Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
18 COMPOSING SUCCESS
The Congressional Chorus performs a piece this
weekend by one of the country’s hottest
up-and-coming composers.
By Randy Shulman
SOCIAL SPIRITS
Pia Carusone and Whit Kathner are shaking up the
world of cocktails with their high-end liquors and a
splash of progressive politics.
By André Hereford
Metro Weekly 1775 I St. NW, Suite 1150 Washington, DC 20006 202-638-6830
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MetroCooking DC
Cooking & Entertaining Show
B
OTH A HOLIDAY TREAT AND A SHOPPING PRE- year is a Holiday Gingerbread House Competition featuring
serve, “The Ultimate Foodie Outing” is the area’s big- professional and amateur bakers. Saturday, Dec. 1, and Sunday,
gest specialty food and culinary event. Emeril Lagasse Dec. 2, starting at 10 a.m. each day. Walter E. Washington
is the headliner at the James Beard Foundation Cooking Stage Convention Center, 801 Mt. Vernon Place NW. General admis-
at the 13th annual showcase also featuring Jacques Pepin, sion tickets are priced at $21.50, and include admission to the
Lidia Bastianich, Carla Hall, Bethenny Frankel, and many of James Beard Cooking Stage and the Exhibitor Marketplace.
D.C’s best chefs, including Scott Drewno, Amy Brandwein, L’Academie de Cuisine cooking classes, Beer, Wine and Spirits
Erik Bruner-Yang, Vikram Sunderam, and Michael Schlow. Garden, BBQ Bash and the Grand Tasting are special ticketed
Also on hand: 200 specialty food vendors, including a focused events and sold separately. VIP ticket packages are available,
Made in DC pavilion, a two-day Beer, Wine & Spirits section, which will afford a backstage meet and greet with Lagasse,
a BBQ Bash on Saturday and the 6th annual Grand Tasting Pepin, and Frankel plus access to additional ticketed special
Pavilion with over 50 local restaurants on Sunday. New this events. Call 866-840-8822 or visit metrocookingdc.com.
NICOLE BYER
A comedic performer and writer
known from her podcast Why Won’t
You Date Me as well as from Fox’s
short-lived sketch show Party Over
Here, Byer was also a guest judge
during an episode of this year’s
RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. Netflix
subscribers, of course, know her as
the quirky host from that quirki-
est of bake-off competitions — the
streaming platform’s wry Nailed It.
Byer comes to town for two nights
MUSE
The conservative, reactionary, and incendiary tenor of today’s political climate inspired the eighth album from this sludgy,
synthy hard-rocking trio from the U.K. And yet, despite track titles such as “The Dark Side” and “Pressure,” the new
Simulation Theory isn’t quite as dark as previous sets from the group, which was inspired by “lighter influences” — rela-
tively speaking, anyway — drawn from aspects and aesthetics of ’80s-era science fiction and pop culture. Muse will tour
the album, co-produced by Timbaland, as part of a similarly “fantasy becoming real”-themed stadium tour. Built around a
grand stage show, the tour also offers a Mixed Reality Pre-Show Party featuring three original virtual reality games inspired
by album tracks and powered by Microsoft. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, Nov. 16, at noon, for the April
2 show at Capital One Arena. Enhanced Experience Packages, ranging from $229 to $339, include premium front row or
floor seats as well as access to the Mixed Reality Pre-Show Party. Presented by I.M.P. Productions. Call 202-628-3200 or
impconcerts.com/event/1785984-muse-washington.
Compiled by Doug Rule profound, and oh, those swoop- theatres.com. miere from area playwright Greg
ing opening credits. With Marlon Jones Ellis and the Washington
FILM Brando, Valerie Perrine, Glenn
Ford, and Ned Beatty. Fathom will STAGE Stage Guild. Bill Largess stars as
a famous British playwright strug-
SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE 40TH be showing the original theatrical gling with a screenplay, Laura
ANNIVERSARY SCREENINGS version. Sunday, Nov. 25, at 3 p.m., ACTUALLY Giannarelli plays his distracted
It’s hard to believe that it’s already Tuesday, Nov. 27, at 3 and 7 p.m., What begins as a casual college actress wife, and R. Scott Williams
been four decades since we first and Monday, Dec. 3, at 7 p.m. Area hookup turns into a Title IX hear- his longtime, acid-tongued “secre-
believed a man could fly. In 1978, theaters including Regal Gallery ing in which both students have tary.” By turns darkly funny and
Richard Donner’s film ushered Place (701 7th St. NW), Potomac everything to lose in Anna Ziegler’s emotionally powerful, the come-
in a new genre of movie, one in Yards Stadium (3575 Jefferson provocative new play about sexual dy drama is directed by the Stage
which superheroes convincingly Davis Highway), and Ballston consent and gender and race politics. Guild’s artistic associate Carl
leapt, in a single bound, from the Common (671 N. Glebe Rd.). Visit Jaysen Wright (Wig Out!) and Sylvia Randolph. Previews begin Nov. 15.
