4 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010

METROWEEKLY.com 5
 News
LGBT Now online at MetroWeekly.com
News: DADT Case Hits the Supreme Court
Video: “Oh, my,” it’s George Takei

No Easy Pieces
News Analysis: As the military, the Congress and the White House began
discussing post-election prospects for DADT repeal, there were more ques-
tions and rumors than answers

tions director Dan Pfeiffer saying in a

by Chris Geidner statement sent to Metro Weekly and
several other media outlets, “The White

O
ver the past week-
end, the military leadership
began weighing in on the
post-election – and ever-nar-
rowing – window for the repeal of “Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell,” which was quickly
followed by rumors about the possibil-
ity of a version of the National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA) moving for-
ward in the Senate with the DADT repeal
House opposes any effort to strip ‘Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell’ from the National
Defense Authorization Act.”
On Nov. 9, a trio of lawmakers – the
Independent Sen. Joseph Lieberman
(Conn.) and Democratic Sens. Mark Udall
(Colo.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) –
issued a statement urging the Senate to
act on the NDAA – with the DADT repeal
provision included – this year.
“If Congress does not act to repeal

photo courtesy harry reid

provision stripped from it – a move the
White House said it opposed.
In The Wall Street Journal, Laura
Meckler reported on Nov. 7, “Sens.
Carl Levin of Michigan and John
McCain of Arizona, the top Democrat
and Republican on the Senate Armed
Services Committee, are in talks on
stripping the proposed repeal and other
controversial provisions from a broader
defense bill, leaving the repeal with no
legislative vehicle to carry it.”
On Nov. 8, Fred Sainz, HRC’s com-
munications vice president, called the
reports “interesting background noise,”
but added, “At this point, this is nothing
more than a rumor that has always been
a possibility.”
Sainz – whose organization sent
staff into eight states on Nov. 8 to
push for lame-duck passage of DADT
repeal – added, “As you would expect,
Republicans like McCain are going to be
shopping around any option that strips
‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal from the
underlying bill.”
On the evening of Nov. 8, the White
House interjected itself into the discus-
sion, with White House communica-
‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ in an orderly
manner that leaves control with our
nation’s military leaders, a federal judge
may do so unilaterally in a way that
is disruptive to our troops and ongo-
ing military efforts,” they wrote. “It is
important that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
be dealt with this year, and it appears
that the only way that can happen is if it
is on the defense bill.”
Although the decision to repeal the
1993 law is a legislative one – absent the
aforementioned court action – and one
that President Barack Obama supports,
the military leadership’s views have
played into support for and opposition
to DADT repeal throughout the year.
On Nov. 6, Defense Secretary Robert
Gates told reporters, “I would like to
see the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’
but I’m not sure what the prospects for
that are,” according to the Associated
Press. The AP report noted that Gates
said Congress should act in the lame-
duck session to do so.
The comments coincided with con-
tradictory comments from the new
Marine Corps commandant, Gen. James
Amos, who said the same day that com-
Reid
bat is “intimate” and that this intimacy
makes him uncertain of the impact of
repealing DADT on “unit cohesion” and
“combat effectiveness.”
“There is nothing more intimate than
young men and young women – and
when you talk of infantry, we’re talking
our young men – laying out, sleeping
alongside of one another and sharing
death, fear and loss of brothers,” Amos
said, according to the Associated Press.
“I don’t know what the effect of that
will be on cohesion. I mean, that’s what
we’re looking at. It’s unit cohesion, it’s
combat effectiveness.”
On Nov. 8, however, Agence France-
Presse reported that the chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff was “surprised”
by the comments from Amos.
“Actually I was surprised,” said
Mullen – who has said he supports

6 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010

LGBTNews
repeal – according to the AFP report. “I
was surprised what he said, surprised he
said it publicly.”
Back in May, it was at this point in the
legislative process — right before con-
gressional action was thought to begin
happening (and did happen) — when
all of the service chiefs serving below
Mullen issued letters questioning the
timing of the amendment being consid-
ered in both chambers’ Armed Services
Committees.
As Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) told Metro
Weekly at the time, “I think there’s a
measure of respect here that goes to
the service chiefs.” A person lobby-
ing Republican offices said at the time
that the service chiefs’ letters “killed”
attempts to get GOP votes.
Now, however, with only a few weeks
remaining until the Dec. 1 date when
the Pentagon working group looking at
DADT repeal implementation is sup-
posed to have its report to Gates, the
views of the service chiefs may be seen
by some members of Congress as relevant
once again.  If Amos stands alone in the military
They also may have changed.
With preliminary reports about the
8 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010
survey of servicemembers suggesting that
opposition to openly gay and lesbian ser-
vice is not as widespread as some of the
service chiefs have suggested, and with
questions about the ongoing appeal of
Log Cabin Republicans v. United States as
the background scene, it is not clear that
— despite the comments from Amos — all
of the service chiefs would be willing to
send a similar letter opposing lame-duck
passage of the repeal amendment.
Why would they change their views?
First, the review is to end before the
lame-duck session ends. Second, one or
more of the service chiefs could have
made a determination over the course of
the review that repeal would not harm
the military. Third, the review could have
convinced one or more of the service
chiefs that any issues raised by repeal
could be easily addressed or otherwise
mitigated. Fourth, the possibility of a
court-ordered end to DADT – as was
mentioned by the senators’ letter of Nov.
9 – could convince one or more of the
chiefs that legislative repeal now is best.
leadership as speaking out against DADT
repeal in the lame-duck session — or if
Army chief of staff Gen. George Casey
Jr., chief of naval operations Adm. Gary
Roughead and Air Force chief of staff
Gen. Norton Schwartz speak out in favor
of lame-duck repeal — the momentum
for action in the lame-duck session could
get a major boost. If Amos finds his com-
ments echoed in coming days by his
colleagues, repeal advocates will need
to confront that reality with political
strength in order to offset the military
leaders’ comments.
Regardless of the comments of the
military leadership, however, the action
needs to come from Congress – and,
primarily, from the Senate. The House in
May passed a version of the NDAA that
included the DADT repeal provision.
In order to pass repeal this Congress,
the Senate must pass the National
Defense Authorization Act in the com-
ing weeks in order to get the bill to and
through a conference committee with
the DADT repeal amendment intact. The
conference report must then be passed
by both bodies and signed into law.
As Aubrey Sarvis, executive director
of the Servicemembers Legal Defense
Network, said in a statement on Nov.
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METROWEEKLY.com 9
LGBTNews
7, “If the President, Majority Leader
Reid, Secretary Gates, and a handful of
Republican senators are committed to
passing the comprehensive defense bill,
there is ample time to do so.”
The level of their commitment to end-
ing DADT — with or without the support
of the service chiefs — will become clear
as the 111th Congress, and the Democrats’
control of the agenda in the House, comes
to a close over the next two months. l
DOMA Taking
More Hits
Following up on its summer success
attacking the Defense of Marriage
Act, GLAD files a second challenge
to the 1996 law – as the ACLU files
a similar case in NYC
by Chris Geidner
The Defense of Marriage Act
faced a two-pronged attack on Nov. 9 as
two separate organizations and sets of
lawyers, representing different plaintiffs,
filed lawsuits in federal court challenging
the federal definition of marriage.
The Gay and Lesbian Advocates and
Defenders (GLAD) filed a federal law-
suit in Connecticut challenging DOMA’s
Section 3, which defines “marriage” and
“spouse” in federal law as being limited
only to opposite-sex couples. The plain-
tiffs include couples and a widower from
three New England states with marriage
equality: Connecticut, New Hampshire
and Vermont.
Meanwhile, in New York City, the
American Civil Liberties Union and
the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind,
Wharton & Garrison LLP filed a simi-
lar federal lawsuit on behalf of Edith
Windsor, the widow of Thea Spyer.
Windsor was forced to pay a $350,000
estate bill because of the federal govern-
ment’s refusal to recognize Windsor’s
marriage to Spyer.
Although the new GLAD lawsuit looks
at first glance to be very similar to its Gill
v. Office of Personnel Management lawsuit
that resulted in a successful trial court rul-
ing in July, the suit filed this week expands
upon Gill by reaching out to include state
and private corporation discriminatory
10 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010
treatment resulting from DOMA.
The actions are challenged not because
of discretionary decisions made by the
state or private entities – which include
the New Hampshire Retirement System
and Bayer Corporation – but instead
because of the adherence of programs
run by those entities to federal laws and
regulations.
For example, the lawsuit claims that
Joanne Marquis “would receive a medi-
cal subsidy spousal benefit from the
NHRS to help pay for her legal spouse
[Janet Geller]’s private health insurance
premiums, but for DOMA, which prohib-
its” the plan from providing her with the
spousal benefit for Geller.
This expansion to cover the actions
taken by state and private actors as a
result of DOMA — though extremely sig-
nificant — is just one of the two primary
differences between this week’s filing
and Gill.
The other, more obvious, distinction is
that the Connecticut filing location of the
case means that an appeal from this case
would go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the Second Circuit, which includes New
York. Gill, coming from Massachusetts, is
being appealed to the First Circuit. Those
two circuits encompass all jurisdictions,
except Iowa and the District of Columbia,
that currently have marriage equality.
The New York City lawsuit, mean-
while, focuses on a couple who were the
subject of a documentary, Edie & Thea: A
Very Long Engagement, and whose 2007
wedding in Toronto was featured in The
New York Times. New York recognizes
same-sex marriages performed legally in
other jurisdictions for limited purposes.
Roberta Kaplan, a partner at Paul
Weiss who is the lead counsel in the case,
spoke with Metro Weekly on Nov. 8 about
Windsor’s lawsuit, summing the case up
by saying, “If Thea were Theo, she would
have been able to pass her estate to Edie-
tax free.”
Kaplan presents the facts succinctly.
“I have an 81-year-old client, and
$350,000 is a hell of a lot of money – a
huge amount of money that she paid in
violation of the Constitution,” Kaplan
said. “My client had to pay the govern-
ment, and she wants her money back.
“What we’re seeking in the case is a
check back – with interest.”
Asked about the comparison between
the ACLU case and the GLAD case in
Connecticut, Kaplan said, “I think the
cases complement each other very well.”
Unlike the sole plaintiff in the ACLU
case, the GLAD case features sev-
eral plaintiffs, including lead plaintiffs
Joanne Pedersen and Ann Meitzen of
Connecticut.
GLAD details that Pedersen and
Meitzen “have been together for 12 years,
and were married in 2008.” Pedersen is
retired from the Department of Naval
Intelligence, according to the release,
and is unable to put Ann, who has seri-
ous and chronic lung conditions, on her
health insurance plan.
Other plaintiffs in the case challenge
the inability to receive leave under the
Family and Medical Leave Act and Social
Security death and other survivor ben-
efits, as well as other differential treat-
ment resulting from DOMA’s definition
of marriage.
Regarding the legal theories of the
cases, Kaplan said, of the ACLU case,
“It’s about a place [New York] where
the marriage is recognized, so it’s simi-
lar to that theory [pursued by GLAD].”
But, “because I think these cases come
up in all sorts of different contexts,” she
said the Windsor case was a “dramatic”
example of the discrimination couples
face from DOMA.
“I think this case really gets people
in the gut,” she said. “Everyone can see
themselves in the position Edie found
herself in” – noting, however, that because
Windsor was married to a woman and not
a man she faced “a $350,000 tax bill.”
Kaplan, who has worked with the
ACLU seeking marriage equality in New
York under state law, said, “The best
way, I think, to move ahead is to play on
all the playing fields at the same time –
including in state and federal court.”
Asked if the ACLU case figures into
those efforts to gain marriage equality in
the state, she said, “In the bigger picture,
I think this case is really part of that – but
… it’s not a part of the state legislative
battle.”
When asked about the questions
that have been raised regarding the
Department of Justice’s defense of
DOMA and the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
law in court, Kaplan at first demurred.
Then, she said, “What I do think is
true is that in this case the Department of
Justice is going to have a very hard time
coming up with a reason to give a judge
in the Southern District of New York
why Edie and Thea should be treated
differently than if they were Edie and
Theo.” l
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METROWEEKLY.com 11
LGBTNews
Trans
Remembrance
Local organizations commemorate
event with gathering at church
By Yusef Najafi
Thursday, Nov. 20, is the
National Transgender Day of
Remembrance, a day in which many
pause to remember transgender victims
of violence, intolerance and injustice.
In Washington, Transgender Health
Empowerment (THE) and several other
local organization are teaming up to com-
memorate the event with a gathering at
the Metropolitan Community Church of
Washington D.C. on Thursday, Nov. 18.
Amanda Simpson, one of the first
transgender presidential appointees who
currently serves as the senior technical
advisor to the Commerce Department,
will be the keynote speaker.
Brian Watson, director of programs at
THE, says he’s also enthusiastic to have
Oasis, an LGBT dance troupe, perform-
ing a tribute piece to the many LGBT
12 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010
youth who have committed suicide in
recent months.
“It’s always a very nice event and we
usually get a packed house,” Watson says.
“We have everything from the candle-
light portion where we call out names to
remember people who have passed, to [a
choral performance].”
The Covenant Baptist Church’s choir
will sing at the MCC event.
“We have a wide range of things that
are going to happen throughout the eve-
ning, some a little more sad, some a little
more joyful or more high-spirited just to
pay homage to those who we have lost
throughout the years.”
Organizations helping THE produce
the event include the DC Trans Coalition,
Whitman-Walker Clinic, Youth Pride
Alliance, Gays and Lesbians Opposing
Violence and the DC Center.
Watson says he will be thinking about
friends he has lost over the past four
years of his work at THE.
“I definitely will be thinking about
the transgender women I have known
that I’ve lost that were friends of mine,
as well as the murders of the transgender
women that still have not been solved.”
While local transgender activist
Jessica McKinnon, organizer of 2010’s
D.C. Trans Pride event, supports com-
memorating a day in which transgender
victims are remembered, she is not plan-
ning to attend the MCC gathering.
“I tend to just be a little more pri-
vate about it…. I respect those that have
lost their lives and especially those who
have lost their lives in a brutal manner.
However, I am not a religious person so I
tend to shy away from religious services,”
she says.
“I have sometimes gone to Transgender
Day of Remembrance events sometimes
after the service just to be with peo-
ple and just to participate in that way,”
she says, adding that this year her work
schedule will keep her from doing that.
Still, McKinnon says the day serves an
important purpose.
“I think that it is important to remem-
ber that there is still a lot of work to
be done and I think that this a way for
people to be able to renew that focus.”
Watson echoes that sentiment.
“This is really the only day that the
transgender community gets every year
and we really want to see people come
out and show their support.”
THE will commemorate Transgender Day
of Remembrance beginning at 6:30 p.m.,
at MCC-DC, 474 Ridge St. NW. For more
info call THE at 202-636-1646. l
Smashing Success
Martina Navratilova takes the
court with Elton John and Billie
Jean King to raise money for AIDS
by Sean Bugg
When Martina Navratilova
takes to the court next Monday, it won’t
be for glory or the record books. Instead,
she’ll be joining a host of other tennis
stars and legends in a fundraiser for AIDS
charities.
Not that there won’t be a little friendly
competition.
“The better the players the more fun it
is for us, the more fun it is for the crowd,”
says Navratilova. “Everyone’s competi-
tive when they’re on the court.... Playing
tennis has always been for me about play-
ing the game, and if I do it really well,
then chances are that I’ll win.”
The World Team Tennis Smash
Hits fundraiser comes to American
University’s Bender Arena on Monday,
Nov. 15. It’s a fundraiser for the Elton John
METROWEEKLY.com 13
LGBTNews
AIDS Foundation and the Washington
AIDS Partnership. This is the 18th annual
WTT Smash Hits event, with two teams
captained by Elton John and Billie Jean
King competing under the World Team
Tennis (WTT) format.
“The atmosphere is always pretty
electric and it’s for a great cause,” says
Navratilova. “We’ll put on a good show.
That’s what we live for as tennis players.”
With the involvement of King, John
and Navratilova — as well as Rennae
Stubbs, a member of D.C.’s WTT team
the Washington Kastles for the last
two seasons — there’s plenty of gay and
lesbian participation in the evening’s
sporting event. Other players to be seen
include Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Anna
Kournikova, Jan-Michael Gambill and
James Blake.
Navratilova herself is famed as one
of the sport’s greatest players, not only
winning multiple Grand Slam titles but
enjoying a career that spanned decades —
from her early years in the 1970s through
her later career playing professional dou-
bles at the highest levels until she retired
in 2006. That lengthy career sprang from
a devotion to physical training and fit-
ness that she maintains to this day as she
trains for an upcoming hike up Mount
Kilimanjaro. She’s quick to point out that
her training now is not as long or intense
as her training as a pro player.
Although her participation in Smash
Hits will help raise money and aware-
ness for AIDS issues, Navratilova is an
outspoken advocate for women’s health
issues, something that became even more
personal for her earlier this year when
she was diagnosed with breast cancer
and underwent radiation treatments.
“It’s important to have a good group
of family and friends who are on your
side no matter what, and to plug into that
and not play the hero and say, ‘I’ll be fine,
14 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010
I’m okay,’ because you’re not ‘okay’ when
you have cancer,” she says.
Navratilova also stresses the impor-
tance of lesbians taking charge of their
own health, and not neglecting to visit
their doctors regularly.
“Gay women get sloppy when it comes
to going to the gynecologist, because they
figure, ‘We’re not going to get pregnant,”
she says. “That’s why I was out beating
the bushes to get women to go [and to get
mammograms].”
An entertaining presence on court as
a champion, Navratilova is just as enter-
taining when the stakes are for charity,
just as earlier this year when she played
in the “Hit for Haiti” fundraiser. And
Smash Hits will be a chance for her to
entertain and compete not only for rais-
ing money, but for herself.
“The opportunity to play and get on
the court with Billie Jean and Elton and,
of course, the great players of the past
[and present],” she says, “it’s always been
a treat. I love it.”
The 18th Annual WTT Smash Hits is
Monday, Nov. 15, at American University’s
Bender Arena. Tickets are available at
aueagles.tix.com. For more information
about WTT Smash Hits visit wtt.com. l
A Decade
of History
Rainbow History celebrates 10
years of preserving our past
by Justin Stewart
There are times when some-
thing good comes from sheer frustra-
tion.
That’s the case with the Rainbow
History Project, which came to being
in 2000, founded by people who were
frustrated by the lack of archives and
sources of local LGBT history.
Since that founding meeting at
17th Street’s Cyberstop Café, Rainbow
History has gone onto collect, archive
and preserve the history, arts, and cul-
ture of the LGBT communities in the
metropolitan D.C. area.
“Reaching the 10-year mark shows
how much [of] a need the Rainbow
History Project has filled,” says the
organization’s incoming chair, Philip
Clarke. “There was a need for someone
to archive community memories.”
To mark the occasion, the Rainbow
History Project has planned a reception,
which will be held at Charles Sumner
School Museum & Archives on Tuesday,
Nov. 16, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., where
they will be displaying items from the
Rainbow History Project’s archives. The
event is free and open to the public.
Since 2000, Rainbow History has
built a collection of taped oral histo-
ries, photographs and memorabilia from
the LGBT community, giving the group
“plenty to celebrate,” says treasurer Jan
Knode.
“Being a nonprofit, fully volunteer
organization that has lasted for 10 years
and has accomplished what we have is
reason for celebration,” she says, add-
ing that Rainbow History is looking
forward to celebrating the anniversary
by “getting together with the members
of the LGBT community.”
The host for the reception is the Charles
Sumner School Museum & Archives,
at 1201 17th St. NW. For more info, to
RSVP, or to volunteer, visit rainbowhis-
tory.org. l
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METROWEEKLY.com 15
 Helping Us Grow
HIV/AIDS organization celebrates
birthday with fall fundraiser

