Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
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www.ShakeSpeareTheaTre.org 202.547.1122
CO-PRESENTED BY
Orchestras in Motion!
April 9–15, 2018
Four adventurous orchestras.
$25 concerts at the Kennedy Center.
Plus exciting FREE performances
and other events around the city!
Learn more at SHIFTfestival.org.
This year’s orchestras:
9 VEGAS, BABY
Frankie Moreno and the Baltimore Symphony
Orchestra bring Vegas showmanship to Strathmore.
By Randy Shulman
LIFE OF THAI
Ralph Brabham and Drew Porterfield’s life took a
new direction when they dove into the restaurant
business with Beau Thai.
By André Hereford
Metro Weekly 1775 I St. NW, Suite 1150 Washington, DC 20006 202-638-6830
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Thursday,
District of Columbia
ADAMS MORGAN FOGGY BOTTOM
18th & U Duplex Diner Tonic at Quigley’s Restaurant ❤
Mintwood Place
FRIENDSHIP HEIGHTS
Perry’s Restaurant Le Chat Noir 35%
Pop’s SeaBar ❤
GLOVER PARK
BROOKLAND Rocklands Barbeque & Grilling
Brookland’s Finest ❤ 50% Company ❤
Unless noted, all participating restaurants will contribute 25% of dinner sales to Food & Friends.
April 12th
Maryland Virginia
PENN QUARTER BETHESDA CLARENDON
Proof Trattoria Sorrento Delhi Club 50%
Ristorante Tosca
KENSINGTON CRYSTAL CITY
PETWORTH Frankly…Pizza! ❤ Freddie’s Beach Bar &
Hank’s Cocktail Bar Restaurant 110%
POTOMAC
Taqueria Del Barrio DEL RAY
Amici Miei
SHAW Bombay Curry Company ❤ 35%
ROCKVILLE
Beau Thai ❤ FALLS CHURCH
Il Pizzico 35%
BKK Cookshop ❤ Argia’s ❤
Mosaic Bistro and Bar
Dino’s Grotto Clare & Don’s Beach Shack 35%
HalfSmoke SILVER SPRING
Shaw’s Tavern All Set Restaurant & Bar 75% OLD TOWN ALEXANDRIA
Chadwicks
U STREET TAKOMA
Hank’s Oyster Bar Old Town ❤
Compass Rose Mark’s Kitchen ❤
Hank’s Pasta Bar
Republic 50%
WATERFRONT PINECREST
Hank’s Oyster Bar – The Wharf Foxfire Grill
VAN NESS TYSONS CORNER
Bread Furst ❤ Phoenicia Resto and Lounge
Kickoff!
Dining Out for Life
ipotle on April 5th, Make your reservation today on
Dine at any D.C. Ch ur
nds, and 50% of yo OpenTable and a donation will be
mention Food & Frie ! made to Food & Friends.
t Dining Out for Life
purchase will suppor
ts at www.foodandfriends.org/DiningOut.
Spotlight
JOHN KNOPF
Vegas, Baby
F
RANKIE MORENO ISN’T YOUR TYPICAL VEGAS Water,” and “Eleanor Rigby,” which he originally recorded
headliner. Not content with playing the expected with his friend, virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell.
variety of pop standards, the energetic 40-year-old Don’t expect Moreno to get on a political soapbox
brings a fair share of originals to the mix. between numbers. “When you’re paying to see my show,
“I grew up being a songwriter, so playing other peoples’ you don’t need to hear my opinions,” he says. “You don’t
music was always strange to me,” says Moreno, a three-time need to hear my thoughts on Donald Trump or the Pope
Vegas Headliner of the Year winner. “I’m not gonna sing an or even food choices. My job is to make you forget all your
Elvis song better than Elvis Presley did or Bobby Darin song problems.”
better than Bobby Darin, so why try? Why not do my own?” Aiding him in that quest will be his 10-piece show band,
Still, Moreno, who has had his own PBS special and giving the evening extra zing. “It’s a big, powerful sound,”
has appeared on Dancing with the Stars, recognizes that he says. “When the band and the orchestra are focused and
audiences want to hear a smattering of hits. So, when he playing together, there’s nothing really better musically.”
performs with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra next And expect the show — “Vegas Nights” — to live up to its
weekend, he’ll trot out a few crowd pleasers, including “Roll name. “We’re Vegas, so we definitely dress Vegas,” he says.
Over, Beethoven,” “Stand By Me,” “Bridge Over Troubled “Everyone’s sparkly.” —Randy Shulman
“Vegas Nights with Frankie Moreno” is Thursday, April 12, at 8 p.m. Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda. Also
Friday, April 13 and Saturday, April 14, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, April 15, at 3 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
in Baltimore. Tickets are $35 to $99. Call 410-783-8000 or visit bsomusic.org.
STU ROSNER
581-5100 or visit strathmore.org.
TAYLOR TOMLINSON
A Top 10 finalist on Season 9 of NBC’s
Last Comic Standing, Tomlinson is
currently developing a sitcom for
ABC based on her religious upbring-
ing and efforts to reconcile what
she was taught with what she now
believes — also the basis for much of
her stand-up. Particularly trenchant
is her chiding of her conservative
father and his anti-gay sentiments
despite having worked for many
years teaching school choir: “Don’t
bite the jazz hand that feeds you.”
Cerrome Russell and Josh Kuderna
open. Thursday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m.,
Friday, April 6, and Saturday, April
7, at 7:30 and 9:45 p.m., and Sunday,
April 8, at 7:30 p.m. DC Improv,
1140 Connecticut Ave. NW. Tickets
are $17 to $20, plus a two-item min-
imum. Call 202-296-7008 or visit
dcimprov.com.