comic book pages to super-epic fathomevents.com. Kates star in a Theater J production Opens Sunday, Nov. 19. Undercroft
cinema. Superman the Movie lum- directed by Johanna Gruenhut and Theatre of Mount Vernon
bers a bit (the sequel was more THE BIG SLEEP presented in the Arena Stage com- United Methodist Church, 900
action-packed), but it benefits Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall plex while the company’s home, the Massachusetts Ave. NW. Call 240-
from a gorgeously stoic title per- made the big screen sizzle in this Edlavitch DCJCC, undergoes exten- 582-0050 or visit stageguild.org.
formance by Christopher Reed and 1946 noir classic from the mighty sive renovations. Closes Sunday,
Gene Hackman’s scene-munching Howard Hawks. Based on a novel Nov. 18. Kogod Cradle in Mead AN INSPECTOR CALLS
Lex Luthor. The special effects by Raymond Chandler. Part of the Center for American Theater, 1101 A festive evening at the home of a
were magical, and the nightflight Capital Classics series at Landmark’s 6th St. SW. Call 202-777-3210 or visit well-heeled British family is sud-
between Superman and Lois Lane West End Cinema. Wednesday, Nov. theaterj.org. denly punctured by a visit from a
(Margot Kidder) is pure magic, and 21, at 1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 p.m., 2301 grim inspector investigating the
is punctuated by a jaw-dropping M St. NW. Happy hour from 4 to ALL SAVE ONE death of a young woman that pro-
scene on a balcony. The score by 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 to $12.50. The secret lives of Hollywood circa ceeds to upend their comfortable
John Williams is nothing short of Call 202-534-1907 or visit landmark- 1950 gets explored in a world pre- lives. Acclaimed stage and film
CRY IT OUT
Studio Theatre presents Molly Smith Metzler’s candid
comedy about the tinderbox of parenthood and class in
today’s culture. Emjoy Gavino plays Jesse, a corporate
lawyer, who befriends her working class neighbor Lina
CROSS-CULTURAL COMEDY
(Dina Thomas) while both are marooned at home on
maternity leave. A wealthy couple from the neighbor-
hood, played by Paolo Andino and Tessa Klein, intrudes
on a naptime coffee date between the new mothers,
Comedian Maz Jobrani is back with a fresh take on being an pushing Cry It Out toward a dramatic climax. Directed
by Joanie Schultz. To Dec. 16. Milton Theatre, 14th & P
immigrant in Trump’s America. Streets NW. Call 202-332-3300 or visit studiotheatre.org.
I
N HIS 2017 NETFLIX COMEDY SPECIAL IMMIGRANT, RECORDED FANCY NANCY’S
SPLENDIFEROUS CHRISTMAS
live at the Kennedy Center, Maz Jobrani does a great bit about rushing down Nancy has enough money to buy a brand-new spar-
to LAX to join the protests when the Trump administration first announced kly tree topper, but when things don’t turn out as
its travel ban. Despite a run-in with riot police, he’d do it all again. she planned, will Christmas still be splendiferous?
Adventure Theatre MTC presents a musical geared
“It felt really good to go to that travel ban protest,” Jobrani says. “I would go to toward younger audiences. Stevie Zimmerman directs.
another protest in the blink of an eye.” Opens Friday, Nov. 16. To Jan. 6. 7300 MacArthur Blvd.,
The proud immigrant from Iran was eager to exercise his civil liberties as an Glen Echo Park. Call 301-634-2270 or visit adventuret-
American citizen, and while he later enjoyed exercising his right to joke about heatre-mtc.org.
it, Jobrani takes seriously the right of the people to raise their voices in protest. INDECENT
“I’m always very proud of people that go out and do it,” he says, alluding to the Paula Vogel won a Pulitzer Prize twenty years ago with
No One Is Above the Law demonstrations that were being held nationwide that How I Learned To Drive, but only last year marked
the D.C.-born veteran playwright’s debut on Broadway
very afternoon. with this drama. The story of the courageous artists
Best known for his standup specials and a role on the CBS sitcom Superior who risked their careers to perform Sholem Asch’s God
Donuts, Jobrani puts his passion for politics into his quick-witted comedy, which of Vengeance on Broadway in 1923 — a work deemed
also mines his cross-cultural experiences as the Persian dad of two all-American “indecent” for tackling then-taboo themes of censorship,
immigration, and anti-Semitism — comes to D.C. by
kids with his Indian wife. An outspoken LGBTQ ally, Jobrani also puts his com- way of a co-production from Arena Stage with Kansas
mitment to equal rights in his act. City Repertory and Baltimore Center Stage. Eric Rosen
“I do it because I am someone who came from Iran to America at a young age directs a cast starring Ben Cherry, Susan Lynskey, John
Milosich, Victor Raider-Wexler, Susan Rome, Emily
and I know that, about a year or two in, the hostage crisis happened and I remem- Shackelford, Maryn Shaw, Alexander Sovronsky, Ethan
ber being picked on,” he says. “They would call you back then ‘Fucking Iranian.’ Watermeier, and Max Wolkowitz. Previews begin Nov.