by Yusef Najafi

In the two decades since Us

Helping Us was founded to help improve
the health of African-American gay men,
the organization’s scope has grown, says
the group’s president, Ron Simmons.
Us Helping Us, People Into Living
Inc., (UHU) came into being in 1988 at
the hand of Rainey Cheeks, a well-known
local gay bishop and activist.
“So a lot of people think that we’re
only for black gay men. That’s not true.
We were founded by a black gay man and
will always be committed to black gay
men, but we test over 2,100 people a year,
and our case management and outreach
is open to everybody,” says Simmons.
“We provide services for men, women,
transgender and youth.”
Simmons, who is HIV-positive, has
been involved with UHU over the past
18 years. And while Oct. 5 marked the
day the organization became “incorpo-
rated,” Simmons says the organization
will celebrate its 22nd anniversary dur-
ing its annual fall fundraiser, “Passion for
Living,” this year on Saturday, Nov. 13.
“It’s going to give us a chance to honor
some people who really need to be hon-
ored,” Simmons says.
Those honorees are: Ernest Hopkins,
co-founder of the Washington DC Black
Gay and Lesbian Pride Day; Phil Pannell,
an HIV/AIDS activist in D.C. since
the ’80s; longtime community activist
Carlene Cheatam; Mildred and Eugene
Young, parents of Marvin Young, a for-
mer UHU member who has since died;
Terrance Payton, elementary program
director at an after-school and family
advocacy organization called the New
Community for Children.
“Sometimes people criticize us
because they say, ‘Why do you give away
so many awards in a year?’” Simmons
says.
“I think it probably comes from the
idea that you don’t know how long you’re
going to be alive. If you want to give
someone flowers, give it to them when
they’re alive, as opposed to bringing them
to the funeral.”
D.C.’s Sargent Memorial Presbyterian

16 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010

ward morrison / file photo

Simmons

Church, which has donated more funds

to UHU than any other faith-based insti-
tution in the District, is being honored
with a philanthropic award.
Grammy-nominated singer Anthony
David will perform at the event.
“So it’s a joyous time, we are honor-
ing some community leaders who have
been working for us some time now, have
good food, nice surroundings and music,
and just enjoy making it through another
year. Given how we started, each year
becomes very important.”

Passion for Living is scheduled for 6-9

p.m., on Saturday, Nov. 13, at the SunTrust
Bank Penthouse, 1445 New York Ave. NW.
For tickets or more information, visit
uhupil.org/2010-fall-reception. l

METROWEEKLY.com 17
LGBTCommunityCalendar
Metro Weekly’s Community Calendar highlights important events in the few dollars. Meet either at 10 a.m. at 20th and Q
Streets NW at the top of the Dupont Circle Metro
gay community, from alternative social events to volunteer opportunities. escalators for carpools, or at 10:45 a.m. in front of
Event information should be sent by e-mail to calendar@metroweek- the Great Falls Tavern Visitors Center. Call Jeff at
ly.com; by fax to 202-638-6831; or by mail to Metro Weekly, Attn: 301-775-9660; adventuring.org.
Community Calendar, 1012 14th Street NW, Suite 209, Washington, D.C.
Chrysalis arts and culture group holds its bi-
20005. Deadline for inclusion is noon on the Friday before publication. monthly potluck social at 7 p.m. near Washington
“Announcement” submissions that are not date-specific may run for two Circle to plan winter museum visits and excur-
weeks, with the option for listing organizations to resubmit if appropriate. sions. Non-members welcome. Bring an appetizer,
salad, entree, vegetable dish or dessert, plus serv-
Questions about the calendar can be directed to the Metro Weekly office ing utensils. Contact Kevin at 703-464-9040 ext. 3
at 202-638-6830. or kgiles27@gmail.com.

Thursday, November 11
Adventuring outdoors group hikes six moder-
ate miles on the Appalachian Trail in northern
Maryland. Bring beverages, lunch, about $8.
Carpool at 9 a.m. from Grosvenor-Strathmore
Metro. Craig, 202-462-0535, adventuring.org.
Friday, November 12
Art for Life, Whitman-Walker Clinic’s 17th
annual art auction and cocktail reception, at the
Carnegie Institute of Washington, at 1530 P St.
NW. at 6 p.m. For more info and tickets visit wwc.
org/artforlife.
Weekly Events
Andromeda Transcultural Health
offers free HIV testing, 9-5 p.m., and HIV services
(by appointment). Call 202-291-4707, or visit
andromedatransculturalhealth.org.
Brazilian GLBT Group, including people
of other nationalities interested in Brazilian
culture, meets. For location and time, e-mail
BrazilianGayGroup@yahoo.com.

DC Aquatics Club (DCAC) practice session

CAGLCC offers Networking Thursday for mem-
bers and guests. No charge for members, non-
members $20. 6:30-8:30 p.m., Bar Rouge, 1315
16th St. NW. caglcc.org.
Weekly Events
Caregiver Support Group is a safe space
to share with other caregivers. Free for LBT
women who are caregivers. Registration required.
Call 202-332-5536 or e-mail directservices@
mautnerproject.org.
Metropolitan Community Church of
Washington DC presents Bingo. Also Nov.
19. 474 Ridge St. NW. 7:00 p.m. 202-297-6884 or
Bingo@mccdc.com.
Rainbow Fridays Dance is scheduled for to
begin at 8:30 p.m. with dance lessons for begin-
ners with additional lessons to follow throughout
the night at the Regan Dance Center, on the sec-
ond floor of 5801 Duke St., Alexandria; cost is $12.
For more info, visit denidanzco.com or call Lara
at 703-795-6446.
at Montgomery College in Takoma Park, 8:30-10
a.m.; visit swimdcac.org.
DC Frontrunners is a running, walking and
social club serving greater Washington’s LGBT
community and its allies. The group hosts a morn-
ing run/walk today. dcfrontrunners.org.
DC Thirty Something, a social group for
gay guys in their 30s. Dinners, concerts, sporting
events and more. Send name and e-mail to dcthir-
tysomething@yahoo.com.

DC Lambda Squares gay and lesbian square-
dancing group features mainstream through
advanced dancing, National City Christian
Church, 5 Thomas Circle NW, 7-9:30 p.m. Singles
and couples welcome; casual dress. E-mail info@
dclambdasquares.org, call 301-257-0517 or visit
dclambdasquares.org.
The Dulles Triangles Northern Virginia
social group meets for happy hour at the Sheraton
in Reston, 11810 Sunrise Valley Drive, 2nd-floor
bar, 7-9 p.m. All welcome. E-mail info@dullestri-
angles.com or visit dullestriangles.com.
Whitman-Walker Clinic’s Gay Men’s Health
and Wellness/STD Clinic is open at 6 p.m.,
at 1701 14th St. NW. Patients are seen on walk-in
basis. No-cost screening for HIV, syphilis, gonor-
rhea and Chlamydia. Hepatitis and herpes testing
available for fee. wwc.org.
Renegades Rugby, a Division III Men’s Club
in the Potomac Rugby Union, practices from 6:45-
8:45 p.m. at Cardozo High School field located at
1300 Clifton St. NW. Visit dcrugby.com.
SMYAL discussion group “Chat it Up!” explores
LGBTQ topics for ages 13-21. 5-7 p.m., Youth
Center, 410 7th St. SE. Call 202-567-3155 or e-mail
alexander.king@smyal.org.
Weekly Events
Bet Mishpachah, founded by members of the
GLBT community, holds Friday night Shabbat
services followed by an “oneg” social hour at 8:30
p.m. Services in the Community Room of the
DCJCC, 1529 16th St. NW. Visit betmish.org.
Gay District, a weekly, non-church-affiliated,
discussion and social group for GBTQ men
between 18 and 35, meets at 8:30 p.m. at St.
Margaret’s Episcopal Church, 1820 Connecticut
Ave. NW; E-mail gd@gaydistrict.org or visit gay-
district.org.
Gay Married Men’s Association
(GAMMA) is a peer-support group that meets in
Dupont Circle every second and fourth Friday
at 7:30 p.m. Visit gay-married.com or e-mail
GAMMAinDC1@yahoo.com.
SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, from 5-7 p.m., by
appointment for youth 21 and under, at the Youth
Center, 410 7th St. SE. Call 202-567-3155 or e-mail
HIVprevention@smyal.org.
Transgender Health Empowerment
“Diva Chat” support group. 6-8 p.m., 1414 North
Capitol St. NE. Snacks provided. Call 202-636-
1646.
Dignity Northern Virginia sponsors a
mass each Saturday for the LGBT community,
family and friends. 6:30 p.m., Immanuel Church-
on-the-Hill, 3606 Seminary Road, Alexandria. All
are welcome. Call 703-912-1662 or e-mail digni-
tynova@gmail.com.
DC Sentinels basketball team meets. Turkey
Thicket Recreation Center, 1100 Michigan Ave.
NE, 2-4 p.m. For players of all levels, gay or
straight. teamdcbasketball.org.
Us Helping Us hosts Exercise Group:
Stretching and Low-Impact Aerobics, 10-11 a.m.,
3636 Georgia Ave. NW. $15. Call 202-446-1100.
Sunday, November 14
Adventuring outdoors group hikes 8.3 level
miles through Tuckahoe State Park on Maryland’s
Eastern Shore. Bring beverages, lunch, bug spray
and about $12 for fees. Meet at 9 a.m. at the New
Carrollton Metro Station entrance. Call Brett at
703-914-1439. adventuring.org.
GayParazzi, LGBT photo group, tours the
National Arboretum. 10 a.m. For more informa-
tion or to register, visit gayparazzi.com.

Us Helping Us hosts a Narcotics Anonymous

Meeting, 6:30-7:30 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave. NW.
The group is independent of UHU. For details,
call 202-446-1100.
18 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010
Saturday, November 13
Adventuring outdoors group hikes four miles
on the rugged but popular Billy Goat Trail at
Great Falls, Md. Bring beverages, snacks and a
Weekly Events
Bethel Church-DC is a progressive and radi-
cally inclusive church with services weekly at 2
p.m. in the St. Stephens Episcopal Church, 1525
Newton St. NW. betheldc.org.
METROWEEKLY.com 19
 Believers Covenant Fellowship Sunday
worship, 11 a.m., Worship and Ministry Center,
8466 Tyco Road, Vienna. believerscovenant.org.
Dignity Washington offers Roman Catholic
Mass for the LGBT community. 6 p.m., St.
Margaret’s Church, 1820 Connecticut Ave. NW.
All welcome. Sign interpreted. Call 202-546-2235,
e-mail dignity@dignitywashington.org, or visit dig-
nitywashington.org.
First Congregational United Church
of Christ welcomes all to 1 p.m. service, at First
Trinity Lutheran, corner of 4th and E Streets NW.
Visit fccuccdc.org or call 202-628-4317.
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 lesbi-
ans and gays. At 10:30 a.m., in the Meeting House,
gathering of Spiritual Light. Handicapped acces-
sible from Phelps Place gate. Hearing-assistance
system. Visit fmw.quaker.org.
Freedom Fellowship Christian Church,
a Christ-centered, affirming church, offers worship
service, 10 a.m., 4649 Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave.
NE. Visit ffccdc.org.
Hope United Church of Christ welcomes
GLBT community for worship. 10:30 a.m., 6130 Old
Telegraph Road, Alexandria. hopeucc.org
Lincoln Temple United Church of
Christ, multiracial, multicultural, open-and-
affirming, offers worship with Songs of Praise. 10:30
20 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010
a.m. Sunday School, all ages, 9:30 a.m., with Rev.
Nathan A. Harris. 1701 11th St. NW. Call 202-288-
4699 or e-mail LincolnTemple@aol.com.
Metropolitan Community Church of
Washington, D.C. services at 9 a.m. (ASL inter-
preted) and 11 a.m. Children’s Sunday School at
11 a.m. 474 Ridge St. NW. Visit mccdc.com or call
202-638-7373.
National City Christian Church, inclusive
church with GLBT fellowship, offers gospel wor-
ship, 8:30 a.m., and traditional worship, 11 a.m.
5 Thomas Circle NW. Call 202-232-0323 or visit
nationalcitycc.org.
Rainbow Families DC’s “Maybe Baby” series
for single men and couples considering parenthood
meets 3-5 p.m. For details, e-mail info@rainbow-
familiesdc.org.
Riverside Baptist Church, a Christ-centered,
interracial, welcoming-and-affirming church, offers
service at 10 a.m. 680 I St. SW. Call 202-554-4330
or visit riverside-dc.org.
St. Stephen and the Incarnation, an
“interracial, multi-ethnic Christian Community”
offers services in English, 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., and
in Spanish at 5:15 p.m. 1525 Newton St. NW. 202-
232-0900, saintstephensdc.org.
Unitarian Church of Arlington, an
LGBTQ welcoming-and-affirming congregation,
offers services at 10 a.m. Virginia Rainbow UU
Ministry leads and participates in all UUCA activi-
ties to promote LGBTQ equality. 4444 Arlington
Blvd. E-mail contactvaruum@yahoo.com.
advertisement

METROWEEKLY.com 21
 marketplace - health

22 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010

Unitarian Universalist Church of
Silver Spring invites LGBTQ families and indi-
viduals of all creeds and cultures to join the church.
Services 9:15 and 11:15 a.m. 10309 New Hampshire
Ave., Silver Spring, Md. uucss.org.
Universalist National Memorial
Church, is a welcoming and inclusive church of
the UUAC. GLBT Interweave social/service group
meets monthly. Services at 11 a.m., Romanesque
sanctuary. 1810 16th St. NW. 202-387-3411,
universalist.org.
Monday, November 15
Weekly Events
DC Radical Faeries weekly dish-and-discus-
sion potluck, 7-10 p.m. Visit dcradfaes.org.
HIV Testing at Whitman-Walker Clinic. D.C.:
Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center, 1701 14th St. NW,
from 9 a.m.-7 p.m. At the Max Robinson Center,
2301 MLK Jr. Ave. SE, from 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. For an
appointment call 202-483-TEST. Visit wwc.org.
Metropolitan Community Church of
Washington, D.C., sponsors an HIV-positive
support group at 7 p.m., 474 Ridge St. NW. The
group is open to all. For more information contact
Matt at ndc20003@yahoo.com.
Us Helping Us hosts a black gay men’s affinity
group tonight at 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. For details
call 202-446-1100.
Washington Wetskins Water Polo Team
practices, 7-9 p.m. at Takoma Community Center
Pool, 300 Van Buren St. NW. Inexperienced and
newcomers with at least basic swimming ability
are always welcome. Visit wetskins.org, call Tom at
703-299-0504 or e-mail secretary@wetskins.org.
Whitman-Walker Clinic HIV/AIDS Support
Group for newly diagnosed individuals, meets at
7 p.m. For details, call 202-939-7671; hivsupport@
wwc.org.
Tuesday, November 16
Celebrate Rainbow History Project’s
10th Anniversary, featuring exhibit of Cheryl
Spector’s LGBT T-shirts. 6:30-8:30 p.m., Sumner
School Museum & Archives, 1201 17th St. NW. Free.
info2rainbowhistory.org.
Weekly Events
Asians and Friends weekly happy hour and
dinner afterward, kicks off at 6:30-7:30 p.m., at
Cobalt/30 Degrees Lounge, 1639 R St. NW. Visit
afwashington.net.
The HIV Working Group of the DC Center
hosts its “Packing Party,” where volunteers work to
assemble safe-sex kits consisting of condoms and
lube, at the Green Lantern, 1335 Green Court NW,
at 7 p.m. thedccenter.org.
Karing with Individuality (K.I.) Services,
at 3333 Duke St., Alexandria, offers free “rapid”
METROWEEKLY.com 23
 HIV testing and counseling, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Call 703-
823-4401 for details.

Support group for LGBTQ youth ages

13-21 meets at the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance
League, 410 7th St. SE, 5-7 p.m. For details, call
Leandrea Gilliam, 202-546-5940, ext. 116, or e-mail
leandrea.gilliam@smyal.org.

Us Helping Us hosts a support group for black

gay men over 40, from 7-9 p.m., at 3636 Georgia
Ave. NW. Call 202-446-1100.

Wednesday, November 17
Bookmen DC meets at 7:30 p.m., to discuss
Persistent Voices: Poetry by Writers Lost to AIDS, at
the Charles Sumner School, at 1201 17th St. NW. All
are welcome. bookmendc.blogspot.com.

CAGLCC offers Women’s Wednesday at Mixology

for networking and learning about the matchmak-
ing service. 6:30-8:30 p.m., Mixology offices, 1412
14th St. NW. Register at caglcc.org.

Weekly Events
Ad Lib, a group for scintillating, freestyle conver-
sation and coffee, meets about 7:45 p.m., covered-
patio area of Cosi, 1647 20th St. NW. All welcome.
Call Jamie at 703-892-8567.

Full Equality Now DC holds its regular plan-

ning meeting at the Metropolitan Community
Church-D.C., 7 p.m. 474 Ridge St. NW. info@
fullequalitynowdc.org.

Prime Timers of DC, a social club for mature

gay men, hosts its weekly happy hour and dinner
at 6:30 p.m. at Windows Bar above Dupont Italian
Kitchen, 1637 17th St. NW. Call Carl at 703-573-8316
or Bill at 703-671-2454.

SMYAL’s LGBTQ Youth Arts Program, for youth

13-21, meets 5-7 p.m., Youth Center, 410 7th St. SE.
Call Stephanie Remick, 202-567-3163, or e-mail
stephanie.remick@smyal.org.

