. Narcotics Anonymous Meeting.
“This has been an idea that has been in my head for over a year The group is independent of
and a half, maybe two years, knowing that I was about to celebrate UHU. 6:30-7:30 p.m., 3636
Georgia Ave. NW. For more
a milestone birthday,” says York. “This is a way of saying ‘thank information, call 202-446-1100.
you’ to the community for what I’ve been able to experience, but
it’s also a chance to highlight some organizations, and give money WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP
back to them so they can continue to make a difference.” INSTITUTE for young LBTQ
York has partnered with Town Danceboutique to host the women, 13-21, interested in
celebration, which will feature music by DJ Chord, DJ Grind and leadership development. 5-6:30
DJ Twin, as well as performances by Brian Justin Crum, Frenchie p.m. SMYAL Youth Center, 410
7th St. SE. For more informa-
Davis, Simone Denny, and Beth Anne Sacks. Tickets costs $25, and tion, call 202-567-3163, or email
100 percent of the proceeds benefit Athlete Ally, Capital Pride, catherine.chu@smyal.org.
Capital Trans Pride, Dogs Rescue and City Kitties, NMAC, Trevor
Project DC, and the ziMS Foundation. FRIDAY, FEB. 2
“[These are] charities that I have worked with over the years
that are near and dear to my heart,” says York, who has either GAY DISTRICT, a group for
volunteered, worked for, or sits on boards of directors for the GBTQQI men between the ages
beneficiaries. of 18-35, meets on the first and
third Fridays of each month.
York wants to foster a spirit of philanthropy among members
8:30-9:30 p.m. 2000 14th St.
of the LGBTQ community, as financial support is essential to keep- NW, Suite 105. For more infor-
ing some low-budget nonprofits solvent. With decreasing govern- mation, visit gaydistrict.org.
ment revenues and cuts to crucial programs, many organizations
are relying on smaller dollar private donations. Join LGBTQ people from all
“I think now more than ever we’re going to have to step up over the D.C. metropolitan
and really help our neighbors in those organizations to survive, area for an LGBTQ SOCIAL at
Pinzimini Lounge, inside the
because there are people that literally depend on that assistance on
Westin Arlington Gateway.
a daily basis to make ends meet,” he says. “I learned early on from Everyone welcome. No Cover.
my mom and dad that it was better to help people as much as you 6:30-8:30 p.m. 801 N. Glebe Rd.,
can, because you never know when you’re going to need the help Arlington, Va. Metro is 2 blocks
yourself.” —John Riley away. For more information,
visit gogaydc.org.
Robert York’s “Champions for Charity” 50th Birthday Celebration
The DC Center hosts a meet-
is on Saturday, Feb. 17 from 5-10 p.m. at Town Danceboutique,
ing of its TRANS SUPPORT
2009 8th St. NW. For tickets and more information, GROUP, focusing on issues
visit championsforcharity.eventbrite.com. important to transgender peo-
FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 25
 ple and those who identify outside
of the gender binary. 7-8:30 p.m.
2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For
more information, visit thedccen-
ter.org.
Weekly Events
BET MISHPACHAH, founded by
members of the LGBT community,
holds Friday evening Shabbat ser-
vices in the DC Jewish Community
Center’s Community Room. 8 p.m.
1529 16th St. NW. For more infor-
mation, visit betmish.org.
DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a prac-
tice session at Howard University.
6:30-8 p.m. Burr Gymnasium, 2400
6th St. NW. For more information,
visit swimdcac.org.
PROJECT STRIPES hosts LGBT-
affirming social group for ages
11-24. 4-6 p.m. 1419 Columbia Road
NW. Contact Tamara, 202-319-
0422, layc-dc.org.
SMYAL’S REC NIGHT provides a
social atmosphere for LGBT and
questioning youth, featuring dance
parties, vogue nights, movies and
games. For more info, email cather-
ine.chu@smyal.org.
SATURDAY, FEB. 3
ADVENTURING outdoors group
hikes 9 moderately strenuous miles
in a circuit along the Potomac
River via the Potomac Heritage
Trail on the Virginia side, the C&O
Canal towpath on the Maryland
side, and the Key & Chain Bridges
linking the two sides. Bring bever-
ages, lunch, sturdy boots, and the
$2 trip fee. Meet at 10 a.m. inside
the Rosslyn Metro Station at the
foot of the steps leading to Fort
Myer Drive. For more information,
contact Jackson, 571-241-3787 or
visit adventuring.org.
CENTER GLOBAL, a group that
fights against anti-LGBTI laws
and cultures in 80 countries, holds
its monthly meeting on the first
Saturday of every month. 12-1:30
p.m. The DC Center, 2000 14th St.
NW, Suite 105. For more informa-
tion, visit thedccenter.org.
CHRYSALIS arts & culture group
sees exhibits on modern inter-
pretations of Civil War art at the
Hirshhorn and the Smithsonian
American Art Museum. Free
admission. Lunch in Penn Quarter.
Meet at 10:30 a.m. inside the main
entrance of the Hirshhorn on
Independence Avenue SW, near
7th Street. Contact Craig, 202-
462-0535 or visit craighowell1@
verizon.net.
26 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
Weekly Events
DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a prac-
tice session at Montgomery College
Aquatics Club. 8:30-10 a.m. 7600
Takoma Ave., Takoma, Md. For more
information, visit swimdcac.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/
walking/social club welcomes run-
ners of all ability levels for exercise
in a fun and supportive environ-
ment, with socializing afterward.
Route distance will be 3-6 miles.
Walker meet at 9:30 a.m. and run-
ners at 10 a.m. at 23rd & P Streets
NW. For more information, visit
dcfrontrunners.org.
DIGNITYUSA 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 dignitynova.org.
SUNDAY, FEB. 4
ADVENTURING outdoors group
hikes several easy miles through
the National Arboretum in
Northeast Washington to appre-
ciate its wintertime beauty. Bring
beverages, lunch, winter-worthy
footwear and a few dollars for
fees. Carpool at 10 a.m. from the
Dupont Circle Metro Station.
Gather in front of the elevator on
Connecticut Avenue NW, south of
Q Street. Contact Craig, 202-462-
0535 or visit adventuring.org.
Weekly Events
LGBT-inclusive ALL SOULS
MEMORIAL EPISCOPAL CHURCH
celebrates Low Mass at 8:30
a.m., High Mass at 11 a.m. 2300
Cathedral Ave. NW. 202-232-4244,
allsoulsdc.org.
DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a
practice session at Wilson Aquatic
Center. 9:30-11 a.m. 4551 Fort Dr.
NW. For more information, visit
swimdcac.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/
walking/social club welcomes run-
ners of all ability levels for exercise
in a fun and supportive environ-
ment, with socializing afterward.
Route will be a distance run of 8, 10
or 12 miles. Meet at 9 a.m. at 23rd
& P Streets NW. For more informa-
tion, visit dcfrontrunners.org.
FAIRLINGTON UNITED
METHODIST CHURCH is an open,
inclusive church. All welcome,
including the LGBTQ commu-
nity. Member of the Reconciling
Ministries Network. Services at
9:30 and 11:00 a.m. 3900 King
Street, Alexandria, Va. 703-671-
8557. For more info, visit fairling-
tonumc.org.
FRIENDS MEETING OF
WASHINGTON meets for worship,
10:30 a.m., 2111 Florida Ave. NW,
Quaker House Living Room (next
to Meeting House on Decatur
Place), 2nd floor. Special welcome
to lesbians and gays. Handicapped
accessible from Phelps Place gate.
Hearing assistance. quakersdc.org.
HSV-2 SOCIAL AND SUPPORT
GROUP for gay men living in the
DC metro area. This group will be
meeting once a month. For infor-
mation on location and time, visit
H2gether.com.
INSTITUTE FOR SPIRITUAL
DEVELOPMENT, God-centered
new age church & learning center.
Sunday Services and Workshops
event. 5419 Sherier Place NW. isd-
dc.org.
LUTHERAN CHURCH OF
REFORMATION invites all to
Sunday worship at 8:30 or 11 a.m.
Childcare is available at both ser-
vices. Welcoming LGBT people for
25 years. 212 East Capitol St. NE.
reformationdc.org.
METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY
CHURCH OF WASHINGTON, D.C.
services at 9 a.m. (ASL interpret-
ed) and 11 a.m. Children’s Sunday
School at 11 a.m. 474 Ridge St. NW.
202-638-7373, mccdc.com.
RIVERSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH,
a Christ-centered, interracial,
welcoming-and-affirming church,
offers service at 10 a.m. 680 I St.
SW. 202-554-4330, riversidedc.org.
UNITARIAN CHURCH OF
ARLINGTON, an LGBTQ welcom-
ing-and-affirming congregation,
offers services at 10 a.m. Virginia
Rainbow UU Ministry. 4444
Arlington Blvd. uucava.org.
UNIVERSALIST NATIONAL
MEMORIAL CHURCH, a welcom-
ing and inclusive church. GLBT
Interweave social/service group
meets monthly. Services at 11 a.m.,
Romanesque sanctuary. 1810 16th St.
NW. 202-387-3411, universalist.org.
MONDAY, FEB. 5
CENTER AGING holds a month-
ly advocacy meeting to provide
guidance and feedback on pro-
grams and services for LGBTQ
older adults. 12:30-2 p.m. 2000
14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more
information, visit facebook.com/
centeraging.
The YOUTH WORKING GROUP
of The DC Center holds a monthly
meeting to discuss upcoming pro-
gramming options. Light snacks
will be provided. 6-7:30 p.m. 2000
14th St. NW, Suite 105. Visit thed-
ccenter.org.
Weekly Events
DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a
practice session at Dunbar Aquatic
Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 101 N St. NW.
For more information, visit swim-
dcac.org.
GETEQUAL meets 6:30-8 p.m. at
Quaker House, 2111 Florida Ave.
NW. For more information, email
getequal.wdc@gmail.com.
NOVASALUD offers free HIV test-
ing. 5-7 p.m. 2049 N. 15th St., Suite
200, Arlington. Appointments: 703-
789-4467.
STI TESTING at Whitman-Walker
Health. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at both 1525
14th St. NW and the Max Robinson
Center, 2301 Martin Luther King,
Jr. Ave. SE. Testing is intended for
those without symptoms. For an
appointment call 202-745-7000 or
visit whitman-walker.org.
The DC Center hosts COFFEE
DROP-IN FOR THE SENIOR LGBT
COMMUNITY. 10 a.m.-noon. 2000
14th St. NW. For more information,
call 202-682-2245 or visit thedc-
center.org.
US HELPING US hosts a black gay
men’s evening affinity group for
GBT black men. Light refreshments
provided. 7-9 p.m. 3636 Georgia
Ave. NW. 202-446-1100.
WASHINGTON WETSKINS
WATER POLO TEAM practices 7-9
p.m. Newcomers with at least basic
swimming ability always welcome.
Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van
Buren St. NW. For more informa-
tion, contact Tom, 703-299-0504
or secretary@wetskins.org, or visit
wetskins.org.
WHITMAN-WALKER HEALTH
HIV/AIDS SUPPORT GROUP
for newly diagnosed individuals,
meets 7 p.m. Registration required.
202-939-7671, hivsupport@whit-
man-walker.org.
TUESDAY, FEB. 6
The DC Center holds a meeting of
its COMING OUT DISCUSSION
GROUP for those navigating issues
associated with coming out and
personal identity. 7-8:30 p.m. 2000
14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more
information, visit thedccenter.org.
The DC Center’s TRANS
SUPPORT GROUP provides a
space to talk for transgender people
and those who identify outside of
the gender binary. 7-8:30 p.m. 2000
14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more
information, visit thedccenter.org.
Weekly Events
DC AQUATICS CLUB practice
session at Takoma Aquatic Center.
7:30-9 p.m. 300 Van Buren St. NW.
For more information, visit swim-
dcac.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/
walking/social club welcomes run-
ners of all ability levels for exercise
in a fun and supportive environment,
with socializing afterward. Route
distance is 3-6 miles. Meet at 7 p.m.
at Union Station. For more informa-
tion, visit dcfrontrunners.org.
DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds prac-
tice. The team is always looking for
new members. All welcome. 7:30-
9:30 p.m. King Greenleaf Recreation
Center, 201 N St. SW. For more
information, visit scandalsrfc.org or
dcscandals@gmail.com.
THE GAY MEN’S HEALTH
COLLABORATIVE offers free
HIV testing and STI screening
and treatment every Tuesday.
5-6:30 p.m. Rainbow Tuesday
LGBT Clinic, Alexandria Health
Department, 4480 King St. 703-
746-4986 or text 571-214-9617.
james.leslie@inova.org.
OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS
— LGBT focused meeting every
Tuesday, 7 p.m. St. George’s
Episcopal Church, 915 Oakland
Ave., Arlington, just steps from
Virginia Square Metro. For
more info. call Dick, 703-521-
1999. Handicapped accessible.
Newcomers welcome. liveandletli-
veoa@gmail.com.
STI TESTING at Whitman-Walker
Health. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at both 1525
14th St. NW and the Max Robinson
Center, 2301 Martin Luther King,
Jr. Ave. SE. Testing is intended for
those without symptoms. For an
appointment call 202-745-7000 or
visit whitman-walker.org.
Support group for LGBTQ youth
ages 13-21 meets at SMYAL. 5-6:30
p.m. 410 7th St. SE. For more
information, contact Cathy Chu,
202-567-3163, or catherine.chu@
smyal.org.
US HELPING US hosts a support
group for black gay men 40 and
older. 7-9 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave.
NW. 202-446-1100.
Whitman-Walker Health holds its
weekly GAY MEN’S HEALTH AND
WELLNESS/STD CLINIC. Patients
are seen on walk-in basis. No-cost
screening for HIV, syphilis, gon-
orrhea and chlamydia. Hepatitis
and herpes testing available for fee.
Testing starts at 6 p.m, but should
arrive early to ensure a spot. 1525
14th St. NW. For more information,
visit whitman-walker.org.
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 7
The DC Center and the Network
for Victim Recovery of DC host
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS, a workshop
focusing on educating LGBTQ
individuals and survivors of crime,
violence, or trauma about their
rights under the law and what
resources are available. 7-9 p.m.
2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. Visit
thedccenter.org.
The TOM DAVOREN SOCIAL
BRIDGE CLUB meets for Social
Bridge at the Dignity Center, across
from the Marine Barracks. No
partner needed. 7:30 p.m. 721 8th
St. SE. Call 301-345-1571 for more
information.
Weekly Events
AD LIB, a group for freestyle con-
versation, meets about 6-6:30 p.m.,
Steam, 17th and R NW. All wel-
come. For more information, call
Fausto Fernandez, 703-732-5174.
FREEDOM FROM SMOKING, a
group for LGBT people looking
to quit cigarettes and tobacco use,
holds a weekly support meeting at
The DC Center. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th
St. NW, Suite 105. For more infor-
mation, visit thedccenter.org.
FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
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.
JOB CLUB, a weekly support pro-
gram for job entrants and seekers,
meets at The DC Center. 6-7:30
p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105.
For more info, centercareers.org.
NOVASALUD offers free HIV
testing. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. 2049 N.
15th St., Suite 200, Arlington.
Appointments: 703-789-4467.
STI TESTING at Whitman-Walker
Health. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at both 1525
14th St. NW and the Max Robinson
Center, 2301 Martin Luther King,
Jr. Ave. SE. Testing is intended for
those without symptoms. For an
appointment call 202-745-7000 or
visit whitman-walker.org.
WASHINGTON WETSKINS
WATER POLO TEAM practices 7-9
p.m. Newcomers with at least basic
swimming ability always welcome.
Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van
Buren St. NW. For more informa-
tion, contact Tom, 703-299-0504
or secretary@wetskins.org, or visit
wetskins.org. l
27
Faces of Change
Activism, Donald Trump, and Creating Change
in the LGBTQ Movement.