Compiled by Doug Rule with a free documentary, one it also Sonic Transducers, meaning it’s Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW.
screens annually on the national even more interactive than usual. Tickets are $45 to $55. Call 202-
holiday commemorating the slain Friday, April 13, and Saturday, 265-3767, or visit KeeganTheatre.
FILM Civil Rights leader. King: A Filmed April 14, at midnight. Landmark’s E com. (Andre Hereford)
Record...Montgomery to Memphis Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call
ITZHAK includes his stirring “I Have 202-452-7672 or visit landmarkthe- LET IT BE: A CELEBRATION OF
Filmmaker Alison Chernick offers a A Dream” speech at the Lincoln atres.com. THE MUSIC OF THE BEATLES
revealing and highly personal look Memorial, and also features narra- What if the Fab Four had reunited a
into the life of the man hailed as the
STAGE
tion and commentary from Sidney decade after their break-up? That’s
world’s greatest living violinist. A Poitier, James Earl Jones, Paul the premise behind this theatrical
childhood victim of polio and young Newman, Charlton Heston, Harry romp through the Beatles’ reper-
violin prodigy — debuting at age 13 Belafonte, and Ruby Dee, among CHICAGO toire, from the seminal performance
on The Ed Sullivan Show — Itzhak others. Sidney Lumet and Joseph HHH AND ONE HALF of “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” on
Perlman is seen rehearsing with fel- L. Mankiewicz co-directed and pro- Somewhere inside Roxie Hart’s first The Ed Sullivan Show to hits from
low musicians Evgeny Kissin and duced this 1970 film. Saturday, April number, “Funny Honey,” during Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club
Mischa Maisky, trading stories in 7, at 11 a.m. AFI Silver Theatre, which the brazen, fame-craving Band and Abbey Road. The second
his kitchen with longtime friend 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. floozy introduces her sorry sap half is styled as a Beatles reunion
Alan Alda, teaching classes with Tickets are free, available at the box of a husband Amos, it dawns that performance, where the crowd
eager youngsters, and sharing a lov- office starting at 10:30 a.m. day-of. this Roxie is bananas. Portrayed goes wild — as it did in previous
ing marriage with Toby in a close- Call 301-495-6720 or visit afi.com/ by Maria Rizzo with a bold mix runs on Broadway and London’s
knit household steeped in Jewish Silver. of moxie and murderous rage, West End. Saturday, April 14, at 3
traditions. Opens Friday, April 6. she’s Roxie unhinged. And she is and 8 p.m. National Theatre, 1321
Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 THE ROCKY HORROR amazing. Matched with Michael Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Tickets are
11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672 or PICTURE SHOW Innocenti’s portrayal of Amos, $45 to $85. Call 202-628-6161 or
visit landmarktheatres.com. Landmark’s E Street Cinema pres- who’s a perfectly pathetic patsy, and visit thenationaldc.org.
ents its monthly run of Richard Kurt Boehm’s solid take on fast-
KING: A FILMED RECORD... O’Brien’s camp classic, billed as the talking flim-flammer Billy Flynn, PAPER DOLLS
MONTGOMERY TO MEMPHIS longest-running midnight movie in this Roxie revitalizes the familiar Five gay Filipino guest workers
AFI concludes its month-long history. Landmark’s showings come tale of celebrity and corruption. care for elderly Orthodox men in
“MLK’s Legacy on Screen” series with a live shadow cast from the Extended to April 14. Keegan Israel by day and headline a drag
COMMUNITY
STAGE
I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT,
NOW CHANGE
A celebration of the mating game
from gay Tony-winning scribe and
lyricist Joe DiPietro (Memphis)
and composer Jimmy Roberts, this
musical comedy revue takes on the
truths and myths behind modern
love and relationships, as presented
in the form of a series of vignettes.
Touted as the second-longest run-
ning musical Off Broadway (after
The Fantasticks), I Love You...
BRINGING UP BABY sees a Baltimore community ver-
Howard Hawks’ American screwball comedy was such a commercial flop upon release sion directed by Fuzz Roark, with
in 1938, its star Katharine Hepburn was considered box-office poison for a while. Now, it Mandee Ferrier Roberts as musical
director and a cast of six taking on
ranks No. 88 on the American Film Institute’s “100 Years...100 Movies” list. Cary Grant over 30 characters, all in search
co-stars with Hepburn the superbly outlandish classic. Fun fact: production was repeade- of love. To April 22. Spotlighters
ly delayed due to frequent, uncontrollable outburts of laughter between the two stars. Theatre, 817 St. Paul St., Baltimore.
Part of Landmark’s excellent Capital Classics series at the West End Cinema, 2301 M St. Tickets are $18 to $22. Call 410-752-
1225 or visit spotlighters.org.