Us Helping Us hosts “A Positive U,” a support

group for black gay men who are living with HIV/
AIDS, 7-9 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. 202-446-
1100.

Thursday, November 18
Transgender Health Empowerment and
other community organizations commemorate the
national Transgender Day of Remembrance at 6:30
p.m., with an event at the Metropolitan Community
Church of Washington D.C., at 474 Ridge St. NW.
Call 202-636-1646 for more info.

Friday, November 19
Gayyim-DC, a social group for gay, bisexual and
transgender Jewish men, meets at 7 p.m. in Chevy
Chase, Md., for a pre-Thanksgiving Shabbat Dinner.
For details, or to RSVP, contact
Gayyimdc@gmail.com. l

For more calendar listings

please visit
www.metroweekly.com

24 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010

 scene
D.I.K. Bar
Friday, November 5

Photography by
Ward Morrison

PURCHASE YOUR photo AT WWW.METROWEEKLY.COM/SCENE/ 25

26 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010
LGBTOpinion
No Time to Stop
With time running out for equality, we can’t afford to
indulge fears of failure on DADT repeal
by Sean Bugg
There’s a to ensure the passage of the National
strange and unset-
tling mood float-
ing around these
days after the shel-
lacking delivered
to Democrats by
Republicans in the
midterm elections.
It’s not unexpect-
ed, as we all know
that positive legislative progress for
LGBT issues will come to a screeching
halt come January.
Well, let me amend that. “Screeching
halt” would imply that there had been
some great legislative momentum and
progress in the previous two years. You
don’t halt a vehicle that’s stalled. So, I
suppose it would be more accurate to
say that the already stalled LGBT leg-
islative agenda will not be receiving a
jump start in 2011.
But that’s not the strange mood I’m
seeing. What’s unsettling right now is that
as we look at the small remaining window
of opportunity to possibly achieve one of
the community’s biggest goals, repeal of
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” a sense of defeat-
ism has fallen across many activists and
bloggers and others who serve as the pub-
lic voices of our community.
Just to be clear: I understand the frus-
tration and the feeling that DADT repeal
could fail, despite the work our commu-
nity has done, despite the support of the
American people, despite the promises of
the politicians we elected to represent us.
I did myself write a column a few weeks
ago, “DADT Goes Fubar,” that hit those
same notes of despair.
So, when Marine Corps comman-
dant Gen. James Amos publicly split
with Pentagon leadership on repeal —
citing, unsurprisingly, the old canards
of “unit cohesion” and “combat effec-
tiveness” — it would seem to signal that
the obstructionism being pursued by
NOVEMBER 11, 2010
Volume 17 / Issue 28
Publishers
Sean Bugg
Randy Shulman
Editorial
Editor-in-Chief
Randy Shulman
Sen. John McCain (R) was poised to Art Director
win the day. After all, reports that Sen. Todd Franson
Carl Levin (D) was looking at dropping Managing Editor
the DADT repeal provision in order Will O’Bryan
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Staff Writer
would have to cast a pall over the pros- Yusef Najafi
pects of a lame duck Senate being able senior political writer
to corral the Democrats and a handful Chris Geidner
of Republicans to make repeal happen.
But, even as the bad news has trick- Senior Photographer
led out, the White House has contin- Jeff Code
ued to signal its desire to see DADT Contributing Photographer
repealed in the lame duck session. Ward Morrison
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has
said the same, putting forward the argu- Contributing Writers
ment that legislation would be the best Tom Avila, Billy Masters, Carrie Megginson,
Tim Plant, Richard Rosendall,
course for an orderly implementation Doug Rule, Kate Wingfield
of the repeal, as opposed to waiting for
a court order that many seem to think Webmaster
inevitable. And some senators, includ- David Uy
ing New York’s Kirsten Gillibrand (D)
multimedia
and Connecticut’s Joe Lieberman (I) Aram Vartian
have publicly called for repeal to move
forward now. Advertising & Sales
Add to that the initial leaks from the
long-awaited Pentagon study due on Dec. Director of Sales
Randy Shulman
1 that show most of the military uncon-
cerned with the existence of gay and National Advertising Representative
lesbian servicemembers, and there are Rivendell Media Co.
reasons for some cautious optimism. 212-242-6863
Not that it’s guaranteed to happen.
Distribution Manager
Not that it’s going to be easy. Not that Dennis Havrilla
it will come without at least one or
two nasty moments (likely courtesy of
McCain, whose flexible sense of per- Patron Saint
sonal honor will certainly lead to grand- Bree (née Stanley) Osbourne
standing on the Senate floor). Cover Photography
But when people react to the post- Todd Franson
election situation with flat declarations
that “DADT repeal is dead,” it really is
buying into defeat. If we assume we’ve
lost then we stop fighting. If we stop fight- Metro Weekly
ing and agitating, then yes, we will lose. 1012 14th Street NW, Suite 209
Washington, DC 20005
Might we lose anyway? Of course,
202.638.6830 fax: 202.638.6831
since nothing in Congress is certain www.metroweekly.com
when it comes to equality for our com- All material appearing in Metro Weekly is protected by federal copyright law and may not be
munity. Should repeal fail, we’ll have reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publishers. Metro Weekly assumes no
responsibility for unsolicited materials submitted for publication. All such submissions are subject
plenty of time for gnashing of teeth to editing and will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Metro Weekly is supported by many fine advertisers, but we cannot accept responsibility for claims
made by advertisers, nor can we accept responsibility for materials provided by advertisers or
come January. Until then, we need to their agents. Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles or
advertising in Metro Weekly is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of
fight hard to achieve what equality we such person or organization.
can while the opportunity still exists. l © 2010 Jansi LLC.
METROWEEKLY.com 27
LGBTOpinion
We Fight On
Despite a dim future for gay issues in Congress,
we must summon unceasing resolve
Congress, wait until the 112th.
by Richard J. Rosendall Kentucky Senator-elect Rand Paul’s
libertarian opposition to civil rights laws
With all due may be nothing personal, but that is cold
respect to Log Cabin comfort. The greater threat, however,
Republicans, who is from so-called experts who profess
welcomed the new to tell us “what the American people
House majority last want.” A prime example is Republican
week, getting pro- pollster Frank Luntz, who declares in
gay legislation out of the Nov. 7 Washington Post that voters’
soon-to-be Speaker main complaint against Washington is
John Boehner and that “government has grown too big, too
crew is about as likely as getting a fair inefficient, and too out of control.”
price from a professional swindler. Luntz’s polling puts words into voters’
Republicans, benefiting from a reces- mouths, like reporters with a pre-written
sion of their own making, claim their story who call me for a quote, asking,
election victory as a mandate for repeal- “Would you say such-and-such?” They
ing Democratic reforms. While gays were don’t really want my opinion, they want
passed over as scapegoats in this election permission to attribute their opinion to me.
in favor of immigrants and Muslims, the If you scare people with lies, it is hardly
incoming Republican leaders have per- surprising that they will reflect them back.
fect zeroes on their scorecards from the By such manipulation, Luntz reveals
Human Rights Campaign. If you think that voters want a constitutional amend-
pro-gay legislation was scarce in the 111th ment to balance the budget; an end to
28 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010
earmarks; a supermajority requirement
for raising taxes; a change to a simple,
flat tax rate; and “a 21 percent across-the-
board cut in nonmilitary discretionary
spending, even if it means reductions in
education and health programs.”
I too oppose earmarks, but that form
of pork is routinely used by incumbents of
both parties precisely because it is popu-
lar with their constituents. The flat tax is
highly regressive, favoring the ultra-rich.
Requiring supermajorities to raise taxes
has helped cripple California, whose vot-
ers have entitled themselves to a long list
of things without paying for them. The
GOP wants to cripple government; but
that will no more promote the general
welfare than extending the Bush tax cuts
for the wealthiest Americans will reduce
the deficit or stimulate the economy.
The U.S. Senate already has a superm-
ajority requirement in the form of non-
stop Republican filibuster threats, which
are employed not to advance the popular
will but to thwart it. John McCain does
not care that 80 percent of Americans
favor ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Ending the filibuster would do far more
for reform and equality than the blud-
geon of across-the-board spending cuts,
from which staggeringly wasteful defense
spending is exempted.
Where was Luntz’s concern for the
will of the people after the 2008 election?
The relentless Republican obstructionism
from then until now has been fueled not
by egalitarian sentiments but by a deter-
mination to help the privileged few by
exploiting and inflaming the many. The
Tea Party’s incoherence on the subject of
government effectiveness was beautifully
captured by the cry, “Keep your govern-
ment hands off my Medicare!”
When Luntz tells Democrats that their
problem is “not about ... insufficient com-
munication, but about their philosophy
and substance,” he means they should be
more like Republicans. We should sooner
add belladonna berries to our fruit salad.
As it happens (and fortunately for LGBT
citizens), the House Progressive Caucus
fared much better than the Blue Dogs.
What were lies a month ago are still
lies, and they won’t be dispelled by con-
ciliatory rhetoric. We have to fight back.
Exposing the GOP’s radical agenda may
hasten voters’ (including gay voters’) real-
ization that creating change requires not
impatience so much as unceasing resolve.
Richard J. Rosendall is a writer and activ-
ist. He can be reached at rrosendall@
starpower.net. l
marketplace - professional services

METROWEEKLY.com 29
 Wrestling
Truth with the

The journey from “David” to “Donna” taught Donna Rose

lessons about life that she’s eager to share

Interview by Will O’Bryan

Photography by Todd Franson

S
ome people are very guarded
when it comes to their personal space.
Donna Rose is not one of them. Instead, she
likes to hug. Her embrace radiates a warmth
of spirit. It’s not, however, the only form of
body contact she’s mastered. In the proper
context, she could likely have you flat on
your back on a wrestling mat as the referee
blows a whistle announcing her win.
It’s a little something she perfected years ago, growing up
in upstate New York as David.
“There was a long time in my life where if I had to use
three words to describe myself, one of them would have been
wrestler,” she explains. “I realized I could hide behind what
society expected from me as a boy. By building a masculine
physique and doing masculine things, I would never have to
deal with people’s ignorance or suspicions.”
Eventually, however, she could no longer hide from the
truth. At 40, as a husband and father living in Arizona, David
had to begin the transition to Donna. Today, at 51, that jour-
ney has taken her from multiple organizations – from the
Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) to
the National Center for Transgender Equality. She’s written
a memoir, Wrapped in Blue: A Journey of Discovery, spoken
to audiences across the country, and told her story to many
media outlets.
Of course, there have been bumps. For example, many first
learned of Rose when she made her very public split from the
Human Rights Campaign in 2007, resigning from the board
over the organization’s decision not to actively oppose a ver-
sion of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that
did include protections for transgender people.
Another bump, thankfully, was nipped in the bud just last
year: in situ melanoma.
The journey includes a transcontinental relocation that has
– as of just a few days ago – put Arizona’s Rose into the middle
of Pennsylvania.
And it has included a round-trip that returned Rose to
her beloved wrestling mat earlier this year, competing in the
ASICS U.S. Open Wrestling Championships in Cleveland.
“When I transitioned, I always assumed that those days
were behind me,” says Rose, explaining how she returned to
the sport four years ago as an openly transgender woman.
“It sounds strange to say that I’m a 51-year-old transsexual
woman wrestler, cancer survivor, single parent.... There are
so many things that come into play with who I am.”
Who Rose is includes “girlfriend,” and her new Harrisburg
home puts her South Carolina companion within easier
reach. Continuing her journey – this time quite literally,
driving down I-95 to spend the weekend with her – Rose
stopped in D.C. last Friday to spend a couple hours sharing
a portion of her story. If you want the entirety of her tale,
you’ll have to be patient, as Rose’s journey is a long, long
way from over.