Interviews and photography by John Riley,

Randy Shulman and Bailey Vogt

I
N 1987, URVASHI VAID AND SUE HYDE, BOTH WORK-
ing for the then-nascent National Gay & Lesbian Task Force,
had a “crazy” idea: Launch an annual national conference.
The point would be to provide LGBTQ activists and organizers
from across the nation a “space where our movement could
convene, and would become more confident, more skilled,
more collaborative, more cooperative, and more communi-
cative, more related to itself, and, thus, more in solidarity,”
Hyde told a crowd of admirers as she accepted an award for
her 30 years of service. The idea was to become a place for the
LGBTQ movement to learn and grow. “Because within us,”
said Hyde, “within all of our lives and experiences are wis-
doms, information, perspectives.”
That first conference drew 220 participants.
In 2018, that number had grown to 4,000. Last weekend’s
Creating Change conference, produced by the National LGBTQ
Task Force, at Washington, D.C.’s vast Wardman Marriott
Hotel, and offered dozens of workshops, social gatherings, and
panels, as well as a fashion show and several extraordinarily
robust dance parties. For five days, the hotel was abuzz with dia-
logues, discourses, and discussions, along with a general feeling
of warmth, safety, and solidarity. It was as if a giant, reaffirming
LGBTQ hug had descended on Woodley Park.
“We could not have imagined 30 years ago the kind of power
and strength our movement could have,” Urvashi Vaid, a former
Executive Director of the Task Force, told Metro Weekly. “We
believed in the grassroots. And the grassroots comes together
every year at creating change. That’s what gives it the power, the
intensity, and the beauty that it has. I love this conference, and
the conversations that happen here.”
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the event, we sought out
30 random attendees and posed a variety of questions to learn,
among other things, what inspires their activism, how they feel
about President Trump, and what they are doing in their own
lives to create change from sea to shining sea.

FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 29

LEX ALLEN cent. I’m a gay, white man, but I think being a white man carries
30, Queer Male a ton of privilege with it, and so being gay sort of cracks open
Milwaukee, Wisc. my eyes a little bit to some of the injustices out there. Then just
Singer-songwriter making the effort to listen more about just the host of injustices
First Creating Change out there. How can I use my privileges to effect change on all
areas of injustice?
Why are you at Creating Change?
I’m here, first, to perform, to show DANIEL ANZUETO
everyone a really great time, and also 31, Queer Male
to connect with other LGBT com- Miami, Fl.
munities that are around the United Co-founder of the Maven Leadership
States. It’s reassuring to know that Collective
everyone’s putting in work for each other. It’s a team effort. Third Creating Change

What issues are important to you? What issues are important to you?
All of them. Right now, everything is on the table. You just pick, The elevation and inclusion and rep-
choose. Right now, the immigration laws have really been bog- resentation of queer and trans people
ging me down because I have a lot of friends who are affected of color in all of the spaces that we
by that. occupy. Anything more than just the
tokenization. So, not just, “Alright, I have one black person, I
How much of a threat is Trump to the LGBTQ community? have one trans person. We’re good,” but what does meaning-
As much of a threat that we allow him to be. If ful inclusion look like in any
we’re quiet, nothing is going to get done. I know of the spaces that decisions
we got these voices. We’re loud. We can go to “I feel like the Republican might happen, where money
the club and scream “Yes!” But use that “Yes!” in Party don’t know how might be a deciding factor,
your communities. Use it everywhere you have a access.
platform. The more voices that are talking about to think for themselves
the issue and confronting it and not allowing it What inspired your activism?
to happen, the better off we’ll be down the road. outside of what they were I was in undergrad at Florida
taught. DON’T EVEN GET International University in
Why do you think Republicans became the domi- Miami, and I was coming
nant party in America? ME STARTED ON GAY out and had no space really
When we’re in divide, insecurities pop up.
There’s room for hate. There’s room for fear REPUBLICANS.” — Lex Allen to engage, there was no stu-
dent organization on cam-
to grow, fester. That’s how we got here. It was pus, and I met with a bunch
a great divide. I feel like the Republican Party, of friends, and we kind of
some of them, don’t know how to think for kicked it off. And it was real-
themselves outside of what they were taught. Don’t even get me ly a space to come together just for community needs, and that
started on gay Republicans. kind of spurred me into ten years of volunteer action. It’s really
just bringing people together and making sure that they feel
What are you personally doing to create change? community in some kind of way.
Back home, we’re doing this project, Colors in Bloom. Been
working on it since June. My friend, Kathy Flores, she’s with How much of a threat is Trump to the LGBTQ community?
Diverse & Resilient in Milwaukee. Her friend, a guy who did not Something comes out of the White House every day that is a
accept himself, was murdered from his hookup. So that’s why direct attack to our communities. Trump may not specifically say
we’re pushing the radical self-love. Know yourself, love yourself, something LGBT, but he might say something about immigra-
and treat people the way you need to be treated and how you tion rights, or he might say something about reproductive rights.
want to be treated. Start the seeds young. Grow into yourself and Understand that all of those are intertwined.
bloom into who you’re supposed to be.
Will the Republican party ever embrace LGBTQ rights?
CARL ANHALT It’ll take time. There may be some people. Unfortunately there’s
40, Gay Male always going to be a splinter cell that will consistently come from
Bronx, N.Y. hate. I don’t want tolerance. I want acceptance and celebration.
High School Teacher
Second Creating Change What are you personally doing to create change?
Ensuring that all of the spaces I occupy as a queer Latino, I am
Why are you here? advocating for other people of color, advocating for other people
It’s important to me to learn more that aren’t represented in the spaces I’m in. Being able to engage
about what I can be doing as an edu- with other people nationally about the work that we’re doing at
cator to impact change within my Maven, learning about other organizations that are doing similar
school community, to push the con- work, and understanding that our mission, our goal, is a common
versations, think about the work that I thread. We all have a common root and have to support each
could be doing and not just be compla- other in what we’re doing.

30 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

UROOJ ARSHAD SASHA BARANOV
42, Queer 23, Gay Male
Washington, D.C. Miami, Fl.
Works for Advocates for Youth Student
Tenth Creating Change First Creating Change

What issues are important to you? Why are you here?