NW. Wednesday, April 11, 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 landmarktheatres.com. MOON OVER BUFFALO
Ken Ludwig’s fast-paced screwball
comedy circa 1995, a throwback
farce, is a valentine to the stage,
show by night. Philip Himberg’s biomedical ethics and starring two year’s Helen Hayes Awards. The featuring characters with larger-
“karaoke musical,” based on of D.C.’s greatest contemporary company closes out its current sea- than-life personalities. Set in 1953
Tomer Heymann’s uplifting and actors, Susan Rome and Tom Story. son with a recent hit at the New in Buffalo, Charlotte and George
thought-provoking 2006 doc- To April 29. Theater J, 1529 16th York Fringe Festival exploring inti- Hay are the stars of a floundering
umentary, makes its American St. NW. Tickets are $39 to $69. Call macy and identity in a gay world touring theater company current-
premiere kicking off Mosaic 202-777-3210 or visit theaterj.org. of labels and stereotypes. A com- ly staging repertory productions of
Theater Company’s 2018 Voices edy by Kevin Michael West (The Noel Coward’s Private Lives and
From A Changing Middle East THE PAVILION DOMA Diaries), Top and Bottom a “revised, one nostril version” of
Festival. Mark Brokaw (Rodgers Fairfax’s Helen Hayes Award- focuses on an encounter between Cyrano de Bergerac. The Maryland
& Hammerstein’s Cinderella) winning Hub Theatre celebrates two guys who want to explore community theater Laurel Mill
directs a production with chore- 10 years by reprising its inaugural their sexual bondage fantasies, but Playhouse offers a production
ography by Jeff Michael Rebudal production, Craig Wright’s modern they’re a bit klutzy, a bit nerdy, directed by Larry Simmons. To
and a cast including Ariel Felix, twist on Our Town. Kelsey Mesa and a bit unsure of what they’re April 15. 508 Main St., Laurel, Md.
Kevin L. Shen, Evan D’Angeles, directs Nora Achrati, Matt Bassett, doing, and as a result everything Tickets are $$15 to $20. Call 301-
Rafael Sebastian, Jon Norman and Helen R. Murray in a work, goes a bit awry. Dimitri Gann and 617-9906 or visit laurelmillplay-
Schneider, John Bambery, Chris by turns metaphysical and comic, Ryan Townsend star. Production house.org.
Bloch, Lise Bruneau, Elan Zafir, romantic and philosophical, that contains full male nudity. Opens
Brice Guerriere, Chris Daileader,
and Dallas Milholland. Extended
follows a man returning home for
his 20th high school reunion in
in previews Thursday, April 5. To
April 29. District of Columbia Arts
MUSIC
to April 29. Atlas Performing Arts hopes of rekindling things with his Center (DCAC), 2438 18th St. NW.
CONGRESSIONAL CHORUS:
Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are childhood sweetheart. To April 15. Tickets are $35. Call 202-462-7833
LET US ENTERTAIN YOU!
$20 to $65. Call 202-399-7993 or The John Swayze Theatre in the or visit dcartscenter.org.
Subtitled “Children on Stage &
visit mosaictheater.org. New School of Northern Virginia,
Screen,” the latest program from the
9431 Silver King Court, Fairfax. TRANSLATIONS vocal group features its American
ROZ AND RAY Tickets are $22 to $32. Visit the- British army engineers arrive in
Youth Chorus, comprised of sing-
A gripping medical drama about hubtheatre.org. 19th-century rural Ireland to draw
ers aged 8 to 14, accompanied by
a doctor at the onset of the AIDS new borders and translate local
the Congressional Chorus Chamber
crisis in the 1980s, as Dr. Roz Kagan TOP AND BOTTOM place names into the King’s English
Ensemble. It’s an all-ages concert in
offers a new miracle drug to save Five years after its formation, the in a work dating to 1980 from cele-
every sense, however, as the cho-
Ray Leon’s hemophiliac twins. LGBTQ-focused Rainbow Theatre brated Irish playwright Brian Friel
rus’ NorthEast Senior Singers is also
Theater J’s Adam Immerwahr Project’s strong work is not going (Dancing at Lughnasa). “Born out of
featured. Saturday, April 14, at 7:30
directs the East Coast premiere of unnoticed — and as evidenced by a contested cultural moment,” says
p.m. The Lutheran Church of the
Karen Hartman’s play exploring being nominated as an Outstanding Studio’s David Muse, “Friel’s classic
Reformation, 212 East Capitol St.
the complex issues surrounding Emerging Theatre Company at this about language and all of its limits
NE. Tickets are $17. Call 202-629-
DXB PHOTOGRAPHY
culminating in the grand fireworks
display. Saturday, April 7, from 1 to
9:30 p.m. The Wharf, 1100 Maine
Ave. SW. Visit nationalcherryblos-
somfestival.org. A week later comes
the CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL
PARADE, a star-studded proces-
sional of giant balloons, elaborate
floats, marching bands, and celeb- D.C.’S DIFFERENT DRUMMERS
rity entertainers this year led by “Music inspired by Dance” is the theme of the annual concert featuring the LGBTQ musical
Grand Marshal Carla Hall of ABC’s umbrella organization’s Capitol Pride Symphonic Band. In his fourth season as conductor,
The Chew, ‘90s hip-hop group
Arrested Development, hunky pop/
Anthony Oakley leads a program featuring Robert Russell Bennett’s A Suite of Old American
classical string quartet Well Strung, Dances — from the Cake Walk to Western One-Step to the Rag — Bernstein’s “Danzon”
gay The Voice Season 11 contestant from Fancy Free, Britten’s Courtly Dances, Marquez’s Danzon No. 2, and the Richard
Billy Gilman, The Voice Season 8 Rodgers tune that gives the concert its title. The band will also perform Julie Giroux’s
contestant Sarah Potenza, country
singer Ty Herndon, and extreme Hymn for the Innocent to honor 2016’s Pulse Nightclub massacre as well as other victims
pogo stunt team XPOGO. Saturday, of gun violence. Saturday, April 7, at 7 p.m. Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G St. NW. Tickets
April 14, from 10 a.m. to noon. are $20. Then, on Monday, April 9, DCDD will meet with those curious in becoming mem-
Constitution Avenue between 7th
and 17th Streets NW.