“And so, I’ve always felt a tie with people who are persecuted just for whatever 23. To Dec. 30. Kreeger Theater in the Mead Center for
their background might be. Whether that’s a racial thing, or an ethnic thing, or a American Theater, 1101 6th St. SW. Call 202-488-3300
or visit arenastage.org.
religious thing, or a sexual thing, I’m always on the side of those that get perse-
cuted for no reason.” KING JOHN
Jobrani has honed his cultural sensitivity into sharp humor meant to shake up He may be king, but unlike his older brother Richard
the Lionheart, John has no stirring nickname or truly
the close-minded. “I mean, it’s just stupid to me that people say, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t loyal following, with everyone from the Pope to his own
get married because you’re gay.’ It used to be, ‘You shouldn’t marry because you’re court seeming to think his crown is up for grabs. Aaron
black and they’re white.’ Who are you to judge somebody else? They’re not affect- Posner directs a rarely staged but timely history play by
ing you. So, yeah, it actually gets me upset, and then I go, ‘If I could find a funny Shakespeare about a toxic era of secret deals, threats
of mass destruction, and shifting loyalties (what a dif-
way into this, then we’ll be in good shape.’” —André Hereford ference 800 years doesn’t always make). Brian Dykstra
plays the King in a gender-bending production that also
features Kate Eastwood Norris as Philip Faulconbridge,
Maz Jobrani performs Friday, Nov. 16, at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Holly Twyford as Lady Faulconbridge, and Megan
Tickets are $29 to $125. Call 202-467-4600 or visit Kennedy-Center.org.
CONNECTING THREADS
Alexandria’s Del Ray Artisans
Gallery offers a display of members’
artwork featuring fiber and textiles
as a major component in construc-
tion and/or as a part of the subject
matter, conveying some sort of mes-
sage, emotion, or meaning beyond
the literal definition of the mate-
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
COMPOSING SUCCESS
they manipulate fiber in ways both
traditional — such as knitting and
crocheting — and nontraditional
via mixed-media. To Nov. 25. 2704
Mount Vernon Ave. Call 703-731-
The Congressional Chorus performs a piece this weekend by one of the 8802 or visit thedelrayartisans.org.
country’s hottest up-and-coming composers. LAURA BERMAN:
B
CHROMATIC SPACE
LAME CHRIS URQUIAGA’S SUCCESSFUL CAREER ON HIS MOTHER. “WHEN I Inspired by “the vast landscape of
nothingness” that is the very middle
was seven years old, I didn’t really care much for practicing piano,” says the 27-year-old of Kansas, the unique monoprints
Maryland native. “My mom just put me in a room and made me practice. That was a pret- of this artist and professor at the
ty painstaking experience for me. I hated the fact that I couldn’t go outside and play.” In time, Kansas City Art Institute reflect
Urquiaga “developed a passion for performing music,” and eventually found himself at the presti- the slow and dramatic connections
between enormous spaces on and
gious Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. beyond our earth. Everything is
The composer — who has made a gradual move away from classical compositions and into pop related and nothing is identical in
— has been on an upward trajectory over the past few years, acknowledged as one of the indus- iterative prints of patterns and bold
colors, also informed by the artist’s
try’s more dazzling new talents. Not only is he a former Strathmore Artist-in-Residence, but last hometown of Barcelona, Spain. To
summer, he served as musical director for Signature Theatre’s cabaret, “Everything Elvis,” and Nov. 25. Long View Gallery, 1234
performed at the venerable Blues Alley. In 2011, he played at the 50th anniversary of the March on 9th St. NW. Call 202-232-4788 or
Washington for President Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and John Lewis, and recently performed at a visit longviewgallery.com.