Immigration is a big issue, like the way
Trump is targeting immigrants, just
across the spectrum. It’s really trou-
bling. And the rampant Islamophobia
in this country — it’s always been
there, but now it just like it’s just so much more explicit.
And then the other issue is the fact that Trump and many right-
wing people think Muslims are anti-LGBT, they’re anti-women,
and that’s one of the ways that they advance Islamophobia. To
me, as a queer Muslim, it’s very important to make sure that we
don’t do that. It’s so important to make sure that the LGBT com-
munity doesn’t do that, that the women’s feminist community
doesn’t do that. I think they’ve done a good job of standing in
solidarity.
What’s an important issue that no one’s talking about?
What really bothers me is that we’re still not looking at the
intersectional issues. What I mean by that is that people like me
who live at the inter-
section of being both
queer and Muslim, “Our mission, our goal,
for example, and
immigrants. There’s
is a common thread. WE
a lot of external soli-
darity. For example,
ALL HAVE A COMMON
Creating Change’s
opening Plenary had a
ROOT AND HAVE
Muslim person on the
panel, but she wasn’t
TO SUPPORT EACH
an LGBT Muslim per- OTHER IN WHAT WE’RE
son, she was a straight
Muslim person, and DOING.” — Daniel Anzueto
everyone else was
LGBT. Even though
the work she’s doing is amazing, what kind of message does that
send to the LGBT Muslims? That they’re still not represented in
this bigger context, even though we’re here?
How much of a threat is Trump to the LGBTQ community?
He’s a huge threat. All the appointments that he’s made, at sev-
eral different levels of the administration, and what he proposes.
He’s supporting Christian right-wing folks who think of us as an
abomination.
Why do you think the Republicans became the dominant party?
Part of it is a backlash to the Obama years. It’s white suprema-
cy — it’s about being threatened by this country’s demographic
shifting. There was a perfect storm that led to what happened
in 2016. Trump ran on an anti-Obama agenda and dismantling
his legacy. And I think that ultimately when you look at how
white people voted, it’s in service of white supremacy. The U.S.
as a country has not dealt with what happened and how segre-
gation still exists, and how all of these things are still happening.
Because of that, I think that they were able to tap into that white
fear of being taken over by people of color.
I’ve never been here, and I wanted to
try something different. I study poli-
cies, so I figured this would be a good
introduction for me to see how the
people here see policies, compared to
how I see policies. I was raised a little
bit more conservatively, so it’s interesting to hear different per-
spectives I wouldn’t normally hear.
What issues are important to you?
Healthcare. It affects LGBT people all the time. It’s the really
huge issue we need to address sooner than later.
What inspired your own activism?
I’ve always loved politics, and that goes back to that intersection
of policy for me. The best way to get through that is going out to
events, meeting other people, and seeing interviews and having
intellectual discussions.
How much of a threat is Trump to the LGBTQ com-
munity?
That’s a loaded question, because I think to say that
he’s a threat implies that he could do harm. I would
hope that there are enough failsafes in our system
that would prevent him from doing real detrimen-
tal harm in creating and enacting policies that are
discriminatory. I’m a big believer that we need to
support a President, whether you are Right or Left.
That whole “He’s not my President” — he is. We
still need to be constantly questioning actions, and
we need to be aware of where we are today. Where
we are today was not where we were five years ago.
Our stances have shifted significantly. We now are
a country that has moved more and more rapidly
into isolationism, and America should not be alone.
Will the Republican party ever embrace LGBTQ rights?
They have to. They have no choice. You have the Log Cabin
Republicans, which I’m a member of. The old joke is that it’s the
“Old white man’s club.” Eventually, those old white men have
to pass away and there has to be some new white men or any
kind of man, or a woman. But it is going to be our responsibility
if we want to evolve and actually create a membership base that
is representative of this country. We’re going to have to start
getting with the times.
What are you personally doing to create change?
I have something I continue to do, and that is to be open. I tell
people, “I’m Republican.” I have no shame about that. I think it’s
stigmatized so much, “You’re a Republican?!” And there’s this
giant gasp, and it’s like you’re a traitor to the gays. I try to main-
tain an open dialogue, as long as it’s productive and not harmful.
I don’t like being yelled at, so if they’re yelling at me, I’m like,
“You know what? Stop.”
The way I create change is by advocating for policies that are
humane. It’s not whether you stand on the Right or Left, if it’s

FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 31

humane, then it’s right, and that’s what you have to advocate for.
I continue to do that no matter which aisle I’m on.
RESA BAUDOIN
42, Straight Woman
Charlotte, N.C.
Operations Manager for the Freedom
Center for Social Justice
First Creating Change
Why are you here?
As the operations manager, I’m really
the behind the scenes person. Part of
that is making connections, meeting
people. But also really learning more
about the LGBTQ community, which I thought I was knowl-
edgeable about, and now I’m realizing I’m kind of not.
What issues are important to you?
People use their religion as a cloak to discriminate freely against
whoever they want to. So to put it at the forefront that we can’t
use religion in that way is important — and is maybe more
important in the LGBTQ community than in other communities.
What’s an important issue to you that no one’s talking about?
Microaggressions. It’s interesting when I have a conversation
about that with someone and they’re not even aware that they’re
perpetrating those.
ANDREA BOWEN
31, Transgender Woman
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Public affairs consultant
Fifth Creating Change
What issues are important to you?
Economic justice is front and cen-
ter, along with policing and violence
issues. I think if we can create spaces
for people to have full livelihoods that
are safe from violence then we’ve got
a better world to live in.
What inspired your own activism?
I went to D.C. Trans Coalition meetings when I was first medi-
cally transitioning, and I had had some experience working with
city council through union organizing. I kept voicing my opin-
ion. I’ve been hooked ever since.
How much of a threat is Trump to the LGBTQ
community?
“I tell people, ‘I’m
He’s an existential threat in so far as he has Republican.’ I have no
aligned himself with the nutters who want
to destroy us. I think he’s done a remark- shame about that. And
able amount to set back the progress we
made during the Obama years. I think he there’s this giant gasp. IT’S
LIKE YOU’RE A TRAITOR TO
proves a point, that I was certainly making in
the wake of the marriage equality victories
when funders were kind of withdrawing
from a lot of LGBTQ spaces, in that we have THE GAYS.” — Sasha Baranov
to keep this fight alive all the time because
the enemies always have their claws out.
32 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
Will the Republican Party every embrace LGBTQ rights?
I don’t think so in any real way. Always trust Republicans to be
Republicans. Some Republicans are fine with LGBTQ people,
but when they’re in power, they almost invariably do something
against our community.
ETHAN BURNS
18, Bisexual Male
Louisville, Ky.
High School Student
First Creating Change
Why are you here?
My aunt works at the national LGBTQ
Task Force, and my mom thought it
would be good for me to go. I came
out to my mom last year. I didn’t make
a big deal out of it, I was just like, “Oh,
by the way, I’m bisexual,” and she was like, “Okay, that’s cool.”
She spread that to my aunt, and here I am.
What do you think of Creating Change?
I really like it. It’s definitely not what I expected. There’s a lot
more knowledge-building and discussions. It’s also very social.
I’ve never seen myself as like an activist, and so just being
here and seeing the community and really seeing the problems
LGBTQ people face, it’s really opened my eyes. It’s made me
want to make a change.
What issues are important to you?
Making sure that legally, on paper, everyone has the exact same
rights to things and that people who need help in certain areas
can get it, and there’s a document that says, “Yes, these people
need that help, they deserve that help. You can’t keep them from
getting it because of what you don’t believe in.”
What’s an important issue that no one’s talking about?
I’d say education in schools for younger people, like even young-
er than high school. When I was in middle school, the “F slur”
was a very common thing that everyone just said all the time.
Getting to high school and actually learning, “Oh, that’s a terrible
thing — you should not say that” was very eye-opening and really
just hit my heart. I was like, “Wow, I can’t believe I would’ve said
something like that.”
How much of a threat is Trump to the LGBTQ community?
I see him as a massive threat, not just the power he wields, but
the people that give him
the power. I think he
has caused a huge spike
in hatred and evilness.
Will the Republican
party ever embrace
LGBTQ rights?
In a perfect world, I’d
say yes. Even though
people may not agree
on something, they still
should be able to treat
each other decently.
ARIEL BUSTAMANTE
20, Queer Trans
Los Angeles, Ca.
Employed at Los Angeles LGBT
Center
First Creating Change
What issues are important to you?
Youth issues. Anything affecting
young people is really on the forefront
for me. I work around youth and fos-
ter care, and other systems of care. So
talking about whatever issues are important to them, whether
that be education or mass incarceration, you name it.
What’s an important issue that no one’s talking about?
Juvenile justice. I see a lot of different workshops on things like
aging, which is popping up into the forefront, and that’s awe-
some. But I haven’t seen a lot of conversations happening here
or elsewhere around LGBT young people who are incarcerated.
What inspired your own activism?
I came out in middle school and ever since then have been want-
ing to be active in my community. Thankfully, I come from a very
affirming, open family, but I know that a lot of folks don’t have
that sort of environment. My partner, who I recently married, is
transgender and he faced a lot of adversity. Both of us have expe-
rienced homelessness. And so, knowing that that is the reality for
so many members of my community, whether they’re young or
old, is what has inspired me.
COREY DAVIS
43, Queer
Miami, Fl.
E.D. of Maven Leadership Collective
Second Creating Change
What’s an important issue that no one’s
talking about?
The gap that exists in terms of people
who are making decisions about driv-
ing the agenda for the gay community,
and people who are living the experi-
ence. Specifically, I’m talking about people of color, I’m talking
about every population that is traditionally marginalized — how
is there meaningful inclusion? There’s a lot of talk about it, but
there’s not a lot of action around it. There’s still violence against
trans people, especially trans women of color. There’s still an
HIV epidemic that’s ravaging communities of color in the cit-
ies and rurally. People still facing employment discrimination.
There’s still a lot of work to be done, and I don’t understand why
there’s not a clear path forward.
Is the Trump administration a threat to the LGBTQ community?
Yes, because everything that we care about is under attack. I
think they pose a threat to American democracy. All of the pro-
tections that we have gained under Obama, and the comfort that
we felt, are now receding. It’s time to wake up and move forward
and vote and organize. But more than voting and organizing,
really find out how we will make individual contributions,
because everybody’s not about these industries. So how is it that
I can get out and volunteer, or my profession make a difference
in support of the LGBTQ community?
Will the Republican party ever embrace LGBTQ rights?
I don’t know. They have yet to really resolve who they are.
It’s easy for us to paint Republicans with a broad brush. But I
grew up in a state and in a time where you can be a northeast
Republican and still not be part of the lunatic fringe. But I don’t
see how anybody who’s queer at this time can vote for the GOP.
I also see that there’s a huge schism within the party. And they
have to figure out if they’re going to let the party get hijacked
or not.
Why do you think the Republicans became the dominant party?
It is a whitelash. It is a last gasp of this feeling of entitlement.
And when we hear people talking about taking back our coun-
try, it is this feeling that it’s becoming too brown, too black, too
urban, too whatever, and they feel like there’s no space for them.
This conversation about the white working class, that’s a
myth. There is never a part where I want to appeal to really
what was at the root of that victory. And I think that really the
appeal should be to engage in people who have been disenfran-
chised, whose vote has been suppressed, who have never felt
that there’s a meaningful place at the table. Appeal to those
people, with hope, as opposed to the bitterness that exists on the
extremist’s side.
I think that sometimes we get caught up in the distraction
of the latest [presidential] tweet, and all of the horrible revela-
tions that are coming forward. But really, if you think about the
stories of queer people, people of color, our allies, it’s stories of
resilience and hope. As long as we focus on what is possible, and
making sure that we’re harnessing all available talent to find a
solution for the path forward, we’re on great footing and will
ultimately be successful.
GABRIEL GARCIA-VERA
28, Queer Latinas
Miami, Fl.
Executive Director of GetEQUAL
Sixth Creating Change
What issues are important to you?
Focusing on race and racism in LGBTQ
spaces and combating anti-blackness.
For me, in particular, lifting up and
supporting Latinas communities and
having that conversation. Also looking
at the intersectional issues, because
we know we don’t lead single-issue lives. And so, also focusing
on reproductive justice and health in relationship to LGBTQ
communities.
What’s an important issue that no one’s talking about?
This year the Task Force decided not to accept any panels
around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the occupation of
Palestine. I would love to see the Task Force take more of a
forward-leaning stance to provide room for that conversation. I
think by not accepting any panels, what they’re actually saying
is that they’re not willing to engage the community and seek a
peaceful dialogue.
How much of a threat is Trump to the LGBTQ community?
The threat is ever-present and very clear. The administration
can hide behind lying, but at the end of the day, the policies that
the administration is putting forth not only put our lives in jeop-
ardy, but puts the lives of our families in jeopardies and create
clear systematic barriers and violence.
FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 33
Why do you think the Republicans became the dominant party?
For me, it’s really clear. Racism is a disadvantage based on race.
The reason why we’re seeing so much white, right-wing suprem-
acy is because white supremacy is being challenged in America.
People of color in this country are on the rise and unapologeti-
cally coming out to the streets and saying, not only do our lives
matter, but our communities and our families matter.
EDWARD GEORGE
21, Pansexual, Polyamorous, Male
Sonoma, Calif.
Works in Pet Industry
First Creating Change
What issues are important to you?
Equal rights and protections against
discrimination. I personally know
people who have gotten in trouble, or
been fired, or been homeless because
they are queer or part of the LGBTQ
community. I have a transgender
friend who was kicked out of their house and homeless for a
long time. I know people who haven’t been able to get jobs or
have been fired because they’re gay, or identify as queer in some
way. I know more than one of each of these people.
What’s an important issue that no one’s talking about?
Until I got here, I didn’t hear much about the intersections and
how people of the queer and black community are so much more
discriminated against. I haven’t heard much talk at all about
violence in the sex industry, especially against people of the
LGBTQ community. I hear about LGBTQ stuff every once in a
while, like when we have queer people elected into positions of
power. It’s really exciting, but that’s the only time I really hear
about it in the news anymore. With everything going on, and all
the breaking news, and all of the bombshell things coming out Is Trump a threat to the LGBTQ community?
of the White House and coming out of our president, there’s soForty-five is not at all a friend of the LGBTQ community.
many things, especially in this com-
how people are being hurt, and how I can change the system,
how I can work within it. The system is set up to be controlled
by the people. The country is founded on the people being in
charge. The government is ruled by the people. We put the
government into power. We put the officials into power, and we
have the power to change them or replace them with ourselves
or with someone we believe in. So, I am going out and learning
what I want to believe in, what I want to fight for, and how I
can put people into power that believe the same thing, and how
I myself can change my community, and be a leader in my com-
munity.
MONIQUE GEORGE
51, Lesbian
New York, N.Y.
Executive Director of a non-profit
Eighth Creating Change
What issues are important to you?
They all sort of affect me, wheth-
er directly or indirectly. As an out
lesbian, I’m concerned around safety
issues, I’m concerned around repro-
ductive rights issues, things like that.
But I’m also concerned around issues relating to transgender,
queer, and gender nonconforming folks. Even though they don’t
directly impact me, they do impact the community that I’m a
part of.
What’s an important issue that no one’s talking about?
There is a need to have a national conversation around housing
and homelessness. As big cities across the country undergo gen-
trification, the amount of homelessness is increasing, and a large
percentage of them are part of the LGBTQ community.
If you look at his practices and