bers of its Summer 2018 Marching Band and Color Guard at a shared Open House that will
also feature representatives from TeamDC and Cheer DC looking for recruits. Anyone is
Other affiliated events to come over welcome to join any DCDD band — the organization’s ensembles are “non-audition-based”
the next week, all free unless noted: — and can expect to play alongside both full-time musicians and music teachers. Monday,
the UMETSUGU INOUE FILM
SERIES of classics by the prolif- April 9, at 7 p.m. at Shaw’s Tavern, 520 Florida Ave. NW. Visit dcdd.org.
ic Japanese filmmaker known as
“Japan’s Music Man,” presented at
select times Friday, April 6, through 888-NEWSEUM or visit newseum. ($61.90 at lunch, $73.90 at brunch, Chocolate Cherry beer launch with
Sunday, April 22. Meyer Auditorium org; the 26th Annual NATIONAL or $109.90 at dinner, not includ- chocolate pairing tasting. Non-
in Freer Gallery of Art. Visit freer- JAPAN BOWL - CHAMPIONSHIP ing taxes and fees) and SPIRIT food attractions include an out-
sackler.si.edu for full schedule; a ROUNDS, an academic competi- CRUISES ($51.90 at lunch, $91.90 door spring gardening market from
KIMONO SALE FUNDRAISER AND tion for U.S. high school students at dinner non-inclusive). Nalls Produce, a pop-up bookshop
EXHIBIT with expert and author studying Japanese language as well from Politics & Prose, a pop-up by
Paul McLardy discussing and dis- as history, culture, and society. UNION MARKET trendy local “athleisure” retailer s3
playing a diverse assortment of the Friday, April 13, from 2 to 5 p.m. STREET FESTIVAL Active in Dock5, a warehouse sale
quintessential Japanese garment. National 4-H Youth Conference The Union Market District will from upscale men’s clothier Hugh
Saturday, April 7, through Monday, Center, 7100 Connecticut Ave., usher in spring this Saturday, April & Crye, a curated Brief Assembly
April 9. Pepco Edison Place Gallery, Chevy Chase, Md; TAMAGAWA 7, through a day-long festival that pop-up with beauty and fashion
702 8th St. NW; the annual ROSÉ UNIVERSITY TAIKO DRUMMING more importantly highlights the products, several free 60-minute
ROMP with fine French rosé wine AND DANCE TROUPE, thundering expanding neighborhood and cele- fitness sessions throughout the
varietals, spring-inspired cuisine, taiko drumming meets traditional brates its newest merchants. Most day in Dock5, including a morning
and live music. Saturday, April 7, Japanese dance in this special per- notable among them is the brand- boot camp class by DC Cut Seven, a
from 1 to 4 p.m. Terrace at the formance. Friday, April 13, at noon. new Trader Joe’s, which will set post-lunch class by Flybarre, and an
Willard InterContinental Hotel, National Gallery of Art, 4th Street up an outdoor flower market and afternoon Yoga with Nya class with
1401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. All- and Constitution Avenue NW; and recipe-sampling station to mark Nya Alemayhu, and a DC United
You-Can-Eat-and-Drink Tickets YOGA IN THE TEMPLE, a free, the occasion. Among other food meet-and-greet with players. There
are $89. Call 202-637-7411 or visit all-levels-welcome, BYOM session highlights at the festival: Michelin- will also be live music throughout
washington.intercontinental.com; in artist David Best’s room-sized starred chef Nick Stefanelli will the day along with food trucks on
NEWSEUM NIGHTS: IN BLOOM, an installation, part of the exhibition serve breakfast sandwiches on Neal Place. Saturday, April 7, from 9
evening of Japanese sights, sounds, No Spectators: The Art of Burning Masseria’s patio, Cotton & Reed a.m. to 4 p.m. Between 4th and 6th
and tastes from Wolfgang Puck’s Man. Saturday, April 14, at 9 a.m. distillery, in partnership with Adam Streets NE, bordered by New York
The Source, plus all-night open beer Renwick Gallery, Pennsylvania Greenberg’s forthcoming beachy Avenue to the north and Florida
and wine bar, and access to current Avenue at 17th Street NW. Finally, joint Coconut Club, will throw a Avenue to the south. Visit union-
exhibitions. Friday, April 13, from 8 you can also dine and see the blos- Pig Roast Party, and the Market’s marketdc.com. l
to 10:30 p.m. 555 Pennsylvania Ave. soms up close and comfortable from recently opened craft-beer ven-
NW. Tickets are $50 to $60. Call boats run by ODYSSEY CRUISES dor The Bruery will offer a White
WARD MORRISON
Weekly Events
information, call Gaithersburg,
301-300-9978, or Takoma Park,
ANDROMEDA
301-422-2398.
TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH
offers free HIV testing and HIV
METROHEALTH CENTER
services (by appointment). 9 Minor (center) offers free, rapid HIV testing.
a.m.-5 p.m. Decatur Center,
CHAMPIONSHIP
Appointment needed. 1012 14th
1400 Decatur St. NW. To
St. NW, Suite 700. To arrange
arrange an appointment, call
an appointment, call
202-291-4707, or visit androm-
202-638-0750.
edatransculturalhealth.org.