“Get Out the Vote” rally helmed by Senator Bernie Sanders at Bethesda Blues and Jazz. REFRAME YOUR FEAST:
This Sunday, the Congressional Chorus will perform “Dreams,” a piece Urquiaga wrote when RECYCLE REUSE
he was 19. It’s the centerpiece of a program entitled “Poets, Painters, and Dreams,” inspired by the Ziploc and Tupperware be gone:
The Kiln Club stuffs the Scope
works of Marc Chagall, Sara Teasdale, and Langston Hughes. “Dreams is a three-movement piece Gallery with pottery designed to
based on Hughes’ poetry,” says Urquiaga. “I chose these poems by Langston Hughes from the replace non-biodegradable plastic
Harlem Renaissance era because I thought they were very masterful, full of substance. The poems bags and containers. From covered
are related, as they talk about dreams and perseverance and the hardships of life.” Urquiaga will casserole dishes, bakers, and trays,
the reusable serveware on offer will
perform piano alongside a chamber ensemble and the full one-hundred voice chorus. help you “class up traditional hol-
Urquiaga, who has released two pop albums — I’m Here and Complete — calls his style of music iday hangovers while reducing the
a blend of pop with R&B and Latin influences, owing to his Brazilian and Peruvian heritage. In the paper and plastic along with fridge
overload.” Now to Dec. 2. Studio 19
classical music realm, however, he doesn’t “follow any particular genre or agenda — I just try to - Scope Gallery in Torpedo Factory
make my music very melodically driven.” Art Center, 105 North Union St.
The composer considers himself an ally of the LGBTQ community. “I’m very happy that there Alexandria. Free. Call 703-838-4565
is a greater sense of acceptance in our society of LGBT people,” he says. “What I think allies are or visit torpedofactory.org.
helping to do is to help make the LGBT community more part of the conversation, more part of WORLD PRESS
what looks like mainstream America. It’s something very important to me, as I have a big gay fan PHOTO EXHIBITION
base and I love them all.” —Randy Shulman While FotoDC takes off 2018 for “a
rebuilding year,” one of its affiliated
annual FotoWeekDC events con-
“Poets, Painters, and Dreams,” is Sunday, Nov. 18, at 4:30 p.m. at the Church of the Epiphany, 1317 tinues. The Dupont Underground
hosts a second annual exhibition
G St. NW. Tickets are $19 to $39. Call 202-347-2635 or visit congressionalchorus.org.
Weekly Events
ANDROMEDA
TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH
offers free HIV testing and HIV
services (by appointment). 9
HELPING HANDS
a.m.-5 p.m. Decatur Center,
1400 Decatur St. NW. To
arrange an appointment, call
202-291-4707, or visit androm-
edatransculturalhealth.org.
There’s no shortage of opportunities for D.C. area residents
BET MISHPACHAH, founded
to lend their time and assistance. by members of the LGBT com-
L
munity, holds Friday evening
OOKING FOR A WAY TO FILL SOME FREE TIME AND GIVE BACK TO THE Shabbat services in the DC
community? Volunteering is a vital lifeline for many of the city’s most valued organi- Jewish Community Center’s
Community Room. 8 p.m. 1529
zations. “Volunteers are the heart of our organization,” says Beth Stewart, volunteer 16th St. NW. For more informa-
services manager at Food & Friends. “We cannot do what we do without them. We’re a staff tion, visit betmish.org.
of only about 54, and we send 3,000 meals out the door every single day.”
Food & Friends relies on volunteers to help prepare, sort, package, and deliver food to DC AQUATICS CLUB holds
a practice session at Howard
people with life-threatening or long-term illnesses. While help is necessary year-round, the University. 6:30-8 p.m. Burr
organization is in particular need of volunteers to assist in delivering special Thanksgiving Gymnasium, 2400 6th St. NW.
dinners to clients prior to and on the morning of the holiday. “Volunteers are the primary For more information, visit
swimdcac.org.
people preparing and packaging those meals under the direction of our chef team,” says
Stewart. “We can’t physically do the work without their support.” HIV TESTING at Whitman-
Similarly, the Capital Area Food Bank and DC Central Kitchen are always looking for Walker Health. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
people to sort and package food, which they provide to nonprofit partners, homeless shel- at 1525 14th St. NW. For an
appointment call 202-745-7000
ters, and schools. Both allow volunteers to sign up for shifts on their respective websites, or visit whitman-walker.org.
making it easy to fit volunteering into your schedule.
If you want to specifically help LGBTQ organizations, there’s an abundance of options. METROHEALTH CENTER
offers free, rapid HIV testing.
SMYAL’s Sharifa Love-Schnur says the LGBTQ youth advocacy organization has opportu- Appointment needed. 1012 14th
nities ranging from helping at events to serving as a youth mentor, which requires additional St. NW, Suite 700. To arrange an
training and a background check. SMYAL typically holds quarterly orientations for volun- appointment, call 202-638-0750.
teers, with its next one in 2019. But the organization is currently seeking one-time volun-
PROJECT STRIPES hosts LGBT-
teers for an upcoming panel discussion on youth homelessness on Nov. 28 at the Verizon affirming social group for ages
Technology and Policy Center. 11-24. 4-6 p.m. 1419 Columbia
The DC Center also holds quarterly orientations for people who want to work as support Road NW. Contact Tamara, 202-
319-0422, layc-dc.org.
staff. The Center also holds a monthly volunteer night on the first Monday of every month,
and has a list of other one-time opportunities on its website. SMYAL’S REC NIGHT provides
“We use volunteers for almost anything you can imagine,” says The Center’s executive a social atmosphere for LGBT
director, David Mariner. “We also have a number of group volunteer opportunities. So if you and questioning youth, featur-
ing dance parties, vogue nights,
pull together a group from your church, sports team, or friends, and want to make dinner for movies and games. For more
homeless youth, or make dinner for the Center’s asylum seekers group, or hang out with our info, email catherine.chu@
seniors, you can get involved in those activities as well.” —John Riley smyal.org.