“I’ve never seen myself

munity, that have just been swept
under the rug.
What inspired your own activism?
I have been a very passive person
for most of my life. I have also been
very excluded for most of my life.
I don’t do sports. Growing up as a
cis white male, I was still a reject.
When I discovered my sexual iden-
tity and the LGBTQ community,
I was very excited to be accepted
by someone, to feel like I belonged
somewhere, to have friends who
related to me and I could feel com-
fortable talking to. Feeling that
made me want to protect it.
What are you personally doing to
create change?
I am learning. I am going out and
trying to take up as many opportu-
nities as I can to learn what I need
to fight for, what is worth fighting
for. I’m learning how people are being discriminated against, right to love, does not make you a friend.
his words — even his words via
Twitter finger — you can see that
he’s not a friend to us, and not a
as like an activist, so friend to women. We, as a com-
munity, have to figure out ways to
just being here and really address that, and grab back
some of the power that I think
seeing the problems we’ve forgotten we’ve had.
Some people were like, “Yeah,
LGBTQ people face well, he held the rainbow flag.”
But that’s not a symbol of support.
The support actually comes with
has really opened my the actions that you do, especially
when you hold the highest office
eyes. IT’S MADE ME in the world. Anybody can hold
up a Rainbow flag. And anybody
WANT TO MAKE A can stand there and say “Yeah,
I love the LGBT community,”
CHANGE.” — Ethan Burns
but if your actions don’t actually
support your words, then your
words are just words. To support
legislation that takes away our
rights, that takes away our right
to marry, that takes away our

34 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

Will the Republican party ever embrace LGBTQ rights?
Maybe if more of them came out and actually lived their truth
instead of being caught in hotel rooms with young boys.
Why do you think the Republicans became the dominant party?
We had eight years of a black president in a country that says
it’s not racist. “Oh, we’re not racist, we’re not prejudiced.” This
country was built on racism. It was built on prejudice. Clear,
there was no way that they wanted the “N-word” to be presi-
dent. So now, the whole sentiment of taking the country back,
is just code for deep-seated racist, KKK rhetoric. Now, it’s like,
“We can dig in, because now we got our own in office. He knows
our way, he knows the white way.” Not the right way, the white
way.
BRIAN GOINGS
32, Bisexual Male
Raleigh, N.C.
Public Health Educator
First Creating Change
What inspired your own activism?
My own personal stories of not having
a voice in things, or not knowing that I
had a voice to use at one point. At one
point in my life, I was in a dark place
where I was facing depression and I
felt like, hey, if I died, I died. There were times when I felt like I
wanted to disappear. And it was because I felt like I wasn’t being
heard, nobody was listening to me, that I had a voice, that no
matter how much I said it, people still ignored it. But then it got
to a point where when I got thrown into situations that were, I
would say, I was in a good place but I learned that this was what
I needed to do to get X, Y and Z done.
It wasn’t until then that I got the real life education that I
needed to progress forward. And because of that it was like, how
many other people are going through what I’ve gone through,
but they don’t have access to this information, to the knowledge
that I have? So, anything I learn, I always put it back into the
community. Anytime I hear someone say, “Oh, well I want to do
this or I want to do that, but I don’t know how to navigate, or
I don’t know the direction I need to go to,” I point them in the
right direction so that they can get to where I’m at.
MONIQUE HALL
36, Lesbian
Wilmington, N.C.
Communications Field
Tenth Creating Change
Why are you here?
I’m the Chairman of the Task Force
Action Fund, which is the C4 orga-
nization that does all of the lobbying,
and all of the ballot measures, and all
of the action that you see from the task
force. It’s a volunteer position.
Would you be here if you didn’t work for Task Force?
Yes. This is probably one of the most diverse spaces that you can
go to of people who actually care about LGBTQ issues. You can
see everybody from twentysomethings, college students, and
even high school students, all the way to seniors who are still
active and focused on making sure that our community has a role
and is not invisible to the rest of the world.
What issues are of particular importance to you?
Now that marriage is over, there are all these other things, from
economic justice to what you do with your bodies. I think trans-
gender issues are extremely important today, partly because
people try to stigmatize and outcast the trans community. I
think that’s one of the most important issues of our lifetime at
this moment.
What’s an important issue that no one’s talking about?
Voting rights for LGBTQ people. We focus on voting rights in
such a granular way that we’re not necessarily focused on mak-
ing sure that people who identify as LGBTQ have a space to let
their voices be heard. That’s a space that definitely needs to be
focused on for the next twenty years.
How much of a threat is Trump to the LGBTQ community?
Trump is a threat to the very democracy that we call America,
and so with that in mind, he is a threat to the LGBTQ commu-
nity.
What are you personally doing to create change?
What I hope I’m doing is supporting the day to day activists who
are out there each and every day focused on making sure that
people, no matter how they identify and no matter who they
are, can live their best lives. And for me, that means being on the
board of the Task Force.
DONTE HILLIARD
46, Queer Male
Baltimore, Md.
Executive at a non-profit
Eighth Creating Change
What inspired your own activism?
I see it as my vocation and my duty.
I think it’s an extension of my own
faith. I’m a queer person of color,
Unitarian, and I believe that doing
justice is how we should live our lives.
Not because I think we’re going to win, necessarily, but because
I think we should try. So I work intentionally to live my life so
that every day I get up, I contribute something to try to create a
vision of justice in this world.
TROY JAMES
46, Gay Male
Atlanta, Georgia
Clinical Psychologist
First Creating Change
Why are you here?
Because of the emerging needs of the
LGBTQ community and the increase
in violence and sexual assault among
the transgender community, TNGC
community. And the need for the
practices to be trauma informed. Trauma is a very complex
clinical phenomenon in and of itself. The effects of it upon a
marginalized community compounds the issue, and I’m not sure
that enough clinical professionals are aware of how much more
FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 35
 resources we need to pull into mental health for them. I’m here and providing meals or clothing or medicine if needed, or medi-
to find out exactly what those needs are and how we as a psy- cal attention they may not be able to access. I think that’s how I
chology community can better serve them. create change. Change has to come from within the community,
and through those acts, then you create a movement.
How much of a threat is Trump to the LGBTQ community?
What the President is doing in general is a threat to humanity. BRIANNA MUNDORFF
The LGBT community is often marginalized and aggressed 23, Gender-Blind Pansexual
upon, and I think what he’s doing poses a real threat to not only Little Rock, Arkansas
our existence, but also the ways that we may or may not thrive. Undergrad Student
Because we are in peril, we need all hands on deck. Second Creating Change

HENRY MATICORENA What’s an important issue that no one’s

35, Gay Male talking about?
Washington, D.C. We need to talk about what we can do
Public Relations for our homeless youth, because out
Third Creating Change of all the homeless youth in America,
about half if not more of them, from
Why are you here? the statistics I have read through my research, are LGBTQ.
I felt this year was key due to the fact That’s frightening. And I feel like, hey, we need to do more
that it’s taking place during a very about this because actually those youths can’t go to housings,
unique administration at the White because they’re run by churches who kick them out or treat
House. And I wanted to see what mil- them poorly. A lot of them will end up deciding, “This isn’t
lennials had to say, in terms of how worth it,” and they do drastic, horrible measures to end things.
they feel about their rights and privileges being represented by We need to bring that up.
the current administration and environment of the spaces where
they live. Is Trump a threat to the LGBTQ community?
I do think of him as a threat. I do not like him on many personal
What issues are important to you? levels, and he scares me on the personal levels. I feel like he’s
Homelessness. I think our youth experiences unacceptable rates pushing us backwards instead of moving us forward. And any-
of homelessness. And I believe that a lot of the funding that takes body in his administration who wants to speak up is frightened
place by non-profits should be because they’re like, “He can get rid of us.” And then he’s pro-
going to ensuring that LGBT moting more and more of those people who are for him, who
“This year the Task youth are not without a home. agree with him to speak up louder and louder. I look at that and
I have, myself, experienced I’m like, “That’s frightening.”
Force decided homelessness, and the insti-
not to accept any tutions that were in place in KATHERINE OTT
the communities that I lived Queer
panels around the in really provided me with the Washington, D.C.
Israeli-Palestinian tools and encouragement that Historian
I needed in order to get back First Creating Change
conflict. THEY’RE on the saddle and find a viable
NOT WILLING platform to be self-sufficient. Why are you here?
Because I do LGBTQ history and it’s
TO ENGAGE THE How much of a threat is Trump here in town, so I figured, yeah, I’ll
come check it out, find out, learn,
COMMUNITY AND to the LGBTQ community?
Well, as we know, he has because there’s so much I don’t know
SEEK A PEACEFUL actively kept the LGBTQ com- about all the many communities.
munity out of the conversation
DIALOGUE.” and the dialogue by uninviting What issues are of particular importance to you?
— Gabriel Garcia-Vega LGBTQ members of the press Disability rights. Intersectional issues. Conversion therapy. I’m
to the holiday celebration at working on a project right now on the history of conversion.
the White House, and by pull-
ing down the White House What inspired your own activism?
LGBTQ sub-page. There’s something to be said about the When I was a little kid, I was an angry, pissed-off child about hav-
advancements that we have achieved and met in the last eight ing to conform. I was just a questioning child. Then I’ve just known
years of the past administration, and see it being taken away at people over the years. People have loved me and I’ve loved them
his whim. I think it’s quite hurtful. and learned. That’s motivated me to want to know more.