HONORS
SMYAL offers free HIV Testing,
DC AQUATICS CLUB practice
3-5 p.m., by appointment and
session at Takoma Aquatic
walk-in, for youth 21 and
Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 300 Van
younger. Youth Center, 410 7th
Buren St. NW. For more infor-
mation, visit swimdcac.org. Team DC presents local awards and college St. SE. 202-567-3155 or test-
ing@smyal.org.
scholarships at its upcoming
DC FRONT RUNNERS run-
ning/walking/social club Night of Champions. STI TESTING at Whitman-
Walker Health. 10 a.m.-12:30
J
welcomes runners of all ability
p.m. and 2-3 p.m. at both 1525
levels for exercise in a fun and
UST AS WE SAW YOUNG PEOPLE TAKE CONTROL 14th St. NW and the Max
supportive environment, with
socializing afterward. Route at the national gun control rally, we have some amaz- Robinson Center, 2301 Martin
ing young people who will be receiving Team DC Luther King, Jr. Ave. SE.
distance is 3-6 miles. Meet at
Testing is intended for those
7 p.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW. Scholarships,” says Brent Minor, executive director of Team without symptoms. For an
For more information, visit DC, the umbrella organization for area LGBTQ sports teams. appointment call 202-745-7000
dcfrontrunners.org.
Awarded annually, the scholarships honor openly LGBTQ or visit whitman-walker.org.
DC LAMBDA SQUARES, D.C.’s student-athletes from the greater D.C. area who wish to com-
US HELPING US hosts a
gay and lesbian square-dancing pete at a college level. Since the program started a decade ago, Narcotics Anonymous Meeting.
group, features mainstream Team DC has awarded 59 scholarships totaling $68,000. This The group is independent of
through advanced square
dancing at the National City
year, six students will be honored at the organization’s annual UHU. 6:30-7:30 p.m., 3636
“Night of Champions” gala on Saturday, April 14. Georgia Ave. NW. For more
Christian Church. Please dress
information, call 202-446-1100.
casually. 7-9:30 p.m. 5 Thomas “The Night of Champions is a three-course seated dinner,”
Circle NW. 202-930-1058, says Minor. “It’s $100 a ticket, which for D.C. is a bargain, with WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP
dclambdasquares.org.
cocktails and a silent auction beforehand. Two of the students INSTITUTE for young LBTQ
will speak at the dinner. It’s very empowering to hear them, women, 13-21, interested in
DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds
leadership development. 5-6:30
practice. The team is always and solidifies why you’re helping support Team DC.”
p.m. SMYAL Youth Center, 410
looking for new members. All The gala will also recognize the achievements of several 7th St. SE. For more informa-
welcome. 7:30-9:30 p.m. King
leaders in the sports community, with Jesse Anderson of tion, call 202-567-3163, or email
Greenleaf Recreation Center,
201 N St. SW. For more infor- the DC Pride Gay Volleyball League and Sharifa Love of the catherine.chu@smyal.org.
mation, visit scandalsrfc.org or Washington Furies Women’s Rugby Team earning the MVP
dcscandals@gmail.com. Award for their work promoting their leagues and teams. Bud FRIDAY, April 6
Rorison, of the Capital Tennis Association, and Les Johnson, GAY DISTRICT, a group for
THE DULLES TRIANGLES
Northern Virginia social of the Capital Area Rainbowlers Association, will be honored GBTQQI men between the ages
group meets for happy hour at with the Trailblazer Award. of 18-35, meets on the first and
Sheraton in Reston. All wel- Balance Gym will receive the Community Support Award, third Fridays of each month.
come. 7-9 p.m. 11810 Sunrise 8:30-9:30 p.m. 2000 14th St.
and Mayor Muriel Bowser, who will deliver opening remarks NW, Suite 105. For more infor-
Valley Drive, second-floor bar.
For more information, visit
at the dinner, will receive the Champion Award for her advo- mation, visit gaydistrict.org.
dullestriangles.com. cacy on behalf of D.C.’s bid to host the Gay Games XI in 2022.
“It’s amazing to see how our community has grown,” says Join LGBTQ people from all
HIV TESTING at Whitman- over the D.C. Metro area for an
Minor. “I continue to say that one of the strengths of our com-
Walker Health. 9 a.m.-12:30 LGBTQ HAPPY HOUR SOCIAL
p.m. and from 2-5 p.m. at 1525
munity in D.C. is our sports teams. They serve as a real anchor at Pinzimimi Lounge in the
14th St. NW, and 9 a.m-12 for our lives, keep people rooted in the community, and make Westin Arlington Gateway.
p.m. and 2-5 p.m. at the Max them feel welcome, involved and engaged.” —John Riley Everyone welcome. No cover.
Robinson Center, 2301 MLK Jr. Metro is two blocks away.
Ave. SE. For an appointment 6:30-8:30 p.m. 801 N. Glebe Rd.,
Team DC’s “Night of Champions” is Saturday, April 14 from Arlington, Va. Visit gogaydc.org.
call 202-745-7000 or visit whit-
man-walker.org. 6-10 p.m. at the Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Ave.
NW. Tickets are $100 per person and can be purchased at The DC Center’s TRANS
teamdc.org. SUPPORT GROUP provides a
A
Photography by Todd Franson
SCHARA VIGSITTABOOT HAD what I have right now. I want to get on another
a dream. “When I first came here, level...I have a lot to do.”
