CONTENTS

MARCH 29, 2018 Volume 24 Issue 46

12 GUERRILLA GARDENER
Paul Harfleet brings attention to homophobic acts
through the gentle grace of a sole flower.

By Randy Shulman

SUPER GEEK
John Barrowman arrives at Awesome Con with a
secret new cosplay and undying love for the sci-fi
and fantasy genre. Turns out, he’s as big a geek
as his most avid fans.

Interview by André Hereford

26
32 COLD BREW
Folger’s The Winter’s Tale is a clever, fun,
emotionally intimate production.

By Kate Wingfield

SPOTLIGHT: SEX, QUEERS, AND VIDEOTAPE p.7 OUT ON THE TOWN p.11
GUERRILLA GARDENER: THE PANSY PROJECT p.12 THE FEED: RALLYING CRY p.16
SCENE: MARCH FOR OUR LIVES p.18 COMMUNITY: BEER WITH YOUR BONNETS p.21
COVER STORY: SUPER GEEK p.26 GAMERS UNITE: DC GAYMERS p.30
SIX CAN’T MISS THINGS AT AWESOME CON p.31 STAGE: THE WINTER’S TALE p.32
STAGE: THE WIZ/TRANSLATIONS p.35 NIGHTLIFE p.37
SCENE: DINNER & DRAG AT SHAW’S TAVERN p.37 LISTINGS p.38
SCENE: RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE PREMIERE AT TRADE p.45 LAST WORD p.46
Real LGBTQ News and Entertainment since 1994
Editorial Editor-in-Chief Randy Shulman Art Director Todd Franson Managing Editor Rhuaridh Marr Senior Editor John Riley Contributing Editor Doug Rule
Senior Photographers Ward Morrison, Julian Vankim Contributing Illustrator Scott G. Brooks Contributing Writers 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 Captain Jack Harkness Cover Photography Courtesy of Linda Roth Associates, Inc.

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4 MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Spotlight

Sex, Queers, and Videotape

I
F YOU’RE THINKING OF GOING TO THE HOT BITS
Queer Erotic Film and Arts Festival in Baltimore this
weekend — and why wouldn’t you be? — it’s advised you
attend with an open mind.
“There’s stuff that you’re gonna see that maybe you’ve
never been exposed to,” says Top Shelf, one of six curators
for the two-night event. Unlike Dan Savage’s HUMP!, the
shorts are all “Queer specific.” The curators whittled down
115 submissions to 35, which will screen on Saturday and
Sunday night, in two fully distinct, two-hour programs.
“We were surprised to see such a range of submis-
sions,” says the 37-year-old, who identifies as a “queer
femme top.” “Some of it is very experimental and falls
under the more erotica realm, and some of it’s very come-
dic. Then there are pieces that are very contemplative
about how we relate to sex and our bodies. There’s hard-
core pornography, and soft-core as well.”
An expansion of a similar festival held in Philadelphia,
Top Shelf believes that, if all goes well, Hot Hits can expand
to additional cities. “We’re hoping to take it to places where
the LGBTQ population might not have as much access to
this, so we’re not aiming for New York or San Francisco.
We’re aiming for Atlanta, Kansas City, New Orleans, and
rural places — especially Tennessee.”
In Baltimore, the evening will include live entertainment
during intermission and “we’re gonna probably have a naked
human body...that people can pay to eat snacks off of.”
Top Shelf feels there is something immensely satisfying
to watching erotic films with an audience. “A lot of porn is
being consumed online and in the privacy of your own home,
so this is an opportunity to share in a collective experience.”
—Randy Shulman

Hot Bits is Saturday, March 31, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, April 1, at 7 p.m. at the Creative Alliance at The Patterson,
3134 Eastern Ave. in Baltimore. Tickets are $10 in advance, or $13 at the door, or $18 for a festival pass to both nights.
A dance party — Wet Bits — held at Trip’s Place, 1813 North Charles St., follows the Saturday night screening.
Call 410-276-1651 or visit creativealliance.org.

MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 7

 Spotlight
410[GONE]
The edgy, innovative, and immersive local company
Rorschach Theatre presents Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s
dark play exploring identity, love, tradition, and progress,
and set in the afterlife. Gregory Keng Strasser directs
Linda Bard, Yasmin Tuazon, Sebastian Amoruso, Andrew
Quilpa, and Jacob Yeh in this tale about a Chinese-
American boy and his video game-style struggle with the
Chinese Goddess of Mercy and the Monkey King. Now
to April 15. Lab Theatre II in the Atlas Performing Arts
Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $20 to $30. Call 202-
399-7993 or visit rorschachtheatre.com.
RYAN MAXWELL

DONNIE DARKO
The American Film Institute offers the chance to see
Richard Kelly’s daring apocalyptic cult classic on the big
screen. Set in a Virginia suburb in the 1980s, the 2001
coming-of-age sci-fi tale stars Jake Gyllenhaal before he
became a Hollywood leading man. Jake’s sister Maggie also
co-stars, along with Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, and
the late Patrick Swayze. Horror host “Doctor Sarcofiguy”
presents the screening on Saturday, March 31, at 10:30 p.m.
Also Sunday, April 1, at 9 p.m., and Tuesday, April 3, and
Thursday, April 5, at 9:15 p.m. AFI Silver Theatre, 8633
Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $10 to $13 gen-
eral admission. Call 301-495-6720 or visit afi.com/Silver.

CRY CRY CRY

Singer-songwriters Lucy Kaplansky, Richard
Shindell, and Dar Williams reunite as this har-
monizing folk-pop supergroup, nearly two
decades after their short stint together ushering
in the new millennium. The point is to contrib-
JO CHATTMAN, TOM MOORE, AND BEOWULF SHEEHAN

ute, as Kaplansky puts it, to “this unique moment

in time, when people are coming together to give
voice, partly through music, to what matters and
to our collective values.” In addition to selec-
tions from Cry Cry Cry’s eponymous 1998 covers
album, the trio will also perform from their indi-
vidual repertoires as well as a few other favor-
ites. Sunday, April 8, at 8 p.m. Sixth & I Historic
Synagogue. 600 I St. NW. Tickets are $40 in
advance, or $45 day-of show. Call 202-408-3100
or visit sixthandi.org.

8 MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 Spotlight
IMPROVISED SHAKESPEARE COMPANY
Yet another renowned improv troupe out of Chicago, this one
focused on creating a fully improvised play in Elizabethan style
based on one audience suggestion: a title for a play that has yet
to be written. The play then develops as if it were springing
forth from Shakespeare’s pen whole cloth, taking the form of a
tragedy, history or a comedy, depending on where the impro-
visers’ minds wander. But no matter how serious it might get,
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

there’s guaranteed to be plenty of laughs and hysterical hijinks

from this company that the New York Times says will make you
“laugh your iams off,” as in iambic pentameter. Thursday, April
5, at 7 p.m., Friday, April 6, and Saturday, April 7, at 7 and 9:30
p.m., and Sunday, April 8, at 7 p.m. Kennedy Center Family
Theater. Tickets are $29 to $49. Call 202-467-4600 or visit
kennedy-center.org.

NEW CHEFS ON THE BLOCK

Filmmaker Dustin Harrison-Atlas spent sev-
eral years developing this intimate portrait
of two D.C.-area chefs as they struggled to
open and maintain their first restaurants. The
highest-profile of the two is Barracks Row’s
Aaron Silverman, who earned recognition
from the James Beard Foundation as Best
Chef Mid-Atlantic for his no-reservations-ac-
cepted Rose’s Luxury. In Silverman’s shadow
out in the Maryland suburb of Kensington
is Frank Linn (pictured) and the artisanal

IMAGE COURTESY OF LATERAL LINE PRODUCTIONS

pie shop Frankly...Pizza! New Chefs on the
Block includes insights and commentary from
New York legend Danny Meyer of Union Cafe
and Shake Shack fame, the late, great Michel
Richard, Mike Isabella (before the recent sex-
ual harassment lawsuit), and Washington Post
food writer Tim Carman, who will participate
in a Q&A following the screening. Wednesday,
April 4, at 7 p.m. Landmark’s E Street Cinema,
555 11th St. NW. Tickets are $15. Call 202-452-
7672 or visit landmarktheatres.com.

CLAPTONE
One of the bigger names in contemporary dance
music has only been at it for about five years now.
German DJ and producer Claptone has earned rec-
ognition by showing a real commitment to producing
and playing serious, unfiltered house, helping keep
the deep house torch burning, rather than pander to
more mainstream EDM or the watered-down pop or
tropical house variants. Claptone comes to town for
a DJ set sure to include previews of sounds from his
second artist album Fantast, due in June and featur-
ing collaborations with notable indie-dance artists
such as Kele Okereke, Zola Blood, and Clap Your
Hands Say Yeah. Will Eastman opens. Saturday, April
7, starting at 10:30 p.m. U Street Music Hall, 1115A U
St. NW. Tickets are $30. Call 202-588-1880 or visit
ustreetmusichall.com.

MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 9

RAHI REZVANI
Out On The Town

NEDERLANDS DANS THEATER

Known for non-conformist, progressive productions as well as bold repertory, this acclaimed pioneering Dutch company
has increasingly become an in-demand internationally touring organization. And that brings the company to D.C. for its
debut at the Kennedy Center with a program featuring two characteristically provocative works created by the company’s
artistic director Paul Lightfoot with artistic advisor Sol León. There’s Shoot The Moon, set to music by Philip Glass as per-
formed by the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, and featuring revolving black-and-white walls to create three sep-
arate rooms, each establishing its own love story. A second work, Singulière Odyssée, is set in an art deco train station and
performed to music by Max Richter, with dancers coming and going — except for one who lingers, waits, and watches. The
program also features The Statement by the company’s associate choreographer Crystal Pite, who puts four dancers in heat-
ed exchange around a conference table, symbolizing corporate chaos and negotiation. Wednesday, April 4, through Friday,
April 6, at 7:30 p.m. Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets are $19 to $69. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

Compiled by Doug Rule
FILM
DR. STRANGELOVE
“Heeere’s Kubrick” is a celebration
of the late, legendary filmmaker
Stanley Kubrick, with select films
screening on Wednesdays at both
area locations of the Angelika
movie theater chain. The Shining,
A Clockwork Orange, and Full Metal
Jacket will follow later in April, but
the series kicks off with a jet-black
satire that speculates what would
happen if the wrong person was in
control of the world’s fate. Although
created in 1964, when the Cuban
Missile Crisis was fresh on view-
er’s minds, Dr. Strangelove, starring
Peter Sellers in multiple roles, plus
show-stopping performances from
George C. Scott and Slim Pickens,
has even more resonance in today’s
Trump era. Wednesday, April 4,
at 7:30 p.m. Angelika Pop-Up at
Union Market, 550 Penn St. NE.
Call 800-680-9095 or visit ange-
likapopup.com. Also at the Angelika
Film Center Mosaic, 2911 District
Ave., Fairfax, Va. Call 571-512-3301
or visit angelikafilmcenter.com.
MCCABE AND MRS. MILLER
Labeled an “anti-western” by film-
maker Robert Altman for ignoring
and subverting a number of the
genre’s traditional conventions,
Warren Beatty stars as underworld
entrepreneur John McCabe. Julie
Christie is his business and eventual
romantic partner Constance Miller
in the 1971 caper, based on Edmund
Naughton’s novel McCabe but also
influenced — and including music by
— the late Leonard Cohen. (“When I
shot the scenes I fitted them to the
songs, as if they were written for
them,” Altman wrote in his memoir.)
McCabe and Mrs. Miller returns to
the big screen in Landmark’s West
End Cinema Capital Classics weekly
screening series. Wednesday, April
4, at 1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 p.m., 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 landmarkthe-
atres.com.
RA XTRA: Q-MASON
A selection of short films from the
Film and Video Studies program at
George Mason University featur-
ing students telling their LGBTQ
stories. Rayceen Pendarvis of The
Ask Rayceen Show hosts the eve-
ning, ending with a director talk-

MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 11

 back and reception. The lineup of 11
shorts includes: Alisa Posey’s Cope,
a narrative electronic music video
about the struggles of a high school
girl with anxiety and depression,
set to new music by the filmmak-
er; Michael Rose’s Both, a comedy
about a young woman out to prove
to her ex that she is over their rela-
tionship; Haven Houston’s Right
Man, Wrong Time, about “one of
the best mistakes” one could make,
dating someone older than your-
self; Hannah Looney’s Gone, a mod-
ern twist on Bonnie & Clyde with
music by Aylive; Kyle Finnegan’s
Cling Wrap, about a boy and his
mother, coming to the end of her
battle with a terminal illness; and
Jordon Jones’ Grace The Ghost, in
which a recently heartbroken man
is haunted by a not-so-ordinary
ghost. Friday, March 30, at 7 p.m.
HRC Equality Center, 1640 Rhode
PAUL HARFLEET

Island Ave. NW. Tickets are $12,

or a VIP Pass for $25 in include the
Talkback and Reception plus a com-
plimentary cocktail and popcorn.
Visit thedccenter.org.