30 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010

METRO WEEKLY: How are you settling into
Harrisburg?
DONNA ROSE: This is the fifth day. My
first day at The LGBT Center was
this past Monday, so last week at this
time I was driving cross-country from
Phoenix, where home has been. People
ask me where I live, but things have
been so frenetic in my life in recent
months that I tell people my furniture
lives in Phoenix and I visit it from time
to time.
The way I typically do things is that
I want to make sure it’s a good fit. And
there was so much to do in such a short
period of time – it all happened in two
to three weeks. The logistics of mov-
ing was impossible for me to manage,
just getting myself out here. I’m living
in a hotel room at the moment, but
I’ll make more permanent accommoda-
tions shortly.
MW: Tell me about the job.
ROSE: A number of organizations came
together as a “Community Center
Coalition” and I’m their first executive
director. They have a board, they’re
growing, and so it’s a very exciting
opportunity for me because many of
the things I’m passionate about are part
and parcel of what I get to do on a daily
basis – which I’ve always done. But up
till now it’s been as a volunteer or it’s
conflicted with my career, which has
been problematic for me.
MW: What’s the scope of the coalition?
ROSE: This is all central Pennsylvania,
eight counties, so about 2.5 million
people. The interesting thing is that
Harrisburg, and Pennsylvania in gen-
eral, have the third largest rural popu-
lation [in America]. How do you then
reach out to LGBT people, LGBT youth,
that are so disparate over eight counties
in a rural setting? It certainly provides a
number of challenges, but also a num-
ber of opportunities. I’m very excited
about both, actually.
There are a number of reasons it’s
good for me. Part of it is the proxim-
ity to D.C., because for a long time I’ve
felt that somehow or another I would
end up in or around D.C. It’s close to
family in upstate New York. It’s close
to friends that I’ve got here in D.C.
and Pennsylvania. It’s a culture shock
for somebody who has made a lifestyle
choice about open-toed shoes and flip-
flops, but I’ve become a poster child
for change in recent years so this is just
another chapter in that regard.
MW: Your website, donnarose.com, looks
like it hasn’t been updated in a while. I’m
wondering if you’ve been preoccupied.
ROSE: Well, I’m always preoccupied
with something. But the irony is that
when I started to transition from David
to Donna – about a dozen years ago –
the thing that was singly most transfor-
mative to me was the Internet, because
growing up as a seemingly heterosexual
middle-class white guy in a culture that
gives that particular caste a number
of privileges, I really had never expe-
rienced discrimination, which is one
of the reasons why I’ve become what
others would call an activist. When I
transitioned, I felt a very strong need to
give back. The initial way I did it was
through my website. But then I started
my blog back in 2004, and the irony is
that I started updating my blog so much
that I didn’t update the website all that
often.
MW: Speaking of preoccupations, with
this new job do you still have time to con-
tinue your consulting work, your speak-
ing engagements regarding transgender
advocacy?
ROSE: I do. One of the reasons I found
the opportunity in Harrisburg to be a
good fit wasn’t simply because I find
the work to be so important and so
fulfilling, but because they are very sup-
portive of my ongoing speaking, visibil-
ity, and the things that I’m passionate
about. I’m speaking at the University of
Delaware. I do a lot of corporate stuff.
That will be continuing.
MW: You’ve also been involved with the
National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of
Commerce (NGLCC), whose national
conference is this month in D.C. You
served on its board.
ROSE: Yes, I just stepped off. My two
years are up. I’ll be at the dinner here in
“I was attracted to girls
growing up. That really
hasn’t changed.
So coming to peace with being perceived
as a lesbian is not the same as coming to peace
with being a transgender person.”
32 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010
a couple of weeks, but it’s kind of inter-
esting to see how I’ve gotten involved.
People seem to think that my visibility
or my involvement in activism is some
kind of planned path that I set out to
do at some early point in my career as
a trans person. My original intent was
just to transition and be done. Many of
us, we don’t want to deal with the stig-
ma. We don’t want to have to explain
this to people, because when people
find out that you’re not what they think
you are the relationships can shift fun-
damentally. After I transitioned – I’d
been married for 20 years and my son
was 14 at the time – my son didn’t want
anything to do with me. So I felt that it
was time to go and start a fresh life for
myself, for Donna, who had lived in the
shadows, who had lived in a closet for
the best part of her lifetime. So I got a
job at Dell in Austin and moved there
as Donna.
MW: From Arizona?
ROSE: From Arizona — that’s where I
transitioned. I found, slowly but surely,
that I had traded one closet for another.
When people came to me and asked
questions like, “Does your son live with
you or with your ex-husband?” I was
now not hiding Donna, I was hiding
David.
So as I become more comfortable
in who I was and this unique balance
of multiple lives in a single lifetime, I
needed closure. I wrote a book. One
of the things I learned is that if you’re
going to try to keep a low profile and
fade into the fabric of society, don’t
write a book. [Laughs.] It might seem
self-evident. But it got some visibility at
the Texas Book Festival and that’s the
kind of thing that opened the door into
the Human Rights Campaign, which is
what ultimately led me into some very
important and visible and emotional
things in the years that followed.
MW: Since resigning from the HRC board
in 2007 over ENDA, have you dealt with
the organization?
ROSE: I have.
MW: Is HRC making progress?
ROSE: The question people ask me is if
they’ve changed. I respond by saying
that everything changes. But I will also
say that if they found themselves in the
same position of having to choose, I’m
confident they would do the same thing
again.
The legacy coming out of what hap-
pened in 2007 is that nobody wants to
go back and revisit that tumult, that tear
in the community. Hopefully, what we
will see is that there won’t be an oppor-
tunity or effort to kind of break it apart
again. But my involvement with the
organization, we haven’t made up yet.
When I was on that board as the
first transgender person, it was a very
risky thing for me personally because
there was history between the organi-
zation and the community. There were
a lot of people who were saying, “My
heart goes out to the first trans person
who ends up on that board, because
they’re going to have to deal with a lot
of history, and lot of pressure, a lot of
expectation.” I never expected that it
would be me.
Part of the reason that I was cyni-
cal wasn’t what happened, but how it
happened, because when ENDA finally
went down, I had been given assur-
ances that I wouldn’t be left out to dry
because of the risky situation I was in.
I had just helped Joe [Solmonese] to
come to the largest trans conference in
the country and he stood in front of a
thousand people and pledged that the
organization would only support this
fully inclusive [legislation] and he got
this huge ovation.
I’m known for being a person of
action more than a person of words.
So for me to be put in a position where
I’m completely shut out of what’s hap-
pening, where they know that I’m not
going to like it, so rather than tell me
and warn me, I’m just left there. After
everything I had done, after all I had
given, it was very difficult for me to
accept from the leadership of the orga-
nization. There was a personal compo-
nent to it as much as there was a disap-
pointment that we had made, I think,
a bad decision in terms of community.
That’s part of what still hasn’t healed on
my side of things.
But I’m very happy with the rela-
tionships that I built. I’m very comfort-
able that when they made the decision
that they did, it wasn’t a unanimous
decision by any means. I have a number
of friends that are still there, and I’m
comfortable that [my time on the board]
had to end when it did for the reasons
that it did.
MW: Looking at a group like NGLCC or an
issue like ENDA, we’re indirectly talking
about money. And when it comes to con-
siderations for transgender people, fiscal
considerations are huge. Transitioning is
not only emotional, but a fiscal endeavor.
Ballpark, how much have you paid for
surgeries, on top of things such as voice
lessons?
ROSE: It is a huge fiscal endeavor. Best
I can tell, it’s probably been about
$80,000. People just don’t stop to think
about how expensive it is. I’ve had 200
hours of electrolysis, follicle by follicle,
one after another. I’ve had a number of
things that have helped me to be able to
live the kind of life I want to live. That is
just kind of my own journey. That’s not
to say there’s a right way, wrong way,
good way, bad way.
Unfortunately, there are many,
many, many people in the community
who are not nearly as fortunate as I
have been, to be able to do these kinds
of things. But when we talk about leg-
acy, one of the legacies that I leave is
that I was part of the [HRC] Business
Council, which helps to develop work-
place policy guidelines as part of the
Corporate Equality Index. One of the
things that we did a number of years
ago was to put in standards regarding
transgender-wellness benefits. For the
first time, in 2011, in order for a compa-
ny to get a perfect score of 100 – which
is an important thing – they have to
have at least one wellness benefit plan
that does not include exclusions for
transgender people. And that includes
surgeries.
MW: Beyond gender-reassignment sur-
gery, there can also be cosmetic surger-
ies. And hormone therapy.
ROSE: And those things oftentimes go
overlooked. But the thing that keeps
us from taking part in benefits that
other people take for granted are usual
exclusions. We’re not looking for extra
benefits. We’re looking for the same
“I bristle at the notion that I’m
‘just a trans person.’
I’m a much more complicated individual
than that. But people tend to disregard
all of these other aspects of you once
they find out one specific thing.”
benefits.
It was an eye-opener to me when
I came out to my HR people – which
was a monumental event in my life, to
muscle up the courage to go into my
HR person’s office and tell them that
I’m transgender and that I’m going to
be transitioning on the job. For their
response to be, “Well, okay, we won’t
fire you,” and to recognize they could
have. I was very naive going in – thank
God, because if I had known that, it
would have made it that much worse.
The biggest thing we’ve done is to
help provide awareness toward these
exclusions, help provide education,
provide kind of transition guidelines
so that those of us who come out now
at companies around the country, there
are footprints that have already been
cast in the sand. We are now not the
first one, or the only one, and we don’t
find ourselves just sent out to sea with
no opportunity for coming back.
The irony to me is that I was attract-
ed to girls growing up. I have gone
through this change and through my
experience I have found that that really
hasn’t changed. So coming to peace
with being perceived as a lesbian now
because people want to assign a label to
me is not the same as coming to peace
with being a transgender person. When
I’m with my girlfriend and we want to
hold hands or we want to do something
that has been something I’ve always
done, there is always this sense of cau-
tion because of public sensitivities to
public displays of affection. That’s a
whole new ballgame.
MW: Particularly in South Carolina, I
imagine.
ROSE: It’s an interesting place. It’s beau-
tiful. It’s gorgeous. But I’m one of the
only people I know who, I think, has
been almost every letter of the alphabet
soup that we use to explain ourselves.
MW: If I ask you to unpack all your socio-
sexual labels, how do you identify?
ROSE: The soup is thick and I hesitate
using labels, because as soon as you do
you lose the subtleties of the situation.
And I have come to understand that my
sense of attraction is not necessarily a
physical one. It’s a psychological one.
It’s an emotional one. And for me to
say that there’s not a single man in the
world with whom I could develop that
kind of bond would be to lie. So does
that mean I’m not what the label says
that I am? It’s complicated. And people
want to condense things – whether it’s
gender, whether it’s labels, whether
it’s sexuality – to simplistic explana-
tions that make them comfortable. But
the world, life itself, doesn’t lend itself
to that kind of stuff. That’s one of the
things I’m most proud of: that we have
grown beyond simple explanations of
transgender people as “women trapped
in men’s bodies” or “men trapped in
women’s bodies,” which was the clos-
est people could articulate about 10 or
15 years ago.
MW: With your transition was there some
juncture, some pivotal moment, that
pushed you forward from your identity
as David, the heterosexual family man?
Something that pushed you to say once
and for all, “I’ve got to be myself”?
ROSE: There were three things, which
came together at a very pivotal time.
One is the Internet. I had grown up in a
very isolated world where I had grown
comfortable, so I could not acknowl-
edge this part of myself. No matter what
I did, if I dressed up or put makeup
on, I looked in the mirror and I saw
Fabio in drag. That wasn’t something I
could live with at the time. But through
the Internet, I found that transgender
people were very much a cross-section
METROWEEKLY.com 33
of society, that we are engineers and
pilots and business people and farmers
and mechanics. We are a cross-section
of the entire spectrum of society. Not
only that, but more and more of us
were getting comfortable sharing our
stories, which was very empowering at
the time.
And then my father died. My father
was 64. He died of complications from
diabetes. I had never really had to face
my mortality or deeper questions about
why we are here. Are we here just
to live out the challenges of day-to-
day life, paying our bills, facing car
repairs and all of the mundane things
that somehow or another get passed
off for life? Or are we here to experi-
ence and be and do? It really filled me
with questions about the last moments
when, depending on your spirituality,
you have to answer to a larger power or
to yourself, that your time here, which
will come to an end eventually for all
of us, was well spent. Or whether you
will look back and be filled with regret.
And so I made a conscious decision,
not knowing where it would lead. But
the problem is that once you say you’re
transgender, your world changes. You
can’t un-say it. It’s the toothpaste out of
the tube. The minute you say it to your
spouse, to your child, to your work, to
yourself, it changes everything. Getting
comfortable in that was a big deal. I
went to therapy for two years – not
therapy to fix me, but therapy to accept
myself.
The third thing was I was walking
with my wife and my son one day in
the mall, with my in-laws. Something
insignificant happened, and I snapped.
And I hit my son. I punched my son.
I’m not a violent person in that way. It
was shocking to everybody, including
me. Subsequent thinking helped me
to recognize that I was trying to be all
these things for everybody else. I was
trying to be a good husband, a good
father. I was trying to be all of these
roles that I had surrounded myself with
at 40 years of life. But the fact of the
matter was that I was a frustrated, dis-
appointed, scared person. The needs
were becoming so profound they were
leaking through the cracks. I needed
to make some decisions, as opposed to
just accepting that my life was going
to continue in that regard, because I
wasn’t going to fade away. I wanted to
34 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010
be around for a long time.
MW: When I think of a hypothetical gen-
der transition, the scenario that really
frightens me is of someone in a hospital
room, alone and anxious, whose support
network has turned its back at a time
when it’s needed most. Like in your situa-
tion, you said you and your wife divorced
and I believe your son wasn’t talking to
you. They are the people I’m guessing you
would want there in the hospital room
holding your hand when you come out
of the ether.
ROSE: That’s true, but there are a num-
ber of fallacies as part of that equation.
One of them is that there are way too
many people who think that surgery is
going to fix their conundrum. There’s
a fixation on the medical component
of this, or the physical component of
this. In fact, there’s a perception that if
you do follow this and you do have the
surgery, then there’s this whole notion
of your “cure” and you just belong in
society. But, truly, when you need that
level of support is as you re-engage, as
you reintegrate, as you rebuild rela-
tionships. It’s a very difficult thing. I
sometimes half-joke that if a gender
transition were easy, everybody would
do it. But the fact of the matter is it’s
incredibly difficult. The whole notion
of going against the “normal” society, of
being rejected by family.... My wife – I
loved my wife – that hadn’t changed. I
wanted to stay with my wife.
But as those important networks fell
away, I built other support networks.
The person who was with me when I
had my surgery was my mom. She had
these pink bubblegum cigars that said,
“It’s a girl!” and she was passing them
out to nurses. The beauty of my life is
that I’m incredibly proud to be who and
what I am in all of my various flavors.
I bristle at the notion that I’m “just a
trans person.” I’m a much more com-
plicated individual than that, as I think
we all are. Unfortunately, people tend
to disregard all of these other aspects
of you once they find out one specific
thing. You just become the gay neigh-
bor, or the transgender person. What’s
happening is that we are not making a
very active leap into helping the broader
society recognize that we are athletes,
we’re students, we have parents, we are
active spiritually, religiously, that we
don’t have to hide amongst ourselves
in these little enclaves where it’s safe.
Now we not only want to take a place in
just living in broader society or feeling
empowered, we demand it.
MW: Practically, though, for those choos-
ing a surgical path, those surgeries can
be intense and recovery painful. I hope,
however, that the pain is offset by a sense
of joy at taking those steps.
ROSE: Well, in the medical world we
don’t use the word “pain.” We use “dis-
comfort.” But the biggest part of the
transition for me wasn’t the [surgical]
part. It was hormones. When I started
to take estrogen, it opened my eyes to
so many things that I had never even
imagined. The world took on a whole
new meaning. I sometimes tell people
that as a guy I almost lived life in a
condom, because when I started to take
estrogen not only were my emotions
much more profound and much more
controlling of how I reacted or felt, but
colors were brighter. Tastes were more
profound. My sense of touch was much
more sensitive. My sense of smell....
I was much more aware. It was an
incredible sensual awakening.
If you were to go to a typical man
and say, “I’m going to offer you this pre-
scription that’s going to open up your
senses, but at the same time it’s going
to make your penis dysfunctional, make
you sterile, and make you grow body
parts where men don’t typically have
parts,” there are many men who would
rather die because they feel so attached
to that little piece of skin between the
legs.
I’ve progressed through this just
kind of trial by fire. It’s part of what
needs to happen, what you do so we
can make it easier for generations that
follow.
MW: Aside from the NGLCC conference,
November also sees the Transgender Day
of Remembrance. How will you be mark-
ing that?
ROSE: I do something every year. I
was here in D.C. for the service sev-
eral years ago. Oftentimes I’m asked to
speak on campuses, to observe vigils
around the country. This year I’ll be
speaking on the [Pennsylvania State]
Capitol steps in Harrisburg. I find the
Day of Remembrance to be an incred-
ibly sad thing, for a number of reasons.
One, because we continue to face so
much hate. The one event that brings
us together is born out of the brutal
murders in our community.
 And I’ve lost several friends to sui-
cide this past year. The cultural pres-
sures that lead people to a dark place
where taking that way out is as real
as if someone were to have brutalized
them personally and physically. Recent
events about recognition of bullying
and suicides of our youth help us to
recognize something that’s been hap-
pening for a long time, but it’s just now
getting the visibility that it needs.
The Day of Remembrance is a sol-
emn thing. I’ve spoken at the vigils of
two people who have been murdered
because they expressed their gender in
ways that made other people uncom-
fortable. And when you’ve had to hug
the mother of somebody who has just
been killed – at 19 years old, who was
a vibrant, giving, loving, happy person
– it changes you. This is not an abstract
concept about acceptance and love. It’s
a very real, tangible recognition that
things that start out as innocent joking
lead to dehumanization, lead to hate,
lead to violence. Whenever I’ve felt that
it’s hard enough just being Donna, the
recognition that people are dying, that
people who don’t have a voice need a
voice, that people who don’t have hope
need hope. I can’t fix it all, but damn if
I’m going to hide from it.
MW: Have you, or would you, make an “It
Gets Better” video?
ROSE: I would. I’ve got a number of
video blogs, because the irony is that
sometimes all people want to see is that
the opportunity to live a “normal” life is
possible. That to go through all of this
pain and all of this rejection and all of
this difficulty, that at the other end of
it they can find happiness. That’s what
this is all about. Other people want to
say it’s about gender or about clothes or
about sexuality.
To me, to be transgender is to recog-
nize that my path to being self-actual-
ized led me up a road less traveled. But
I had to do it and I am there. Helping
other people up that path is an impor-
tant thing people from generations past
did not have.
MW: I’m noticing your bracelet. Is that
for a cause?
ROSE: It’s for Trans Parent Day. Many
trans people are parents. We had, like, a
midlife awakening. It’s the first Sunday
in November, a recognition where we
can really celebrate our parenthood.
Every year I get calls on Father’s Day by
“When I started to take
estrogen, it opened my eyes
to so many things that I had never even
imagined. The world took on a whole
new meaning. It was an incredible
sensual awakening.”
reporters who want to know whether
my son and I celebrate Mother’s Day
or Father’s Day. I try to articulate that
I’m not my son’s mother. I am my son’s
father. It’s one of the roles I’m proudest
of in my life, and I wouldn’t give that
up for anything. I don’t have to give up
being a father to my son to be Donna.
MW: Has your relationship been
repaired?
ROSE: It has. He’s lived with me many
a time and he and I have a better rela-
tionship than ever. The good news is
that when you break down those walls
and you don’t have to hide anymore,
you can have real relationships. So the
important relationships in my life are
stronger than they’ve ever been. That is
the greatest joy of all of this.
MW: Do you have any heroes?
ROSE: I do. My niece. When I came out,
when I was dealing with this, three
things happened in a short six months:
My dad died. I started to deal with this.
And my sister gave birth to my niece,
Kyrie. Her jaw and trachea were under-
developed, so as soon as she was born
they put a tube in her throat because
she couldn’t swallow. They put a tube
in her stomach to feed her. One leg was
significantly shorter than the other. So
here’s a baby who was born into the
world struggling to do things most of
us take for granted. And she handled it
with such grace and with such strength
that there are times when I begin to
feel sorry for myself and all I have to
do is look at her, because she doesn’t
know that she was born different from
anybody else. To give you a case in
point: She decided she wanted to be in
the girls’ choir in school. She still has a
[tracheal] tube, but she can hum. She
refuses to acknowledge that she should
accept less out of life because she has
some challenges. So at the Christmas
concert last year, she was all dressed
up just like the other kids, and they
were singing and she was humming and
dancing and smiling.
To me, that’s what this is all about.
That’s why I saw that there’s no reason
that we should accept that these are
defects or that this is a disorder or that
there’s anything inherently broken. So
my niece, at 12 years old, is my hero.
It gives me goose bumps talking about
her.
MW: Is there anything you’d like to add
before I let you get back on the road to
South Carolina?
ROSE: I just want to say how honored
I am to be part of a community that is
finally something that people want to
be part of. I would have argued years
ago that there was no such thing as a
transgender community with a common
goal, a common theme, that oftentimes
we are a community of communities
of disparate goals. But being involved
with as many things as I am, living
a life in what I would call organized
boardroom activism and then getting
more involved in grassroots stuff really
gives me hope for the future. We’re not
going away. Transgender people are not
going to hide. They’re not going to live
in shame. They just don’t happen to fit
into a system that forces them to pick
one extreme or another of a binary. The
future that we are shaping collectively
is going to be one based on changing
perceptions of us – not just through
legislation, not just through laws, not
just through forcing it down peoples’
throats – but by humanizing ourselves.
And to me, that makes all the difference
in the world. l
METROWEEKLY.com 35
dp gears • food • sex • fashion • dating • home • money • travel • body • horoscope

Carrie Megginson
Heavenly Round-Up: The Four Horsemen of the tem-
peramental Teutonic Apocalypse—Sturm, Drang, Angst
and Schadenfreude—jaunt across the inner landscape
bringing turmoil and self-pity along with great character-
building opportunities. Instead of feeling sorry for your-
self, you can pull up your socks and get on with taking care
of business. You’ll get it right and become the surprise
protagonist in your own life story. But first you’ll have to
stand up straight and look everyone in the eye and magi-
cally calm them down. You have the technology.

Aries leo sagittarius

March 21 - April 19
You’re on fire with the possibilities.
There’s this vivid course of wonder
you’re dying to pursue. Are you willing
to chase it to the exclusion of completing
this cycle obligation and achievement in
your life? Keep an eye cocked over your
shoulder on Saturday. Think pink.
July 23 - August 22
Walk with confidence. You’re casting a
long shadow in a good way. What seems
small now has implications both larger
and more lasting than you can suppose
from your present vantage point. Cast an
eye over the fine print before you head
off for the weekend.
November 22 - December 21
You’re all that and a bag of chips, and
you’re going to come to the rescue at the
last possible moment—and it’s going to
be a hoot and a holler and then some.
Be sure to get enough iron and sleep and
take time out from wagging your tongue
to exercise.

taurus virgo capricorn

April 20 - May 20
The decibel level of the kibitzing of your
inner voices has become nearly deaf-
ening. Either step up and mediate, or
dissolve the committee and reconvene
some other internal structure of decision
making. Learn to say what you mean, and
mean what you say. Leave early.
August 23 - September 22
You would do better to reach back to
your roots to help you understand your
dilemma rather than projecting forward
with your standing assumptions. Also,
you’re losing more by procrastinating
than what’s merely on the surface. Try
out a new color on Monday.
December 22 - January 19
Perverseness afflicts you with the desire
to “just say no.” Funnily enough, that
may be the right thing to be saying in a
best case scenario, as well as with the
motivation you’ve let run rampant this
one time. You have a vivid dream Friday
night. Interpret it.

Gemini libra aquarius

May 21 - June 20
You’re having a great time, and things are
swimming along merrily—with that one
tiny exception. And it’s looming larger
all the time, like the monster in a dream.
If you turn and face it, will it shrink
or expand with dizzying swiftness?
Wednesday is your new target day.
September 23 - October 22
You wanted more to do. You wanted to
be more engaged. You wanted to have a
deeper understanding. With everything
else that’s going on this second, you’d
think your plate was sufficiently full—as
your prayers were answered altogether
and all at once. Refresh often.
January 20 - February 18
You’re not sleeping as you should. You
can’t let go of the big picture, and you’re
anticipating more than you’re existing in
the right here and now. Step back from
your consternation to take in the reality.
You may find yourself in a stronger posi-
tion than you’d imagined.

cancer scorpio pisces

June 21 - July 22
You’re ready to call this the long, dark
teatime of your soul, but you may also be
in a state of mild, self-induced melodra-
ma. Find fresh occupations to distract
you from your initial melancholy. Once
you’ve got a new skill sighted, you’ll find
you’ve energy and joy alike.
October 23 - November 21
Tense as you’ve been, there hasn’t been
as much reason as you’ve insisted. If
you would begin to fully exhale whilst
keeping in mind that time will bring an
answer as soon as fussing (or sooner),
you’d have a lot more time to get a lot
more done. Meditate with intent.
February 19 - March 20
You’ve ignored the elephant in the room
for long enough, and it’s not getting
smaller. It’s not too late to go back and
have your way with the situation as it
stands. Call in your social capital debts
to get you through the bumpy period
immediately ahead. Discover.

For information about a personal reading/classes call 301-891-3193 or send an e-mail to cmegginson@metroweekly.com.