I worked as a server at Rice,” says In fact, all three partners in the restaurant family
the native of southern Thailand. have plenty more they want to do and achieve —
“And during that time, I learned they’re just not quite ready to talk about it yet.
a lot of things in the kitchen, and “Ultimately, our goal is to open another Beau
felt like, ‘I can do that.’ I love cooking.” Her brother- Thai,” Brabham teases. “We’re just working on the
in-law, Pranote Thongpanchong, was a co-founder pieces to make it happen.”
of Rice, the small, sleek, sophisticated Thai restau- Might there be a Southern-styled venture on
rant that helped pave the way for today’s restaurant the horizon? The model would be Dot’s Spot, the
boom on 14th Street. But Vigsittaboot was con- pop-up from last summer on the BKK Cookshop
vinced she could do better. A chance encounter led patio, where Brabham and Porterfield served up
to meeting a couple — Ralph Brabham and Drew some of the hearty, heavy Southern breakfast sta-
Porterfield — who she recruited to form her dream ples they were raised on. “We definitely have goals
team just in time for the launch of the first Beau and dreams to continue doing things in hospitality,”
Thai in 2010. Porterfield says. “Things that aren’t necessarily
Beau Thai’s two locations have since become Thai or Beau Thai.”
a favorite among locals in Shaw and Mt. Pleasant. Whatever develops, you can expect a united
It’s even spawned a more informal, everyday Thai front from Brabham, Porterfield, and Vigsittaboot.
offshoot, BKK Cookshop, named after Bangkok’s “If we open a Southern restaurant, I don’t think
international airport code and situated in the origi- Aschara’s going to be cooking,” says Porterfield.
nal location of the first Beau Thai. Pranote’s daugh- “But in the same way she invited us to be a part of
ter, Nicha, runs the restaurant. “She is asserting a Beau Thai, we would invite her and want her to be a
more youthful, vibrant Thai flair in all aspects of part of anything else that we do for sure.
BKK,” Brabham says of the young chef, who went “We’re two boys from North Carolina that didn’t
to culinary school in Thailand before becoming know a lot about Pad Thai,” he says. “Thanks to
Vigsittaboot’s apprentice. Aschara, we’ve learned a lot, but we could not have
“It’s very enjoyable, it’s exciting, we get along made it before we started doing this.”
very well,” Vigsittaboot says about her relationship For the time being, the focus is on Food &
with Brabham and Porterfield. “It’s just almost like Friends. This year, Beau Thai and BKK Cookshop
family. When I want or need something, they are will donate 25 percent of proceeds from lunch and
always helping me. Not just with work, everything.” dinner sales to the organization’s annual benefit,
Styling herself as a kind of Thai culinary ambas- Dining Out for Life.
sador, Vigsittaboot sees room for improvement in “This will be our fifth year participating,” says
both the average person’s perception of Thai food, Brabham, settling in for an hour-long interview
as well as in her well-considered presentation of her with Metro Weekly alongside his husband. “Pretty
native cuisine. much since day one we wanted to be a restaurant
“When everything gets in place, you feel like you that is part of the community and gives back and is
should do something else,” she says. “Thai food has more than just a place to grab a meal.”
still got a long way to go. I want to try to improve
t
On the Cover - BKK Cookshop: Spaghetti Drunken Noodles with Thai sausage APRIL 5, 2018 • METROWEEKLY 29
METRO WEEKLY: Let’s start with Dining Out for Life. rants. He’s the “wine snob” among the three of us.
RALPH BRABHAM: Dining Out for Life is just one of many fund- PORTERFIELD: Wow! Okay.
raisers that we do at the restaurant to support causes that we MW: That’s the technical term for it.
hold dear. This year we’re expanding — we had never done it at BRABHAM: We actually have a section at Beau Thai called
BKK before, and we’re also doing it at both lunch and dinner at “Drew’s Obsessions,” and generally speaking, it is one or two
all three places. Additionally, the Tuesday night before Dining wines that no one in the restaurant buys, but Drew enjoys.
Out for Life, we’re doing another fundraiser here at BKK for PORTERFIELD: It’s the most selfish thing in the world. I go to
Food & Friends as a kickoff for their volunteers and in anticipa- restaurants and have wine, and whenever I find something I
tion of a busy night on Thursday. Every week we do what we call fall in love with, I try and find out who sells it. It doesn’t always
Terrific Tuesdays, where we donate 10 percent of dine-in dinner work out, but most of the time we can find a distributor, and I
sales that day to a different put it on our menu — we’ve
nonprofit — such as Horton’s had reds and whites and
SAUCE.’”
wing portrayals of what gays ally. It was secular. One of our
can be. And it was also some- —Drew Porterfield best friends, Guy Cecil, mar-
what of a self-imposed struggle, ried us.
because I knew I was gay with PORTERFIELD: It was a really
my first sexual feeling in fifth fun party.
or sixth grade. But I also perceived that it was not okay to be MW: What is it like working at Long View, Drew?
gay. So toward the end of college, to deal with it, I went off the PORTERFIELD: I think it’s the coolest place to be in D.C. I love
super-conservative Christian exit ramp of the Highway of Life. working there, I like the work that we show. It’s an amazing
[Laughs.] event venue. I started at Long View soon after it opened, when
MW: As in conversion therapy? it was in a different location than it is now — a 600-square-foot
BRABHAM: Yeah, I went to Exodus International events. It never space a block up 9th Street. We had floor-to-ceiling art, a frame
really worked, but I did seek counseling for a solid two or three shop, candles, cards, it was a whole thing.
202.244.2044 OPEN
TUESDAY
BRUNCH
502 H STREET NE | WASHINGTON, DC 20002 SATURDAY
&
www.lechatnoirrestaurant.com
THRU
DINING
A complete guide to all
participating restaurants
as of press time, by
neighborhood, including
meals and what
percentage of each bill
will be donated to Food
& Friends. This year’s
Dining Out for Life takes
OUT FOR
place on Thursday, April
12th. Please note that
LIFE
RESERVATIONS ARE
SUGGESTED at most
restaurants. Please call
ahead or book online.