GUERRILLA GARDENER
Paul Harfleet brings attention to homophobic acts
STAGE
MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET
Co-directed by Signature Theatre’s
Eric Schaeffer, Floyd Mutrux and
through the gentle grace of a single flower. Colin Escott’s hit Broadway musi-
cal Million Dollar Quartet was

T
inspired by the true story of the
HIRTEEN YEARS AGO, PAUL HARFLEET EXPERIENCED THREE DISTINCT ACTS OF time Sam Phillips assembled Elvis
homophobia. “A car drove by and someone called me a ‘fucking faggot,’” he recalls. “Then, Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee
Lewis, and Carl Perkins for a famed
some workmen said, ‘It’s about time we went gay-bashing again, isn’t it?’ when I passed by. recording session. You can expect
Later, I was walking with my then-boyfriend, and we had stones thrown at us.” Harfleet was partic- to hear many of these artists’ hits,
ularly distressed that the incidents occurred in his hometown of Manchester, regarded as one of the which have become standards,
most gay friendly cities in the U.K. from “Hound Dog” to “I Walk The
Line,” from “Great Balls of Fire”
An artist and designer by trade, Harfleet decided to fight back by creating artwork that would to “Blue Suede Shoes.” Saturday,
“raise awareness.” He used roadside memorials as his inspiration. “When you see flowers at the side March 31, at 8 p.m. Music Center at
of the street tied to a lamp post, you know that an accident has happened there,” he says. “It made me Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane,
think if I put a flower in a place, it would do something similar. But I wanted it to be one flower. And it North Bethesda. Tickets are $38
to $88. Call 301-581-5100 or visit
was important to me that the flower was living, because I continued to live through my experiences.” strathmore.org.
Harfleet opted for the pansy — “because of the derogatory term [and] because the flower also
appears to bow its face as if in deep thought” — which he would then photograph and post on his PAPER DOLLS
website, assigning a simple caption that called out whatever act of homophobia was being represented. Five gay Filipino guest workers
care for elderly Orthodox men in
For his Pansy Project, as it’s internationally known, Harfleet has created more than 300 separate Israel by day and headline a drag
installations, including one in which he planted 3,000 of the delicate, colorful flowers to honor a gay show by night. Philip Himberg’s
man beaten to death on the south bank in London. “I planted pansies all the way along the bottom “karaoke musical,” based on
of the trees that were encompassing his last walk from one location to another — an installation that Tomer Heymann’s uplifting and
thought-provoking 2006 doc-
marked his last steps. It was a really sad planting.” umentary, makes its American
During his first Washington visit, as guest of local horticulturalist Justin Kondrat, Harfleet has so premiere kicking off Mosaic
far planted pansies in Logan and Dupont Circles, and at the White House, “to mark Donald Trump’s Theater Company’s 2018 Voices
comment about Mike Pence where he said, ‘Don’t talk to him. He wants to hang them all.’” The From A Changing Middle East
Festival. Mark Brokaw (Rodgers &
44-year-old is also releasing an illustrated children’s book, written in verse, about a youngster who Hammerstein’s Cinderella) directs
responds to being bullied by planting pansies. Pansy Boy ($24.90, Barbican Press) will be available a production with choreogra-
for purchase on April 1 at Amazon. phy by Jeff Michael Rebudal and
Harfleet hasn’t encountered much resistance when planting. “Occasionally I am stopped,” he a cast including Ariel Felix, Kevin
L. Shen, Evan D’Angeles, Rafael
says, “but I’m very careful to do it in places that are publicly owned. I don’t do it in private gardens, or Sebastian, Jon Norman Schneider,
anything. And it’s just one unmarked pansy. They usually are picked, actually, quite soon, so they’re John Bambery, Chris Bloch,
not very visible for very long. It’s guerrilla gardening, but in a very gentle way.” —Randy Shulman Lise Bruneau, Elan Zafir, Brice
Guerriere, Chris Daileader, and
Dallas Milholland. Opens in a Pay-
Paul Harfleet will read from and sign copies of Pansy Boy at Busboys & Poets, 235 Carroll St. NW, What-You-Can Preview Thursday,
March 29. Already extended to
on Tuesday, April 3, from 6-8 p.m. If you’re interested in having Paul plant a pansy to mark April 29. Atlas Performing Arts
an act of homophobia before he leaves, please contact him at thepansyproject.com. Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are

12 MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

$20 to $65. Call 202-399-7993 or
visit mosaictheater.org.

ROZ AND RAY

A gripping medical drama about
a doctor at the onset of the AIDS
crisis in the 1980s, as Dr. Roz Kagan
offers a new miracle drug to save
Ray Leon’s hemophiliac twins.
Theater J’s Adam Immerwahr
directs the East Coast premiere of
Karen Hartman’s play exploring
the complex issues surrounding
biomedical ethics and starring two
of D.C.’s greatest contemporary
actors, Susan Rome and Tom Story.
Previews begin April 3. To April 29.
Theater J, 1529 16th St. NW. Tickets

PHOTO COURTESY OF WOLF TRAP

are $39 to $69. Call 202-777-3210 or
visit theaterj.org.

THE PAVILION
Fairfax’s Helen Hayes Award-
winning Hub Theatre celebrates
10 years by reprising its inaugural
production, Craig Wright’s modern
twist on Our Town. Kelsey Mesa
directs Nora Achrati, Matt Bassett,
and Helen R. Murray in a work,
by turns metaphysical and comic,
romantic and philosophical, that
follows a man returning home
for his 20th high school reunion
in hopes of rekindling things with
his childhood sweetheart. Opens
in a preview Thursday, March 29.
Runs to April 15. The John Swayze
Theatre in the New School of
Northern Virginia, 9431 Silver King
Court, Fairfax. Tickets are $22 to
$32. Visit thehubtheatre.org.
TWO TRAINS RUNNING
Eugene Lee plays the owner of a
soon-to-be-demolished diner in a
changing black Pittsburgh neighbor-
hood circa 1969 in this quintessential
epic drama from the late Pulitzer
Prize-winning playwright August
Wilson. Also reprising their roles
from a celebrated Seattle Repertory
Theatre production to Arena Stage’s
theater-in-the-round are Carlton
Byrd, William Hall Jr., Reginald
Andre Jackson, Nicole Lewis,
Frank Riley III, and David Emerson
Toney. Juliette Carrillo directs this
Wilsonian masterpiece, showing
the impact of social change in the
lives of everyday people. Opens
Friday, March 30. Runs to April 29.
Fichandler Stage, 1101 6th St. SW.
Tickets are $50 to $99. Call 202-488-
3300 or visit arenastage.org.
MUSIC
ANA MOURA
Known as the contemporary voice
of Portugal’s mournful music style
fado, this passionate, luxuriantly
voiced artist blends traditional fado
with pop and rock, in a style that has
inspired collaborations with Mick
Jagger and Prince. Wednesday, April
4, at 8 p.m. The Barns at Wolf Trap,
1635 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are
$50 to $60. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or
visit wolftrap.org.
HALSEY
Listening to Halsey puts you in mind of a distorted fairy tale, a quality that’s reflected
in her debut album’s title, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom. But there’s a lot more to this
proudly bisexual ingenue, who ensured that one of the set’s best songs is “Strangers,” a
duet with fellow bisexual artist Lauren Jauregui of Fifth Harmony on which both sing
of female lovers. Halsey, of course, first came to fame two years ago as the singer for the
Chainsmokers’ best single, “Don’t Let Me Down.” It’s surprising when you stop and think
about how quickly she’s risen to the upper echelon of the music industry, first and fore-
most the fact that she’s already headlined a stadium tour, which stopped at Capital One
Arena last fall. The New Jersey native returns to the area for what is sure to be a starry
concert under the stars. Tickets on sale Thursday, March 29, for show Sunday, July 15, at
8 p.m. The Filene Center at Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $40 to $80.
Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit wolftrap.org.
NSO POPS: BLACK VIOLIN ing the sounds of the circus, the Charlene Kaye and Allen Tate,
Steven Reineke leads the National can-can, and elements of early plus trumpet player John Brandon,
Symphony Orchestra in a perfor- French and American cinema, The saxophonist Stephen Chen, vio-
mance featuring the high-energy New Babylon was Shostakovich’s linist Rebekah Durham, drummer
compositions combining classical debut film score and launched a Michael Hanf, and guitarists Tyler
music with hip-hop beats that has creative partnership that culminat- McDiarmid and Aki Ishiguro. San
become known as “classical boom,” ed in 1971’s King Lear. And yet, in Fermin tours in support of its third
the signature of Florida-based duo part because the film was originally album Belong, which has only got-
of violinist Kevin “Kev Marcus” banned for its excess and aesthetic ten better with additional listens
Sylvester and viola player Wilner frivolity, the score was only recov- since its release last year. Friday,
“Wil B” Baptiste. Wednesday, April ered shortly after Shostakovich’s March 30, at 8 p.m. The Barns at
4, and Thursday, April 5, at 8 p.m. death in 1975. Friday, March 30, Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna.
Kennedy Center Concert Hall. at 8:30 p.m., and Saturday, March Tickets are $25 in advance, or $30
Tickets are $39 to $79. Call 202-467- 31, at 2 p.m. AFI Silver Theatre, day-of. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or
4600 or visit kennedy-center.org. 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. visit wolftrap.org.
Tickets are $20. Call 301-495-6720
POSTCLASSICAL ENSEMBLE:
SHOSTAKOVICH’S THE
or visit postclassical.com.
DANCE
NEW BABYLON SAN FERMIN
This notably experimental music Named after the famous annual FURIA FLAMENCA
organization led by conduc- “Running of the Bulls” festival in DANCE COMPANY
tor Angel Gil-Ordoñez presents Pamplona, Spain, the nine-piece Estela Velez de Paredez founded
the D.C. area premiere of a score New York band creates eclectic, Furia Flamenca 15 years ago, with
set a 1929 silent film by Grigori eccentric — and sometimes just a focus on combining flamenco’s
Kozintsev and Leonid Trauberg. plain weird — chamber pop (or gypsy heritage with modern flamen-
Both whimsical and tragic, The New “Baroque pop”) similar to that of co choreography to create an ele-
Babylon focuses on a forbidden love hipster-darlings Vampire Weekend, gant balance of motion and energy.
between a shopgirl and a young as well as Antony and the Johnsons. This weekend, the popular company
soldier and set during a short-lived Founded and led by composer is featured as part of the free daily
socialist era in 19th century Paris. Ellis Ludwig-Leone, the diverse lineup organized by the National
An energetic extravaganza merg- group features two lead vocalists, Cherry Blossom Festival and pre-

MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 13

 sented in the Tidal Basin Welcome
Area tent. Saturday, March 31, at
1:15 p.m. ANA Performance Stage,
1501 Maine Ave. SW. Visit national-
cherryblossomfestival.org.
NEW YORK CITY BALLET:
ALL-ROBBINS CENTENNIAL
The acclaimed company concludes
its annual visit to the Kennedy
Center, with a program celebrating
the centennial of Jerome Robbins,
the company’s co-founding chore-
ographer and still one of its most
influential dance-makers. The eve-
ning, with live accompaniment by
the Kennedy Center Opera House
Orchestra, also nods to the centen-
nial of Leonard Bernstein, chiefly
through the frequent collaborators’
first-ever work together, the bal-
let Fancy Free, which went on to
inspire the musical On The Town.
Robbins’ postmodern dance ele-
ments set to Philip Glass and his
quartet of frolicsome divertisse-
ments to Verdi’s The Four Seasons
round out the program. Friday,
March 30, at 7:30 p.m., Saturday,
March 31, at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m., and
Sunday, April 1, at 1:30 p.m. Opera
House. Tickets are $29 to $99. Call
202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-cen-
ter.org.
Tickets available at forum-theatre.org
or by phone at 301-588-8279
NAT TURNER
IN JERUSALEM
By Nathan Alan Davis
Directed by José Carrasquillo
Starring Jon Hudson Odom and Joseph Carlson
Now thru April 7
14 MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
VINCENT E. THOMAS/VTDANCE: & I Historic Synagogue, 600 I St.
IN THE COMPANY OF MEN... NW. Tickets are $15, or $30 includ-
PART III ing one book, $40 for two tickets
A talented all-male cast explores and one book. Call 202-408-3100 or
themes of masculinity, life, love, visit sixthandi.org.
social awareness, and humanness
in the bold and wide-ranging pro- MICHAEL BENNETT: THINGS
gram In The Company of Men, THAT MAKE WHITE PEOPLE
presenting many perspectives on UNCOMFORTABLE
life through the physical work of A Super Bowl Champion, the
the male body. Friday, March 30, Philadelphia Eagles defensive
and Saturday, March 31, at 8 p.m. end uses his voice and platform
Baltimore Theatre Project, 45 West to go well beyond the gridiron
Preston St. Baltimore. Tickets are to write about police violence,
$15 to $25. Call 410-752-8558 or the role of protest in history, and
visit theatreproject.org. his own responsibility as a role
model to speak out. Following in
the footsteps of activist/athletes
READINGS
from Muhammad Ali to Colin
Kaepernick, Bennett weighs in on
MARK PENN: uncomfortable but important topics
MICROTRENDS SQUARED in a book, to be published on April
A decade ago, this pollster and 3, co-written by Dave Zirin, sports
digital marketing expert predicted editor for The Nation. Bennett and
the explosion of online dating and Zirin sit for a conversation present-
increasing clout of fringe politics ed by Politics & Prose. Wednesday,
among many small, counterintui- April 4, at 7 p.m. UDC Theater of
tive trends that only seem obvi- the Arts, 4200 Connecticut Ave.
ous in hindsight. Now the chair of NW. Tickets are $12, or $30 includ-
the Harris Poll is back with a fol- ing one book. Call 202-785-9727 or
low-up, identifying 50 more trends visit politics-prose.com.
that he surmises will reshape the
future of business, politics, and cul-
EXHIBITS
ture over the next 10 years — from
the predominance of online influ-
encers over traditional journalists EVOLVING TRADITIONS –
to the gig economy’s continued rev- PAINTINGS OF WONDER FROM
olution into new areas of industry. JAPAN
Wednesday, April 4, at 7 p.m. Sixth Captivating works by modern artist
Yuki Ideguchi are shown alongside
rarely seen masterpieces of tradi-
tional Japanese paintings, dating as
far back as the 6th Century, in this
exhibit presented in collaboration
with the National Cherry Blossom
Festival. Whether new or old, all
paintings in the exhibit make use
of traditional and unique pigments,
materials, and techniques, and all
are also undergirded by the per-
spectives of Japanese aesthetic
principles and motifs. Now to May
28. Japan Information & Culture
Center, Embassy of Japan, 1150 18th
St. NW. Ste. 100. Call 202-238-6900
or visit us.emb-japan.go.jp/jicc.
IN BLOOM: A PHOTOGRAPHIC
CELEBRATION OF THE CHERRY
BLOSSOM FESTIVAL
The Blind Whino SW Arts Club, the
repurposed art/event space former-
ly the Friendship Baptist Church,
hosts a free showcase of the incred-
ible work of local photographers
in covering the beauty of the cher-
ry blossoms and vibrant festival
displays last year. The exhibition
originates from an open call for
submissions organized and judged
Photo by Teresa Castracane Photography
by engaged members of IGDC, the
Washington Instagram community.
Hours are Wednesdays from 5 to
8 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays
from 12 to 5 p.m. Through April 29.
Blind Whino, 700 Delaware Ave.
SW. Free. Call 202-554-0103 or visit
swartsclub.org.
NO SPECTATORS: THE ART OF
BURNING MAN
The Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery
is going whole hog, turning over its
entire building to present the first
major national exhibition focused
on Burning Man, in particular
the annual Nevada desert event’s
maker culture and creative spirit.
In fact, the exhibition even extends
“Beyond the Renwick,” with six
sculptural works from Burning Man
installed nearby on Pennsylvania
Avenue west of the White House
as well as on Connecticut Avenue
and other major corridors. Opens
Friday, March 30. On View to
Jan. 21, 2019. Renwick Gallery,
Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street
NW. Free. Call 202-633-1000 or
visit renwick.americanart.si.edu.
TARGET GALLERY’S
2018 EMERGING ARTISTS
The contemporary exhibition
space in Alexandria’s Torpedo
Factory Art Center is championing
up-and-coming regional artists in
this new annual exhibition series.
Four stylistically diverse artists
were selected by a jury panel to be
featured in the first year: abstract
painter Katie Barrie of Richmond,
figurative artist Ronald Jackson of
Spotsylvania, Va., reclaimed-ma-
terial sculptor Hollis McCracken
of Richmond, and D.C.’s HOlly
Trout, another artist using repur-
posed cast-off materials. Opens
Saturday, March 31. A public
reception and Artist Talk is Friday,
April 13. On view through May 20.
Target Gallery, 105 North Union St.
Alexandria. Free. Call 703-838-4565
or visit torpedofactory.org.
DRAG FUN
SHAW’S TAVERN:
DINNER-N-DRAG, SERVED!
Sometimes you’re dragging and
you just can’t make it to brunch.
And sometimes you want a regular,
more traditional kind of meal — you
know, at night, over wine. Well,
these days, you can have just that
with one of D.C.’s leading ladies of
drag. Every Sunday night at Shaw’s
Tavern, Kristina Kelly hosts a show
over supper with half-priced bot-
tles of wine and different dinner
specials each week. Seating at 7
p.m., show at 8 p.m. 520 Florida
Ave. NW. Reservations required via
shawsdinnerdragshow@gmail.com.
Call 202-518-4092 or visit shaw-
stavern.com.
KINGS AND QUEENS
Local drag kings as well as queens
are featured in this monthly 18-and-
up party co-presented by the Pretty
Boi Drag troupe founded by former
DC King Pretty Rik E and co-pro-
duced with the DC Gurly Show’s
Lexie Starre. Beaux Banks and
Derek William Kominars host the
April edition featuring a compe-
tition in which area “queens” —
Riley Knoxx, Ariel Von Quinn, and
Ivanna Vivaldi — face off against
Pretty Boi “kings” Mich, Phoenix
King, and Buhnana Gunz. DJ Honey
will provide the soundtrack to the
evening. Thursday, April 5, at 9 p.m.
Town Danceboutique, 2009 8th
St. NW. No cover. Call 202-234-
TOWN (8696) or visit tfl.events/dc.

ABOVE
AND BEYOND
KIROV ACADEMY OF BALLET:
OPEN HOUSE
Founded in 1990, this D.C.-based
dance school, principally focused
on grooming the next generation
of classically trained ballet dancers,
will open its doors the first Saturday
of April to showcase the full range

STAN BAROUH
of classes it offers, for all ages and
skill levels, going beyond classical
ballet to include jazz, contempo-
rary, and historical dance, among
other styles. Staff and teachers will
be on hand to answer questions and
provide information, while visitors
can also watch a group of Kirov EVERY BRILLIANT THING
students rehearsing to compete in Developed with actor Jonny Donohoe, Duncan MacMillan’s unusual one-person play
next month’s Youth America Grand
Prix in New York, the largest inter- pivots on interactions with the audience, collectively examining a child’s reaction to his
national student dance competition. depressed mother’s attempted suicide, and helping build a list of things worth living for.
The Open House ends with guests From the No. 1 item “Ice Cream” to No. #999, “the Alphabet,” Every Brilliant Thing is
choice of taking a free ballet class
or a Zumba class. Saturday, April
said to elicit as much laughter as it does tears in creating its catalog of gratitude. Jason
7, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Academy Loewith directs Alexander Strain in the Olney Theatre Center production. Extended to
Theater, 4301 Harewood Road NE. April 1. Theatre Lab, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, Md. Call 301-924-3400 or
Call 202-832-1087 or visit kiro- visit olneytheatre.org.
vacademydc.org.

NATIONAL CHERRY BLOSSOM

FESTIVAL
Thanks to the seasonally abnor-
mal and prolonged snow-capped
cold snap, peak bloom for the
Tidal Basin’s cherry trees has been
pushed back to the second week in
April (April 8-12). Nonetheless the
official four-week pretty-in-pink
festival — touted as “the nation’s
greatest springtime celebration” —
must go on. And two of the festi-
val’s main events come the next two
weekends. First up is the eighth
annual BLOSSOM KITE FESTIVAL,
showcasing the creativity of kite-
makers and skill of fliers through a
variety of competitions and demon-
strations. Saturday, March 31, from
10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Grounds
of the Washington Monument near
17th Street and Constitution Avenue
NW. A week later comes another
Signature Event, PETALPALOOZA,
the awkward new name for the
Southwest Waterfront Fireworks
Festival, with interactive art instal-
lations, a roller rink, a beer garden,
and live music on three outdoor
stages culminating in the grand fire-
works display. Saturday, April 7,
from 1 to 9:30 p.m. The Wharf, 1100
Maine Ave. SW. Visit nationalcher-
ryblossomfestival.org.
Highlights among other, affil-
iated events, all free unless noted
otherwise, include: the EVOLVING
TRADITIONS: PAINTINGS OF
WONDER FROM JAPAN exhibit at
the Embassy of Japan (see separate
entry); a FURIA FLAMENCA DANCE
COMPANY performance as part of
the lineup on the festival’s Tidal
Basin stage (see separate entry);
TASTES OF SPRING CHERRY
BLOSSOM FOOD CRAWL, a
self-guided tour offering tastings
at up to eight participating D.C.
restaurants, Saturday, March 31,
and Sunday, April 1, from 11 a.m. to 5
p.m. Cost is $84. Call 888-697-2693
or visit carpedcfoodtours.com.;
FESTIVAL POSTERS LECTURE &
DISPLAY, led by Savannah College
of Art and Design’s Thomas Burns,
who created the 2016 festival
poster, and including a one-time
display of 25 official festival post-
ers, Thursday, April 5, starting at
noon. Library of Congress’s James
Madison Building, Independence
Avenue at 1st Street S.E. Call 202-
707-2990 or visit loc.gov; an out-
door CHERRY BLOSSOM YOGA
class, Thursday, April 5, at 5:30 p.m.
Freedom Plaza, 1455 Pennsylvania
Ave. NW. Visit downtowndc.com.;
the 20th Annual non-competitive
CHERRY BLOSSOM FREEDOM
WALK, Friday, April 6, at 10 a.m.
Centered at the National Japanese
American Memorial, Louisiana
Avenue and D Street NW; the
UMETSUGU INOUE FILM SERIES
presenting classics by the prolif-
ic Japanese filmmaker known as
“Japan’s Music Man,” offering
select times Friday, April 6, through
Sunday, April 22. Meyer Auditorium
in Freer Gallery of Art. Visit freer-
sackler.si.edu for full schedule; a
KIMONO SALE FUNDRAISER AND
EXHIBIT with expert and author
Paul McLardy discussing and dis-
playing a diverse assortment of the
quintessential Japanese garment,
Saturday, April 7, through Monday,
April 9. Pepco Edison Place Gallery,
702 8th St. NW; the annual ROSÉ
ROMP with fine French rosé wine
varietals, spring-inspired cuisine,
and live music, Saturday, April 7,
from 1 to 4 p.m. Terrace at the
Willard InterContinental Hotel,
1401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. All-
You-Can-Eat-and-Drink Tickets
are $89. Call 202-637-7411 or visit
washington.intercontinental.com;
JAPANESE CULTURE DAY, with
discussions about Japanese life,
arts, and culture plus hands-on
activities, from origami creation
to kimono fittings. Saturday, April
7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Library
of Congress’s Thomas Jefferson
Building, 10 First St. SE; and LOC
SPRING FLING, a pop-up exhibi-
tion featuring treasures from the
collection, including a host of cher-
ry blossom-related items, presented
during limited daytime hours on
the first two Fridays and Saturdays
in April. Jefferson Building. First-
come, first-served tickets available
at locspringfling.eventbrite.com.
THE ASK RAYCEEN SHOW:
MINI BALL
For the latest edition of his month-
ly show, Rayceen Pendarvis hosts
the annual #AskRayceen Mini Ball,
with music by DJ/producer Vjuan
Allure and announcer Anthony
Oakes. The competitors will vye
for bragging rights in categories:
Woman’s Face, B.Q. Face, Face over
40, F.Q. Realness, Butch Realness,
B.Q. Body, and a Cash Prize of a
Wakanda Cover Shot for a group
of three. Also, everyone can com-
pete in the categories Best Dressed
Spectator, Runway in All Black, and
Voguing with a Prop. The evening
will also include interviews with
special guests, vendors, a cash bar,
and free catered food for early
arrivals. Wednesday, April 4. Doors
at 6 p.m. HRC Equality Center, 1640
Rhode Island Ave. NW. Free. Visit
AskRayceen.com. l

MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 15

 theFeed
RANDY SHULMAN
RALLYING CRY
The LGBTQ community came out in full force to support last Saturday’s
March for Our Lives. By John Riley
T
HE AIR WAS THICK WITH SILENCE IN PERSHING
Park, as onlookers watched veiled figures, dressed
head-to-toe in white, silently hold up pictures of
those killed by gun violence. One by one, they formed a line
and stared down into the semi-subterranean cement pit on
the park’s western edge, where a crowd of onlookers had
gathered.
Below, poster boards bearing the photographs and names
of other victims were interspersed between pink and neon
orange signs declaring “Congress wants guns everywhere:
Not in My School,” and iterations such as “Not on My Bus,”
“Not in My Nightclub,” “Not in My Playground,” and “Not
in My State.”
The veiled figures were part of “Human Beings,” a
demonstration carried out by gun violence prevention group
Gays Against Guns (GAG), which had come to put its own
spin on last Saturday’s March for Our Lives, which took
place in Washington and dozens of other cities around the
country.
“We formed Gays Against Guns after the Pulse nightclub
shooting,” says John Murphy, a 58-year-old GAG volunteer
visiting from New York. “We are an organization fighting
for stronger gun legislation, and to defund the NRA and the
cycle of death that they perpetuate.”
March for Our Lives was designed to protest political
inaction on gun reform measures, following several recent
mass shootings, including one that claimed 17 lives at
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
The rally, notable for being better organized and less cha-
otic 2017 Women’s March, drew an estimated half a million
people to Pennsylvania Avenue. Spanning twelve city blocks,
the crowd was filled with people from all walks of life eager
to push for change — whether lowering the influence of the
NRA, or fighting to get politicians to take steps towards sen-
sible gun reform. The LGBTQ community, which was rocked
16 MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
in 2016 after Florida’s Pulse nightclub shooting claimed 49
lives, was out in force to help champion the cause.
Chris DeSett, a 24-year-old D.C. resident who hails from
Overland Park, Kansas, says he first began paying attention
to the issue of gun control in 2014 following at shooting at a
local Jewish community center. “It wasn’t an AR-15 that was
used, but it still hit close to home,” he says. “And two years
ago, the Pulse shooting really hit home for me, as a gay man,
that something similar could have happened at Town, at
Nellie’s, or at Cobalt, had the circumstance been different.”
DeSett believes Congress should pass legislation calling
for universal background checks for gun buyers, and restor-
ing the Federal Assault Weapons Ban that existed from 1994
to 2004, which was effective in curbing the incidence and
frequency of mass shootings, even if it failed to stop gun
violence outright.
“I don’t want anyone to feel they are living in an unsafe
environment, where they have to look over their shoulder
all the time, worrying that someone — a former classmate,
an ex, a stranger — will come into their school, their home
with an AR-15 or some other weapon of war, and just kill
scores of people.”
Many at the march dismissed a recent proposal —
advanced by President Trump, the NRA, and Republican
politicians — to arm teachers as a way of preventing mass
shootings in schools.
“I’m not against the idea of having a school security
officer who’s armed, but teachers did not become teachers
because they wanted to become armed disciplinarians,”
says Adam Holzsager, a 49-year-old District resident. “They
became teachers because they wanted to do good things, and
wanted to help educate our youth, and they should be able to
do that without having to bring guns into their classrooms.”
Even if some advocated for an assault weapons bans,
few called for an outright repeal of the Second Amendment.
 theFeed
Instead, the focus was on responsible gun ownership, better
training for those who purchase guns, and common-sense
reforms that a majority of Americans support.
Hal Brewster, 34, a former active-duty Army officer who
served as a sniper and a platoon leader when he was stationed
in Iraq from 2006 to 2010, says that despite being trained to
carry an M4, which is similar to an AR-15, he does not believe
that civilians need unfettered access to military-grade weapons.
“I believe [in] the Second Amendment,” he says. “But
no right is absolute. My right to free speech is not absolute,
neither is the government’s right to imprison somebody. Gun
rights are also not absolute.”
“Our American culture is really addicted to guns,” says
Mari Gustafson, a resident of Brooklyn, N.Y. “I’m originally
from a small town in rural Colorado called Grand Junction.
I grew up in a house full of guns, not really knowing the
responsibility that is required to own a gun. My father didn’t
lock his guns up, so my brother [got angry and] pointed a gun
at me when I was growing up.
“So what I want with gun reform is for people to re-think
their relationships with guns, and start taking them serious-
ly.... And a lot of these shootings, it isn’t necessarily because
the person is crazy or anything like that. It’s a temporary
moment of anger, and if there’s a gun available, they’ll use it.”
Gustafson was helping Gays Against Guns with a second
demonstration at Pershing Park: a makeshift runway, where
passersby were encouraged to grab props, ranging from rain-
bow boas to flags to stuffed animals, and show off their best
runway walk.
“Tell the NRA to sashay away, take a walk on our runway!”
called Brendan Wright, 25, a Gays Against Guns volunteer
dressed as U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock, a Virginia Republican
infamous for accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from
the NRA.
Wright was impressed by the students’ success in organiz-
ing the event.
“It’s really incredible to see the youth not only bringing
awareness to a national tragedy that affected them personally,
but turning that into action that our entire nation can sup-
port,” he says. “The turnout for the march has been amazing,
and I hope it keeps the conversation moving forward.”
Brandon Wolf, a survivor of the Pulse massacre, hopes to
get the march participants and the survivors of the Parkland
massacre to take a more active role in the political arena.
“My next step is to get these kids registered to vote,
get them to the polls,” says Wolf, who addressed march
participants at a kickoff event held by the Human Rights
Campaign earlier Saturday morning. “I think their voices
will be heard the loudest in November. I live in Florida,
and we have real chances to make change, and I think these
students can lead the charge. But first we’ve got to get them
registered to vote, and we’ve got to get them excited about
the midterm election.”
“I’m hoping we have enough people out in force today so
this march will make politicians worried about their careers,
and they’ll have to do something about guns,” says Holzsager.
“My fear is they’ll do the smallest something they can and
believe that’s enough. But I hope that the movement won’t
accept that. And if they don’t listen, I hope people will vote
them out of office.” l
MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 17
 Scene
March For Our Lives - Saturday, March 25
Photography by Ward Morrison & Randy Shulman
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

18 MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 19
20 MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
 Community
THURSDAY, March 29
Join LGBTQ people from all
over the D.C. Metro area for an
LGBTQ COMMUNITY HAPPY
HOUR at The Embassy Row
Hotel’s Station Kitchen &
Cocktails Lounge. Everyone
welcome. No cover. Metro is
two blocks away. 6:30-8:30 p.m.
2015 Massachusetts Ave. NW.
Visit gogaydc.org.

Weekly Events
WARD MORRISON / FILE PHOTO

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-
Freddie (R) edatransculturalhealth.org.

BEER WITH YOUR BONNETS

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.
Three area gay bars will hold contests on Sunday
DC FRONT RUNNERS run-
for the best Easter bonnet. ning/walking/social club

W
welcomes runners of all ability
HEN IT COMES TO BEING FASHIONABLE ON EASTER SUNDAY, IT’S levels for exercise in a fun and
supportive environment, with
all about the hair, hats, and accessories. And don’t just take our word for it: socializing afterward. Route
Three LGBTQ bars will be handing out cash and drinks prizes to those with distance is 3-6 miles. Meet at
the biggest and brightest Easter bonnets. 7 p.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW.
The bonnet bonanza kicks off at Freddie’s Beach Bar, which will hold its Easter For more information, visit
dcfrontrunners.org.
Bonnet Contest during Sunday brunch, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A panel of judges will
survey the bonnets throughout brunch and the winner will receive $100 in cash, with DC LAMBDA SQUARES, D.C.’s
second place earning $50 and third a Sunday Champagne Brunch for two. gay and lesbian square-dancing
group, features mainstream
“We’ve had some creative bonnets over the years,” says owner Freddie Lutz, who through advanced square
will be wearing his signature “over-the-top...big purple hat.” dancing at the National City
At 5 p.m. on Sunday, the Baltimore Eagle will hold its second annual contest, and Christian Church. Please dress
co-owner Chuck King is excited, considering how successful last year’s was. The casually. 7-9:30 p.m. 5 Thomas
Circle NW. 202-930-1058,
Eagle’s winner will receive $150 in cash and prizes, and the contest will be followed dclambdasquares.org.
by an Adult Easter Egg scavenger hunt, with prizes ranging from candies to gift certif-
icates to bar tabs, to specially-sized packets of condoms and lube. “Everyone gathers DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds
practice. The team is always
on first floor and we line them up and say ‘Go!’ and it’s pretty much like a herd of ele- looking for new members. All
phants running up the stairs,” says King. welcome. 7:30-9:30 p.m. King
Back in D.C., JR.’s annual bonnet contest starts promptly at 7 p.m., with the winner Greenleaf Recreation Center,
netting a $200 cash prize, and manager Dave Perruzza expects the winning bonnet 201 N St. SW. For more infor-
mation, visit scandalsrfc.org or
will, as usual, be highly elaborate, though he asks people avoid overtly political themes dcscandals@gmail.com.
in this year’s contest.
“Last year, there was a lot of anti-Trump stuff,” he says. “But we ask people to try THE DULLES TRIANGLES
Northern Virginia social
to keep politics out of it, and have more fun this year.” —John Riley group meets for happy hour at
Sheraton in Reston. All wel-
Freddie’s Easter Bonnet Contest is on Sunday, April 1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. come. 7-9 p.m. 11810 Sunrise
Valley Drive, second-floor bar.
at Freddie’s Beach Bar, 555 23rd St. S, Arlington, Va. For more information, For more information, visit
visit freddiesbeachbar.com. dullestriangles.com.

HIV TESTING at Whitman-

The Baltimore Eagle’s annual Easter Bonnet Contest and Adult Easter Egg Scavenger Walker Health. 9 a.m.-12:30
Hunt will start at 5 p.m. on April 1 at 2022 N. Charles St., Baltimore, Md. p.m. and from 2-5 p.m. at 1525
For more information, visit thebaltimoreeagle.com. 14th St. NW, and 9 a.m-12
p.m. and 2-5 p.m. at the Max
Robinson Center, 2301 MLK Jr.
JR.’s annual Easter Bonnet Contest will start promptly at 7 p.m. on April 1 at JR.’s Bar, Ave. SE. For an appointment
1519 17th St. NW. For more information, visit jrsbar-dc.com.

MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 21

 call 202-745-7000 or visit whit-
man-walker.org.
IDENTITY offers free and confi-
dential HIV testing at two separate
locations. Walk-ins accepted from
2-6 p.m., by appointment for all
other hours. 414 East Diamond Ave.,
Gaithersburg, Md. or 7676 New
Hampshire Ave., Suite 411, Takoma
Park, Md. To set up an appoint-
ment or for more information, call
Gaithersburg, 301-300-9978, or
Takoma Park, 301-422-2398.
METROHEALTH CENTER
offers free, rapid HIV testing.
Appointment needed. 1012 14th
St. NW, Suite 700. To arrange an
appointment, call 202-638-0750.
SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5
p.m., by appointment and walk-in,
for youth 21 and younger. Youth
Center, 410 7th St. SE. 202-567-
3155 or testing@smyal.org.
STI TESTING at Whitman-Walker
Health. 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 2-3
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 with-
out symptoms. For an appointment
call 202-745-7000 or visit whit-
man-walker.org.
US HELPING US hosts a Narcotics
Anonymous Meeting. The group
is independent of UHU. 6:30-7:30
p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. For
more information, call 202-446-
1100.
WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP
INSTITUTE for young LBTQ
women, 13-21, interested in lead-
ership development. 5-6:30 p.m.
SMYAL Youth Center, 410 7th St.
SE. For more information, call 202-
567-3163, or email catherine.chu@
smyal.org.
FRIDAY, March 30
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.
22 MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
SATURDAY, March 31
ADVENTURING outdoors group
takes a strenuous 12-mile hike with
2,900 feet of elevation gain in the
northern section of Shenandoah
National Park, featuring a stop
overlooking the highest waterfall
in the park. Bring plenty of bever-
ages, lunch, sturdy boots, layered
clothing, about $25 for fees and
money for dinner on the way home.
Carpool at 8:30 a.m. from the East
Falls Church Metro Kiss & Ride lot.
For more info, contact Jeff at 301-
775-9660 or visit adventuring.org.
CHRYSALIS arts & culture group
visit the National Gallery of Art to
view an exhibition of Cezanne’s
portraits. Free admission. Lunch
follows. Meet at 11 a.m. at the
West building, at 6th Street and
Constitution Avenue NW. For more
info, contact Craig, 202-462-0535
or craighowell1@verizon.net.
The DC Center holds the first
meeting of its newly launched
queer PEOPLE OF COLOR
SUPPORT GROUP. The group
will discuss those who experience
discrimination due to their identity,
relationships, or background. Open
to all gender identities, expres-
sions, and sexual orientations. 1-3
p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105.
For more information, visit thedc-
center.org.
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, April 1
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.
DIGNITYUSA offers Roman
Catholic Mass for the LGBT
community. All welcome. Sign
interpreted. 6 p.m. St. Margaret’s
Church, 1820 Connecticut Ave.
NW. For more info, visit dignity-
washington.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, April 2
The DC Center hosts a
VOLUNTEER NIGHT for commu-
nity members to lend a hand with
various duties, including cleaning,
keeping safe-sex kit inventory, and
sorting through book donations.
Pizza provided. 6:30-8:30 p.m.
2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For
more information, visit thedccen-
ter.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.
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.
TUESDAY, April 3
THE HIV WORKING GROUP of
The DC Center hosts a “Packing
Party,” where volunteers assemble
safe-sex kits of condoms and lube.
7-9 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite
105. For more information, visit
thedccenter.org.
Weekly Events
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
holds an LGBT-focused meet-
ing every Tuesday, 7 p.m. at 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.
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.
WEDNESDAY, April 4
BOOKMEN DC, an informal men’s
gay literature group, discusses
Darryl Pinckney’s 2016 novel, Black
Deutschland, at the Tenleytown
Library. ALl are welcome. 7:30 p.m.
4450 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Visit
bookmendc.blogspot.com.
The Capital Area Gay & Lesbian
Chamber of Commerce hosts
the 10th anniversary celebra-
tion of the annual LGBT MEGA
NETWORKING AND SOCIAL
EVENT. The event connects thou-
sands of LGBTQ and allied pro-
fessionals who come to socialize,
make employment connections,
and strengthen their networks.
The event is open to the public,
but pre-registration is recom-
mended. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Town
Danceboutique, 2009 8th St.
NW. For more information, visit
caglcc.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. l
MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 23
SUPER GE
26 MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
 John Barrowman arrives at
Awesome Con with a secret
new cosplay and undying
love for the sci-fi and fantasy
genre. Turns out, he’s as big
a geek as his most avid fans.
Interview by André Hereford
F
EW ENTERTAINERS APPEAR TO BE HAVING MORE
fun while working than John Barrowman. The proudly out
Scottish-born actor, author, and singer has spun his rakish
joie de vivre into a brand that serves across all media and person-
al appearances.
Best known for his TV roles — on Doctor Who and Torchwood
as pansexual time traveler Captain Jack Harkness, and on Arrow
as Malcolm Merlyn, the Dark Archer — the Broadway and West
End veteran isn’t limiting himself when it comes to connecting
to his diverse fanbase.
“Today I’m rehearsing for a cabaret kind of show with
Seth Rudetsky,” reveals Barrowman, calling from the West
Hollywood home he shares with husband Scott Gill.
“Seth and I are doing three or four shows in London, and he
set me up with a rehearsal pianist. I want to get the audience
involved by asking questions and making requests of what they
want me to sing and the stories behind it,” he says. “Although I’ve
written a couple of autobiographies, there’s a lot of stuff that I
haven’t put in the autobiographies that I’ve told Seth that we can
delve into, to start talking about it and see how that goes down.”
Indeed, Barrowman has exposed much about himself and his
personal life in his books Anything Goes and I Am What I Am,
and daily on the internet, where he maintains an impish pres-
COURTESY OF LINDA ROTH ASSOCIATES, INC.

ence on various social platforms.

EEK
“There’s an element of me wanting people to know what’s
going on, because I’m doing the things I’m doing because
of them, if that makes sense,” Barrowman says. “Scott and I
ordered a Tesla, and when we were there I posted online, let-
ting the fans know, ‘What color should I choose?’ And we chose
Tardis Blue. I just feel it’s the thing to do. I do it for fun. I do it
because I love being silly, I love having a laugh, and I feel that
everybody should laugh more in their lives.”
A self-proclaimed fanboy, Barrowman readily expresses his
love for the genre-driven pop culture that’s propelled his fame.
And he’s extending his reach as the co-author, with his sister
Carole, of the Hollow Earth series of young adult fantasy novels,
in addition to a spinoff book series starting with 2016’s Conjuror.
Both Barrowman siblings will be on hand this week at the
Washington Convention Center for Awesome Con, the District’s
annual celebration of all things comic book, sci-fi, superhero,
fantasy, and pop culture. Appearing alongside stars including
Star Wars and Pacific Rim’s John Boyega and Green Arrow him-
self Stephen Amell, Barrowman is well-known for bringing his
no-holds-barred personality to the convention stage, and to his
convention cosplay.
In every facet, Barrowman exudes a passion for entertaining,
the mark of a man who also seems to take living life seriously.

MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 27

 “In my big stage shows, I show pictures on a screen that
relate to the songs that I’m singing,” he says. “Again, it’s like
people getting to know me and my life better, and my family and
my friends and what I do, because I just feel that I’m where I
am because of the fans, so I really want to share everything with
them and let them know how I got here, and what I had to do
and how they helped.”
METRO WEEKLY: A friend who loves Doctor Who told me that your
character, Captain Jack Harkness, was the first person she and her
teenage son realized they both had the hots for. How does it feel to
be a pansexual sex symbol?
JOHN BARROWMAN: Well, it’s funny. When we started, he was
a con artist, and I wanted the audience not to like him because
we knew in the future that he was going to turn and become
heroic. So I wanted to have that arc more than the sexuality arc.
However, I also played it very flirtatious and they wrote it for
me very flirtatious. We made a decision, because Russell [Davies,
series executive producer and co-writer] knew me, and I flirt
with everybody, so he made Jack flirt with everybody.
And when we did that first scene, that Jack looks up at Rose
and says she has a nice bottom when she’s hanging from the big
balloon, and then he turns to his friend from the military and
says, “You’ve got a nice bottom, too,” immediately you know
this is a man who just doesn’t care who he flirts with. So it was
built from there. Not only was Jack the first kind of [pansexual]
character that people could fall in love with, but he was also one
who was unashamed about his — I’ll just say sexuality, because I
don’t like to say sexual preference because it’s not a preference,
it’s the way he was made, as the way we’re made. It was the first
character on television that was like that — also played by an
openly gay man — so it was a complete groundbreaker.
I get a lot of young people even to this day who are starting to
watch Doctor Who from when we started in the series, saying that
Captain Jack helped them ground themselves in their sexuality
so that they knew who they were, and could be proud of who and
what they are in the world. I’m really proud of it. Also I’m not
embarrassed by it, I’m not freaked out by it. When I do get moms
and sons coming up and talking to me about it, I just say to them,
“Well, there, you’ve got something to talk about now.”
MW: Your D.C. fans will get to see you at Awesome Con, where you
are part of one of the best lineups I’ve seen.
BARROWMAN: Yeah, it’s an incredible lineup.
MW: What advice would you give someone attending a convention
for the first time?
BARROWMAN: I’d advise you to get your nerd on, basically. I’d
advise you to bring out every childhood superhero/genre/thing
that you loved as a kid. I’d advise you to be prepared to not be
judged, to be laughed at, to be looked at in a strange way, because
everybody in that building is of a like mind and there to have fun.
You will see everything from individual single people to families
doing exactly the same thing, enjoying meeting the people that
they love watching on TV and also pretending, through cosplay,
to be the characters that they so much adore. It’s a great day out
for everybody.
MW: There’s interesting video of you cavorting around convention
floors in costume. Without spoiling anything, do you have a plan
for Awesome Con?
BARROWMAN: I have something planned for my panel, you bet-
cha. I don’t tend to walk around much anymore with the cosplay
and the costume on the floor. It tends to create too much of a
crowd, so just watch out for my panel because I’m revealing a
brand-new cosplay, and it is awesome. This show is the start of
my new season of cosplay, so I’ve got a whole bunch being made
because I have them made for me. I will reveal them in different
places, but my first one will be revealed with you guys.
MW: Who makes these costumes?
BARROWMAN: Elhoffer Design — and they themselves are cos-
players. They did my Tardis dress — that’s one that I’ve been
sporting for a little while — and they’re doing all the other ones.
They’ve done a whole design of different cosplays that I’m inter-
ested in, and I went through and chose all of them related to dif-
ferent shows and to certain areas where things are popular. It’s
really thought out, and let me tell you, they’re bloody expensive
but they’re worth it. I love doing that. I’m a fan myself of shows
and things, so I cosplay the characters that I like.
MW: You’re also going to be with your sister in the co-author panel
representing the “Hollow Earth” book series.
BARROWMAN: Correct. And also Malcolm Merlyn, because she
and I wrote the backstory for Malcolm Merlyn for DC, and
a graphic novel that we [created]. We’re also working at the
moment with Erika Lewis, who is also one of our co-authors,
who will be there. We’re writing a whole new graphic novel and
series for Webtoon and Legendary Comics, who are behind such
films as Godzilla and Pacific Rim. Hopefully it’ll go on to bigger
things. We’re going to be there representing the writing team.
MW: You’ve also collaborated with your sister on your memoirs.
How would you describe your working relationship?
BARROWMAN: Like any brother and sister. We get along smash-
ingly well, and then at times we argue with each other and we
have to kind of step apart for a second, but that’s the way it
works. The writing relationship, starting with my autobiography
and building on from that, that’s where all the other books and
comics — we also write the Torchwood comic book for Titan
Comics in the UK — has stemmed from my autobiography,
because we had such a great time doing it. Also our writing

6 Can’t Miss Things at Awesome Con

BB-8 and Costumes
from The Last Jedi
Everyone’s favorite adorable
Star Wars droid (sorry, R2) will be
making two special appearances
-- on Friday from 4 to 5 p.m., and on
Saturday from 2 to 3 p.m.
Also on display: a selection of cos-
tumes from The Last Jedi.
Location: Awesome Con Jr.
The Science of Black Panther
An panel of experts explore the real-
ities and the possibilities of science,
technology, engineering, art, and
math in Black Panther, as well as the
intersection of pop culture, Africa and
Afrofuturism, and how imagination
and innovation translates into art,
awesome technology, and rewarding
careers. Friday, March 30, at 4 p.m.,
Ballroom.
John Boyega Panel
The Star Wars and Pacific Rim
Uprising hero will hold an exclusive
Q&A and field questions from the
audience. Guests can reserve a “skip-
the-line” ticket for $75 that guarantees
a seat in the first 10 rows of the three
center sections closest to the stage.
Saturday, March 31, 6 p.m., Main
Stage.

28 MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

COURTESY OF LINDA ROTH ASSOCIATES, INC.

“I’d advise you to get your nerd on. I’d advise you to bring out every superhero/genre/thing you loved
as a kid. I’d advise you to be prepared to not be judged or looked at in a strange way, because
EVERYBODY IN THAT BUILDING IS THERE TO HAVE FUN.”
seems to have brought us closer together. We’re hosting our BARROWMAN: No, not really. I don’t really say there’s any restric-
second writers’ workshop in Palm Springs. We’re starting to do tions. My sister knows everything about me. We used to joke
them every year, and we have about 16, 17 people that come. We when we were doing the autobiography, because I would talk
have really developed that. At the website BarrowmanBooks, everything into my iPhone and send her the voice notes, and also
you can go and see everything that we’re doing and you can be when she came to live with my husband, Scott, and I for three
involved on that website. months in the U.K., and went to work with me, did everything
MW: Do you two maintain any rules for keeping family and work with me. She’d get to know bits and bobs that maybe she didn’t
separate? really wanna hear, but we called those the “Ewww” moments.