T
HE DAY AFTER HIS PARTY LOST CONTROL the Queen James Bible, a revision of the King James Bible
of the House of Representatives, President Trump that amended verses speaking out against homosexuality.
tried to change the discussion by firing Attorney On the blog, Eschliman wrote that “the LGBTQXYZ
General Jeff Sessions and naming his chief of staff, Matthew crowd and the Gaystapo” are trying to reword the Bible “to
Whitaker, as interim attorney general. make their sinful nature ‘right with God.’” Eschliman object-
Many critics have raised questions about whether Trump ed to his firing, arguing that his employer discriminated
is attempting to derail Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s against him because of his Christian religious beliefs oppos-
investigation — something Whitaker has previously called ing homosexuality. The newspaper’s parent media company
a witch-hunt. Democrats fear that, with Whitaker now eventually agreed to settle the case out of court.
in charge of Mueller’s investigation, the administration “No one should be fired for simply expressing his reli-
will attempt to bury any of the special counsel’s findings gious beliefs,” Whitaker said at the time. “In America,
before Democrats take control of it is against the law to fire an
the House in January. employee for expressing a reli-
It may even spark a constitu- gious belief in public. This kind
tional crisis if Trump fires Mueller of religious intolerance by an
or Deputy Attorney General Rod employer has no place in today’s
Rosenstein. Whitaker’s appoint- welcoming workforce.”
ment is abnormal, given that Outside of First Liberty
Rosenstein would normally have Institute, in both his legal career
assumed the office, and may and his political bids for office —
even be unconstitutional under most notably for the U.S. Senate
the Appointments Clause of the seat from Iowa — Whitaker
U.S. Constitution, which requires has repeatedly gone on record
those that “principal officers” who opposing LGBTQ rights.
report directly to the president to In 2011, Whitaker appeared at
be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. the Conservative Principles PAC
But constitutional and ethical Conference, where he praised
issues aside, there are other, major leaders from the anti-LGBTQ
problems with Whitaker — a two- Family Research Council and
Whitaker
time failed candidate for statewide the National Organization for
office in Iowa and a Bush-appointed U.S. Attorney for the Marriage as “a great group of culture warriors.”
Southern District of Iowa. He has a troubling history of anti- During his 2014 bid for the Senate, Whitaker said that
LGBTQ stances, one that leads many advocates to believe he he considers the marriage a “non-negotiable” issue. More
will continue Sessions’ push for policies or interpretations of explicitly, he said that marriage is between one man and
law that severely restrict LGBTQ people’s freedoms. one woman, and that then-President Barack Obama was
In short, Trump — self-professed “friend” to the LGBTQ doing “significant damage” by supporting marriage rights for
community — may have swapped one anti-LGBTQ zealot same-sex couples, adding: “There will be an unbelievable,
for another. long-term negative impact he’s leaving.”
Among Whitaker’s anti-LGBTQ moves include his work Whitaker is also on record expressing support for a con-
as a volunteer attorney for the right-wing, anti-LGBTQ stitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage during his
legal organization First Liberty Institute, which supports 2014 campaign, according to the Sioux City Journal.
religious exemptions that could allow for discrimination In addition, Whitaker opposed efforts to overturn the
against LGBTQ people. In an interview with the organiza- military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, decrying it as a
tion intended to tout his work on its behalf, Whitaker said: form of social experimentation by saying: “I don’t want
“I have seen how an expanding government and a culture to see our military treated as a petrie [sic] dish.” He also
dominated by non-Christian worldviews can encroach and expressed concerns over reports that military chaplains
offend on the religious liberties of Bible-believing people.” were being disciplined for refusing to endorse homosexuali-
As part of his work for First Liberty Institute, Whitaker ty or perform same-sex marriages.
defended Bob Eschliman, the former editor-in-chief of Most concerning, Whitaker believes that federal judges
Iowa’s Newton Daily News, after he was fired over a post on should be asked if they are “people of faith” who have “a
his private blog criticizing LGBTQ activists for producing biblical view of justice.” He also said that, were he elected
Social
the world of cocktails with their high-end liquors
and a splash of progressive politics.