36 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010

METROWEEKLY.com 37
 MAKE YOUR
CHOICE
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AND
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40 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010
 arts
&
stage
Angels Heart

t
A production of Angels In

leisure
America — in the mountains of Virginia?
“There’s always been a hesitation because
the traditional audience is fairly conserva-
tive,” says Mark Kittlaus of Shenandoah
Conservatory in Winchester, Va. But hesi-
tate no more: Next weekend, the conser-
vatory, part of Shenandoah University,
will mount Millennium Approaches, the
first part of Tony Kushner’s award-win-
ning 1993 masterpiece. Subtitled “A Gay
Fantasia on National Themes,” it focuses
specifically on the impact and stigma of
AIDS in the 1980s.
Kittlaus, the production’s director and
the head of Shenandoah’s acting program,
thinks Kushner’s epic still has great rel-
evance today.
“There are many universal themes in
it,” he says. “It deals with family, dys-
functionality, lost-lifetime dreams, death
and sickness, inter-personal relationships.
[And] it places the AIDS crisis in a world
history of dealing with plagues and human
struggle, so it’s part of our human history
and not just a crisis of the ’80s — trapped
in a single time.”
The play’s eight actors (and seven
understudies), most of them seniors at the
university, have shown extra enthusiasm
for the project. “They came in to rehears-
als [with their lines] almost completely
memorized, off-book,” marvels the direc-
tor. “So we’ve been able to spend our time
creating the very emotional moments that
take place within the play.”
“I think this show is a wonderful cata-
lyst for displaying views on the gay com-
munity,” says Nate Golden, who plays
Louis. “It’s interesting to see how at the
time in the ’80s, homosexuality was looked
at as being an extremely awful thing.”
“Everyone’s committing 120 percent,
and we’re feeding off each other’s ener-
gies,” says David Bazemore, a Philadelphia
native who plays Belize. “I hope [the play]
helps others understand that…we’re all
photo courtesy Shenandoah University

not that different at the end of the day. We

need each other.” — Doug Rule

Angels In America runs Thursday, Nov.

18, to Saturday, Nov. 20, at 8 p.m. Also
Sunday, Nov. 21, at 2:30 p.m. Glaize Studio
Theatre on the main campus of Shenandoah
University, Winchester, Va. Tickets are $10.
Call 540-665-4569 or visit conservatoryper-
forms.org. l

METROWEEKLY.com 41
Compiled by Doug Rule
SPOTLIGHT
18TH ANNUAL WORLD TEAM TENNIS’S
SMASH HITS AIDS BENEFIT
You get the likes of Anna Kournikova, Stefanie
Graf, Andre Agassi and Martina Navratilova play-
ing matches to benefit the Washington AIDS
Partnership and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
And your co-hosts are Billie Jean King and Elton
John. And all this year right here in your own back-
yard. What more could a D.C. gay tennis fan ask for?
Monday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. American University’s
Bender Arena, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW.
Tickets remain in the $100 to $120 range. Call 202-
552-5999 or visit wtt.com.
CHELY WRIGHT
The country star’s first area performance since she
came out and energized this year’s Capital Pride
— which happened right after she became the first
major country artist to come out as gay, a milestone
in a genre known for its conservatism, in both art-
ists and fans. But if anyone can win ‘em over, it’s the
charming, beautiful Kansas-born Wright. Friday,
Nov. 12, at 8 p.m. Rams Head On Stage, 33 West St.,
42 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010
NOVEMBER 11 - 18, 2010
Annapolis. Tickets are $35. Call 410-268-4545 or
visit ramsheadonstage.com.
CHERYL WHEELER
A natural storyteller with a fantastic sense of humor
and spontaneity, Wheeler performs many songs in
concert that haven’t even been recorded on one of
her engaging folk-based pop albums. Saturday, Nov.
20, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon
Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $29.50. Call 703-549-
7500 or visit birchmere.com.
CONGRESSIONAL CHORUS
The Congressional Chorus, organized in 1987 by a
group of Capitol Hill staffers and featuring about 80
members from all over the region, performs works
from PDQ Bach and Randall Thompson in a concert
titled “From Silly…to Sublime: Reflections on Life,
Love and Laughter.” Saturday, Nov. 13, at 8 p.m.
Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G St. NW. Tickets are
$25 at the door. Call 202-399-7993 or visit chorus-
market.org/tickets.
GIRLYMAN
This sweet and sensitive queer trio of two girls and
a boy creates its own soaring three-part harmony in
the acoustic-leaning folk-pop manner of the Indigo
Girls or Paul Simon. Last year’s Somewhere Different
Now (Live) captures some of the live banter that
makes the trio an engaging presence on stage. They
return for a second stop at the Barns this year alone.
Friday, Nov. 19, at 8 p.m.
 The Barns at Wolf Trap,
1645 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $20. Call 703-
255-1900 or visit wolf-trap.org.
KATE CLINTON
A professional — and always out — standup come-
dian for going on 30 years, Clinton never seems to
have a shortage of jokes about her life and current
politics. And right about now, gays and lesbians
especially could use some laugh therapy. Friday,
Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount
Vernon Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $45. Call 703-
549-7500 or visit birchmere.com.
KATHY GRIFFIN
She’s not stopping in D.C. on this stretch of her
tour, but if you need your fix — and TV won’t do
— well, head to Ballmer, hon. Thursday, Nov. 18, at
8 p.m. Lyric Opera House, 140 West Mount Royal
Ave. Baltimore. Tickets are $39.50 to $59.50. Call
410-547-SEAT or visit ticketmaster.com.
RA XTRA: DIFFERENT FROM WHOM?
Reel Affirmations presents this Italian film as the
first of five RA Xtra films this season. The farcical
comedy focuses on a gay man (Italian sex symbol
Luca Argentero) whose life is complicated when
he runs for office in an unnamed right-wing Italian
town. In Italian with English subtitles. Friday,
Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. The Aaron & Cecile
Goldman Theater, Washington, D.C.’s Jewish
Community Center, 1529 16th St. NW. Tickets
are $12, or $50 for all five monthly RA Xtra films
through March. Call 800-494-TIXS or visit
boxofficetickets.com.

STEPHEN SONDHEIM
Touted as Broadway’s greatest living composer,
Sondheim (West Side Story, Sweeney Todd, A
Little Night Music) sits for a conversation with
Washington Post theater critic Peter Marks on the
occasion of publication of Finishing The Hat. The
book is technically the first of two volumes focused
on Sondheim’s lyrics — and about as close to a
memoir as we’re likely to get. It’ll be interesting to
see if Marks can get him to talk about the real-life
drama that inspired the written drama; Sondheim
notoriously shrugs off questions about his personal
and romantic life. Sunday, Nov. 14, at 2 p.m. Music
Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North
Bethesda. Tickets are $38 to $58. Call 301-581-5100
or visit strathmore.org.

THE LARAMIE PROJECT

New York theater troupe Tectonic Theater stops
at the revived Arena Stage as part of the national
tour of both the original Project and the revision
The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later by Moisés
Kaufman. The play examines the 1998 murder of
Matthew Shepard, which focused attention on
hate crimes against the LGBT community. Scott
Barrow and Jeremy Bobb star along with original
cast members Mercedes Herrero, Greg Pierotti
and Kelli Simpkins. The Laramie Project is staged
Friday, Nov. 19, at 8 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 20,
and Sunday, Nov. 21, at 2 p.m. 10 Years Later is
staged Saturday, Nov. 20, at 8 p.m., and Sunday,
Nov. 21, at 7:30 p.m. Arena Stage, 1101 6th St. SW.
Tickets are $35 to $55. Call 202-488-3300 or visit
arenastage.org.

WHITMAN-WALKER CLINIC’S
ART FOR LIFE AUCTION
Dr. Shannon Hader, former director of D.C.’s HIV/
AIDS Administration, will be honored with the clin-
ic’s first-ever Community Service Award at this 17th
annual auction, which also recognizes four longtime
artist contributors as Art for Life Honorees: Denise
Odell, Renato Salazar, Shaun Van Steyn and Lloyd
Wolf. More than 60 artists from around the world
have donated pieces for the auction, with a fund-
raising goal of $100,000 to go toward the clinic’s
HIV/AIDS prevention services for communities
of color, including African-American and Latino.
Friday, Nov. 12, at 6:30 p.m. Carnegie Institute of
Washington, 1530 P St. NW. Tickets start at $100.
Call 202-797-3543 or visit wwc.org/artforlife, where
you can also see a preview of the art on auction.

FILM
COMING ATTRACTIONS TRAILER NIGHT
Local film critics Joe Barber and Bill Henry host
this D.C. Film Society event, in which the audience
gets to watch – and vote on – the preview reels
of this season’s potential Hollywood blockbust-
ers. Exactly which film trailers will be screened
wasn’t set at press time, but among the possibilities:
Oscar winner Jeff Bridges in the Coen Brothers’
True Grit remake; Disney’s continuation of a cult
favorite with TRON: Legacy; Julie Taymor’s ver-

METROWEEKLY.com 43
 marketplace - home

44 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010

sion of The Tempest with Helen Mirren; Colin Firth
in The King’s Speech; Cher and Christina Aguilera
in Burlesque; and of course the latest Harry Potter
and Narnia installments. Tuesday, Nov. 16, at 7
p.m. Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW.
Tickets are $8. Visit www.dcfilmsociety.org for
more information and updates on the trailers to be
shown.

STAGE
ANNIE
Yep, the sun’ll come out tomorrow — in a manner
of speaking — as Olney christens its new main stage
with the popular musical about the little red-head-
ed orphan. Opens Wednesday, Nov. 17, at 8 p.m. To
Jan. 2. Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy
Spring Road, Olney, Md. Tickets are $26 to $54. Call
301-924-3400 or visit olneytheatre.org.

HAIR
HHHHH
Equal parts revival and outright rave, there is some-
thing almost comical about mounting Hair in the
red velvet box that is the Kennedy Center’s Opera
House. That’s not to perpetuate the false mythology
that pegs the Kennedy Center as some stuffy, hot
house. But, truly, one has not experienced an eve-
ning at this most famous of performance halls until
you have done so with a largely undressed man in
a fringed buckskin thong crawling his way over the
heads of audience members. The tribe of perform-
ers are enthralling. To Nov. 21. Kennedy Center
Opera House. Tickets are $25 to $115. Call 202-467-
4600 or visit kennedy-center.org. (Tom Avila)

HOUSE OF GOLD
Sarah Benson directs a first-rate cast including
Mitchell Hebert and Michael Russotto in a darkly
funny story, written by young playwright Gregory S.
Moss, about the fate of a 6-year-old beauty queen.
This funhouse ride into the American psyche con-
jures up the picture-perfect child — but can she
ever be safe from the adults who created her? To
Nov. 28. Woolly Mammoth, 641 D St. NW. Tickets
range from $30 to $65. Call 202-393-3939 or visit
woollymammoth.net.

MARY STUART
HHHHH
A must-see for Wolf Hall groupies (and HBO
Tudors hoi palloi), the Washington Shakespeare
Company’s Mary Stuart is spare, measured and
unadorned. For director Colin Hovde, it is more
about the language of faces than anything else.
Whether caught in the bare-bulbed light of center
stage or veering close to our seats, the emphasis
here is on what face tells us of secret desire, fear
and revelation. In this intimate space, it is like the
theatrical version of HD – we don’t miss a flicker of
emotion nor a moment’s loss of concentration. It’s
demanding and highly effective in Hovde’s hands.
In rep with Richard III to Dec. 12. Artisphere Black
Box, 1101 Wilson Blvd. Arlington. Tickets are $26.50
to $51.50. Call 703-875-1100 or visit artisphere.com
or washingtonshakespeare.com. (Kate Wingfield)

RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN’S OKLAHOMA!

Arena Stage’s Molly Smith sets her production of
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s great American musi-
cal in the robust world of territory life filled with
a dynamic cast as rich and complex as the great
tapestry of America itself. “Oh, What A Beautiful
Mornin’,” “People Will Say We’re In Love” and of
course the title tune are all on tap in this ode to
America’s pioneer spirit, the first to christen Arena
State’s new complex. To Dec. 26. The Fichlander at

METROWEEKLY.com 45
 marketplace

46 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010

Mead Center for American Theater, 1101 6th St. SW.
Tickets are $75 to $105. Call 202-488-3300 or visit
arenastage.org.

SUPERIOR DONUTS
A delicious new comedy from the Pulitzer- and
Tony-winning playwright of August: Osage County,
this play focuses on an offbeat friendship between
a cantankerous white shop owner and an ambitious
black teenager with something to hide. Serge Seiden
directs. To Dec. 19. Studio Theatre, 14th & P Streets
NW. Tickets are $44 to $57. Call 202-332-3300 or
visit studiotheatre.org.

WALTER CRONKITE IS DEAD.

Joe Calarco, the Helen Hayes Award-winning
director of Side Show and Assassins, has written a
charming and intimate new comedy that explores
the choices we all make, the regrets with which we
burden ourselves, and the losses we suffer as we
age, mature and stride through an incomprehen-
sible world. Helen Hayes Award-winners Sherri
L. Edelen and Nancy Robinette star as two women
— one red state, one blue — sharing space stuck in
an airport by a storm. Now to Dec. 26. Signature
Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Tickets
$69.40 to $83.80. Call 703-820-9771 or visit signa-
ture-theatre.org.

WOMEN BEWARE WOMEN

HHHHH
On a multi-level construction that somewhat calls
to mind a series of human-scaled puppet stages,
Constellation Theatre Company is presenting
Shakespeare contemporary Thomas Middleton’s
17th century tragedy Women Beware Women. Kitted
out like the slightly mad mix of a children’s theater
production of a tale by the Brothers Grimm and a
fantasy conjured by Tim Burton, Constellation’s
Women is a risky project that stumbles occasion-
ally but ultimately succeeds. Mixing an adulterous
May-December affair, some incest, a plot to murder
a holy man and some deadly drama within a drama
and what you have is a sexy, tragic morality play.
Closes this Sunday, Nov. 14. Source, 1835 14th St.
NW. Tickets $25 to $30. Call 202-204-7741 or visit
ConstellationTheatre.org. (Tom Avila)

MUSIC
ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND
Formed in Jacksonville, Fla., the Georgia-based
Allman Brothers Band, together for four decades,
has been called the principal architects of Southern
rock, though they also incorporate elements of
blues, jazz and country music. Friday, Nov. 12, at
8 p.m. D.A.R. Constitution Hall, 1776 D St. NW.
Tickets are $71.95 to $168.30. Call 202-628-1776 or
visit dar.org/conthall.

ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL

Once crowned Rolling Stone’s Best Country Western
Group, this 40-year-old West Virginia-based band
has even starred in a country musical playing itself.
Now the band is Reinventing the Wheel, or so the
latest album puts it. Saturday, Nov. 13, at 9 p.m. The
State Theatre, 220 N. Washington St., Falls Church.
Tickets are $35. Call 703-237-0300 or visit thesta-
tetheatre.com.

CALDER QUARTET
Bloomberg News dubbed the Calder Quartet “quite
possibly the finest and certainly the most adventur-
ous American chamber group,” and they’ve collabo-
rated with the likes of rockers Andrew W.K., the
Airborne Toxic Event and Vampire Weekend. Their
popularity is contagious. Saturday, Nov. 13, at 8 p.m.
Sixth & I Historic Synagogue. 600 I St. NW. Tickets
are $35. Call 202-408-3100 or visit sixthandi.org.
METROWEEKLY.com 47
 dining

48 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010

JOHN GORKA AND LUCY KAPLANSKY
Red Horse is the first true collaboration between
Gorka, Kaplansky and Eliza Gilkyson, longtime friends
and labelmates on the folk-oriented Red Horse label,
inspired by shows they did for Red Horse’s 25th anni-
versary tour. The result is a patchwork of new and
old songs, mixing traditional folk and contemporary
Americana — in short, sweet harmony. Saturday, Nov.
13, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon
Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $26. Call 703-549-7500
or visit birchmere.com.
JONATHAN BUTLER
After signing his first record deal as a teenager with
British record producer Clive Caulder’s Jive Records,
Butler’s premier single became the first by a black
artist to be played on white radio stations in South
Africa. That early success was his ticket out of the
apartheid country. The R&B/jazz guitarist and vocal-
ist now lives in Southern California. Thursday, Nov.
11, through Sunday, Nov. 14, at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Tickets are $43,
plus $10 minimum purchase. Call 202-337-4141 or
visit bluesalley.com.
KATE NASH
Like Lily Allen before her, the British-bred Irish
Nash launched her career on MySpace (remember
MySpace? It was kinda like Facebook, only clunkier).
In fact, Allen was an early champion of Nash’s piano-
driven pop. Her latest album is My Best Friend Is You
— so here’s looking at you! Monday, Nov. 15. Doors at
7 p.m. Nightclub 9:30, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $20.
Call 202-265-0930 or visit 930.com.
KRIS KRISTOFFERSON
Kristofferson plays solo with no backing band in this
intimate “Evening with Kris Kristofferson” in which
he sings the songs that made him famous, from “Help
Me Make It Through The Night” to “For the Good
Times” to “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down.” Saturday,
Nov. 13, at 8 p.m. Music Center at Strathmore, 5301
Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. Tickets are $32 to
$72. Call 301-581-5100 or visit strathmore.org.
MEDESKI MARTIN AND WOOD
Keyboardist John Medeski, drummer/percussionist
Billy Martin and bassist Chris Wood create music as
an alternative jazz trio that straddles the gap between
avant-garde improvisation and accessible groove-
based jazz. Friday, Nov. 12. Doors at 10 p.m. Nightclub
9:30, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $25. Call 202-265-
0930 or visit 930.com.
NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Finnish conductor Susanna Mälkki leads pianist
Garrick Ohlsson and the NSO in a performance of
Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor,” as
well as Mahler and Lindberg. Thursday, Nov. 18, at
7 p.m. Also Friday, Nov. 19, and Saturday, Nov. 20,
at 8 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets are
$20 to $85. Call 202-467-4600 or visit
kennedy-center.org.
OPERA LAFAYETTE
In this recital, young Dutch soprano Judith van
Wanroij sings with this D.C.-based company
focused on performing French operas from the 17th
and 18th Centuries. On the bill: La Muse de l’Opéra
by Clérambault and Télaïre’s “Tristes apprêts” from
Rameau’s Castor et Pollux. Monday, Nov. 15, at 7:30
p.m. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Tickets are
$60. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.
THE VENICE BAROQUE ORCHESTRA
Violinist Robert McDuffie leads this orchestra in
“The Seasons Project,” a performance of Philip
Glass’s new The American Four Seasons in a
Washington premiere alongside its famous Vivaldi
counterpart. Sunday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. Music
Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North
Bethesda. Tickets are $25 to $55. Call 301-581-5100
or visit strathmore.org.
THE WASHINGTON CHORUS
Following on the success of last season’s “The
Essential Puccini,” this Chorus presents “The
Essential Rachmaninoff,” featuring instrumental
and choral music by the Russian master Sergei
Rachmaninoff. Selections include his crown-
ing achievement, the monumental Vespers and
Symphonic Dances for Two Pianos, featuring
Maestro Julian Wachner and Grace Cho, both on
pianos. Sunday, Nov. 21, at 5 p.m. Kennedy Center
Concert Hall. Tickets are $15 to $65. Call 202-467-
4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.
DANCE
6TH ANNUAL FLAMENCO FESTIVAL
Part of GALA Theatre’s ArteAméricA series in col-
laboration with the Washington Performing Arts
Society (WPAS), this festival explores the diver-
sity and depth of flamenco and its contemporary
expressions. This year’s attractions include the the
world premiere of Alma Flamenca by the Flamenco
Aparicio Dance Company, plus free family workshops
in flamenco zapateo, castanets and fans on Saturday,
Nov. 27. But it begins Thursday, Nov. 18, with the
Washington premiere of Por si acaso amanece/ If
It Should Dawn by the acclaimed José Barrios and
Company. Festival runs to Dec. 5. GALA Theatre at
Tivoli Square, 3333 14th St. NW. Tickets are $30 for
each performance. Call 202-234-7174 or visit
galatheatre.org.
 
