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MARCH 19, 2015

METROWEEKLY.COM

METROWEEKLY.COM

MARCH 19, 2015

EDITORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Randy Shulman

MARCH 19, 2015

Volume 21 / Issue 45

ART DIRECTOR
Todd Franson
POLITICAL EDITOR
Justin Snow
NEWS & BUSINESS EDITOR
John Riley

NEWS

A HOME WITH HEART

by John Riley

SCENE

11

SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
Ward Morrison, Julian Vankim

WANDA ALSTON FOUNDATIONS

SPRING FLING
photography by Ward Morrison

CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATOR
Scott G. Brooks
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Christian Gerard, Troy Petenbrink,
Kate Wingfield

CRUEL AND UNUSUAL

by Justin Snow

ASSISTANT EDITOR
Rhuaridh Marr
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Doug Rule

BUSINESS

13

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

16

CAGLCCS CHANGING FACE

by John Riley

WEBMASTER
David Uy
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Julian Vankim

FEATURES

18

A WAY TO SHARE HER EXPERIENCES AND

SALES & MARKETING

CONNECT TO OTHER QUEER OUTLIERS

PUBLISHER
Randy Shulman

by Doug Rule
23

BRAND STRATEGY & MARKETING

Christopher Cunetto
Cunetto Creative
NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE
Rivendell Media Co.
212-242-6863

ENTIRELY APPROPRIATE
DESIREE AKHAVAN SEES FILMMAKING AS

CHARACTERS WELCOME
by Rhuaridh Marr

OUT ON THE TOWN

24

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER
Dennis Havrilla

BROOKLYN RIDER
by Doug Rule

GAMES

37

ORI AND THE BLIND FOREST

by Rhuaridh Marr

PATRON SAINT
Shirin & Maxine

FOOD

39

CHERRY BLOSSOM SPECIALS

by Doug Rule

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY
Valentina Frugiuele

TECH

41

AUTONOMOUS CARS
by Rhuaridh Marr

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MARCH 19, 2015

METROWEEKLY.COM

NIGHTLIFE

45

RUPAULS SEASON 7 DRAG RACERS

TOWN

AT

photography by Ward Morrison

SCENE

52

NUMBER NINE
photography by Ward Morrison

54

LAST WORD

METROWEEKLY.COM

MARCH 19, 2015

Democrats reintroduce anti-bullying bill

Gay couple refuse to leave millions to University of Alabama

TODD FRANSON

LGBT

News

Now online at MetroWeekly.com

U.S. Supreme Court

Cruel and Unusual

Transgender inmate asks Supreme Court to hear medical care case

by Justin Snow

HE U.S. SUPREME COURT

was asked Monday to hear a
transgender inmates appeal
of a ruling denying her gender
reassignment surgery.
Attorneys for Michelle Kosilek petitioned the nations highest court to
address whether the 8th Amendment
prohibits the Massachusetts Department
of Corrections from denying necessary
medical treatment to a prisoner for nonmedical reasons, such as security concerns. The appeal comes after the 1st
Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-2 in
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MARCH 19, 2015

METROWEEKLY.COM

December that Kosilek is not entitled

to gender reassignment surgery under
the 8th Amendment protecting her from
cruel and unusual punishment.
That decision reversed a another by
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mark
Wolf, who ruled in September 2012
that it is the constitutional duty of
the Massachusetts Department of
Corrections to grant Kosilek the surgery. That decision was appealed by
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D)
and became a political issue in the state
during an election year when Sen. Scott
Brown (R) and his Democratic opponent, Elizabeth Warren, both voiced
their opposition to the district court

ruling. Out Rep. Barney Frank (D) also

backed the appeal. In January 2013,
a three-judge panel of the 1st Circuit
Court of Appeals upheld Wolfs decision.
However, Massachusetts then asked for
an en banc review of the decision by the
full bench of the 1st Circuit, which overturned the ruling in December following
oral arguments in May.
The petition was filed by Gay &
Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD),
attorney Joseph L. Sulman and the
Boston law firm Goodwin Procter.
The Court of Appeals looked at an
incredibly thoughtful decision, written
with extreme care and attention to the
facts by District Court Judge Mark Wolf