W
HEN IT OPENED ITS DOORS ON ebratory [Hillary] Clinton inauguration rye, we made it a tribute
Kentucky Derby Day in May of 2016, the to all the women whose shoulders we stand on — women who
distillery Republic Restoratives did so with fought to repeal prohibition, who fought for the right to vote,
remarkably little funding from established who run for office, who start businesses.”
banks. Initially refused loans, founders Pia Having grown up as childhood friends in Saratoga Springs,
Carusone and Rachel Gardner turned to Indiegogo to become, in New York, Carusone and Gardner continued their bond as adults
effect, “the largest crowdfunded distillery in U.S. history.” living in opposite Washingtons — Gardner is based in Seattle —
And that’s not Republic’s only — or even biggest — distinc- chiefly through a mutual love of whiskey. They had even batted
tion. around what Kathner jokingly calls the “crazy, hair-brained
“We’re one of the few spirits producers that are very, very idea” of opening a whiskey distillery long before circumstances
upfront about our values and our mission,” says Whit Kathner, a in Carusone’s political career compelled her to make a move and
company director and managing partner who helped launch the take the distillery dream seriously.
business. Republic is explicitly women-and-queer-owned-and- And Kathner — who had already made a career out of two
operated, and also proud to proclaim its progressive politics in a previous left-field ideas from Carusone — was all too eager
way that is practically unheard of in the industry. to pounce on this one. “When two of your closest friends are
“With the election, a lot of spirits brands on Instagram would opening a whiskey distillery, you figure out a way to make your
say, ‘It doesn’t matter who you vote for — just go out and vote irrelevant resume pertinent,” he says.
and then we’ll all drink afterwards,’” says Kathner, a trans man Today, with its prime location in the distilling-rich Ivy City
who identifies as queer. Republic took a more decidedly partisan neighborhood, Republic Restoratives has become a key player in
approach: who you vote for does matter. In fact, the distillery D.C.’s thriving independent spirits community. It’s also a spon-
gained national attention after launching a product named sor of DC Cocktail Week, an annual promotion of the Restaurant
Rodham Rye. Association of Metropolitan Washington that runs through this
“We were really excited about the election of the first female Sunday, Nov. 18. Republic’s smooth, clean, corn-based Civic
president of the United States,” Kathner says. “We got that Vodka factors into some of the cocktails on offer at participating
trademark and November [2016] happens, and on top of every- Cocktail Week venues around town, including City Winery,
thing else with our country, we said, ‘Remember that rye brand with its Civic Sunset cocktail embellished with lemon juice and
we were about to launch? Oh no!’ We ended up keeping the rosemary simple syrup ($14 with a phyllo-encrusted bleu cheese
name, but we changed the brand story. Instead of it being a cel- mousse amuse bouche), and at Wild Days in the Eaton Hotel
Makes a Great
Holiday Gift!
Visit metroweekly.com/scene to order yours today!
Movies
Killer Instinct
The film reflects his moods, deploying
stillness and quiet, or blasts of violence
and noise.
Ferro plays the character as a sunny
Sexual tension permeates the true-crime tale of Argentina’s most sociopath, mysterious but approachable,
notorious serial killer in El Angel. By André Hereford and totally transparent in his attraction
E
to Ramón. Actually, he and Darín play a
ARLY IN LUIS ORTEGA’S GRIPPING EL ANGEL (HHHHH), THE MOD- mutual attraction, as Ramón eagerly uses
est, middle-class Puchs — mother Aurora (Cecilia Roth) and dad Héctor (Luis his hold over Carlitos to maintain control
Gnecco) — recognize that 19-year old Carlos (Lorenzo Ferro) is a liar and a thief. in their relationship. Wielding the promise
His new motorcycle, he tells them, was simply borrowed from a friend. They know of being straight but a little bit interested,
better, but still they have no idea what monstrous deeds their boy commits when he Ramón remains just beyond Carlos’ reach.
steals into people’s homes in the middle of the night. Darín smoldered in a similar game of
Ortega’s film offers no pat explanation in the home life of this seemingly average will-they-or-won’t-they in his 2014 cine-
’70s Buenos Aires family. Aurora laments that she doesn’t know what to do to keep her matic breakthrough Death in Buenos Aires,
son from running the streets, while Héctor lectures him on the value of honest work to opposite Demián Bichir. He smolders
acquire the things he wants. Carlos absorbs all their love and concern and is destined here, too, but it’s Ferro who holds court
anyway to become a ruthless killer. as the movie’s wicked golden boy, glee-
The script, by Ortega, Sergio Olguín, and Rodolfo Palacios, doesn’t stick strictly fully breaking and entering, or riding his
to the facts of Puch’s real-life crimes and, notably, changes the name of his leading girlfriend Marisol (Malena Villa) around
accomplice. Yet, by avoiding the procedural trappings of a making-of-a-monster biopic, the streets of Buenos Aires on his stolen
Ortega and company (including producer Pedro Almodóvar) concoct a dark character motorbike.