EDGEWORKS DANCE THEATER
Founded by choreographer Helanius J. Wilkins, the
D.C.-based award-winning Edgeworks performs a
work in progress, Trigger, which addresses issues of
class and how economic conditions affect individual
choice, exposing the double standards of the differ-
ential treatment received by minorities. The company
also presents Yes, A Love Crisis and Playground in this
free program. Thursday, Nov. 18, at 6 p.m. Kennedy
Center Millennium Stage. Tickets are free. Call 202-
467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.
HUBBARD STREET DANCE CHICAGO
The feisty company known for cutting-edge chore-
ography presents a mixed repertory program, includ-
ing Kylián’s 27’52”, the U.S. premiere of Cerrudo’s
Malditos, and Barton’s Untouched. Friday, Nov. 12,
and Saturday, Nov. 13, at 8 p.m. Kennedy Center
Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $22 to $60. Call 202-
467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.
THE SUZANNE FARRELL BALLET
The Kennedy Center’s own The Suzanne Farrell Ballet
returns with two mixed-repertory programs featur-
ing works of Balanchine, Robbins and Béjart. Plus,
the company performs its first work by Paul Mejia.
Choreographed for Suzanne Farrell, Eight by Adler is
full of the kind of Broadway bravado that wins over
audiences and critics. Wednesday, Nov. 17, through
Sunday, Nov. 21, at 7:30 p.m. Also Saturday, Nov. 22,
and Sunday, Nov. 23, at 1:30 p.m. Kennedy Center.
Tickets are $29 to $84. Call 202-467-4600 or visit
kennedy-center.org. l
For more OUT ON THE TOWN listings
please visit
www.metroweekly.com
METROWEEKLY.com 49
50 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010
Soul Stirring
With a leading role in Hair, Dairus Nichols is sending a message
to be who you are — onstage and off
By Tom Avila
Darius Nichols as Hud, photographed by Todd Franson in the Kennedy Center’s African Lounge,
Friday, Nov. 5, 2010
D
arius Nichols almost passed on audi-
tioning for the musical Hair.
“I would audition for a lot of edgier plays, like Rent
and shows like that,” he says. “I would never get them
because I would always be seen as the nice guy. The guy next
door. I figured I would be hearing all the same comments. We
like you, but you just seem too nice.”
The character that Nichols thought he would never be cast
as was Hud, the sensuous, omnisexual wild child who intro-
duces himself to the audience as a “Colored Spade” before
striding – over the heads of audience members – deep into the
thick of things.
Admittedly, it’s hard to imagine a neighborhood where Hud
is the boy next door.
Fortunately for all involved, director Diane Paulus saw
something more than just a nice guy in Nichols and now D.C.-
area audiences can find Nichols’s Hud (and the rest of Hair’s
Love-Rock Musical Tribe) “Walking in Space” in the Kennedy
Center Opera House, some 20 miles from Reston, Va., the town
where Nichols grew up.
“I was in the band and the choir,” he says. “I always did the
school musical. It was when I played Alfred Doolittle in My
Fair Lady that I actually thought, ‘Hey, I’m kind of funny....’”
Since that realization Nichols has built a résumé that includes
Jesus Christ Superstar, Fame-the Musical, the Broadway pro-
duction of 110° in the Shade and, now, Hair’s national touring
company.
“The other night the mother of a high school friend showed
up right before the show. I said, ‘What are you doing here?’ She
said, ‘I saw your name on the program.’”
To hear Nichols describe the situation it seems that, were it
not for that tag in the program, people who know him offstage
might never connect the clean cut, openly gay actor with the
outrageous, afro’d Hud.
“He seems so real to people,” he says. “Then they’ll see me
and say, ‘Not only do you not look like him, you sound different
and walk differently.’ All I can think is, well, that’s a good thing.
“From the moment you see me on stage until the moment
the show stops, I am Hud Tyler Johnson. When I put that wig
on I basically give myself permission to do or say anything.”
When it’s suggested that the wig rule makes him a bit like a
drag queen, Nichols laughs.
“Absolutely! One of the things that Diane Paulus drove home
for us was to really involve ourselves in being these characters.
I become Hud.”
Preparation for the cast’s transformation included the devel-
opment a personal history for the Tribe members they would
portray on stage. Nichols says his own story has some overlaps
with the one he created for Hud.
“We both have a church background. We no longer attend
church because of hurtful things that have happened there.
That’s why Hud’s so flamboyantly preacher-like. I grew up
Baptist and, then later, Pentecostal. That’s when I decided I
couldn’t do it anymore. After all of the gay bashing I was getting
from the pulpit, I couldn’t. I adore my religion and how much
of a role it played in shaping me into the ‘good boy’ I am seen
as. Ultimately though, it was tearing down my spirit more than
it was building it up.”
Fitting that Nichols’s decision to leave the established church
in the name of spiritual fulfillment seems so Hair-like, much like
his decision to be exactly who he is in his professional life.
“All gay performers have to have this discussion at some
point,” he says. “Are you going to be out? Are you going to be
quiet, or are you going to be closeted? I made the decision that
if someone asks me if I’m gay I want to say yes, because so many
black gay youth can’t see themselves in media without it being
derogatory.
“I never saw any images of black gay men, to the point that
I didn’t think I could be gay because I thought it was a white
thing. I decided I wasn’t going to hide. I want to be able to be
proud of who I am.
“When everything was in the news about kids committing
suicide, the speech [Hair character] Margaret Mead makes
in the show, right before she sings, suddenly had a lot more
resonance. ‘Be whoever you are. Do whatever you want to do,
as long as you don’t hurt anyone.’
“It’s great that Hair still ties to modern society, but it’s also
sad,” he concludes. “You’d think we’d have gotten past all this
by now.”
Hair is at the Kennedy Center through Nov. 21. Tickets are $25-
$115. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org. l
METROWEEKLY.com 51
 Tim Plant film

nitty-gritty of Aron’s story.

For all of Boyle’s talents, the
one who really deserves the credit
for making the film work is Franco.
His portrayal is nearly flawless, as
he transforms him from a boy with
a lust for life, to a man resigned to
his fate, and finally to a survivor.
During his time trapped in the
desert, Aron created videos for
his family, and Franco’s recreation
of them is poignant. Occasionally
funny but more often melancholy,
Franco transcends the scene of
a man looking into a camera and
creates a portrait of a man staring
at his fate.
Since the vast majority of
Chuck Zlotnick

Franco’s scenes are alone, the

brief moments of interaction with
other actors is limited and mostly
forgettable. Kate Mara and Amber
Cutting edge: Franco Tamblyn play fellow hikers who
spend the morning with Aron on

Rock Solid
his fateful day, and the memory
of them helps spur him through
his ordeal. Neither actor detracts
from the film, but neither perfor-
As Aron Ralston, a hiker infamous for his horrific act of survival, mance adds much either.
As Doyle proved with
James Franco is nothing short of astonishing Trainspotting, he’s not afraid to
make his audiences squirm, and

T
o quote the 1984
Deniece Williams song
from the Footloose
soundtrack, let’s give
the boy a hand, because James
Franco’s performance in 127 Hours
is nothing short of astonishing.
In 2003, Aron Ralston (Franco)
made national headlines when he
cut off his own forearm to save
his life. After being pinned by a
boulder in a remote section of
the Utah desert for more than
five days with little water or food,
Aron used a small, dull blade to
amputate his arm, then repelled
down a 65-foot wall, and finally
hiked out of the wilderness and
found help. Aron’s story, origi-
nally retold in his book Between
a Rock and a Hard Place, is one of
determination and grit, and prime
fodder for a feature film.
Danny Boyle, in his first film
since winning the Oscar for
Slumdog Millionaire, proves that
he is just as talented at managing
a tale that’s confined to a two-foot
52 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010
space and a man’s mind as han-
dling Slumdog’s expansive narra-
tive. Co-writing the script with
127 HOURS Slumdog’s Simon Beaufoy, Doyle
captures both Aron’s physical and
mental experience, as he comes to
the horrible realization that no one
Starring knows where he is, and desperate
James Franco, times call for desperate measures.
Amber Tamblyn, Boyle infuses a kinetic, child-
Treat Williams like exuberance from the start,
bisecting the screen with overlap-
Rated R ping scenes of hordes of people,
waving their arms and running,
94 Minutes
the images almost exploding into
the theater. This melds perfectly
Opens Friday, with Aron’s initial escape into the
Nov. 12 desert as he rides his bike across
the vast expansiveness until
Area Theaters he’s finally alone, away from the
chaos. The juxtaposition makes
the solitude he’s about to experi-
ence all the more terrifying. But
more than just setting the stage
for Aron’s story, it also comes off
as effortless filmmaking. Doyle’s
remarkable skill becomes even
more apparent as he gets into the
he does so with great effectiveness
in 127 Hours. Doyle holds nothing
back in recreating the amputation
scene, including the days and pro-
cess that lead up to it. He captures
every step of the operation, from
breaking the bones, to cutting the
tendons (this part in particular is
brilliantly enhanced with music),
and finally to the final cut. No
blood is spared, and while it’s less
than found in any gore porn film,
the reality of the situation makes
it all the more horrifying. On a
similarly queasy note, the effective
manner in which Doyle captures
Aron’s need to drink his own urine
is perhaps the most stomach-
turning part. It’s never gratuitous,
which only makes it worse.
For all the reasons that the film
works – the solitude and the feel-
ing of desperation – it’s also the
biggest challenge for Boyle. How
to keep the film interesting over
the five days? While Boyle’s explo-
ration of Aron’s mind is mostly
captivating and veers into the sur-
continues on page 55
METROWEEKLY.com 53
 Tom Avila stage
carol rosegg
Home on the Range
Arena christens its lavishly renovated space with a lovely — though not
entirely memorable — take on Oklahoma!
A
rena Stage artis-
tic director Molly
Smith is hoping there’s
a little Ado Annie in
all of us. Annie is, of course,
the gal from the Rodgers and
Hammerstein musical Oklahoma!,
whose head is easily turned with
just a few “purdy” words or a
compliment or two. Tell her that
her lips are like cherries and her
skin is like cream and she will fall
instantly and completely in love.
She’s just a girl who “cain’t
say no.”
For their new production
of Oklahoma! Smith and Arena
are trying to make us all go a
little weak in the knees with a
good deal of pretty and charm.
Smith’s directorial matchmaking
has coupled Nicholas Rodriguez
and Eleasha Gamble as an almost
impossibly handsome Curly and
Laurey, their respective good
looks equally matched by their
outstanding talents.
Set designer Eugene Lee and
54 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010
Romantic rivals: Ramey and Rodriguez
lighting designer Michael Gilliam
have also created a match made
in heaven, crafting several utter-
ly lovely duets in some of the
production’s most striking visual
moments, while choreographer
OKLAHOMA! Parker Esse has very successfully
drawn a cowboy chorus line that,
when truly on, is as muscular and
brawny as a rodeo.
To Dec. 26
Ultimately, however, while
Smith’s Oklahoma! is a beautiful
Arena Stage show, it’s not entirely memora-
1101 6th St. SW ble. It’s a production that feels
like nothing more than a hand-
202-554-9066 ily done performance of Rodgers
arenastage.org and Hammerstein’s musical, as
opposed to feeling like something
decidedly “Arena” in nature.
Which is not to say that a clas-
sic musical done well is not a
trademark of the Washington-
based performing arts landmark.
But it’s almost impossible not to
think about this new Oklahoma!
without recalling director Amanda
Dehnert’s fantastic Fantasticks,
mounted when Arena was tem-
porarily making its home at U
Street’s historic Lincoln Theatre.
Infused with magic and imagina-
tion, The Fantasticks bore the kind
of signature imprint that made it a
distinct part of Arena’s history
and not just another line in its
lengthy and impressive résumé.
That bit of transforma-
tional wonder seems lacking in
Oklahoma! Perhaps it’s because
Smith has decided to tell the story
in such an altogether straight
fashion, or maybe it’s because
this Oklahoma! seems dwarfed by
the larger role the show is being
asked to play in Arena’s “welcome
home” moment.
Whatever the exact reason, the
result is an Oklahoma! that is sim-
ply okay.
Oklahoma! revolves around
Curly (Rodriguez) and Laurey
(Gamble), a cowboy and a farmer’s
daughter who are fooling no one
with their constant fighting and
boisterous declarations of the fact
that they are not in love. They are
absolutely, positively, hopelessly in
love and Aunt Eller (E. Faye Butler)
is working overtime to get one of
them to make an honest move of it
— a campaign she ratchets up when
she realizes that Jud Fry (Aaron
Ramey), the farm’s hired hand, also
has his eye on Laurey.
While Jud has never done any-
thing outright to either Eller or
Laurey (in fact he’s done noth-
ing but work very hard on their
behalf) both are certain there’s
something not right about him.
From the girlie pictures all over
the walls of his cabin to his grim
demeanor, he is not the most
comforting of figures.
The show’s songbook boasts
some of musical theater’s most
well-known pieces, and many
come through exactly how one
imagines they were intended.
Rodriguez has a voice that is so
absolutely flawless, so gorgeous-
ly round and light, that it makes
“Oh, What a Beautiful Morning”
a dazzling sunrise all its own. He
does equally fine work with “The
Surrey with the Fringe on Top”
and “People Will Say We’re in
Love,” though his polished style
presents a “Pore Jud Is Daid” that
is a bit too unblemished.
 Adding the necessary grit to “Pore
Jud” and “Lonely Room” is Ramey,
who brings a sound to the stage that is
thick and deep and, in most ways, the
polar opposite of Rodriguez’s. It’s a solid
complement and plays brilliantly off of
Gamble’s incredibly versatile instrument,
contrasting cleanly with the sassy, come-
dic play of Butler.
Unfortunately, not all of the perfor-
mances reach the same level as those
offered by these performers and some of
the casting leaves questions hanging in
the air. Cody Williams’s Will Parker falls
distinctly in this latter category. While
his vocal performance has some very
strong moments, the need to frame him
as a dancer leaves him filling a role that
doesn’t quite come through. His move-
ment seems a bit pale alongside the beefy
flexing of the male ensemble. It’s a con-
trast that distracts more than benefits the
overall look of the production.
Also underserved is June Schreiner as
Ado Annie, whose vocal work is hindered
by an accent that – while humorous –
sometimes moves the actor off-course
and into the weeds. Similar issues can
be found with the work being done by
Cara Massey as Gertie Cummings and
Nehal Joshi as Ali Hakim. With Massey
and Joshi we can see the character work
being done, resulting in performances
that seem thin and unfinished.
When all is said and done, however,
there will be plenty of audience mem-
bers who will leave Arena Stage’s new
Mead Center swooning over Rodriguez
and Gamble and humming the show’s
namesake song. Oklahoma! is, after all, an
American classic. What seems less likely
though is that they will actually recog-
nize where Rodgers and Hammerstein
left off and Arena truly began. l

film continued from page 52

real, it does start to drag around day three

(though I can only imagine it did for
Aron as well). Similarly, some of the key
decisions around Aron’s actions, why he
didn’t cut sooner and why he eventually
did, are ambiguous in the moment, but
explained clearly later. Clarifying these
reasons would have greatly enhanced the
emotional resonance.
While comparisons to Cast Away and
Tom Hanks’s lonely role are inevitable,
Franco wins the contest by giving audi-
ences no room for mockery. 127 Hours is
94 minutes of great filmmaking. Best of
all, there’s no volleyball bouncing around.
It’s just a man, a rock, and a hard place. l
METROWEEKLY.com 55
night
life
listings
Destinations Map pages 64-65
Thursday, 11.11.10

Annie’s/Annie’s
Upstairs
4@4 Happy Hour, 4pm-
7pm • $4 Small Plates,
$4 Stella Artois, $4 House
Wines, $4 Stolichnaya
Cocktails, $4 Manhattans
and Vodka Martinis •
Upstairs open 5-10pm

Apex
College Night, 10pm-4am
• DJ Randy White •
VJ Frenchie • Free with
college ID, $5 without •
18/21

Banana Café
Piano Bar Happy Hour,
4-7:30pm • $3 rail mar-
garitas, rail drinks and
domestic beers • $3.95
Cuervo margaritas •
Chuck Smith on piano,
7:30pm-close • $3 off
Mojitos after 7:30pm

Cobalt/30 Degrees
$1 Vodka Drinks, 9-11pm
• Underwear Contest w/
Lena Lett, 12:30am • DJ
Chord Bezerra • DJ Mad
Science • No Cover • 21+

DC Eagle
Open 4pm • “Pigout”
Night, 9pm-close •
Leather, Shirtless and
Hankie Code Specials •
Club Bar: Mr. DC Eagle •
Veterans Day Specials

DIK Bar
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Rail
Drinks and Select Beers,
$3 • Absolut and Premium
Beers, $4

Fireplace
Happy Hour, $2.50 Rail
and Domestic, 1-9pm •
Rail Vodka $2, 9-11pm

Freddie’s Beach Bar

Crazy Hour, 4-8pm •
Karaoke, 9pm
t

METROWEEKLY.com 57
 Coverboy Photography by
Jeff Code

Having served three years in the Army, Shane was let go, not because he was
out, but due to a medical condition (exercise-induced asthma). Now he’s studying
nursing at Strafford University in Falls Church. When he’s not hitting the books,
the 23-year-old Brandywine, Md.-native can be found dancing at Town or Cobalt.
In thinking about the road ahead, Shane would like to see “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”
repealed. “I have a lot of gay friends in the Army,” he says.
t