When you book through
the event’s dedicated
OpenTable portal, an
additional donation will
be made to Food &
Friends. For an up-to-
date list of restaurants
visit foodandfriends.org/
diningout.
Washington, D.C.
ADAMS MORGAN
Mintwood Place
1813 Columbia Rd. NW
202-234-6732
Dinner, 25%
Perry’s
1811 Columbia Rd. NW
202-234-6218
Dinner, 25%
Pop’s SeaBar
1817 Columbia Rd. NW
202-534-3933
Lunch & Dinner, 25%
BROOKLAND
Brookland’s Finest
Bar & Kitchen
3126 12th St. NE
TODD FRANSON / FILE PHOTO
202-636-0050
Lunch & Dinner, 50%
t
Sounds of Silence
family or faction, and their tormentors
stand-ins for whatever boogeyman scares
us, too. Enveloped in the silence with
them, every sudden noise is chilling. Even
A family clings to survival in the intense monsters-in-the-dark thriller more excruciating are the hazards you can
A Quiet Place. By André Hereford see coming as time ticks slowly towards
some noisy reckoning, as someone steps
S
closer and closer to a nail jutting up from
TAY SILENT, STAY ALIVE,” PROCLAIMS AN ALARMING NEWSPAPER the stairs.
front page, posted on a farmhouse wall. Leading a silent, post-digital exis- Several jump scares hit, and some miss,
tence in that farmhouse, the Abbott family — Evelyn and Lee (Emily Blunt and but that immersive feeling of anticipation
John Krasinski), and their children, Marcus, Regan, and Beau (Noah Jupe, Millicent and dread holds from beginning to end.
Simmonds, and Cade Woodward) — have grown accustomed to heeding the warning. The film is more taut than frightening,
They communicate in sign language, move around only in their bare feet, and mark all although Krasinski deploys a judicious
the creaky floorboards on the stairs. amount of visual effects-assisted blood
They’re the only humans stirring about their small town following some apocalyptic and brutality to elicit a few gross-out
event, so they’re doing something right. Yet, whatever monsters lurk in the surround- scares, hitting all the horror bases.
ing woods can’t be held at bay forever by silence. Someone at some point will make a Still, A Quiet Place achieves a certain
sound. Whatever’s out there will hear it. And death might strike. grace through its sound design and cine-
It’s a hyper-paranoid existence, tiptoeing through life fearful of triggering your own matography in adopting the various family
demise just by speaking up, or laughing out loud, or dropping practically anything. In members’ perspectives on silence, particu-
John Krasinski’s riveting horror thriller A Quiet Place (HHHHH), that burden falls larly that of daughter Regan, who happens
heavily on the children, who naturally want to make noise in the world. Also, poignant- to be deaf and is portrayed by Simmonds,
ly, it weighs a special burden on the parents who feel responsible for protecting their who is deaf. Simmonds might be a stand-
offspring from harm in their present hellscape. out in the tight ensemble, were it not
Krasinski turns in an impressive feature filmmaking debut — more Get Out than It the case that all the Abbott performances
Comes at Night (and that’s a very good thing). While potently enigmatic, the script isn’t wrest attention and pull hard in opposing
precious about withholding details, such as what exactly is out there hunting down emotional directions.
humanity. Their survivalist lifestyle, holed up in
The film sustains an air of tension by immersing the audience in the same quiet the continues on page 43
O
tion Jones weaves into his retelling of
FFERING A WARMLY PALATABLE DRAMATIZATION OF CIVIL RIGHTS- The Rabbits’ Wedding brouhaha. At a bus
era American history, Washington Stage Guild’s Alabama Story (HHHHH) stop near the library in Montgomery, two
explores thorny racial issues with smarts and sensitivity. However, the play childhood friends, Lily (Jenny Donovan)
could use an infusion of nerve, as it safely avoids language or insinuations that might and Joshua (Gerrad Alex Taylor), bump
prove too discomforting. Rarely does the genteel drama bare the nastiness underpin- into each other and become reacquainted.
ning the actual events upon which it is based. However, she’s a nice, married white lady,
In 1959, the White Citizens Council of Montgomery, with the help of a segregation- and he’s a black Korean War vet, also mar-
ist state senator, mounted a campaign to force the local public library to remove The ried, and this is 1959 Alabama. Their inno-
Rabbits’ Wedding from its shelves. A children’s picture book about the forest wedding cent interaction could potentially trigger
of a black rabbit and a white rabbit, the 32-page tale of bunny love written and illustrat- hostile, even harmful, reaction from some
ed by Garth Williams (Nigel Reed), was vilified by racists as propaganda for a pro-mis- random passerby.
cegenation agenda, a charge vehemently denied by Williams. Director Kasi Campbell applies a
Playwright Kenneth Jones focuses less on the book and its creator than on a version sure hand, weaving between Lily and
of real-life librarian Emily Reed (Julie-Ann Elliott), the steadfast forward-thinker who Joshua delicately mapping the strict bor-
resisted censorship and the powerful White Citizens Council. That the blatantly racist ders of their friendship and Emily Reed
council has been replaced as villain in this depiction by a more innocuous-sounding and Thomas standing up to the bullying
newspaper called The Montgomery Home News is a hint that Alabama Story wants to Senator Higgins. Marianne Meadows’
tidy up the welcome mat for folks of all sensibilities. adroit lighting helps keep the pace and
No character from the newspaper makes an appearance, keeping the specter of bigot- adds dimension to Kirk Kristlibas and
ry more or less offstage. A fictionalized state senator, the cigar-chomping E.W. Higgins Jingwei Dai’s fairly plain set design,
(Steven Carpenter), is characterized less as a bigot than as a craven opportunist chasing while Stacey Thomann Hamilton’s cos-
votes by supporting segregationists. tumes contribute keenly to defining peri-
To April 15, at Washington Stage Guild, 900 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Tickets are $25 to $50.