John Barrowman Panels
The Doctor Who, Torchwood, and
Arrow star will be signing autographs
and appearing for photo ops through-
out the weekend at Booth 34 in the
Exhibit Hall. He will also appear on the
Legendary Comics panel on Saturday,
March 31, at noon, and for a solo Q&A
on the Main Stage at 4:15 p.m.
Klementieff, and Sean Gunn from
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2,
Stephen Amell from Arrow, Cress
Williams from Black Lightning, Tom
Welling from Smallville, Ben Savage
from Boy Meets World, and Charisma
Carpenter from Buffy the Vampire
Slayer. Visit Awesome-con.com for
schedules and pricing.
to LGBTQ creators. Awesome Con
will also host more than a dozen
LGBTQ panels, including “Star Trek
Discovery & A New Era of Diversity”
on Friday, from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m.,
“Creating Inclusive Gaming Spaces”
on Saturday, from 11:30 to 12:15 p.m.,
and “Let’s Be Wonder Women,” on
Saturday, from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m.

Autograph Signings
This year’s “featured guests” (who
you typically have to pay extra to
meet) include Boyega, Barrowman,
Dave Bautista, Michael Rooker, Pom
Pride Alley
Co-presented by Geeks Out, cura-
tors of New York’s LGBTQ-themed
convention Flame Con, Pride Alley is
a full section dedicated exclusively
The Awesome Con exhibit hall, at the Walter
E. Washington Convention Center (801 Mt.
Vernon Pl. NW) is open Friday from noon
to 8 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit
Awesome-con.com.

MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 29

She pretty much knows everything. I know a lot about her, so it’s
not like we hide anything from each other.
MW: In the BBC documentary series The Making of Me, you were
a subject for a scientific study of sexuality. What did you discover
about yourself?
BARROWMAN: I discovered what I already knew. I went into
it, and they told me that I had to be prepared to find out that
you weren’t born this way, that it is something that you choose,
that it’s nurture and all this stuff, and I kept saying to them,
“I’m going in with an open mind, but I’m not. I know, ‘cause I
was born this way, so you’re putting me through these tests.”
Partially also, I wanted to go through all these tests and these
things that people went through in the ‘50s and ‘60s that were
just ludicrous.
To find out if you were gay, they would put electrodes on
your penis and on your nipples and parts of your pulse, and they
can test how much blood rushes into your penis when you watch
something that might arouse you. I sat in a room [and had this
done]. It was just bizarre. It was like, why do we need to figure
this out?
We didn’t go into the lesbian point of view or the transgender
point of view, but it was very interesting to look at and under-
stand these things. My nephew, Turner, in the program was
absolutely brilliant — I went home and we met with family, and
my niece and nephew, Turner and Claire, have never known
anything but Uncle John and Uncle Scott and that’s it. Scott’s
been a part of the family since they were born.
Turner actually said to the camera, “Look, if anyone was
going to be gay and be made to be gay, it would have been me,
because my Uncle John dressed me up in outfits, like dressed up
as characters that he would play, and we would be silly and do
music videos together.” He said, “Also, when I used to go visit
them in London as a teenager, I was there in a room full of gay
men, so if anyone was going to be influenced by it, it was gonna
be me,” and he said, “and I’m totally straight as can be.” It was
a great program for people to watch, and it actually opened up
a lot of people’s eyes and caused a lot of discussion for change,
which I was really proud of.
MW: What are your thoughts on the current pushback against
LGBTQ rights, particularly “religious freedom” movements?
BARROWMAN: I was a very big advocate [for LGBTQ rights], and
that’s why I have my MBE [Member of the Most Excellent Order
of the British Empire] partially, because I was a big promoter of
equal rights and equality and human rights in the U.K. I was a
big voice in the step of pushing forward gay marriage with No. 10
Downing Street — the home of the British Prime Minister — so
I’ve been immersed in that before, and I’m not frightened to get
immersed in it again.
I think the current political situation is disgusting in the
sense that we have been led down a path. We had a presidential
candidate at the time who claimed he was for everybody, for
equal rights and for the LGBTQ community, and then within
a period of time, he and his vice president, Mike Pence, turned
on a dime and started wanting to take away those rights and
equality, and give religious freedom. You already had religious
freedom. Nobody’s stopping you from being religious.
People are continuing to try and stop us from being who we
are, because someone like Mike Pence [believes] if people have
children who think they’re gay, they can send them to shock
therapy [to cure them]. It’s fucking disgusting, so I feel very
strongly about it. Also when I’m in my panels, I take a moment
to remind people: I don’t care who you voted for — it’s important
that people vote — but if you did vote for those people, you’re
30 MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
actually helping them deny who we are at the moment. If you
like me, and you like other people who are gay and lesbian and
bisexual and transgender, you’ve done something and you’ve got
to start fighting against it now, because it was a mistake. That’s
my belief.
I just feel very, very strongly that we have to be very careful,
because we look back in history and there were dictators and
people who were so full of their own shit who started changing
things. And they started with the weakest of minorities — and
today that is our transgender community. They bully and push
them, and then they work their way up. They start trying to
get rid and push them into corners. We run the risk of being
shunned and going backwards in this country rather than mov-
ing forwards. That’s my political statement.
MW: How much do these issues influence which candidates appeal
to you when you’re voting?
BARROWMAN: When I’m looking to vote for a particular candi-
date, I look at what would be best for the community and the
overall country. I don’t think of myself as getting a tax break. I
don’t vote based on me getting a couple of hundred bucks back. I
don’t look at it for selfish reasons. I look at it for the greater good.
There are some things within that greater good that I might not
like, but I have to make the decision of what is going to be better
for everybody as opposed to just better for me. That’s the way I
vote. I didn’t vote for Trump, so that was the way I looked at it.
But I know people who did vote for Trump. In fact, I have a best
friend who voted for Trump.
MW: What are your conversations like now? Have they changed?
BARROWMAN: To be honest with you, they don’t talk about it
anymore. They don’t bring up the conversation, because I have
to tell you — and I feel this — there’s a sense of embarrassment.
And some people aren’t embarrassed — some people think he’s
doing a great job, right, but there’s a sense of embarrassment
from this particular person because they feel they made a mis-
take, because they voted for... Well, put it this way, they said
something to me just after the election, reading out what they
read online. I said, “You do realize that’s a bullshit story?” They
were clearly guided by what was being done on the internet, and
it was a bit sad to see that.
MW: Would you ever consider running for office?
BARROWMAN: You know, it’s funny — I’ve been asked. It’s a thing
in the back of my mind. I’m not a naturally-born American citi-
zen, so there are limitations. I could never be President.
MW: So you’ve thought about it?
BARROWMAN: Of course I’ve thought about it. You know what,
to have a gay man or a lesbian woman, or someone who is very
liberal but driven — and the word “liberal” frightens a lot of
Americans. I’ve got conservative gay friends who are out. It’s a
different kind of thinking. We don’t dislike people for what we
don’t agree with. We don’t dislike people for what we find differ-
ent about them. I tend to feel that there’s certain politicians that
don’t like people or situations because it’s foreign to them, and
that’s just wrong. We are a melting pot, this country. We should
be going together with our differences, rather than pushing
each other apart. The thing is, you’ve got politicians in Congress
right now who are not speaking up and saying anything because
they’re afraid they’re gonna lose their seats, and you know what?
If you’re not speaking up, you should lose your seat, because
you’re meant to be there to defend every person. Not just a cer-
tain sect of people, but every goddamn person.
That’s why I say to a lot of young people, “We need to get out
there. If you can vote, get out there and vote. We need to change
these things,” and they did. We were lucky in the U.K. that the
Conservative Party changed their ways, because they saw they
had to change with time because people were forcing them to
change, and that was how things have to happen here.
MW: Let’s wrap things up on Arrow and the Arrowverse, where no
one ever is definitively dead. Will you return as Malcolm Merlyn?
BARROWMAN: All I’ll tell you is when they told me I was dying,
they said I would not be coming back, and I was very upset and
very hurt about that. They told me the night before I was going
to go start shooting it, and I was very angry and I basically told
them where they could shove it.
Then, a couple of weeks later, Marc Guggenheim went on an
interview, because I think I maybe probably upset them, I don’t
know, but he went on an interview saying that the ball was in
my court if I wanted to come back, and that was not what I was
told. My fans know that I speak the truth when I talk about this
kind of stuff. Rather than being arsey about it, I just said, “Well,
write me an awesome storyline and episode and I will be happy
to come back,” but I’m sitting here in my living room, not film-
ing, so there we go.
Listen, if they asked me, I would come back. I know that
Merlyn was very popular with the fans, and I think the reason
they did that, you know, the blowing up and no body being
found, was so they wouldn’t have a bit of a backlash from the
fans, because they had a backlash when Katie Cassidy was killed.
That’s partially why I was upset, because they did it that way,
but they told me I wasn’t coming back. They told me I was done.
MW: Outside of superheroes and fantasy, what’s the entertainment
that you gravitate towards? What do you enjoy?
BARROWMAN: I do enjoy television. I enjoy watching musicals.
I love listening to music. I guess kind of a bit of everything. I do
love sitting at home and watching television and movies. I like
information on what’s going on in the world. I prefer watching
movies at home than going to the cinema. Only if it’s like a big
blockbuster like a Star Wars — I’m a massive Star Wars fan. I
love Superman. In fact, I’m looking at a whole section of a cab-
inet that I have here in our place in West Hollywood, and I’ve
got the First Order Stormtrooper robot that is still in its box. I
have the R2-D2 remote control. I’ve got an older R2-D2 behind
it. I’ve got the Lost in Space robots. I have Stormtroopers. I’ve got
a Tardis. I’ve got my Superman lunchbox and I’ve got my orig-
inal Star Wars lunchbox. I have a wooden carved Millennium
Falcon. I’m a fan of the genre shows, so for me to be doing what
I’m doing is an absolute dream, because I’ve created characters
who have become iconic in that world, which is just, excuse my
French, fucking awesome. l
John Barrowman appears at Awesome Con, at the Walter E.
Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt. Vernon Pl. NW, on
Friday, March 30, Saturday, March 31, and Sunday, April 1. For
full details and ticket prices, visit awesome-con.com.

Gamers United!
The DC Gaymers will hold two LGBTQ
socials during Awesome Con weekend.
IDEO GAMES AND COMIC BOOKS HAVE long a couple of rounds of Gaymer Jeopardy, to keep it light-

V been thought of as the province of white, straight,

cisgender men. But Miguel Miranda, administrator
of the DC Gaymers social group, knows better.
“For a lot of queer gamers, gaming is a part of how
we dress, how we interact, how we have fun,” he says.
“It’s an essential part of our identity.”
In the tradition of celebrating that identity, Miranda is
bringing together queer gamers for a chance to network
and socialize during this weekend’s Awesome Con.
On Friday, Mar. 30, DC Gaymers are hosting a “Queer
Gaymer Meetup.” The meetup itself is free of charge,
but participants will need to pay Awesome Con’s $35
daily admission fee (or $75 weekend fee) to enter the
Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
“We’re hosting an informal panel where we’ll discuss
what it means to be a gay gamer and why that’s some-
thing people shouldn’t hide,” he says. “We’ll also play
hearted and fun. It’s really just a space to chat, hang out,
and have fun for about two hours at Awesome Con.”
Later that night, DC Gaymers are hosting a dance
party, “Snikt,” at the Dew Drop Inn, a bar in D.C.’s
Brookland neighborhood. The party features various
DJs, raffles, even a signature cocktail created just for
Awesome Con attendees: the Valkyrie, a vodka soda
with a black current mixture.
Party-goers are encouraged to dress in costumes, in
keeping with Awesome Con’s reputation as an affirm-
ing venue for people who are interested in cosplay.
“Being who you are isn’t something you should have
to be cautious about,” says Miranda. “Just like people
aren’t afraid to say what sports team they’re a fan of, or
where they’re from, queer gamers shouldn’t be afraid
to share who they are. You don’t have to be scared of
what you like.” – John Riley

DC Gaymers’ “Queer Gaymer Meetup” at Awesome Con is Friday, March 30 from 5:20 to 7:15 p.m.
at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt. Vernon Pl. NW.
Regular admission fees to Awesome Con apply.
Snikt: A Queer Geek Dance Party is Friday, March 30 from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
at the Dew Drop Inn, 2801 8th St. NE. Admission is free of charge. For more information on either event,
visit awesome-con.com or facebook.com/DCGaymers.

MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 31

TERESA WOOD
Stage

And this is no mean feat, because The

Cold Brew
Folger’s The Winter’s Tale is a clever, fun, emotionally
intimate production. By Kate Wingfield
Winter’s Tale is hardly an easy play to
make sense of. The mood veers from trag-
ic to comic and back again, with moments
of drama that go from zero-to-sixty with-
out much rhyme or reason. A prime exam-
ple is King Leontes who, in the first few
scenes, accelerates from benign cocktail

T
host to jealous husband and then utterly
HE FOLGER WORKS ITS ALCHEMY AGAIN WITH THE WINTER’S TALE ruthless king — all in record time, and
(HHHHH), Shakespeare’s weird and wonderful yarn of a jealous king who gets without any real backstory. If there is no
his comeuppance, but also his redemption. It’s a clever, fun, and emotionally way of avoiding this, much is answered
intimate production, and, as is so often the case with the best of Folger, the vibe feels with some thoughtful choices for the
as if a tight-knit troupe of travelling players pitched up on a winter’s eve to offer a delusional king. By internalizing the man,
well-loved entertainment. There is humor, pathos, and a charming musical score — all Michael Tisdale evokes a psyche more
delivered with a metaphorical twinkle in the eye. neurotic than despotic, his fears and anger
At the heart of this beautifully curated warmth and familiarity is the ever-charis- coming from a deeper place of agitation
matic Eric Hissom, setting the tone as the Storyteller and buoying the mood in key and self-doubt. It goes a long way toward
supporting roles as Camillo and Antigonus (and a few others). Delivering it with a wry, convincing and it helps explain his accel-
low-key irony, Hissom is a crackling kind of presence — at once inviting and reassuring, erating ability to trap his own thinking.
but always also suggesting a tiny bit of challenge. You may laugh, his wide eyes seem to Delivering the lion’s share of the emo-
say, but are you sure who you should be laughing at? tional goods here — and making up for
Inviting Hissom’s innate skills as ringmaster, director Aaron Posner spins his own the dearth in Leontes’ rationale — is a
magic in balancing a pleasingly energetic pace with interludes that seem to stop time fabulously convincing Katie deBuys as his
with their loving attention to human emotion. Just as with his Folger production of A wife Hermione, whom Leontes believes is
Midsummer’s Night Dream, Posner is so confident in his vision, he makes room for all deceiving him with his friend, Polixenes.
kinds of invention: the characters feel fresh, the humor irreverent, and the forays into Hers is the tragedy that runs like a dark
anger, angst, betrayal, and, especially, fun, ring true because they are played with a current beneath the fun and frippery of the
21st century immediacy. It’s an approach Posner acknowledges in his director’s notes, play and deBuys doesn’t have much air-
lauding his actors for digging deep into the process, praising their innovations, hinting time to deliver the goods. But as she faces
at how much of themselves they bring to the roles. The tears are real. the dungeon and the loss of her newborn

32 MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 baby, she couldn’t be more invested — her pain is powerfully
palpable. It brings intimate dimension to the production and
brings touching authenticity to the final reunions.
In this wonderfully cohesive ensemble, other standouts
are Kimberly Gilbert, offering a truly original edge and
plenty of humor to the thief (and musician) Autolycus, who
ends up deciding to insert himself for good versus mis-
chief. As the pure-hearted Paulina, Grace Gonglewski is an
extraordinary presence with her husky voice, facility with
the language and a face that speaks volumes. And if not quite
in tune with the mood, Aldo Billingslea as King Polixenes is
pleasingly at home with his Shakespeare and brings remark-
able gravitas.
Like all of Folger’s productions, this is a showcase of
young talent — but more so than ever here. As Polixenes’
son Florizell, Drew Drake is gorgeously charismatic but
excellently understated. His command of the language is
so good he can move seamlessly between a traditional take
and a far more modern spin, and it works like it was always
meant to be. As Perdita, Hermione’s long-lost baby found
and raised in Florizell’s land of Bohemia, Daven Ralston
has an otherworldly beauty that matches the magic — but
far more importantly, she delivers her Shakespeare with a
stunningly natural conviction. For great comic presence,
Joshua Thomas shines as the Young Shepherd and Richard
TERESA WOOD

R. Henry brings the right tenor to his Old Shepherd.

Winter may be all but gone, but this beautifully-told tale
will capture the imagination and warm the soul. l

To April 22 at the Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. SE. Tickets are $35-$79.
Call 202-544-7077 or visit folger.edu.

S
ON
TI
L

“A period play of ideas…

LA
IE
FR

that have haunting resonance

in our own era.”
T T TE IAN
NS

—The New York Times

BR

RN Y
EY
TO D B
A
DI BY
TR

1833, COUNTY DONEGAL: Languages and histories

C
MA RE

collide when British army engineers arrive to map

W
NG

the country and translate the country’s place names

PL NO
YI

into English. A modern classic from an Irish master

A

that reminds us how personal the political can be.

FOR TICKETS CALL 202.332.3300 OR VISIT STUDIOTHEATRE.ORG

34 MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
CAROL ROSEGG
Stage

ing an onslaught of dancers across the

Sweet Surrender
homestead of Dorothy’s Uncle Henry
(Jaysen Wright) and Aunt Em (Monique
Midgett).
Steadily unfurling unruly reams of
Ford’s The Wiz sends Dorothy on a funky, fabulous trip to Oz, while black cloth around the ascending, tee-
Studio’s Translations comes off a wee bit stiff. By André Hereford tering façade of the Kansas farmhouse,
Tornado and her windy minions blow

F
Dorothy, sans Toto in this iteration, all
RIENDS OF DOROTHY, BOTH YOUNG AND YOUNG AT HEART, SHOULD the way to Oz. There, she encounters
find plenty to love in the Ford’s Theatre’s The Wiz ( ). And “plenty” is tap-dancing munchkins, good and wick-
the operative word for director Kent Gash’s smile-inducing production, which ed witches, flying monkeys, and she
amps up the camp fabulousness of the classic ’70s “super soul musical” journey to L. comes by the friendly companionship of
Frank Baum’s wonderful world of Oz. Scarecrow (Hasani Allen), the Tinman
Featuring beloved music and lyrics by Charles Small, a book by William F. Brown, (Kevin McAllister), and the Cowardly
and one glorious number composed by then-rising talent Luther Vandross, this African- Lion (Christopher Michael Richardson).
American spin on Dorothy’s adventures in Oz was plentiful long before Gash’s twister Following the advice of Addaperle,
blew through Ford’s. Yet, his staging expands the show’s varied palette of gospel, jazz, Good Witch of the North (Midgett, again),
funk, and soul-infused Americana by adding a glossy layer of queer-friendly attitude. Dorothy and friends shuffle along the
Oz seems so full of fun, fantasy, and friendship, it’s a wonder Dorothy, well-played Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City to
here by Ines Nassara, would ever want to leave. Once the innocent farmgirl from seek help and guidance from the great and
Kansas has vanquished her foes and learned to stay away from the poppies, what’s to powerful Wiz (Jobari Parker-Namdar).
keep her from just dropping the folks back home a line, and telling them to come visit Gathered along the velvet rope out-
for Christmas or Mother’s Day sometime. Isn’t that what a lot of Dorothy’s friends do side the Wiz’s chambers, the crowd looks
after they’ve discovered life in their own version of Oz? dressed for a night out at Studio 54, appro-
A gay cornucopia of music and fashion, this Wiz might allow Baum’s original story priate for a show that feels like a party
and themes to slip somewhat through the cracks of the dancefloor. The tale’s rougher from beginning to end. The host doing the
edges of abandonment and anxiety have been smoothed over by a pithy comic sensibil- most, the almighty Wiz appears as a pur-
ity ready to drop hip references to Siri and Wakanda. But what this rendering loses of ple trench coat-wearing, self-hyping amal-
the standard “no place like home” moral is compensated for by an affecting sincerity in gam of Prince, Rick James, and MJ that’ll
the heroes’ pursuits of brains, heart, courage, and family. fly, literally, over some kids’ heads, but is
That genuine warmth is matched by a lustrous showmanship that keeps the sure to coax chuckles from their parents.
comedy buoyant and the songs humming. The spectacle takes off with the story’s Less inclined to coaxing, Christopher
famous twister, depicted as the whirling Tornado (DeMoya Watson Brown) lead- Michael Richardson outright snatches

MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 35

 laughs and tears with his full-bodied portrayal of the wan-
nabe-mean ol’ Lion, while Hasani Allen puts his own sil-
ver-tongued stamp on the Scarecrow. As the romantic — and
a bit randy — Tinman, velvet-voiced Kevin McAllister makes
aching for a heart feel mighty real.
Each of Dorothy’s companions gets a great assist from cos-
tume designer Kara Harmon’s brilliantly colored wardrobe. The
costumes are well-complemented by clever character design,
hair and makeup, just as Dell Howlett’s choreography is beauti-
fully relayed by the talented ensemble.
The production’s conception of the Wicked Witch of the
West (Midgett) lacks something of the bone-chilling bearing one
craves in a bellowing ballbreaker named Evillene. Generations
can attest to just how frightening Margaret Hamilton was on
TERESA WOOD
THE DESIGNERS AND craftspeople responsible for Studio
Theatre’s Translations ( ) have achieved for direc-
tor Matt Torney a transporting, almost cinematic, visualiza-
tion of the play’s setting in a 19th-century Irish parish. Debra
Booth’s vividly rendered rustic, stone cottage school, and Wade
Laboissonniere’s costumes, lit evocatively, conjure the period
and the conditions of a rural village. But the performance of
Brian Friel’s linguistic drama, written in 1980, feels at times as
dry as the stones of said cottage. The visuals draw the audience
closer for a presentation that’s too sluggish to deeply engage.
On the cottage’s dirt floors, professor Hugh (Bradley
Armacost) runs a hedge school, teaching the classics in Greek
and Latin to poor, working townsfolk like Doalty (Joe Mallon),
Bridget (Caroline Dubberly), and the adorably addled codger
Jimmy Jack (Martin Giles). Hugh’s dutiful son, Manus (Matthew
Aldwin McGee), left lame by an accident suffered in infancy,
takes on most of the chores at the school, including teaching
class when his dad’s off drinking. Early on, Manus demonstrates
his kindness and patience teaching shy, young Sarah (Megan
Graves) to speak her name. And he reveals his heart to Maire
(Molly Carden), the tempestuous lass he fancies.
Maire is aching to get out of their provincial village of Baile
Beag, where every year folks distress themselves worrying about
the next potato blight. “Some of you people aren’t happy unless
you’re miserable,” she tells them.
Translations runs to April 22, at Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St., NW. Tickets are $20 to $69. Call 202-332-3300, or visit studiotheatre.org.
The Wiz runs to May 12 at Ford’s Theatre, 511 Tenth St. NW. Tickets are $20 to $73. Call 888-616-0270, or visit fords.org.
36 MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
film in The Wizard of Oz, and Mabel King was a whole other
kind of scary as Evillene in The Wiz’s original Broadway run,
and reprising her role in the 1978 movie. Midgett’s Evillene is a
hoot, but she doesn’t register as the hag who has all Oz quaking
in their rollerskates.
Gash deploys a limber chorus boy on roller skates, and
crossdressing poppy flowers, and a thrilling Afro-Caribbean
“Everybody Rejoice/Brand New Day,” all of which generally sell
the appeal of a land of liberty where a girl gets to hang out with
a talking, breakdancing, cartwheeling Scarecrow.
By the time the wonderful Awa Sal Secka saunters in to sing
the house down as Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, quite a
few friends of Dorothy will believe that sticking around Oz is a
far better idea than heading back to Kansas. l
She wants Manus to teach her English, so she
can move to America, but she’d consider staying
in Ireland with him if he could get a good job,
and make some real plans. However, theirs and
everyone’s plans and lives are disrupted by the
arrival of the King’s royal engineers, soldiers
sent to survey for new maps and rename local
places in the King’s English.
Assisting the royal army’s Captain Lancey
(Jeff Keogh) and Lieutenant Yolland (Cary
Donaldson) in their efforts to Anglicize the
region’s record is Hugh’s oldest son, Owen (Erin
Gann). The prodigal son has returned from six
years in Dublin, well-educated in English and on
the royal payroll as a translator.
Owen breezily sells his family and friends
on the necessity of changing Irish to English,
despite feeling conflicted about the royal author-
ity’s mission to erase Gaelic from the maps and
from history, turning towns with hard-to-pro-
nounce-in-English names like Bun Na Habhann into Burnfoot.
The playwright has asserted that Translations is a play about
language, and the story uncovers the awesome power contained
in words to determine whose stories get told and remembered.
Individuals and entire civilizations have been lost to the rewrit-
ing of names and places.
In Owen the play offers a compelling character, who’s aware
of the historical and spiritual damage done by a ruling army that
would paint over a place’s history. Yet, he also understands, as
Maire points out, that the old language is a barrier to modern
progress. Throughout, Owen and Maire are the play’s best
instruments for probing this conflict between past and progress,
and in turn, Gann’s and Carden’s portrayals are generally the
matches most apt to strike fire in this otherwise droopy affair.
Giles does add local color, and a few well-delivered profundi-
ties, as the permanently soused Jimmy, but in general, the village
folk don’t spring much to life. Although Armacost is fed several
juicy speeches as headmaster Hugh, the actor relishes perhaps
too fully in his authority with the poetic language that Hugh
describes rapturously as “a syntax opulent with tomorrows.”
Time slows to a torpor with some of these exchanges, as shifting
opinions and allegiances feel expressed, rather than thoroughly
dramatized. Translations certainly communicates the value, and
the price, of pursuing an education, but could do more to transmit
entertainment value to keep us involved in the conversation. l
NightLife Photography by
Ward Morrison

MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 37


DrinksDragDJsEtc...
Thursday,
March 29
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
38 MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
Scene
Dinner-n-Drag Hosted by Miss Kristina Kelly at Shaw’s Tavern
Sunday, March 18 • Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS 7:30-10:30pm • $10 Cover NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Beat the Clock Happy Hour All male, nude dancers • • Bearlesque Male Strip Open 3pm • Guest DJs •
— $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), DJ • 9pm • Cover 21+ Tease Show, 10pm-2am Beat the Clock Happy Hour
$4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of • Tommy Gunn’s Fully — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
underwear, all well drinks
$2, 9pm-12am • Best
Beer $15 • All Leagues Loaded Burlesque Revue $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of
Underwear Contest at
Night in the Nest, 10pm • $7 in Beer $15
Midnight • Code enforced
NUMBER NINE
Friday, advance online, $10 at the
door • Elyx Vodka and Any NUMBER NINE
in Code Bar after 9pm •
College Night Thursdays,
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any March 30 Red Bull Flavor for $7 all Open 5pm • Happy Hour:
drink, 5-9pm • No Cover day long • thebaltimoreea- 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
9pm-2am • EDM Dance
9 1/2 gle.com • No Cover • Friday Night
Party, 10pm-2am • Free
SHAW’S TAVERN Open at 5pm • Happy Piano with Chris, 7:30pm
admission to the Tavern •
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Admission to the Nest is
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, 5-9pm • Friday Night Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • SHAW’S TAVERN
free until 10:30pm • After
$5 House Wines, $5 Rail Videos, 9:30pm • Rotating Karaoke, 9pm Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
10:30pm, $5 Cover for
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas DJs • Expanded craft beer Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
21 and up, $10 Cover for
and Select Appetizers • selection • No Cover GREEN LANTERN $5 House Wines, $5 Rail
18-20 • thebaltimoreea-
$4 Heineken and Corona Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $5 Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
gle.com
all night BALTIMORE EAGLE Svedka, all flavors, all and Select Appetizers •
Baltimore Bear Happy night long • GLOW UP!!: The 19th Street Band, 9pm
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
TRADE Hour, 3-9pm, all liquors, Onyx Mid-Atlantic Pledges’
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm •
Doors open 5pm • Huge beers and wines up to Bar Night, 10pm-close • TOWN
Karaoke, 9pm
Happy Hour: Any drink 50% off • Bad Bears Kink Demos, Jello and Test Patio open 6pm • DC Bear
normally served in a cock- After Dark in the Code Tube Shots, Raffle Prizes Crue Happy Hour, 6-11pm
GREEN LANTERN
tail glass served in a huge Bar, 9pm • $5 Cover • • Proceeds benefit the • $3 Rail, $3 Draft, $3 Bud
Happy Hour, 4-9pm
glass for the same price, DJ Vince Christopher in Wanda Alston Foundation Bottles • Free Pizza, 7pm
• Shirtless Thursday,
5-10pm • Beer and wine the Tavern, 9pm-2am • • $5 Cover • No cover before 9:30pm
10-11pm • Men in
only $4 Baltimore Men’s Choir • 21+ • Drag Show starts
Underwear Drink Free,
presents “Goes Bad at 10:30pm • Hosted by
12-12:30am • DJs
Again” Cabaret Show, Lena Lett and featuring
BacK2bACk
Tatianna, Shi-Queeta-Lee,
Riley Knoxx and Ba’Naka
• DJ Wess upstairs, DJs
BacK2bACk downstairs
following the show •
GoGo Boys after 11pm •
Doors open at 10pm • For
those 21 and over, $12 •
For those 18-20, $15
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,
March 31
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
Kinky Playground,
12pm-midnight • Happy
Hour, 3-9pm • March
Madness National Semi-
Finals/Final Four • Leather
and Fetish Saturdays,
Code Bar, 8pm-2am •
Code enforced after 9pm
in the Code Bar • March
Madness, Round 2 • DJ
Ryan Doubleyou in the
Tavern • Resurrection
Dance Party, 9pm-2am •
Hunkiest Jesus Contest •
Black Out Full Moon Party,
9pm-2am • Special prizes,
$5 Grateful Dead Cocktails,
MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 39
Jock Strap Contest • Old Gay Comic Geek, and Dax TOWN ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS BALTIMORE EAGLE 4-8pm • Freddie’s Monthly
Heads DJ Event, featuring ExclamationPoint • Mega Doors open 10pm • Men of Secrets, 9pm-4am Lizzie Beaumont and Zodiac Contest, 8pm •
DJ Vince Christopher, Cosplay Contest, with over Upstairs: The RED Party • Guest dancers • Ladies Betty Whitecastle present Hosted by Ophelia Bottoms
10pm-2am • thebalti- $1,000 in prizes and raffles — Red Attire Required! of Illusion Drag Show Queens Who Brunch, • Karaoke, 10pm-close
moreeagle.com • $5 Cover • 21+ • Featuring DJ Kidd with host Ella Fitzgerald 12-2pm • $34 per person
Madonny • Downstairs: • Doors at 9pm, Shows includes All You Can Eat GREEN LANTERN
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Music and video by DJ at 11:30pm and 1:30am • Free pitcher of Mimosas Happy Hour, 4-9pm •
Saturday Breakfast Buffet, Drag Brunch, hosted Wess • Drag Show starts • DJ Don T. in Ziegfeld’s per 4 admissions • Karaoke with Kevin down-
10am-3pm • $14.99 with by Chanel Devereaux, at 10:30pm • Drag Show • DJ Steve Henderson in Reservations highly sug- stairs, 9:30pm-close
one glass of champagne 10:30am-12:30pm and starts at 10:30pm • Secrets • Cover 21+ gested and can be made
or coffee, soda or juice • 1-3pm • House Rail Drinks, Hosted by Lena Lett and online beforehand • Easter NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Additional champagne $2 Zing Zang Bloody Marys, featuring Tatianna, Shi- Bonnet Contest, 5pm • Drag Brunch, hosted
per glass • World Tavern Nellie Beer and Mimosas, Queeta-Lee, Riley Knoxx Easter Egg Search, 6pm by Chanel Devereaux,
Poker Tournament, 1-3pm
• Crazy Hour, 4-8pm •
$4, 11am-close • Buckets
of Beer, $15 • Guest DJs
and Ba’Naka • $15 Cover
from 10-midnight, $12 after
Sunday, • Sunday Fun-Day, 4-9pm
• From 2-8pm, buy a cup
10:30am-12:30pm and
1-3pm • House Rail Drinks,
Freddie’s Follies Drag midnight • 21+ April 1 for $5 and fill it with any Zing Zang Bloody Marys,
Show, hosted by Miss NUMBER NINE Absolut Flavor and Mixer Nellie Beer and Mimosas,
Destiny B. Childs, 8-10pm Doors open 2pm • Happy TRADE 9 1/2 for $3 each time (excluding $4, 11am-close • Buckets
• Karaoke, 10pm-close Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, Doors open 2pm • Huge Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any energy drink mixers) • of Beer, $15
2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5 Happy Hour: Any drink drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut thebaltimoreeagle.com
GREEN LANTERN Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close normally served in a cock- and $5 Bulleit Bourbon, NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $5 tail glass served in a huge 9pm-close • Multiple TVs FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on
Bacardi, all flavors, all SHAW’S TAVERN glass for the same price, showing movies, shows, Easter Champagne Brunch any drink, 2-9pm • $5
night long • Unofficial $15 Bottomless Mimosas, 2-10pm • Beer and wine sports • Expanded craft Buffet and Easter Bonnet Absolut and $5 Bulleit
Awesome Con LGBT 10am-3pm • Happy Hour, only $4 beer selection • No Cover Contest, 10am-4pm • Bourbon, 9pm-close • Pop
After Party, 9pm-close • 5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $24.99 with four glasses Goes the World with Wes
Featuring DJ JerrBear • $4 Blue Moon, $5 House of champagne or mimosas, Della Volla at 9:30pm •
Special guest performanc- Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • 1 Bloody Mary, or coffee, No Cover
es by Shirley U. Jest, The Half-Priced Pizzas and soda or juice • Crazy Hour,
Select Appetizers

40 MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

 SHAW’S TAVERN
Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 House Wines, $5 Rail
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
and Select Appetizers
• Dinner-n-Drag, with
Miss Kristina Kelly, 7pm
• For reservations, email
shawsdinnerdragshow@
gmail.com
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
Monday,
April 2
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 • Micro Brew
Draft/Bottle Mondays
— $4 all day • March
Madness Final Four 2018
42 MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY
National Championship
• SIN: Service Industry
Night, 11pm-2am • First
Well Drink or Domestic
Beer Free • 10% off your
Food Order all day • the-
baltimoreeagle.com
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm •
Singles Night • Half-Priced
Pasta Dishes • Poker Night
— 7pm and 9pm games •
Karaoke, 9pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm •
$3 rail cocktails and
domestic beers 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
• Paint Nite, 7pm • Two
Ping-Pong Tables
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 House Wines, $5 Rail
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
and Select Appetizers •
Shaw Nuff Trivia, with
Jeremy, 7:30pm
TRADE
Doors open 5pm • Huge
Happy Hour: Any drink
normally served in a cock-
tail glass served in a huge
glass for the same price,
5-10pm • Beer and wine
only $4
Tuesday,
April 3
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 • Fibbage
Tuesdays, 8pm — How
good are you at fibbing?
• Free to play with your
smartphone • $6 Any
Flavor Martinis and $7
Manhattans (call liquors) •
thebaltimoreeagle.com
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Taco
Tuesday • Poker Night —
7pm and 9pm games •
Karaoke, 9pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4pm-9pm
• $3 rail cocktails and
domestic beers all night
long
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
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 House Wines, $5 Rail
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
and Select Appetizers •
Half-Priced Burgers and
Pizzas all night with $5
House Wines and Sam
Adams
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,
April 4
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 • Beach Blanket
Drag Bingo Night, hosted
by Ms. Regina Jozet
Adams, 8pm • Bingo prizes
• Karaoke, 10pm-1am
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4pm-9pm •
Bear Yoga with Greg Leo,
6:30-7:30pm • $10 per
class • Upstairs opens
9pm • Lantern GoGo
Dancers, 10pm-2am • $3
rail cocktails and domestic
beers all night long
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 • Snatched Drag
Show, hosted by Brooklyn
Heights, 9pm
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 House Wines, $5 Rail
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
and Select Appetizers •
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 l
 Scene
RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10 Premiere at Trade
Thursday, March 22 • Photography by Ward Morrison
See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene

44 MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY

MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 45
 WARD MORRISON/RANDY SHULMAN
LastWord.
People say the queerest things

46 MARCH 29, 2018 • METROWEEKLY