Green Lantern Omega DC Eagle Lace Remington’s

Happy Hour, 4-9pm •
Shirtless Men Drink Free,
10-11pm • “Best Of”
Contest, 11:30pm • DJ
Back2bACk
Hippo
1 W. Eager St.
Baltimore, Md.
Hip Hop • DJ Kuhmeleon
• $6 from 10-11pm, $8
after 11pm • 25+
JR.’s
Happy Hour, 4-8pm • $11
All You Can Drink Rail
(upgrade to a better liquor
for $20) • Power Hour,
8-9pm • $4 Rail $2 JR.’s
drafts, 9pm to close
Lace
Happy Hour, 6-8pm •
Half-Price Cocktails &
Appetizers • $3 Vodka all
night • DJ Mims • 21+
Nellie’s Sports Bar
Beat The Clock Happy
Hour $1 - 5-6pm, $2 -
6-7pm, $3 - 7-8pm •
Buckets of Beer $12
Happy Hour, 4-9pm •
Karaoke with Howard,
10pm • $3 rail vodka,
all night
Phase 1
Karaoke starting at 7pm •
DJ LS or Drag King hosted
• 21+ • No cover
Playbill Café
Happy Hour, 4-8pm •
Theatrical Karaoke Night,
9:30pm-1:30am • Drink
specials • No cover
PW’s Sports Bar
9855 Washington Blvd. N
Laurel, Md.
301-498-4840
Karaoke in the Lounge
Ziegfeld’s/Secrets
Shirtless men drink free
(rail & domestic), 10-11pm
• All nude male dancers •
Dancing w/ DJ tim-e, 9pm-
close • Cover
Friday, 11.12.10
Annie’s/Annie’s
Upstairs
4@4 Happy Hour, 4-7pm •
$4 Small Plates, $4 Stella
Artois, $4 House Wines,
$4 Stolichnaya Cocktails,
$4 Manhattans and Vodka
Martinis • Upstairs open
5-11pm
Banana Café
Piano Bar Happy Hour,
4-7:30pm • $3 rail mar-
garitas, rail drinks and
domestic beers • $3.95
Cuervo margaritas •
Gordon Kent on the Piano,
8:30pm-12:30am
Cobalt/30 Degrees
Gruff (Rock and Retro
Happy Hour) • DJ Keenan
Orr • $1 rail drinks, $2
domestics, 4-7pm • $3 all
beers & rail drinks, 7-10pm
• $5 Smirnoff martinis,
4-10pm • No Cover •
DJ Chord Bezerra • Free
vodka drinks, 11pm-
midnight • $7 • 21+
Open 4pm • Power Hour,
$1 Off Rail and Domestic,
4-6pm • TGIF Club Beer
Bust, 9pm-1am • Shirtless
and Leather Specials, 2nd
Floor • Club Bar: DC Eagle
Poster Project
DIK Bar
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Rail
Drinks and Select Beers,
$3 • Absolut and Premium
Beers, $4
Freddie’s Beach Bar
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm •
Karaoke, 9pm
Green Lantern
All-U-Can-Drink Smirnoff
Buffet, $15, 11pm-close
• Mama’s Trailer Park
Karaoke, 10pm
Hippo
Baltimore, Md.
Karaoke • Doors at 10pm
• Cover
JR.’s
Happy Hour, 5-9pm • Beer
Bust, $8 All You Can Drink,
$4 SKYY Vodka Drinks •
$4 Corona $6 Red Bull and
vodka, 10pm-close
Happy Hour 6-8pm • Western Wear Party
Half Price Cocktails & • Midnight Mania: No
Appetizers • $3 Rum Cover and $3 Skyy Vodka
Specials, all night • DJ Specials after midnight
Miss Tiff, 10pm-3am •
$10 after 10pm • 21+ Town
Nitecamp Dancers • Live
Nellie’s Sports Bar performances by Luciana
Beat The Clock Cocktails, and Starshell • Upstairs:
$1, 5-6pm, $2, 6-7pm, DJ Wess • Downstairs:
$3, 7-8pm • Buckets of BacK2bACk • Doors open
Beer $12 at 10pm • Show starts at
10:30pm • $3 drinks until
Omega 11pm • Music and video
Happy Hour 4-9pm • Men downstairs by BacK2bACk
of Omega, 10:30pm • VJ • 21 and over, $5 from
Darryl Strickland 10-11pm • $10 after 11pm
for 18-20 • $10 all night
for 18 and over
Phase 1
DJ Luz • Dancing, 9pm-
close • $5 cover • 21+ • Ziegfeld’s/Secrets
phase1dc.com All nude male dancers
• The Ladies of Illusion
hosted by Kristina Kelly,
Playbill Café
first show at 11pm • DJ
Happy Hour, 4-8pm Spyke in Ziegfelds • DJ
Jason Royce in Secrets
PW’s Sports Bar • Cover
9855 Washington Blvd. N
Laurel, Md.
301-498-4840
Drag Show in lounge •
Half price burgers and
fries

For addresses, phone numbers and locations of individual clubs, bars, parties, and special events, please refer to our Destinations map on pages 64-65. METROWEEKLY.com 59
 What’s on your What are your television favorites?
nightstand? Supernatural, Weeds, Desperate
A drink, lube and Housewives, Will & Grace.
a textbook, Guide
to Medical Billing What was your favorite cartoon
and Coding. when you were a kid?
Doug.
What’s in your
nightstand What superhero would you be?
drawer? Rogue. I like her accent and she had a
Condoms, Mardi lot of powers.
Gras necklaces,
change, lube and Who’s your greatest influence?
random cards All my friends. They helped shape me
from going out. into who I am now, and they always
keep me going.

DC Eagle Green Lantern

Saturday, 11.13.10 Open 4pm • Power Hour, Happy Hour, 4-9pm w/
$1 Off Rail and Domestic, Beat the Clock Specials
Apex 4-6pm • $1 Off Rail on Rolling Rock & Rail
Kristina Kelly and the Leather/Shirtless Specials Vodka starting at 50 cents
Girls of Glamour, 11pm • till midnight • Club Bar: • All-U-Can-Drink Bacardi
Caliente in the East Wing SigMa Buffet, $17, 10pm-close
with DJ Michael Brandon • Men in their underwear
• 18/21 • $10 Cover • DIK Bar get Happy Hour prices,
Afterhours Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Rail 11pm-Close (Upstairs) •
Drinks and Select Beers, Cotton Candy (18+ Party),
$3 • Absolut and Premium 10pm
Banana Café
Piano Bar Happy Hour, Beers, $4
4-7:30pm • $3 rail mar- Hippo
garitas, rail drinks and Fireplace Baltimore, Md.
domestic beers • $3.95 Happy Hour, $2.50 Rail Karaoke • Cover
Cuervo margaritas • and Domestic, 1-9pm •
Gordon Kent on the Piano, VJ Dina Valentine or VJ JR.’s
8:30pm-12:30am Albert Lee, downstairs • $3 Coors Light, $4 rail
DJ Wesley, upstairs vodka highballs, all day
Blowoff and night • Showtunes
@ 9:30 Club Freddie’s Beach Bar from 4-8pm
815 V St. NW Breakfast buffet, 10am-
DJs Rich Morel and Bob 2pm • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm Lace
Mould, 11:30pm • $12 • • Karaoke, 10pm Happy Hour, 6-8pm •
21+ • blowoff.us Half Price Cocktails &
Fuego Appetizers • $3 Tequila,
Cobalt/30 Degrees @Aqua all night • DJ Miss Tiff,
aZen (sponsored by AQUA) 1818 New York Ave. NE 10pm-3am • $10 after
• DJ Kuhmeleon • DJ DJ • Drag Show featur- 10pm • 21+
Keenan Orr • AQUA mem- ing Gigi Paris Couture,
bers free before 11pm • 12:30am • Male Dancers
21+ • $7 • Shooter Boys • $3
Vodka Drinks until
11:30pm • Free private
parking • Cover

60 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010

 What’s your greatest fear?
Being alone.
Pick three people, living or dead,
who you think would make the most
fascinating dinner guests
imaginable.
My best friend Parker, Brad Pitt and
Russell Brand.
What would you serve?
Chicken and alcohol.
How would you describe Who is your favorite musical artist?
your dream guy? Incubus.
A guy who is masculine, fun, and has a
career. Someone that I can basically be What’s your favorite website?
myself around. Yahoo.com.
Define good in bed. Who should star in a movie about
Someone who can go for a long period your life?
of time. And someone who Whoever can be a good drunk.
can take control. Cam Gigandet.
What’s the most unusual place Who was your first celebrity crush?
you’ve had sex? Brad Pitt.
In a car in the parking lot of Tysons
Corner mall. People were watching.

Nellie’s Town Banana Café Fireplace Lace Ziegfeld’s/Secrets

Zing Zang Bloody Marys, DJ Hector Fonseca •
Nellie Beer, House Rail Downstairs: DJ Wess •
Drinks and Mimosas, $3, Doors at 10pm • Drag
11am-5pm • Buckets of show at 10:30pm • $3
Beer, $12 drinks until 11pm • $8
from 10-11pm and $12
Omega after 11pm • 21+
Men of Omega, 10:30pm
• Pool Tournament, 9pm Ziegfeld’s/Secrets
• VJ Tre All nude male dancers
• The Ladies of Illusion
hosted by Ella Fitzgerald,
Phase 1
DJ LS • Dancing, 9pm- first show at 11pm • DJ
Spyke in Ziegfelds • DJ
close • phase1dc.com
Daryl Strickland in Secrets
• $5 before 10:30pm,
PW’s Sports Bar $10 after
9855 Washington Blvd. N
Laurel, Md.
301-498-4840 Sunday, 11.14.10
Karaoke in the lounge •
Charity Bingo with Cash
Academy of
Prizes 3rd sat. of Every Washington
Month
@Ziegfeld’s/Secrets
Mr. & Miss Gaye USA,
Remington’s DC Contest • Honoring
DJ Jeff Cranford • Anthony Perkins and Sarah
Midnight Mania: No Lee Garrett • Doors at
Cover and $3 Skyy Vodka 2pm • Show at 3pm •
Specials after midnight $10 • Call 703-671-1617
Piano Bar Happy Hour,
4-7:30pm • $3 rail mar-
garitas, rail drinks and
domestic beers • $3.95
Cuervo margaritas •
Karaoke, 6:30pm-close •
Emceed by Zoe
Cobalt/30 Degrees
Flip Cup weekly tourna-
ment presented by FlipOut
DC, 5pm • DJ Jesse
Jackson • Homowood
Karaoke, 9pm •
Showtunes and movies •
• 21+ • No cover
DC Eagle
Open noon • Go Skins
sportswear, leather, torn
jeans, shirtless specials till
midnight • Tailgate party,
1-4pm • Cookout on 2nd
floor, 5-8pm
DIK Bar
Happy Hour, all night •
Rail Drinks and Select
Beers, $3 • Absolut and
Premium Beers, $4
Happy Hour, $2.50 Rail
and Domestic,1-9pm • VJ
Albert Lee, downstairs •
DJ Wesley, upstairs
Freddie’s Beach Bar
Champagne Brunch Buffet,
11am-3pm • Crazy Hour,
4-8pm • Drag Show host-
ed by Destiny B. Childs,
featuring performances
by a rotating cast, 9pm •
Karaoke • No cover
Green Lantern
Happy Hour, 4-9pm with
$3 Smirnoff (all flavors)
• Trailer Park Karaoke
with Mama, 9:30pm • •
Dragging Out the Gospel,
7pm • Bears Can Dance,
5pm
Hippo
Baltimore, Md.
Saloon open 4pm-2am
JR.’s
$2 SKYY Highballs and $2
Coors Light Bottles, all day
and night
Happy Hour, 6-8pm • All nude male dancers
Half-price Cocktails & upstairs in Secrets •
Appetizers • No cover Cover
• 21+
Monday, 11.15.10
Nellie’s
Drag Brunch, hosted by
Shi-Queeta-Lee, 11am- Annie’s
3pm • $20 Brunch Buffet 4@4 Happy Hour, 4-7pm •
• House Rail Drinks, Zing $4 Small Plates, $4 Stella
Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie Artois, $4 House Wines,
Beer and Mimosas, $3, $4 Stolichnaya Cocktails,
$4 Manhattans and Vodka
11am-close • Buckets of
Beer, $12 • $2 Nellie Beer Martinis
Blast, 3-8pm
Banana Café
Open Mike, 7pm-close •
Omega
Church Lady Bing, 8-10pm Emceed by Zoe • $3 off all
Mojitos after 7:30pm
• Hosted by Chanel
Devereaux • $3 rail vodka
Cobalt/30 Degrees
Riot • Hip hop and R&B
Phase 1
Live Music all night • • DJ Keenan • Live per-
formance • $3 Miller Lite
$3.50 Coronas and Bud
Lights • Drag King show • $3 rail drinks • $7 Long
Island Iced Teas • Happy
every second Sunday, 9pm
Hour $1 rail drinks, 5-7pm
• $3 rail, $3 beers, $5 call,
PW’s Sports Bar
7-9pm • Beer Bust, 10pm
9855 Washington Blvd. N • All beers $3 • No cover
Laurel, Md. • 21+
301-498-4840
Happy Hour all night •
Games on the big screens

METROWEEKLY.com 61
 If your home was burning, what’s
the first thing you would
grab while leaving?
My dog.
What’s your biggest turn-on?
People with strong eyes.
What’s your biggest turn-off?
Stupid people. When people shouldn’t
talk or say certain things but
they do anyway.
What’s something you’ve always What’s your favorite retail store?
wanted to do but haven’t yet tried? Best Buy.
Skydive. I like thrills.
I’ve done bungee jumping. What’s the most you’ll spend
on a haircut?
What’s something you’ve tried that $20.
you never want to do again?
Spicy food. On a pair of shoes?
$100.
What position do you play in the big
baseball game of life? What’s your favorite season?
Catcher. Fall, because of all the colors.

Boxers, briefs or other?

Boxer-briefs.

DC Eagle Omega Cobalt/30 Degrees JR.’s Remington’s DC Eagle

Happy Hour, 4pm-close, Happy Hour, 4-9pm •
both floors • Monday Rouge, 10:30pm • $3
Night Football • Skins vs. light beer
Eagles
Playbill Café
DIK Bar Happy Hour, 4-8pm •
Happy Hour, all night • Open Mike, 9:30pm-
Rail Drinks and Select 1:30am • Music, poetry,
Beers, $3 • Absolut and spoken word
Premium Beers, $4
PW’s Sports Bar
Freddie’s 9855 Washington Blvd. N
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Laurel, Md.
Singles Night, 8pm 301-498-4840
Buzztime Trivia competi-
tion • 75 cents off bottles
Green Lantern
Happy Hour, 4pm-close • and drafts
Karaoke, 9:30pm • Bears
do yoga, 6:15pm (Upstairs)
Tuesday, 11.16.10
JR.’s Annie’s
Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $1
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $4
Vodka Highballs and $1 Stella Artois, $4 House
JR.’s Drafts • Buy 1 Get
Wines, $4 Stolichnaya
1 Free, 7-9pm • Monday Cocktails, $4 Manhattans
Night Showtunes and Vodka Martinis
Nellie’s Sports Bar
Banana Café
Beat The Clock Happy Piano Bar Happy Hour, all
Hour, $1 - 5-6pm, $2
night • $3 rail margaritas,
- 6-7pm, $3 - 7-8pm • rail drinks and domestic
Buckets of Beer $12 •
beers • $3.95 Cuervo mar-
Poker Texas Hold’em, 8pm garitas • Gordon Kent on
the Piano, 7:30pm-close
Happy Hour $1 rail drinks,
5-7pm • $3 rail, $3
beers, $5 call, 7-9pm •
Flashback (retro hits) • DJ
Kuhmeleon • $4 rail drinks
and beer, all night long •
No cover • 21+
DC Eagle
Open 4pm • 2-4-1
Specials, both floors •
APA Pool League, 7:30pm
DIK Bar
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Rail
Drinks and Select Beers,
$3 • Absolut and Premium
Beers, $4
Freddie’s Beach Bar
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm •
Karaoke, 9pm
Green Lantern
Happy Hour Prices, 4pm-
close • Fuk!t packing
party, 7pm
Hippo
Baltimore, Md.
Showtune Video Madness,
9pm-1am
Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $1 Happy Hour 4-8pm • Open 4pm • Happy Hour
Vodka Highballs and $1 2-4-1 Rail and Domestics, till 9pm • Underwear
JR.’s Drafts • Buy 1 Get 1 8pm-close and Shirtless Specials, all
Free, 7-9pm night • Club members in
colors get extra off • Club
Wed., 11.17.10 Bar: Highwaymen TNT
Majestic Nightclub
2922 Annandale Rd.
Falls Church, Va. Annie’s DIK Bar
Crazy Tuesday • Happy Special event: Meet the Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Rail
Hour, 10-11pm, all drinks, Men of the Gay Men’s Drinks and Select Beers,
$5 • Hosted by Jocelyn Chorus of Washington, $3 • Absolut and Premium
5pm-close • Singing •
Carrillo • majesticclub. Beers, $4
com Giveaways • Reservations
encouraged
Fireplace
Nellie’s Sports Bar Happy Hour, 1-9pm •
Beat The Clock Happy Banana Café $2.50 Rail and Domestic
Happy Hour, all night •
Hour, $1 - 5-6pm, $2 • Humpday Prices, $2.50
- 6-7pm, $3 - 7-8pm • Gordon Kent on the Piano, Domestic Beers All Night
7:30pm-close
Buckets of Beer $12 • Long • VJ Dina Valentine,
Drag BINGO hosted by Shi- downstairs • DJ Brooklyn,
Queeta Lee, 8pm Cobalt/30 Degrees upstairs
Happy Hour $1 rail drinks,
Omega 5-7pm • $3 rail, $3 beers, Freddie’s Beach Bar
$5 call, 7-9pm • Karaoke
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $3 Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Drag
Rail Drinks, All Night • $4 Absolut cocktails, Bingo, 9pm
$4 Malibu cocktails, $7
Absolut & Red Bull, $7
PW’s Sports Bar Malibu & Red Bull • No Green Lantern
9855 Washington Blvd. N cover • 21+ • 9pm Happy Hour, 4pm-close
Laurel, Md. • POZ DC, 9pm-Midnight
301-498-4840 (2nd Floor)
75 cents off bottles and
drafts • Movie Night

62 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010

 What’s your favorite food What’s something you
to splurge with? want more of?
Pizza. More money would be nice.