study that remains tantalizingly lighthearted, especially considering Puch’s nearly Marisol’s twin Magdalena (also Villa,
year-long rash of armed robberies, murders, and assaults. in a seamless double-take) hooks up with
The film revels in the beauty that concealed Carlitos’ ugliness. The upbeat Ramón and, briefly, it appears the two
soundtrack of classic Argentinian rock and pop and the colorful costume and produc- Jimmy Deans might be on their way to
tion design emphasize a romantic take on the outlaw. That’s certainly the take on his some form of a dual happy ending. But
relationship to Ramón Peralta (Chino Darín), the rough and handsome lad he meets at history intervenes, and El Angel’s wings
reform school who triggers the dangerous escalation in his life of crime. Ramón hails are eventually clipped.
from a family of outlaws, along with his ex-con burglar dad, José (Daniel Fanego), Ortega doesn’t waste time hyping up
and soused mom, Ana María (Mercedes Morán). The Peraltas immediately embrace the public scandal or criminal infamy, or
Carlitos, propelling him on the spree that will cement his notoriety. outside reaction to the film’s inner cir-
The gang’s crimes are unsettling, but the movie’s not gruesome. El Angel is no Gacy cle of Carlos, Ramón, and their parents.
or Dahmer. He’s a passionate thief, and sometimes a jester, who speaks to his victims The focus is on the two families — the
and at least acts friendly. He shoots without thinking, and kills without caring, declar- utter helplessness of the Puchs juxtaposed
El Angel is rated R, and opens at Landmark’s E Street Cinema on Friday, Nov. 16. Visit landmarktheatres.com.
TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX.
Widows’ Web
challenged politico, Jack Mulligan (Colin
Farrell). Although Henry and Kaluuya’s
crazy sibling act of baldly unscrupulous
Jamal and blasé psychopath Jatemme
A heist thriller with gravitas, Widows is overstuffed pays dividends, as does Farrell’s admira-
but still satisfying. By André Hereford bly controlled turn as an establishment
A
jerk, the campaign story steals too much
T FIRST GLANCE, WIDOWS APPEARS TO BE A LARK OF A POPCORN screen-time from the widows.
crime flick. However, the tone of Steve McQueen’s latest film, while darkly The film plunges deep down a rabbit
humorous, is quite dark. It might not be such a lark after all, and the Oscar- hole of civic intrigue before it finally con-
winner’s Chicago-set crime story, pimped out as a star-studded, revenge-driven heist nects the alderman race to the plot really
thriller, might actually be an intricate drama about class warfare. worth caring about: Veronica, Linda, and
Or, Widows (HHHHH) might mean to explore the insidious effect of political cor- Alice stealing that money, with the help of
ruption on America’s inner cities. The film invites a number of interpretations with Linda’s babysitter, Belle (Cynthia Erivo).
its sprawling high-caliber cast and winding plotlines revolving around three widows Highbrow intentions aside, Widows,
planning to pull off a multi-million dollar heist that their dead husbands never had the based on the ’80s English crime series,
chance to attempt. ultimately overcomes its political digres-
Viola Davis stars as Veronica, whose husband Harry (Liam Neeson) was the master- sions and gets the job done as a com-
mind of the now-deceased gang. Naturally, Veronica steps up to lead her fellow widows pelling, crowd-pleasing heist flick. Davis,
Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) and Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) into battle when desperate the steely center of a uniformly strong
times call for the ladies to follow in the gang’s outlaw footsteps. ensemble, is riveting, as usual. Whenever
The women, all of whom benefited from their husbands’ life of crime though never the movie is in Veronica’s hands, it can
participated in it, don’t have a choice to steer clear of it now. They have a corrupt do no wrong. Her story blends powerful
local politician, Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry), breathing down their necks for emotion, realism and gun-blazing action,
money Harry owed him, and he’ll unleash his lethal gangster brother Jatemme (Daniel culminating in a well-paced climax that
Kaluuya) on Veronica or anyone else who would deny him his due. should leave audiences rooting for the
Widows gets lost in the weeds probing Jamal’s hotly contested race for a ward three not-so-merry widows. l
Musical Tropes
live his dreams out loud.