METROWEEKLY.COM

MARCH 19, 2015

LGBTNews
after a 28-day trial, said Jennifer Levi,
director of GLADs Transgender Rights
Project, in a statement. Instead of looking for errors of law, as it is supposed to
do, the Court not only re-tried the case,
it applied a standard of review no other
court has ever applied to get the outcome
it wanted.
The 65-year-old Kosilek legally changed her name from Robert to
Michelle in 1993 after being convicted of
strangling her wife to death in 1990. She
has been serving a life sentence without
parole in a prison for males since January
1993. Kosilek sued the Massachusetts
Department of Correction in 2000 on
the grounds that refusing her gender
reassignment surgery as recommended
by her doctors was equal to cruel and
unusual punishment. Kosilek previously
tried to castrate herself and has twice
attempted suicide.
The petition filed on behalf of Kosilek
with the Supreme Court asserts that the
1st Circuits en banc review of the case
was in fact a retrying of the case. As the
petition states, Two judges dissented.
Both emphasized the same point: the
majority had wildly overstepped the
bounds of an appellate court.
Among those who dissented were
Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson, who
labeled the majority opinion erroneous

and misguided. I am confident that I

would not need to pen this dissent, over
twenty years after Kosileks quest for
constitutionally adequate medical care
began, were she not seeking a treatment
that many see as strange or immoral.
Prejudice and fear of the unfamiliar have
undoubtedly played a role in this matters
protraction, she wrote.
This is a quintessentially fact-intensive case, said Kosileks attorney, Joseph
Sulman, in a statement. The First Circuit
found no legal error or clear factual error
in Judge Wolfs decision, which is what
it must do to overturn his decision. The
way the Court ran roughshod over the
most basic of legal principles erodes the
credibility of the judiciary. It should be
alarming to every single lawyer, litigant,
and defendant in a civil case.
Four the the nine Supreme Court justices must agree to hear the case, but they
have no obligation or time constraint
to make that decision. The court would
also need to move quickly for a ruling to
come before the end of the courts term
in June.
Although the state fought Kosileks
case, it is also not clear where current
Massachusetts officials come down on
the appeal to the Supreme Court. At the
time of the December decision by the 1st
Circuit, there was a different governor and

A Home with Heart

Transgender activist Ruby Corados new house for LGBT

homeless youth doubles the number of beds available

by John Riley

F I CAN MAKE IT, ANYONE

can, says Ruby Corado as she
walks around an empty three-story house in Columbia Heights.
The building is in the initial stages of
renovation. It will open later this spring
as transitional housing for homeless and
vulnerable LGBT youth.
Corado knows homelessness all too
well. The longtime transgender activist and founder of LGBT multicultural
community center Casa Ruby has spent
some financially troubled times sleeping in shelters or transitional housing.
But now, aided by a new grant from
the Partnership for the Prevention of
Homelessness, Corado is on schedule
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MARCH 19, 2015

METROWEEKLY.COM

to become a mother figure to anywhere

between 10 to 12 homeless LGBT youth
who have nowhere else to turn. While
the Wanda Alston Foundation, which
runs the Wanda Alston House, meets a
similar need, Corados new transitional
house will more than double the number
of beds specifically available for LGBT
youth who would otherwise be forced
into traditional adult homeless shelters,
where they can be at risk due to their
sexual orientation or gender identity.
When I was homeless, I lived in a
place where the mattress was uncomfortable, she recalls. And a lot of people
dont see the point in staying or abiding
by the rules if the place theyre staying
isnt a high-quality place. I want to make
sure people are comfortable. I want a
home where I would live.