What are you personally doing to create change?
In my everyday life, I look for opportunities within the commu-
nity to engage in being an active component of creating change,
whether that is participating in a food drive or participating in
an initiative that attends the needs of the homeless in the city,
The Republican party is now the dominant party in American pol-
itics. Why do you think that happened?
Oh, that’s a long time in the making. It’s an expression of dissat-
isfaction, of many people’s dissatisfaction with government and
how things are going. I think it’s a whole set of issues and people

36 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

feeling disenfranchised and not listened to. Then, there’s this
embedded racism in our country that we’ve never really dealt
with in a successful way.
What are you personally doing to create change?
I go to work every day. I get out of the house. Someone said yes-
terday, “Existence is resistance and it’s change.” If you are out
and you are authentically yourself, that is the first step.
MEL PACE
32, Queer
Boston, Mass.
Pastor
Fourth Creating Change
What issues are of particular impor-
tance to you?
Sexuality and spirituality is something
really important to me. I do a lot of
education and programming in that
area in my ministry. Creation care —
caring for the environment, caring for the earth, environmental
justice — is something that’s really important to me.
What’s an important issue that no one’s talking about?
Environmental racism. Our president is an environmental racist.
It’s largely white folks of a higher income who are doing the
most damage, and it’s harming most communities with people
of color.
OLIVIA PAGE
20, Trans Woman, Lesbian
Rochester, N.Y.
Works for Out Alliance
First Creating Change
How much of a threat is Trump to the
LGBTQ community?
That depends on who you talk to.
I know a lot of people are worried,
and I know a lot of that worry is
very well-founded. I’m more worried
about the people that put Trump in the position that he’s in,
and less Trump as a whole. The GOP has been complicated in
regards to LGBTQ issues. It’s a systematic issue with the party.
ANDREW PALOMO
35, Gay Male
Bethlehem, Pa.
Social worker
Third Creating Change
Why are you here?
It’s one of those conferences where
like-minded people get together.
Especially being in rural Pennsylvania,
there’s very few people that are out
there as advocates and being out there
for the LGBT community. I like being able to get inspired and
being able to say, “Wow, we’re not alone in this fight.”
What issues are important to you?
Racism within my own LGBTQ community. Segregation, income
inequality, all of that. Within that we have this underlying racial
tension. So being able to hear at Creating Change what other
people are doing as strategies is important to bring back.
Will the Republican party ever embrace LGBTQ rights?
Yes. I’ve seen it. Being from the rural part of Pennsylvania, I’ve
seen Republicans change their mind because of getting to know
me or getting to know some of my colleagues and friends. The
power of human connection is huge and I think that’s something
that we need to continue doing. How do we reach across the
aisle, per se, and make people who have different opinions about
us actually realize that we’re human, that we’re just like them,
that we are just here just trying to live and love each other.
TRYSTAN REECE
35, Transgender Male
Portland, Ore.
Trans educator
Eleventh Creating Change
Why are you here?
For me, having told my trans pregnan-
cy story publicly last year, it has felt a
lot like we’ve been sort of out on our
own, being the face of trans repro-
ductive justice. And I didn’t want to
feel like we were on our own. I wanted to feel like we were sur-
rounded by community, surrounded by other people who have
been down some of the same roads we have, and to just have a
place that felt like a family reunion.
What issues are of particular importance to you?
Making sure that the trans community has everything that we
need just to survive — health care, lack of harassment, abuse, dis-
crimination. After that, I want us to be able to have families. To
create a circle of love around ourselves, and to leave something
behind after we’re gone.
What’s the most important issue to you that no one is talking about
right now?
Trans reproductive justice. Most of us, when we transition, are
literally physically choosing between having a family and living
our truth. And most people do not know that there are a lot of
options available to be able to build a family before you transi-
tion or to save some of your reproductive elements for later use,
if we choose. And that fostering and adopting in many states are
totally possible for trans people. And I worry that as we all start
to get older, and then there’s more trans youth, that we don’t
have a lot of models for the way that trans people can have kids
and build families.
What inspired your activism?
When I was 11 years old, my middle school biology class tried
to make us dissect frogs. And I said I wouldn’t do it. And the
school said they were going to give me an F in biology. I decided
to picket the school. And my parents supported me. And then
they changed the curriculum for the whole school district so we
weren’t dissecting frogs any more. So at that very, very early age,
I learned that a tiny voice can really make a difference, and can
really change hearts and minds and policy.
Is Trump a threat to the LGBTQ community?
Yes, Trump is a threat to the LGBT community. But any of us
FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 37
who are connected to our LGBT elders, any of us who are con-
nected to trans folks of color, undocumented trans folks, know
that Trump has never been the worst threat to this country. The
ingrained systems of homophobia and transphobia and racism
have always been the greatest threats. And they feel more real to
some of us who are not on those fringes now than ever before.
But I think we’re just getting a bit of a taste of what other people
have already been experiencing.
Will the Republican party ever embrace LGBTQ rights?
There have been many times throughout my lifetime when lots
of Republicans have realized that, in fact, LGBT people are no
more a threat to their values, or vision for what this country
could be, than anybody else. Unfortunately they have been will-
ing to sell out those beliefs in favor of other political gains.
DIEGO SANCHEZ
61, Trans Male
Washington, D.C.
Director of Policy at PFLAG National
Twenty-fifth Creating Change
Why are you here?
I attended Creating Change this year
because I think that more than ever
we are more intersectional. I’m sure
intersectional is defined differently by
everyone, but I’ll give myself as an
example. I’m a trans man. I’m Latino. I’m adopted, and I’m a
naturalized U.S. citizen, which also makes me an immigrant.
I’ve been very poor, and I’ve had a lot of money, and now I have
middle money. But all those different identities are a part of who
I am, including being seen as female for some part of my life. All
of those things come together, so when I express a view or listen
to others, I am filtering it through all of those different lenses.
So not everyone has the same experience, but intersectional is
where you take into account all of the different pieces that make
people whole, and hold up those pieces of the community to see
where the gaps are in equality, and finding ways to bridge the
needs that may be invisible to you if you’re not of that communi-
ty, but that you harbor in your heart to want to help.
How much of a threat is Trump to the LGBT community?
The actions that this administration, including this person
seated in the White House, has erased — or risked erasure of
— an awful lot of hard work over decades that we’ve worked to
achieve together. I think the experience of us learning to work
together, and loving each other, and thinking together is an
advantage, but I don’t know that, in this particular administra-
tion, it can be a winning advantage.
We are our best advantage. Our resilience, and our refusal to give
up — and the fact that we’ve experienced what almost equality
looks like — is one of our tools in our toolbox. You can’t be a win-
ner unless you know what winning looks like. We already know
what winning looks like.
What are you personally doing to create change?
I am making sure that I listen to people of all ages more than I
speak, because the learning is the lesson. And those people my
age who’ve been doing activism forever, we bring what we bring.
Every plant needs food, and every plant needs water, and we
38 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
are those plants. And we get that plant at places like Creating
Change, so that we hear voices that aren’t ours, and, where
appropriate, provide guidance and lessons where it’s welcome
and needed.
ALICIA SANCHEZ-GILL
34, Queer
Washington, D.C.
Works for a Non-profit
First Creating Change
What issues are important to you?
My primary focus is always on trauma
and the impact of trauma on LGBTQ
folks. And lives and how to undo some
of the trauma that’s happened in peo-
ple’s lives both from state violence
and interpersonal violence. But I’m also very aware that state
and interpersonal violence and trauma intersects with race,
class, and gender identity. And so it’s often LGBTQ folks of color
who bear the burden on that trauma and that disparity.
How are you creating change?
My primary work has been around gender violence and pow-
er-based intimate power violence. And so in everything that I do,
I really want to bring our most intersectional lens to that work.
And I so I think that being here at Creating Change allows me to
get tools to impact various communities in different ways. So it
allows me think about how we make domestic violence shelters
accessible to queer folks.
HANNAH SIMPSON
33, Trans Woman
New York, N.Y.
Writer/Educator
Third Creating Change
Why are you here?
I’m here to learn from the best of the
best when it comes to meeting other
activists, influencers, and people who
have won over hearts and minds time
and time again, often before I was
even born. All I can do to thank some of these people who’ve
sacrificed so much for me to have the freedom to even contem-
plate my existence is pay it forward. And the best way I can pay
it forward is by knowing my history, knowing what’s worked in
the past, and being able to let that influence how I approach the
future.
What issues are particularly important to you?
One of the ones that to me is most important right now is
advocating for positive portrayal of Israel, and also seeing the
Palestinian narrative from actual Palestinians being brought to
the forefront in the context of queer identity. It is still, unfor-
tunately, a community that doesn’t have a lot of resources for
LGBT people coming out, being accepted by their families,
having resources in case they aren’t. A lot of them are subject to
violence. Meanwhile, what I want to show is that both countries
— Israel and Palestine beside each other — have so much to gain
by improving and working together.
How much of a threat is Trump to the LGBTQ community?
Administrations come and go, and what we do, being here,
being visible, is reminding people that the difference between
transgender people and Santa Claus, is that my existence is not
dependent upon whether or not you believe in me.
AARON TAX
42, Bisexual Male
Washington, D.C.
Director of Advocacy at SAGE
Sixth Creating Change
What’s an important issue that no one’s
talking about?
HIV and aging is an issue that does
not necessarily get a lot of attention.
Right now, one in two people who are
HIV positive are over the age of 50 in
the United States, and that number is
70% in New York City. At the same time, there’s not a large effort
from our federal government to promote testing and services
and support to this population. So, there’s a disconnect between
the aging HIV population and the degree to which we’re making
sure to care for this population.
How much of a threat is Trump to the LGBTQ community?
I think the full story has yet to be told, but what we can see so
far whether it’s through the appointments he’s made or the pol-
icies he’s implemented is that he is a tremendous threat, and I
think a perfect example of that is one of the very first things his
administration did is that it tried to erase an LGBT demographic
question from a key federal aging survey. And this is a question
the Obama administration had originally included in 2014, and
then in 2017 the Trump administration announced one change
and one change only to this more than 100-page questionnaire
and that was to remove the LGBT demographic question in an
effort to erase LGBT older adults. So, we fought back and suc-
cessfully got the re-inclusion of LGB in that survey, but unfor-
tunately not T.
What are you personally doing to create change?
By working at SAGE, I’m hoping that we are able to successfully
raise the profile of the elders in our community. We know we
have a lot to learn from them, especially in tumultuous times
like these. They’ve fought the fight before, and we can learn from
them on how to more effectively advocate for change today.
RUBEN TARAJANO
18, Bisexual Male
Miami, Fl.
College Freshman
Second Creating Change
What issues are important to you?
I’m really passionate about immi-
gration reform, immigration justice,
healthcare, being that I’m a pub-
lic health major, and general queer
Latinx liberation.
What’s an important issue that no one’s talking about?
One of the things that people aren’t talking about is the rural
south. I feel like the media, especially in big cities, demonizes
the south as this all-white conservative space — but the rural
south is home to many, many marginalized groups and we kind
of forget about the small person. For example, the black belt is
one of the largest concentrations of African-Americans living in
the U.S., and they are the most disenfranchised politically. No
one, in my opinion, is talking about that.
What are you personally doing to create change?
I want to do some sort of podcast of some sort for queer people
of color to lift up those voices, so students who freshly walk
onto campus can find role models that they may not easily find
otherwise.
JUSTIN TOLIVER
24, Queer, Non-binary
Detroit, Mi.
Graduate Adviser
Third Creating Change
Why are you here?
There’s a lot of different reasons, but I
think really what it boils down is that
as queer folks, we only get four days
out of the year we’re able to be in full
community and full authenticity and
full space with each other. It’s a place
where we don’t have to navigate even just the simplest little day
things, where we’re just constantly thinking or having to feel
what it feels like to be queer in whatever way that we show up
queer. Being here allows us to do that.
I definitely think the content, too, like learning from people
who are doing such powerful advocacy work across the nation
is important so that we share, we uplift each other, so we can do
justice to the path forward wherever we’re at.
What issues are particularly important to you?
That’s a very large question, but when I look at data and I look
at how often, specifically, black trans women and trans women
are murdered in this country, that is something that I’m very
passionate about.
How much of a threat is Trump to the LGBTQ community?
I think that he’s a threat in the way of policies that affect our
lives, and our protections. I think it’s a direct threat to our exis-
tence all the time, right? A lot of the times you’ll see these big
uproars of things media-wise, of things happening, and then if
you really pay attention you’ll notice that there’s three or five
bills being quietly passed that are direct threats to our existence.
But I don’t know that I would give him enough power to say that
he’s a threat enough to us as a community, because I believe that
we are powerful. I think that we have handled this same extent
of harm, always, every single day.
What are you personally doing to create change?
Continuing to make people feel uncomfortable, continuing to
push conversations that center on the most marginalized folks
in the community where people don’t think about them or take
time to acknowledge their existence. I think it’s always my
responsibility to speak up in those spaces or to take over those
spaces or whatever it is. I think I’ll continue to do that. I’ll con-
tinue to develop and work with the students that I do, and make
sure that they’re being developed into critical thinkers. Because
I think that’s what we’re missing — people with that ability to
critically think. l
FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 39
40 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
Creating Change 2018
Thursday, Jan. 24 to Sunday, Jan. 28
Wardman Marriott Hotel,
Washington, D.C.
Photography by
Ward Morrison and Randy Shulman

FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 41

42 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 43
44 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 45
 Stage

it would seemingly make more sense to

Great Dane
move with stealth. It most certainly puts
the kibosh on his nascent love affair with
Ophelia, a last harbor of innocence and
truth in his corrupted world.
Michael Urie commands the stage in Michael Kahn’s deeply elegant, Making sense of this choice is a big
daring production of Hamlet. By Kate Wingfield challenge, and Khan and Urie fill in the
blanks with authentic answer. Here,

E
Hamlet burns with a neurotic, post-ad-
LOQUENCE PERSONIFIED, MICHAEL KAHN’S HAMLET (HHHHH) olescent energy, the kind that throws
speaks even before the play begins. Hanging over a darkly ominous stage is a manic fuel on everything: joy, grief, anger,
titular marquee writ in vivid fluorescence. Bold, witty, coolly omniscient, it and uncertainty. Of course, the question
announces a starkly modern mood. But it also throws down a silent gauntlet. Yes, this is of Hamlet’s age is another of the play’s
that juggernaut Hamlet, that star vehicle, that play, that film, that everything we think of semi-mysteries — could he really be thir-
when we think Shakespeare. But tonight, Kahn seems to be saying, it will be something ty as suggested by the Gravedigger? But
completely else. this aside, his is a high internal drama
And so it is. A deeply elegant vision, Kahn’s is a Danish court in corporate-chic, — fueled by immense intelligence and
where the outside world is lost to endless, dimly-lit interiors cocooned in discrete secu- skewed by inexperience — and it spurs
rity. It is the domain of a First Family whose lives are cleaved into public and private impulsive plans, obsessions with death,
faces, supported in their every move by an army of near-invisible minions. Arriving into and gut-wrenching awakenings to the
this oppressively calm and controlled space is a gorgeously agitated, deeply appealing magnificence of existence. Put it all into
Hamlet, talking to us at once like that close, acerbic friend who knows when it’s time to the suffocating “cage” of the corrupt court
drop his guard. The bar is thus set, and between director Kahn and Michael Urie in the and it very much works that Hamlet’s
title role, this is Hamlet rendered with integrity, wit and enduring personality. psychic agitation would turn inward in a
And integrity is not a given. For every famous monologue or quote that hails from rebellion of feigned madness.
this play, there are as many questions. Front and center is Hamlet’s reaction to the But the prize here is that Urie doesn’t
most profound news of his life. Still mired in terrible grief at the unexpected death of just bring the angst, he brings sheer lik-
his father, the king — and shocked that his mother has immediately married the king’s ability. He may be tortured, but he is also
brother — he discovers it was murder. Yet, incandescent with horror and outrage, and funny, adorably flappable, entertainingly
charged by his father’s ghost to seek revenge, he decides his best course is to put on “an clever and ever vulnerable, even as he
antic disposition” as some kind of cover. It is, quite frankly, an odd move. If it allows rails. He is an awkward young man full of
him to mock, provoke and confuse the court, it also draws attention to himself when charm, life, and ridiculous opinions, and

47
 Yet another player with complete command of his Shakespeare,
Cox stands out for having the kind of American accent that
somehow, miraculously, doesn’t argue with the language. And
show-stoppingly wonderful in three key roles: The Ghost King,
Player King and the Gravedigger, Keith Baxter brings a full
spectrum — gravitas, magnificent feeling, and silly humor — with
color and nuance.
Less easy is Oyin Oladejo’s Ophelia. Although she commands
her madness scene with much presence and pathos, she otherwise
feels somewhat removed from the tone and mood here and has
little chemistry with Hamlet. Her slapping at his legs when he
pretends madness just doesn’t ring true. As Hamlet’s mother (and
SCOTT SUCHMAN

Claudius’ new queen) Gertrude, Madeleine Potter cuts a poised

figure, but she doesn’t feel like the mother this Hamlet would have
had until she finally hugs him after he accidentally kills Polonius.
If it finally suggests that she has raised and been close to this young
you want him around. It’s original, it’s wonderful, and Urie, like man, it comes too late. In the role of Laertes, son to Polonius and
much of the cast, is superb in his delivery of Shakespeare’s lan- brother to Ophelia, Paul Cooper brings a credibly affronted coun-
guage. Precise, whip-fast and fully cognizant, it is music to the tenance, but not quite the comfort with the language.
ears and soul. Could he tone down a few of the yells? Lose a few Finally, in a surprisingly small role, Gregory Wooddell, last
of the “Shakespearean” gestures? Die a tad more authentically? seen blazing away as an STC lead, still manages to stand out as
Sure. But this is quibbling. the buttoned-down Osric. And mention must be made of Chris
Bringing an effectively fusty persistence and good humor to Genebach (as Barnardo and Lucianus), who is looking ready for
his Polonius, Robert Joy suggests well a man who has learned his close-up, and Avery Glymph (as Fortinbras and Marcellus),
to navigate the politics of court life. Joy, like Urie, understands who brings a remarkable self-possession.
the language, and delivers it with such nuance and fluency, it is But to dwell too much on these thoughts would be to miss on
easy to forget it was written in another century. Capturing the the fabulous whole. With a phenomenally compelling leading
corporate mood and the new king’s game-face — but also his man and the deep creativity and intelligence of Kahn’s vision,
sweaty, private regrets — is an effective Alan Cox as Claudius. this Hamlet is truly “the thing.” l
Hamlet runs to March 4 at Shakespeare Theatre’s Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F Street NW. Tickets are $44 to $125.
Call 202-547-1122 or visit shakespearetheatre.org.

48 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

CAROL ROSEGG
Stage

He finds and befriends Jefferson

(Michael Halling) in Williamsburg,

Garden Party
Virginia, where he meets Susannah. She
contemplates taking up arms with the
British, who’ve offered freedom to any
slaves who’ll fight for the king, as Christian
Jefferson’s Garden harvests humor and pathos with its spirited marches with the militia, only to see his
exploration of Revolutionary War history. By André Hereford vow to remain pacifist sorely tested.
The lovers’ paths intersect meaning-

J
fully not just with Jefferson’s, but also
EFFERSON’S GARDEN, A SWEEPING REVOLUTIONARY WAR DRAMA BY with that of his slave and illicit lover, Sally
Timberlake Wertenbaker, applies a sly postmodern sensibility Hemings (Kathryn Tkel), as well as her
to its telling of the nation’s founding, and the format keeps the story feeling fresh brother, James (Kevin Michael Darnall).
even when the beats are thoroughly old-fashioned. An educated, sophisticated thinker, James,
Notably, Wertenbaker’s self-described “historical fiction” debuted onstage in like his sister, is in some ways treated like
February 2015, the same month that similarly themed Hamilton opened Off-Broadway. a member of the Jefferson family, but
Jefferson’s Garden ( ) might not spark its own pop cultural revolution, but as the drama makes clear, his master’s
it arrives in a new production at Ford’s Theatre with timely messages about liberty, supposed beneficence is inherently com-
equality, and national identity. promised by the fact that James is owned
It’s all the better that the play delivers its lofty morals often with tongue in cheek, like a piece of property. The privileges
essayed by an excellent cast that’s also equally capable conveying the story’s darker Jefferson enjoys, and to a degree, confers
passages. Those moments grapple with the ravages of war, the costs of privilege, and, to James and Sally, come at a deathly high
of course, the injustice that some colonial thinkers referred to as “the slave problem.” cost for slaves like Susannah.
A world of urgent 18th-century concerns are addressed and distilled through the Christian tries to reconcile his pas-
war-torn romance between Virginia slave, Susannah (Felicia Curry), and a Maryland sionate belief in liberty and equality for
Quaker, Christian (Christopher Dinolfo). all with his admiration for Jefferson,
Born of a German immigrant father, and English immigrant mother, Christian, who becomes a father figure to him. But
inspired by the socio-political writings of Rousseau, Paine, and, above all others, through Christian’s eyes, the hypocrisy
Thomas Jefferson, leaves his family farm to join Jefferson’s revolutionary militia. He’s of the Founding Fathers fighting for
disowned by his pacifist family, despite a promise to his sister Imogen (Maggie Wilder) freedom, while withholding that very
not to raise arms in the fight, but to support the cause peacefully. right from their fellow man, blurs their

FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 49


CAROL ROSEGG
noble vision of a fair democracy. As the play asks, both of
this nation and of Christian’s family, How do you repair
what’s broken?
Offering few completely satisfying answers, Jefferson’s
Garden instead poses important questions about the differences
of points of view. The most righteous patriot is easily labeled an
insurgent or terrorist by his opposing rulers. For that matter,
Jefferson’s Garden runs until February 8 at Ford’s Theatre, 511 Tenth St. NW. Tickets are $17 to $64.
Call 888-616-0270, or visit fords.org.
50 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
the colonists’ rebellion might be considered
treasonous, or it might just be bold resis-
tance to tyranny.
Wertenbaker tackles the subject matter
with a philosophical and literary rigor that
the great writer Jefferson might have appre-
ciated. And director Nataki Garrett master-
fully streamlines the expansive plot — which
follows Jefferson, James, and Sally from
Monticello to Paris, and back — into robust
entertainment.
Although the storytelling does unnec-
essarily underline a few key lessons, the
players keep the story flowing and on track
throughout. Led by Curry’s and Dinolfo’s
solid, layered performances, the entire cast
tears into the play’s fast-paced action, snarky
comedy, and meta asides with assured col-
lective energy. Kimberly Gilbert delivers
a standout comic turn as the supercilious
mother of James Madison, portrayed by
Thomas Keegan, who shines in multiple roles.
Dinolfo is outstanding in his own right communicating
Christian’s crisis of conscience, the idealistic Quaker’s story
emerging as an alarming cautionary tale of how a man might be
gradually stripped of his principles. Freedom and liberty often
aren’t granted without a fight, and this fight didn’t end with the
Revolutionary War. It continues on many fronts. l
C. STANLEY PHOTOGRAPHY
Stage

4,380 Nights

with the pounding heavy metal music the

Unnecessary Extras
soldiers pipe in at all hours. He’s subject-
ed to so-called enhanced interrogation
techniques, and force-fed through a tube.
Lonely and broken, he hears voices.
Signature’s 4,380 Nights stumbles over lengthy monologues, while Kamal’s performance communicates
Keegan’s Unnecessary Farce is just far too much. By André Hereford Malik’s alternating hope and disillusion-
ment, his humor in the face of despair.