What kind of animal would you be? What are you most grateful for?
A wolf. I like their pack mentality. I am most grateful for my friends
It’s like a family. and family.

What kind of plant would you be? What’s your dream job?
A rose. Pretty, but thorny. To be an actor.

What kind of car would you be? State your life philosophy
I love the Dodge Viper. It looks sexy. in 10 words or less.
Have fun because life is short. l

Hippo PW’s Sports Bar Apex DIK Bar Hippo Omega

Baltimore, Md. 9855 Washington Blvd. N College Night, 10pm-4am Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Rail 1 W. Eager St. Happy Hour, 4-9pm •
Bingo, 9pm • $2 Domestic Laurel, Md. • DJ Randy White • Drinks and Select Beers, Baltimore, Md. Karaoke with Howard,
Bottle Beer 301-498-4840 VJ Frenchie • Free with $3 • Absolut and Premium Hip Hop • DJ Rosie • $6 10pm • $3 rail vodka,
Free Pool •  75 cents off college ID, $5 without • Beers, $4 from 10-11pm, $8 after all night
JR.’s Bottles and Drafts 18/21 11pm • 25+
Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $1 Fireplace Phase 1
Vodka Highballs and $1 Remington’s Banana Café Happy Hour, $2.50 Rail JR.’s Karaoke starting at 7pm •
JR.’s Drafts • Buy 1 Get 1 Line Dance Lessons, Piano Bar Happy Hour, and Domestic, 1-9pm • Happy Hour, 4-8pm • $11 DJ LS or Drag King hosted
Free, 7-9pm 8:30pm • Karaoke 4-7:30pm • $3 rail mar- Rail Vodka $2, 9-11pm All You Can Drink Rail • 21+ • No cover
Upstairs, 9pm • $3 garitas, rail drinks and • VJ Dina Valentine, (upgrade to a better liquor
Nellie’s Sports Bar SKYY and Bacardi, $2.50 domestic beers • $3.95 downstairs • DJ Brooklyn, for $20) • Power Hour, Playbill Café
Beat The Clock Happy Domestic Cuervo margaritas • upstairs 8-9pm • $4 Rail $2 JR.’s Happy Hour, 4-8pm •
Hour, $1 - 5-6pm, $2 Chuck Smith on piano, drafts, 9pm to close Theatrical Karaoke Night,
- 6-7pm, $3 - 7-8pm • Ziegfeld’s/Secrets 7:30pm-close • $3 off Freddie’s Beach Bar 9:30pm-1:30am • Drink
Buckets of Beer $12 • All nude male dancers Mojitos after 7:30pm Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Lace specials • No cover
Drag BINGO hosted by • DJ tim-e, 9pm-close Karaoke, 9pm Happy Hour, 6-8pm •
Shi-Queeta Lee, 8pm • • Cover Cobalt/30 Degrees

For more nightlife listings go to www.metroweekly.com.

Half-Price Cocktails & PW’s Sports Bar
SmartAss Trivia, 8pm $1 Vodka Drinks, 9-11pm Green Lantern Appetizers • $3 Vodka all 9855 Washington Blvd. N
• Underwear Contest w/ Happy Hour, 4-9pm • night • DJ Mims • 21+ Laurel, Md.
Thursday, 11.18.10 Lena Lett, 12:30am • DJ
Omega Shirtless Men Drink Free, 301-498-4840
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Chord Bezerra • DJ Mad 10-11pm • “Best Of” Nellie’s Sports Bar Karaoke in the Lounge
Shirtless men drink free, Annie’s/Annie’s Science • No Cover • 21+ Contest, 11:30pm • DJ Beat The Clock Happy
Rail and Domestics, Upstairs Back2bACk Hour $1 - 5-6pm, $2 -
4@4 Happy Hour, 4pm- Ziegfeld’s/Secrets
10-11pm • $3 Domestics, DC Eagle 6-7pm, $3 - 7-8pm • Shirtless men drink free
all night • Men of Omega, 7pm • $4 Small Plates, Open 4pm • “Pigout” Buckets of Beer $12
$4 Stella Artois, $4 House (rail & domestic), 10-11pm
10pm Night, 9pm-close •
Wines, $4 Stolichnaya • All nude male dancers •
Leather, Shirtless and Dancing w/ DJ tim-e, 9pm-
Cocktails, $4 Manhattans Hankie Code Specials •
and Vodka Martinis • close • Cover l
Blackout Night commenc-
Upstairs open 5-10pm ing the 39th Anniversary
weekend

METROWEEKLY.com 63
Destinations
8 DITO’S BAR @ 17 JR.’S 23 TOWN
BARS & CLUBS FLORIANA 1519 17th Street NW 2009 8th Street NW
1602 17th Street NW (202) 328-0090 (202) 234-TOWN
1 18th & U (202) 667-5937 Dupont Circle Metro U Street / Cardozo Metro
DUPLEX DINER Dupont Circle Metro mv mdvt
2004 18th Street NW m&w r
(202) 265-7828
Dupont Circle Metro LACE 24 ZIEGFELD’S /
r 10 FAB LOUNGE 2214 Rhode Island Ave. NE SECRETS
1805 Connecticut Ave. NW (202) 832-3888 1824 Half Street SW
(202) 797-1122 wrd (202) 863-0670
2 APEX Dupont Circle Metro Navy Yard Metro
1415 22nd Street NW m&w m d v t gg
(202) 296-0505 18 MOVA
Dupont Circle Metro 1435 P Street NW
mdvt 11 THE FIREPLACE (202) 797-9730 RESTAURANTS
22nd & P Streets NW Dupont Circle Metro
(202) 293-1293 m 25 1409 PLAYBILL CAFÉ
3 BACHELOR’S MILL Dupont Circle Metro 1409 14th Street NW
1104 8th Street SE mv (202) 265-3055
(202) 546-5979 19 NELLIE’S Dupont Circle Metro
Eastern Market / SPORTS BAR m&w r v
Navy Yard Metro 12 FREDDIE’S 900 U Street NW
md BEACH BAR (202) 332-6355
555 South 23rd Street U Street / Cardozo Metro 26 Alberto’s
Crystal City, VA m&w r 2010 P Street NW
4 COBALT/30 DEGREES (703) 685-0555 2438 18th Street NW
17th & R Street NW Crystal City Metro (202) 986-2121
(202) 462-6569 m&w r 20 OMEGA Dupont Circle Metro
Dupont Circle Metro 2122 P Street NW (rear)
mdt (202) 223-4917
13 FUEGO Dupont Circle Metro 27 Annie’s Paramount
1818 New York Ave. NE m v Steak house
5 CREW CLUB www.clubfuegodc.com 1609 17th Street NW
1321 14th Street NW mdt (202) 232-0395
(202) 319-1333 21 PHASE ONE Dupont Circle Metro
McPherson Square Metro 525 8th Street SE
mos 14 GLORIOUS (202) 544-6831
HEALTH CLUB Eastern Market Metro 28 Banana Café &
2120 W. VA Ave. NE 20002 wd Piano Bar
6 DC EAGLE (202) 269-0226 500 8th Street SE
639 New York Ave. NW mos (202) 543-5906
(202) 347-6025 22 REMINGTON’S Eastern Market Metro
Convention Center / 639 Pennsylvania Ave. SE
Gallery Place / 15 GREEN LANTERN (202) 543-3113
Chinatown Metro 1335 Green Court NW (behind Eastern Market Metro 29 Beacon Bar & Grill
ml 1335 L St.) m cw d v 1615 Rhode Island Ave. NW
(202) 347-4534 (202) 872-1126
McPherson Square Metro Dupont Circle Metro
7 DELTA ELITE ml
3734 10th Street NE
(202) 529-0626 30 Café Berlin
Brookland Metro 322 Massachusetts Ave. NE
md (202) 543-7656
Union Station Metro

m mostly men  w mostly women   m&w men and women    r restaurant    l leather/levi

d dancing   v video    t drag    cw country western    gg go-go dancers    o open 24 hours s sauna

64 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010

31 D.C. Noodles
1410 U Street NW
(202) 232-8424
U Street-Cardoza Metro

32 DIK
1637 17th Street NW
(202) 328-0100
Dupont Circle Metro
mr 7

14
4 Level One 13
1639 R Street NW
(202) 745-0025 30
Dupont Circle Metro

33 M Street Bar & Grill

2033 M Street NW
(202) 530-3621 24

Foggy Bottom Metro

Sabores 12
5435b Connecticut Ave. NW
(202) 244-7196
Cleveland Park Metro

RETAIL

34 CAPITOL VIDEO
SALES
1729 Connecticut Ave. NW
1
(202) 265-9226 23
Dupont Circle Metro 31 19

22
10
35 CAPITOL VIDEO
SALES 34 4
35
32
514 8th Street SE 36
8 27 28
(202) 544-2808 21

Eastern Market Metro 11

17
18
26 25
2 20
HOLLYWOOD TANS 5
625 D St. NW 29

(202) 393-8267 33
Gallery Place Metro 3
15
6

36 HRC
ACTION CENTER
& STORE
1633 Connecticut Ave. NW
(202) 232-8621
Dupont Circle Metro

METROWEEKLY.com 65
66 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010
 scene
RAW’s 1st Anniversary
Friday, November 5
Green Lantern

Photography by
Ward Morrison

PURCHASE YOUR photo AT WWW.METROWEEKLY.COM/SCENE/ 67

68 See photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene
METROWEEKLY.com 69
70 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010

Peruvian Power
Apex’s Michael Brandon has become one of the area’s leading Latin DJs
todd franson
Michael Brandon’s
mother grounded his plans
years ago to join the Air
Force. Literally.
“I walked in to the
recruiting office in
Rockville,” he recalls. “She
pulled me out and said,
‘You’ve got to be kidding
me.’”
With that, Brandon
recommitted to the chief
reason he came to the U.S.
from his native Peru nine
years ago: to work in music.
Technically, he followed his
older sister north. But in an
interesting twist, his North
American roots run much
deeper.
“My mom is actu-
ally from Indianapolis,” he
explains. “She went to Peru
on vacation and met my
dad down there, and she
stayed there for 27 years.”
Now, the whole family —
including Brandon’s parents
and three siblings — lives
in the D.C. area. Brandon,
who lives in Gaithersburg,
Md., with a 110-lb. rescued
German shepherd, came
out a few years ago. “It
took some time for my fam-
ily and all that,” the 29-year-
S
clublife
old says, “but they’re cool
with it.”
Brandon has become
known as one of the area’s
leading Latin DJs, both for
private special events and
for weekly gay parties at
by doug rule
small bars in Virginia and
Maryland. But the gay DJ
made his name at Apex.
He’s spun for the D.C.
nightclub’s weekly Saturday
Caliente party in the back
East Wing Dance Lounge
for nearly three years. He
also helms the monthly
third-Friday Caliente Grande
party in the Main Hall.
“Latin music has like
14 different rhythms, so
it’s a little bit of everything
for everybody,” Brandon
says, noting that he plays
everything from salsa and
merengue to reggaeton and
hip-hop. Pop, too — espe-
cially Lady Gaga. “[She’s]
the new Madonna,” he
says. “Anybody will dance
to her.”
In addition to lining up
DJ gigs in other cities,
Brandon sees producing
original music in his future.
But while he fronted a rock
band in high school in Peru,
he doesn’t expect to do it
again. “I don’t think I’m that
good to sing as a profes-
sional,” he says, laughing,
“I’ll stick to karaoke with
my friends.”
DJ Michael Brandon spins
every Saturday night for
Caliente in the East Wing
Lounge and the third Friday,
including next Friday, Nov.
19, for Caliente Grande
in the Main Hall at Apex
Nightclub, 1415 22nd St.
NW. Cover is $10, for
everyone 18 and up. Call
202-296-0505 or visit apex-
dc.com. l
METROWEEKLY.com 71
 Filth
Halloween haunt-
ings... Halloween is a
holiday taken very seriously
in West Hollywood. When
planning a look, most of
:disgustingly offensive dirt, garbage, anything viewed as grossly indecent or obscene
by billy masters
our residents ask a ques-
tion like, “What goes with
a Speedo?” Or “Could one
of those Chilean miners
have been shirtless?” After
Michael Phelps’s Olympic
win, we saw lots of boys
in skimpy suits, bathing
caps and goggles. Because
it is de rigueur to show as
much skin as possible.
Rather than hit the
street and deal with the
throngs and multitudes (to
say nothing of the mul-
titude of thongs), I went
to the Halloween party —
Halloween at Palihouse.
The party was thrown by
my buddy Chad Hudson,
who produces all the big
swanky studio parties asso-
ciated with premieres and
award shows. Chad knows
how to provide any situa-
tion with the best possible
experience, and this party
was a perfect example
of why he’s so success-
ful. Given Chad’s status
in the industry, there was
quite a kerfuffle to get in.
Unless, of course, you’re
Billy Masters. Then you are
greeted at the door and are
escorted through the crowd
by Corbett Harper. Other
luminaries included Lance
Bass, Marc Cornelsen,
JP Calderone, Adam
Shankman, James Duke
Mason, Kelly Osbourne,
Jai Rodriguez, Kevin
Williamson, and assorted
soap, porn and incognito
actors.
One of the people
cavorting in town was
Trace Lehnhoff, who you
may know as Jeff Lewis’s
72 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010
cute assistant on Flipping
Out. Trace happens to
have a tight, well-defined
body (and could probably
have fit into the bulk of
my discarded wardrobe).
What did he wear for
Halloween? Football shoul-
der pads, a jock strap, and
a smile! At one point, he
planned on bringing a rape
whistle — just in case!
When I saw him, he had
slipped on a pair of lace-up
football pants that were...
well, unlaced! Let me add
that he has a penchant for
showing skin around the
holidays. Check out our site
for more mouthwatering
seasonal gay apparel.
You may have read a
report that proclaimed,
“Matthew Morrison did
Richard Simmons on
Halloween.” Well, that’s
news to Dickie! In truth,
Matty dressed as the fit-
ness guru for his combina-
tion Halloween/birthday
party at Voyeur here in
WeHo. Also attending were
his Glee cohorts Chord
Overstreet and Harry
Shum, plus folks like JC
Chasez, Lauren Conrad
and Christina Aguilera....
Oprah’s crossing...
Let me make a confes-
sion: I don’t really get into
The Oprah. I like her, but
she never gets anything
really juicy out of celebri-
ties because she coddles
them too much. That said,
I watched her interview
with Portia Degeneres and
noticed that Winfrey has
enormous trouble cross-
ing her legs. Throughout
the chat, she actually had
to hold her left knee in a
death grip to keep it from
flying off her right thigh!
Portia’s big reveal was that
the shame of being a les-
bian drove her to anorexia
— at one point, she only
weighed 82 pounds. When
she said that, I was sure
Oprah’s leg was gonna take
flight....
Same-Sex Dancing...
Lesbians are making news
overseas. For the first
time in the history of the
Dancing With The Stars
franchise, there will be a
same-sex couple dancing.
And it’s in Israel. And it’s
not some old handsome
woman with whiskers and
a hump like Golda Meir.
This is a sexy TV sports-
caster named Gili Shem-
Tov. She’s openly gay and
when she was invited onto
the show, she said she’d
only do it if she could have
a female partner — and the
producers said yes. Bear in
mind that while Israel can
be old fashioned in some
ways, gays can serve in the
military. So why not dance
on TV together? Maybe
they could do the Gaza
Strip?....
Dream casting... A
month ago I told you that
Kim Cattrall was in dis-
cussions to star opposite
Bernadette Peters in
Steven Sondheim’s musi-
cal Follies, which will
play a limited run at the
Kennedy Center in May.
It is true that Cattrall was
considered. After all, she is
a thespian who is playing
Cleopatra in Shakespeare’s
Antony and Cleopatra in the
city of her birth, Liverpool,
England. But that’s neither
hither nor yon. Cattrall is
out, and Jan Maxwell is
in as Phyllis. Even more
interesting is the list of leg-
endary ladies who will take
on the smaller character
roles. People like Florence
Lacey, Rosalind Elias,
Linda Lavin, Regine and
Elaine Paige. Wait a min-
ute? Bernadette Peters and
Elaine Paige in the same
show? Musical theater fans
around the globe must be
kvelling! Needless to say,
Paige is playing Carlotta
Campion, who gets to
sing “I’m Still Here.” But,
just for a second, imagine
Bernadette and Elaine as
Sally and Phyllis...and throw
in a LuPone as Carlotta -
now that’s a show (have
I mentioned that Glenn
Close has still not called
Patti?)....
Ask Billy.... “What
happened with that
Philip Morris movie with
Jim Carrey and Ewan
McGregor playing lovers?
Is it ever coming out?” I
Love You Philip Morris has
been on and off the shelf
so many times, even I had
to look up the latest news.
Allegedly, it will open in
select cities on Dec. 3.
Time to end yet another
column. For all your needs,
I’m just a mouse click
away. Just send a note
along to Billy@BillyMasters.
com and I promise to get
back to you before Glenn
calls Patti (like LuPone, I
have no intention of letting
this go).... l
METROWEEKLY.com 73
“” Last Word
“ Death threats, and the now worldwide controversy surrounding your election of me as bishop, have been a constant strain,
not just on me, but on my beloved husband,
Mark.
”
— Bishop V. Gene Robinson the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, on his decision to retire.
Since his election, he has been at the center of a split in the church over ordination of gay and lesbian priests.
(Agence France-Presse)

“ The cumulative effects of his use of state resources, harassing conduct that is NOT protected by the First Amendment, and
his lies during the disciplinary conference
all demonstrate adequate evidence of conduct unbecoming a state employee.
”
— Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox in a statement on the firing of Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell, who had
engaged in a long campaign of harassment against a gay University of Michigan student, Chris Armstrong.
(Michigan Daily)

“ I think it had to be an obvious end for him, for Shirvell.

You can’t conduct yourself that way
and remain an assistant attorney general.
”
— Deborah Gordon, attorney for Chris Armstrong, reacting to Andrew Shirvell’s firing.
(Michigan Daily)

“Generous love between a man and a woman

is the efficient framework and basis of human life. ”

— Pope Benedict XVI speaking in Spain, a country he called the “epicenter” of the battle between “faith and modernity”
because it has legalized marriage equality.
(The Independent)

“ This is a peaceful act of protest to demonstrate that

love is the same in the hearts of everyone.”
— Jordi Petit, a leader of the LGBT group that sponsored a kiss-in to protest Pope Benedict’s appearance.
(The Independent)

74 METROWEEKLY NOVEMBER 11, 2010