Call 240-582-0050 or visit stageguild.org.
A Quiet Place is rated PG-13, and opens in theaters nationwide on Friday, March 23. Visit fandango.com.
Carpenter
Country Girls
edly returning to it, the song speaks to
what is perhaps her greatest strength as
a songwriter. The song is both luxurious
and dreamy, with an addictive hook, and
Mary Chapin Carpenter revisits a long career, while Kacey Musgraves a layering of instruments that deepen with
makes a case for her own staying power. By Sean Maunier every pass. It’s unlikely she’ll have to ever
revisit it on a future album — she got it just
A
right the first time around.
FTER THREE DECADES OF TOPPING FOLK AND COUNTRY CHARTS,
Mary Chapin Carpenter has a lot to look back on. Shrinking back from the
orchestral arrangements that virtually overwhelmed her last album, her latest KACEY MUSGRAVES IS A BIT of an odd-
work returns to a stripped back, crisply acoustic sound far more suited to both her style ball in country music, sitting very much
and her voice. Nearly every track on Sometimes Just the Sky (HHHHH) is a reworked within its tradition but constantly play-
version of a previously released song, making it conceptually similar to 2016’s The ing with its expectations, exaggerating its
Things That We Are Made Of, although her approach is strikingly different. imagery, and subverting its tropes — all
Despite featuring material from most of her albums going back to the ’80s, it would from a place of love, of course. For the
not quite feel right to call Sometimes Just the Sky a retrospective. For an album that most part, Golden Hour (HHHHH) is a
mostly consists of reconstituted material, it sounds remarkably like a unified whole. more pensive and reflective effort than
Carpenter breathes new life into her songs, bringing a new tone and perspective to her previous work, evoking the time of day
several. It’s also worth noting that rather than revisiting what might be considered her from which it takes its name, but slowing
greatest hits, she’s instead chosen to feature slightly more obscure songs that might not down the pace hasn’t dampened her sense
have gotten the exposure they deserved the first time around. As a result, Sometimes of humor or the sharpness of her song-
Just the Sky sounds almost like an album of new material. writing.
The opening track, “Heroes and Heroines,” has a more layered, expansive and Musgraves has always found ways to
brighter sound than the sparse 1987 piano and guitar ballad. “I Have a Need for defy expectations, and is not about to quit
Solitude,” on the other hand, has been made more roomy and haunting. Even recent on her third studio album. The title of
songs like her 2016 single “What Does It Mean to Travel” are reworked in ways that “Space Cowboy,” for example, gives the
put them in a new light. impression we’re in for a fun song. Surely,
Carpenter closes out Sometimes Just The Sky with its title track, the only song writ- we might think, a song about a space cow-
Golden Hour and Sometimes Just the Sky are available to purchase from Amazon.com and iTunes,
and are available on streaming services.
DrinksDragDJsEtc... 12-12:30am • DJs 5-10pm • Beer and wine Burlesque in the Nest, $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of
BacK2bACk only $4 • RuPaul’s Drag 10:30pm • Cover is $10 in Beer $15
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NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR party Elyx Vodka and Any Red NUMBER NINE
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Beat the Clock Happy Hour Bull Flavor for $7 all day Open 5pm • Happy Hour:
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2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
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9 1/2 Best Underwear Contest at
Night FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any Midnight • Code enforced
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • SHAW’S TAVERN
drink, 5-9pm • Multiple in Code Bar after 9pm •
NUMBER NINE Karaoke, 9pm Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3
TVs showing movies, College Night Thursdays,
shows, sports • Expanded 9pm-2am • EDM Dance
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
Friday, GREEN LANTERN
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon,
$5 House Wines, $5 Rail
craft beer selection •
Music videos featuring
Party, 10pm-2am • Free
admission to the Tavern •
April 6 Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas
SHAW’S TAVERN $5 Svedka, all flavors and Select Appetizers •
DJ Wess Admission to the Nest is
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 9 1/2 all night long • Davon Luke James Shaffer sing-
free until 10:30pm • After
Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, Open at 5pm • Happy Hamilton presents Spring ing, 9pm
BALTIMORE EAGLE 10:30pm, $5 Cover for
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• $3 Well Drinks in Nest FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
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day • RuPaul’s Drag Race Karaoke, 9pm
TRADE Baltimore Bear Happy $10 Cover • 21+ • Drag Show starts
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by Washington Heights GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour: Any drink beers and wines up to NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR Lena Lett and featuring
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tail glass served in a huge Dark in the Code Bar, 9pm Beat the Clock Happy Hour Queeta-Lee, Riley Knoxx
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Cover for ages 18-20, Free Underwear Drink Free,
“Information about sexual orientation and health status...has to be treated with great care.
In our opinion, Grindr fails to do so.”
— FINN MYRSTAD, director of digital services at the Norwegian Consumer Council. The Scandinavian country is pursuing action
against Grindr for sharing users’ HIV status and other personal data with two outside companies, something NCC called
“very disconcerting” and a possible violation of European privacy laws.
“The likelihood of a fag catching HIV is 1000% more likely then [sic] any straight person...
fags are disgusting.”
— JUSTIN JONES, Libertarian candidate for the Arkansas House of Representatives, responding on Facebook to a post about gay
blood donations. Jones has been heavily criticized for his comments by LGBTQ groups and the local Libertarian Party,
which asked him to abandon his campaign.