T
The portrayal in itself prosecutes a solid
HERE’S SOME CAPITAL-A ACTING ON DISPLAY IN SIGNATURE case for more just and humane treatment
Theatre’s world-premiere of Annalisa Dias’ 4,380 Nights ( ). And in for detainees like Malik, whose lives the
one actor’s case, it’s of the sort that distracts from, rather than illuminates, the government holds by a thread.
play’s otherwise rich storytelling. Moreover, there are parts of the 4,380 Nights that Whether or not he’s guilty, at some
seem to get in the way of the playwright’s primary narrative focus: a carefully plotted point his being held with no legal basis
examination of the years-long detention and interrogation of an Algerian Muslim should force self-interrogation on the part
detainee at Guantanamo Bay. of those who would allow him to be held
That prisoner, Malik Essaid, brilliantly portrayed by Ahmad Kamal, was captured captive. As Malik and the play ask, if
just after 9/11, then transferred in 2002 from Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan. America is about freedom and justice,
As Malik is assigned a new legal aide, attorney Bud Abramson (Michael John Casey), then what is Guantanamo about? Is it a
to contest his case, he has a chance to relay to Bud and to the audience the defense he crime to be a Muslim in the U.S.?
claims to have laid out consistently, for months on end. To its detriment, 4,380 Nights digresses
Stating Malik’s case seated at the interrogation table, Kamal casts a magnetic spell. frequently from that valid question and
Remarkably, he performs the first act chained to the floor, on a set dominated by a Malik’s compelling story, to interweave
wall of chains hanging before a backdrop of distant mountains. Between interrogation the turbulent history of the European con-
sessions with U.S. military and intelligence, and friendlier conferences with Bud, Malik quest of North Africa. The folly of Bush’s
makes a plea for better treatment and conditions. He can’t rest peacefully in his cell wars in the Middle East is contrasted with

FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 51

CAMERON WHITMAN

Unnecessary Farce

France’s misadventures in Algeria, and the Roman advance
against the Carthaginians.
Appearing throughout as “The Woman,” or rather as differ-
ent women who bore witness to these confrontations, Lynette
Rathnam is saddled with several lengthy, florid monologues
that grind the play’s momentum to a halt. Rathnam pronounces
Dias’ poetic language with relish, but neither she nor director
Kathleen Akerley manage to forge an emotional connection
between The Woman’s verbiage, and the prisoner whose drama
drives the piece.
Kamal and Casey do forge a necessary and urgent connection
between Malik and Bud, the prisoner’s one sincere and dedicat-
ed advocate. Often it’s deflating to leave them, in the heat of a
powerful moment, to follow the Woman down another bumpy
detour to Carthage. As desperately as Malik wants to get out of
Gitmo, 4,380 Nights is at its best when it stays there.
MOUNTING FAST AND FLUID FARCE is hard work, and
it looks mighty hard at times for a few of the performers in
Keegan Theatre’s D.C. premiere production of Unnecessary
Farce (HHHHH).
Set in two adjoining cheap motel rooms, playwright Paul
Slade Smith’s would-be comic shenanigans spring from a solid
enough premise. Two police detectives, wide-eyed Billie (Jenna
Lawrence), and partner, Eric (Noah Schaefer), are at the motel
staging a sting operation to catch their city’s dirty Mayor Meekly
(Mario Baldessari) paying off an accountant accomplice, Karen
(Emily Levey), who’s allegedly helping him cover up a massive
embezzling scheme.
But actually, Karen’s in on the set-up to nab the mayor,
who might not be the only culprit Billie and Eric should be
pursuing. The result is a pile-up of shifting motives and shifty
characters — from a Scottish assassin known as the Highland
Hitman (Jon Townson), to the mayor’s security man Agent
Frank (Christopher Herring) — that prizes pace over wit and
punchlines over plot, to a degree that’s extreme even for a farce.
Director Ray Ficca has seen to it that his cast hits their
door-slamming paces with due vitality and speed, with Lawrence
especially adept at keeping up with the racing, tongue-twisting
dialogue. But among the entire coterie, there’s very little verve
in the characterization, from concept to costuming. Eric the cop
has the hots for Karen the accountant, but Schaefer and Levey
generate little heat from their frequent clinches. Their suppos-
edly uncontrollable attraction feels activated by the entrances
and exits of others, rather than saucily laced between the lines.
The entrances and exits themselves comprise an especially
nonsensical pattern of nonsense, as Smith’s script supplies only
the flimsiest internal logic as to why most of the characters — the
mayor, in particular — keep dithering in and out of these motel
rooms, and not far away from trouble.
At least Baldessari keeps the doddering mayor amusing, as a
sort of genteel space cadet who pops in and out of compromising
situations. He’s for the most part spared from joining in the clunky
slapstick, which is rarely plied with a finesse that feels natural.
Instead, the tumbles over couches and doors to the noggin tend to
appear telegraphed and rehearsed. The element of surprise occa-
sionally rears its welcome head, but it’s generally obscured by the
haze of a production laboring too diligently for laughs. l

Unnecessary Farce runs to February 10 at The Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW. Tickets are $35 to $45.
Call 202-265-3767, or visit KeeganTheatre.com.

4,380 Nights runs to February 18 at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington. Tickets are $40 to $103.
Call (703) 820-9771, or visit sigtheatre.org.

52 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

SHERVIN LAINEZ
Music

waver between vague postmodern gloom

and stark descriptions of death and dis-

Big Fun
memberment, albeit dressed up in bright
pop melodies, upbeat piano and guitar
lines, and vocal harmonies. The contradic-
tions may be jarring, but they are present-
After thirty-five years and twenty albums, They Might Be Giants are ed in such an enjoyable package, it’s hard
still finding the joy in everything. By Sean Maunier not to be impressed by it all.
I Like Fun is as well-crafted an album

A
as any of their work, and just as easy to
FTER THREE DECADES, MOST BANDS WITH THE PROLIFIC OUTPUT enjoy. The self-referential, almost absurd-
and rabidly devoted fanbase of They Might Be Giants would be forgiven for ly literal opening track “Let’s Get This
throwing up their hands, and resting on their laurels for a while. But They Over With” is one of their catchiest songs
Might Be Giants is, of course, not most bands. And their twentieth album I Like Fun in years, opening with a lyric about the
(HHHHH), accompanied by the latest iteration of their iconic Dial-A-Song service, predictable consistency of the song’s own
seems designed from beginning to end to remind us of that fact. bass drum line. Oddly enough, the bass
While their style and sound have changed and evolved, in many ways they have drum doesn’t return — they are far too
remained remarkably consistent over three decades, bringing a combination of precise, busy playing with synths, brass, guitars,
airtight songwriting, an absurd sense of humour, and the sensibility of easily-bored saxophones, and Beach Boys vocal mel-
workaholics. From their beginning, the duo of John Linnell and John Flansburgh have odies.
struck that rare balance of being unabashedly weird and quirky on the one hand, yet The way the album fluctuates between
completely accessible on the other. many different sounds is somewhat manic,
One of the more surprising features of I Like Fun is that it flirts with subtext, double but it works here. One of the few excep-
meaning, and some decidedly grim themes, more so than their last decade or so of pro- tions is the title track, a surprisingly som-
ducing children’s music for Disney might have led us to expect from them. The songs ber, low-key interlude relative to the rest

FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 53

of the album. They Might Be the space it needs to fill. It may
Giants are experienced and not be enough to bring over the
talented enough to pull off uninitiated, but for longtime fans
just about anything at this and newer converts, the casual,
point and not every aspect unpretentious cleverness will be
of the album is uniquely a reminder of why they fell for
memorable. Tracks like the They Might Be Giants in the first
opener and “Push Back The place.
Hands” are standouts that Few artists could pull off an
will inevitably make listen- album with subject matter so
ers wish for more. bleak on its face and yet so wor-
Nothing about the album thy of the title I Like Fun. It is
sticks out as wrong or out often hard to tell whether it’s
of place. The inconsisten- meant to be joy tinged with irony
cies of I Like Fun are minor, or simple joy in the face of a back-
made up for by some fantas- ground radiation of impending
tic songwriting, unsurpris- doom and existential despair. A
ing from TMBG. The other- band like They Might Be Giants
wise forgettable title track was all but destined to attract the
contains one key moment near-fanatical cult following that
worth focusing on. It closes has long poured over their songs
out with the lines, “I like on message boards, forums and
fun/And so do you/As we Reddit threads, picking apart the
float away/So do you.” It’s lyrics for double meanings and
by no means the most unusual or memorable wordplay they’ve easter eggs. Looking for this hidden layer misses what has been
ever produced, but it works on several levels, as a moment of on the surface the whole time a group of incredibly talented and
connection with listeners, an idle thought on the passage of easily bored artists out to have as much fun with their craft as
time, and most of all as a simple lyrical construction that fills they possibly can. l

I Like Fun is available now to buy on Amazon.com and iTunes, and through streaming services.