The show likewise comes to life inside
Wilkinson’s classroom, in apt contrast to
the heartfelt sense of struggle that enve-
Billy Elliot the Musical dances its way out of trouble, while As You Like lopes Billy at home. Anderson, a well-de-
It is a flawed escape to Shakespeare’s idyllic forest. By André Hereford served Helen Hayes Award nominee last
A
season for Arena’s The Pajama Game, finds
s she lives and breathes, Mrs. Wilkinson, the brash and caring ballet instructor Wilkinson’s accent, in every form of the
who propels coal miner’s son Billy Elliot to fulfill his dance potential, has a sim- word, and sticks to it. She and the show go
ilar effect on the musical that bears his name. Embodied by Nancy Anderson, broad in their comedy, but she’s the real
Wilkinson enters her classroom in Matthew Gardiner’s new staging of Elton John and deal all the same in her vibrant turn as the
Lee Hall’s Billy Elliot the Musical ( ), and the show exhales. Wearing loose strict, single mom.
curls, dance heels and leg warmers, she wafts in like a breath of fresh air after being Anderson and Tabaka, accompanied by
stuck in a coal mine. a class full of on-point Ballet Girls, and a
The story, adapted from Hall’s Oscar-nominated screenplay for the 2000 film, seems delightful Olivia McMahon as Wilkinson’s
at times to be stuck in those coal mines along with the production. The real-life 1984 knowing little girl Debbie, deliver a
British miners’ strike serves as more than mere backdrop for a story about talented sure-footed “Shine” and a fabulous “Born
eleven-year old Billy (Owen Tabaka) and his family — dad Jackie (Chris Genebach), to Boogie.”
brother Tony (Sean Watkinson), and elderly Grandma (Catherine Flye). Tabaka (who alternates performance
Yet Gardiner and company don’t capture the milieu of this close-knit English dates in the title role with Liam Redford,
coal-mining town so persuasively that the miners’ plight gathers real potency. They are not reviewed here) also finds swell accom-
this production’s ensemble of “Miners,” rather than a specific community of working paniment in Jacob Thomas Anderson as
men and women. Billy’s singing, dancing, and cross-dress-
The score tries to get across their collective states of mind with songs like “Solidarity” ing gay best friend Michael. Gardiner gives
and “Merry Christmas, Maggie Thatcher,” but the simple melodies by Elton and lyrics the dancing duo of Billy and Michael an
by Hall are met with muddy accents and a somewhat pat delivery. The striking miners opportunity to truly shine with vigorous
that Gardiner sends marching around Jason Sherwood’s town and union hall sets tend choreography in “Expressing Yourself”
to look more like musicians in formation than picketing workers or revolutionaries. that Tabaka and Anderson absolutely
The production feels altogether more at home depicting the Elliot household, sadly slay. They’re like a young Gene Kelly and
absent of Billy and Tony’s mum, Jack’s dearly missed wife. Genebach and Tabaka beau- Donald O’Connor bringing home the end
tifully enact the bond between a father and son mourning the same woman differently, of “Moses Supposes.”
yet together. Billy’s Mum (Crystal Mosser) appears to him in dreams, but it’s only The dancing should be spectacular in
As You Like It runs through December 2 at The Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW.
Tickets are $25 to $58. Call 202-265-3767, or visit KeeganTheatre.com.
Billy Elliot runs through January 6, 2019 at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington.
Tickets are $40 to $103. Call 703-820-9771, or visit sigtheatre.org.
“We can work with people who are different than us. We can be friends with people who are different than us.
We can love and care about people
who are different than us.”
— Rep. KYRSTEN SINEMA, at a rally after she was declared the winner of Arizona’s Senate race following days of ballot counting.
Sinema, a Democrat, becomes not only the first woman to represent the state in the U.S. Senate, but also the country’s first openly
bisexual Senator. She said her win represented a rejection of hostile politics, saying,
“Arizona proved that there is a better way forward.”
“I was pigeonholed into the only thing that the industry could handle at the time:
the magical fairy faggot.”
— BILLY PORTER to Out Magazine after being awarded the Out 100 Performance of the Year award for his work in FX’s Pose. Porter,
who won a Tony Award for his leading role in Kinky Boots, continued, “Don’t get me wrong: What I was given was an opportunity
to stop the show, but when it came to my humanity, nobody wanted to discuss that.”
“Whether it’s the swastika for Nazi Germany or whether it’s a rainbow flag, the underlying thing is
a hostility to individual freedoms.”
— JOHN CARPAY, leader of anti-LGBTQ Canadian Christian legal group Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, speaking at an
event for far-right Revel Media. Carpay compared the LGBTQ rainbow flag to “totalitarian” symbols, including the swastika and
the “hammer and sickle for communism.” He added, “The underlying thing is a vision where government is the master...
rather than allowing us to lead our own lives.”
“Whether through policies, programs, affinity groups, or our enrollment forms, DCPS is proud to be
a leader in affirming, supporting,
and welcoming LGBTQ students.”
— AMANDA ALEXANDER, interim chancellor of District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), in an email to INTO after new poli-
cy came into effect which allows students to register as non-binary in enrollment forms. “We value the whole child at DCPS
and have worked diligently to ensure our schools are safe and inclusive for all students, staff, and families,” she added.