54 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

NightLife
Photography by
Ward Morrison

FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 55


DrinksDragDJsEtc...
Thursday,
February 1
9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm • Multiple
TVs showing movies,
shows, sports • Expanded
craft beer selection •
Music videos featuring
DJ Wess
BALTIMORE EAGLE
Happy Hour, 3-9pm, all
liquors, beers and wines up
to 50% off • $5 Pitchers
of Miller Lite all night long
• $3 Well Drinks in Nest
until 11pm, $3 in Tavern
all day • RuPaul’s Drag
Race Viewing, hosted
by Washington Heights,
Whimsy Thrift and Anita
Minute, 7-10pm, in the
Nest • Underwear Night,
9pm-2am • For men in
56 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
Scene
LURe’s 9th Anniversary at Cobalt - Saturday, January 20
Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Friday, FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR SHAW’S TAVERN
Beat the Clock Happy Hour Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
— $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), February 2 Karaoke, 9pm Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of $5 Rails and House Wines
underwear, all well drinks
$2, 9pm-12am • Best
Beer $15 • Drag Bingo 9 1/2 GREEN LANTERN & Half-Priced Pizzas • The
Underwear Contest at
NUMBER NINE
Open at 5pm • Happy
Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink,
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $5
Svedka, all flavors, all night
19th Street Band, 9pm
Midnight • Code enforced
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any 5-9pm • Friday Night long • Davon Hamilton TOWN
in Code Bar after 9pm •
drink, 5-9pm • No Cover Videos, 9:30pm • Rotating Events presents ‘90s Patio open 6pm • DC Bear
College Night Thursdays,
DJs • Expanded craft beer Pajama and Underwear Crue Happy Hour, 6-11pm
9pm-2am • EDM Dance
SHAW’S TAVERN selection • No Cover Party, 10pm-3am • Free • $3 Rail, $3 Draft, $3 Bud
Party, 10pm-2am • Free
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Entry with Advance Bottles • Free Pizza, 7pm
admission to the Tavern •
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, BALTIMORE EAGLE Eventbrite Ticket, $10 • No cover before 9:30pm
Admission to the Nest is
$5 Rails and House Wines Baltimore Bear Happy Cover all night • 21+ • 21+ • Drag Show starts
free until 10:30pm • After
& Half-Priced Pizzas Hour, 3-9pm, all liquors, at 10:30pm • Hosted by
10:30pm, $5 Cover for
beers and wines up to 50% NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Lena Lett and featuring
21 and up, $10 Cover for
TRADE off • Bad Bears After Dark DJ Matt Bailer • Videos, Miss Tatianna, Shi-
18-21 • thebaltimoreea-
Doors open 5pm • Huge in the Code Bar, 9pm • $5 Dancing • Beat the Clock Queeta-Lee, Riley Knoxx
gle.com
Happy Hour: Any drink Cover • DJ Scott Howard Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), and Ba’Naka • DJ Wess
normally served in a cock- in the Tavern, 9pm-2am $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • upstairs, DJs BacK2bACk
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
tail glass served in a huge • Grindhouse: Burlesque, Buckets of Beer $15 downstairs following the
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm •
glass for the same price, featuring Betty O’Hellno, show • GoGo Boys after
Karaoke, 9pm
5-10pm • Beer and wine 10pm-1am • Show starts NUMBER NINE 11pm • Doors open at
only $4 at 10:30pm • Cover: $10 Open 5pm • Happy Hour: 10pm • For those 21 and
GREEN LANTERN
in advance, $12.50 at door 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm over, $12 • For those
Happy Hour, 4-9pm
ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS • Elyx Vodka and Any Red • No Cover • Friday Night 18-20, $15 • Club: 18+ •
• Shirtless Thursday,
All male, nude dancers • Bull Flavor for $7 all day Piano with Chris, 7:30pm Patio: 21+
10-11pm • Men in
DJ • 9pm • Cover 21+ long • thebaltimoreeagle.
Underwear Drink Free,
com
12-12:30am • DJs
BacK2bACk
TRADE
Doors open 5pm • Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cock-
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
5-10pm • Beer and wine
only $4
ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS
Men of Secrets, 9pm •
Guest dancers • Rotating
DJs • Ladies of Illusion
Drag Show • Doors at
9pm, Shows at 11:30pm
and 1:30am • DJ Don T. in
Ziegfeld’s • Cover 21+
Saturday,
February 3
9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut
and $5 Bulleit Bourbon,
9pm-close • Expanded
craft beer selection •
No Cover
BALTIMORE EAGLE
Happy Hour, 3-9pm
• Leather and Fetish
Saturdays, Code Bar,
8pm-2am • Code enforced
after 9pm in the Code Bar
• All Maryland residents
who wear anything with
the American flag on it
get free admission • DJ
Kuhmeleon in the Tavern,
9pm-2am • Backspin:
Dance Music from 1980-
2000, featuring DJ Vince
Christopher • $5 Cover •
thebaltimoreeagle.com
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Saturday Breakfast Buffet,
10am-3pm • $14.99 with
one glass of champagne
or coffee, soda or juice •
Additional champagne $2
per glass • Crazy Hour,
4-8pm • Freddie’s Follies
Drag Show, hosted by Miss
Destiny B. Childs, 8-10pm
• Karaoke, 10pm-close
FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 57
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $5
Bacardi, all flavors, all
night long • REWIND:
Request Line, an ‘80s
and ‘90s Dance Party,
9pm-close • Featuring
DJ Darryl Strickland •
No Cover
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Guest DJs • Zing Zang
Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer,
House Rail Drinks and
Mimosas, $4, 11am-5pm •
Buckets of Beer, $15
NUMBER NINE
Doors open 2pm • Happy
Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink,
2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5
Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close
• Time Machine and
Power Hour with DJ Jack
Rayburn, 9:30pm
58 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
SHAW’S TAVERN
Brunch with Bottomless
Mimosas, 10am-3pm •
Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 Rails and House Wines
& Half-Priced Pizzas
TOWN
Upstairs: DJ Hector
Fonseca • Downstairs:
Music and video by DJ
Wess • Drag Show starts
at 10:30pm • Hosted by
Lena Lett and featuring
Tatianna, Shi-Queeta-Lee,
Riley Knoxx and Ba’Naka
• Doors open 10pm • $15
Cover from 10pm-12am •
$12 after midnight • 21+
TRADE
Doors open 2pm • Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cock-
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
2-10pm • Beer and wine
only $4
ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS BALTIMORE EAGLE
Men of Secrets, 9pm-4am Lizzie Beaumont and
• Guest dancers • Ladies Betty Whitecastle present
of Illusion Drag Show Queens Who Brunch,
with host Ella Fitzgerald 12-2pm • $34 per person
• Doors at 9pm, Shows includes All You Can
at 11:30pm and 1:30am Eat • Free pitcher of
• DJ Don T. in Ziegfeld’s Mimosas per 4 admissions
• DJ Steve Henderson in • Reservations highly
Secrets • Cover 21+ suggested and can be
made online beforehand •
Furry Happy Hour, 4-9pm •
T-Dance Sundays, 4-9pm
Sunday, • Buy a cup for $5 and fill
it with any Absolut Flavor
February 4 and Mixer for $3 each time
(excluding energy drink
9 1/2 mixers) • Super Bowl
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any Viewing Party, 6:30pm •
drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut
and $5 Bulleit Bourbon,
thebaltimoreeagle.com
9pm-close • Multiple TVs FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
showing movies, shows, Champagne Brunch Buffet,
sports • Expanded craft 10am-3pm • $24.99 with
beer selection • No Cover four glasses of champagne
or mimosas, 1 Bloody
Mary, or coffee, soda or
juice • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm
• Karaoke, 9pm-close
GREEN LANTERN • Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
Karaoke with Kevin down- $5 Rails and House Wines
stairs, 9:30pm-close & Half-Priced Pizzas •
Super Bowl Sundays —
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Half-Price Pizza and Beer
Drag Brunch, hosted Specials
by Shi-Queeta-Lee,
10:30am-12:30pm and TRADE
1-3pm • House Rail Drinks, Doors open 2pm • Huge
Zing Zang Bloody Marys, Happy Hour: Any drink
Nellie Beer and Mimosas, normally served in a cock-
$4, 11am-close • Buckets tail glass served in a huge
of Beer, $15 glass for the same price,
2-10pm • Beer and wine
NUMBER NINE only $4
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on
any drink, 2-9pm • $5
Absolut and $5 Bulleit
Bourbon, 9pm-close • Pop
Goes the World with Wes
Monday,
Della Volla at 9:30pm • February 5
No Cover
9 1/2
SHAW’S TAVERN Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
Brunch with Bottomless drink, 5-9pm • Multiple
Mimosas, 10am-3pm • TVs showing movies,
Stoli Sundays: $5 Stoli shows, sports • Expanded
Specials with DJ, 3:30pm craft beer selection •
No Cover
FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 59
 BALTIMORE EAGLE
Happy Hour, 3-9pm, all
liquors, beers and wines up
to 50% off • Micro Brew
Draft/Bottle Mondays —
$4 all day • SIN: Service
Industry Night, 11pm-2am
• First Well Drink or
Domestic Beer Free • 10%
off your Food Order all day
• thebaltimoreeagle.com
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm •
Singles Night • Half-Priced
Pasta Dishes • Karaoke,
9pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour all night
long • Singing with the
Sisters: Open Mic Karaoke
Night with the Sisters
of Perpetual Indulgence,
9:30pm-close
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Beat the Clock Happy Hour
— $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of
Beer $15 • Texas Hold’em
Poker, 8pm • Dart Boards
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
SHAW’S TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 Rails and House Wines
and Half-Priced Pizzas •
Shaw Nuff Trivia, with
Jeremy, 7:30pm
60 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
TRADE
Doors open 5pm • Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cock-
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
5-10pm • Beer and wine
only $4
Tuesday,
February 6
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
BALTIMORE EAGLE
Happy Hour, 3-9pm, all
liquors, beers and wines
up to 50% off • $6 Any
Flavor Martinis and $7
Manhattans (call liquors) •
thebaltimoreeagle.com
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Taco
Tuesday • Karaoke, 9pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour all night long,
4pm-close
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Beat the Clock Happy Hour
— $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of
Beer $15 • Karaoke and
Drag Bingo
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
SHAW’S TAVERN
Half-Priced Burgers and
Pizzas, $5 House Wines,
and $5 Sam Adams,
5pm-10pm
TRADE
Doors open 5pm • Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cock-
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
5-10pm • Beer and wine
only $4
Wednesday,
February 7
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
BALTIMORE EAGLE
Happy Hour, 3-9pm, all
liquors, beers and wines
up to 50% off • Domestic
Bottles are $3 all day •
Team Trivia, 8-10pm •
thebaltimoreeagle.com
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • $6
Burgers • Drag Bingo
Night, hosted by Ms.
Regina Jozet Adams, 8pm
• Bingo prizes • Karaoke,
10pm-1am
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour all night
long, 4pm-close • Bear
Yoga with Greg Leo, 6:30-
7:30pm • $10 per class
• Upstairs opens 9pm •
Lantern GoGo Dancers,
10pm-2am
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
SmartAss Trivia Night, 8pm
and 9pm • Prizes include
bar tabs and tickets to
shows at the 9:30 Club •
$15 Buckets of Beer for
SmartAss Teams only •
Bring a new team member
and each get a free $10
Dinner
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
SHAW’S TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 Rails and House Wines
and Half-Priced Pizzas •
Piano Bar with Jill, 8pm
TRADE
Doors open 5pm • Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cock-
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
5-10pm • Beer and wine
only $4
Thursday,
February 8
9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm • Multiple
TVs showing movies,
shows, sports • Expanded
craft beer selection •
Music videos featuring
DJ Wess
BALTIMORE EAGLE
Happy Hour, 3-9pm, all
liquors, beers and wines up
to 50% off • $5 Pitchers
of Miller Lite all night long
• $3 Well Drinks in Nest
until 11pm, $3 in Tavern
all day • RuPaul’s Drag
Race Viewing, hosted
by Washington Heights,
Whimsy Thrift and Anita
Minute, 7-10pm in the
Nest • Underwear Night,
9pm-2am • For men in
underwear, all well drinks
$2, 9pm-12am • Best
Underwear Contest at
Midnight • Code enforced
in Code Bar after 9pm •
EDM: Life College Night
Thursdays, 10pm-2am
• Free admission to the
Tavern • Admission to the
Nest is free until 10:30pm
• After 10:30pm, $5 Cover
for 21 and up, $10 Cover
for 18-21 • thebalti-
moreeagle.com
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm •
Karaoke, 9pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm
• Shirtless Thursday,
10-11pm • Men in
Underwear Drink Free,
12-12:30am • DJs
BacK2bACk
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Beat the Clock Happy Hour
— $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of
Beer $15 • Drag Bingo
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
SHAW’S TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 Rails and House Wines
& Half-Priced Pizzas • $4
Heineken and $4 Coronas
TRADE
Doors open 5pm • Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cock-
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
5-10pm • Beer and wine
only $4
ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers •
DJ • 9pm • Cover 21+ l
 LastWord.
People say the queerest things

“This administration isn’t just targeting the laws that

protect us, they’re targeting the very idea that we are all
worthy of protection.
For them, dignity isn’t something you’re born with, but something you measure, by your net worth, your
celebrity, your headlines, your crowd size. Not to mention the gender of your spouse, the country of your
birth, the color of your skin, the God of your prayers.
”
— REP. JOE KENNEDY III, in the official Democratic response to President Trump’s first State of the Union. Unlike Trump,
Kennedy made mention of the LGBTQ community, including the Trump administration and Republican Party’s
targeting of LGBTQ people since he took office.

“For a man who once claimed he would be ‘a friend’ to the LGBTQ community,
it seems @realDonaldTrump has now dropped the charade.”
— HRC President CHAD GRIFFIN, responding to President Trump’s first State of the Union address. Trump made no mention
of the LGBTQ community, instead focusing on protecting “religious liberty,” something Griffin noted, saying,
“Not even a mention after a year of unceasing attacks led by this administration on the LGBTQ community.”

“The [Trump] administration actually completely believes

in conversion therapy.
Mike Pence tried to get it state-funded when he was Senator, so it is a very real problem.
”
— Actress CHLOË GRACE MORETZ, speaking to AFP about her new film The Miseducation of Cameron Post,
which sees Moretz’s character sent to a gay conversion therapy camp by her conservative aunt and uncle.

“I remember thinking,
‘Oh, that’s nice, Ellen has this lovely roommate...
they really seem like they get along great.’
”
— MEGAN MULLALLY, appearing on The Ellen Show, revealing that she didn’t realize Ellen DeGeneres was a lesbian.
The pair have been friends for decades, but Mullally told DeGeneres, “as the years went on, you had a lot of really
lovely roommates, and I thought, ‘Ellen just gets along so well with people. People are just drawn to her like a magnet.’”

“Caitlyn Jenner, a great friend of the Jewish people and Israel, is

uniquely suited to highlight Israel’s incredible record on
human rights and LGBTQ rights.”
— Rabbi SHMULEY BOTEACH, announcing that Caitlyn Jenner will receive the Champion of Israel and LGBTQ Rights Award
at the sixth annual Champions of Jewish Values International Awards Gala. “Israel is a bastion of global human rights
and a great light to the nations,” Boteach added. “But the Middle East is sadly a cesspit of human rights abuses,
especially toward LGBTQ citizens who are routinely murdered, beheaded, and even hung from cranes.”

62 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 • METROWEEKLY