attorney general. Now, a Republican occupies the governors office Charlie Baker.
Although Baker is considered pro-gay (he
signed a recent Supreme Court brief calling for marriage equality nationwide), he
has been less committal on transgender
rights. Attorney General Maura Healey
(D), who was elected last November at
the same time as Baker, is in an especially
unique position as the first out attorney
general in the nations history. Bakers
office did not immediately responded to
requests for comment on the petition of
the case to the Supreme Court. Healeys
office declined to comment.
According to the petition, the case
provides the Supreme Court with the
opportunity to address medical treatment
for all inmates, particularly as prisons face
larger populations and budget cuts.
Given these increasing pressures,
courts are likely to see more and more
cases involving prison officials reliance
on non-medical considerations, such as
cost, administrative convenience, and
security, to justify the denial of medical
treatment, the petition states. Until this
Court makes clear that security and other
non-medical concerns cannot justify a
denial of adequate medical care, the duty
articulated by this Court decades ago in
Farmer v. Brennan will remain toothless
at least in the First Circuit. l
As she moves from room to room,
Corado fastidiously checks every detail,
from the carpeting to the mattress, making sure things are clean, neat and in their
proper place. She rummages through
bags and boxes full of sheets, toiletries
and clothing donations. She inspects the
edges of newly purchased bed frames
and mattresses in each room, which will
house two or three residents, searching
for snags, rips or other imperfections.
Theres a small stain on the end of
one of the mattresses on the third floor,
she tells Larry Villegas, who will live at
and run the day-to-day operations of the
transitional house. I dont know whether
it got ruined when they being delivered
through the rain yesterday, but Im going
to have to return it.
Of course, Corado says, just because
the place is going to be in top shape for
April 1, when she hopes to open the doors
to the public, doesnt mean that residents
wont have rules to abide by or wont have
to do their fair share of chores.
I can be strict, she says. And there
will be guidelines and rules to make
their stay safer. But this will not be a

METROWEEKLY.COM

MARCH 19, 2015

TODD FRANSON

LGBTNews

Corado

boring house.
With a laugh, she adds, I want this to
be the gayest house, as she gestures to
the rainbow flag draped over the railing
on the second floor landing. I want this
to be the safest home. Thats why I and so
many other people are working so hard
to make this perfect.
Most of all, Corado hopes to teach the
residents how to become self-sufficient.
All residents will be required to seek
out work, whether paid or volunteer, or
continue their education, whether thats
in a formal classroom or a vocational
program. Sitting around the house all day
is not an option.
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MARCH 19, 2015

METROWEEKLY.COM

I have walked into and lived in programs for the homeless, and when I walk
in seven years later, I see people who are
still homeless, Corado says. Thats not
what Im about. These kids are here to
accomplish things. I want them to be so
occupied that when they come back to
the house, all theyll want to do is sleep.
Corado, Villegas and other staffers are
currently in the midst of interviewing
potential residents, who simply have to
be LGBT youth from ages 18 to 24 who
claim residence in the District. Because
the housing is transitional, residents will
only be allowed to stay for up to 18
months, which is why Corado empha-

sizes self-sufficiency.
The house will be staffed by nine
employees, most of whom will serve as
housing monitors. But the house will also
have a clinical social worker and other
unpaid volunteers who will donate their
time to help house residents get into contact with schools or potential employers.
Theyll also advise them on legal issues
and provide mental health or counseling
services as needed to address the other
issues that led to them becoming homeless. Staff will be bilingual, in case some
residents do not have a strong grasp of
the English language. There will also be
an activities room that Corado will set up
in the houses English basement, which
can be used for various events or meetings, and, when not in official use, can
serve as a recreation room where they
can yell their heads off.
But for Corago and Villegas, the work
is never really done. While the grant
from the Partnership for the Prevention
of Homelessness helps pay the rent for
the house as well as living expenses
like food and transportation costs and
much of the furniture, office resources,
computers, and a television were donated, there is always a need for even basic
things like toothbrushes, toilet paper,
shampoo, and soap.
I always tell people, if you cant give
your time, if you cant give your talent,
then give your money, Corado says.
But most of all, Corado wants to make
the house a place of acceptance for LGBT
youth, who are often one of the most marginalized populations within the District.
In the downstairs office and entrance
hallway, Corado has placed signs containing inspirational sayings, like Follow
your dreams, for they know the way,
Life is good, and You are loved.
Sometimes, these kids would rather be homeless because they dont feel
loved, Corado says, tearing up. A lot of
them dont really know the traditional
meaning of family. But in this place, this
is a chosen family that loves them.
Im not their mother, but I fill that
place in their lives, she continues. I had
this boy who came into Casa Ruby the
other day, and he said to me, I love coming here, because no matter which floor I
go on, I meet someone who is nice to me,
and it just feels right. That lets me know
were doing the right thing.
For more information about Casa Ruby,
call 202-355-5155 or send an email to corado@casaruby.org. l

scene
The Wanda Alson
Foundations
Spring Fling at
The Mansion on O St
Thursday, March 12
scan this tag
with your
smartphone
for bonus scene
pics online!

PHOTOGRAPHY BY
WARD MORRISON

SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT AT WWW.METROWEEKLY.COM/SCENE

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LGBTCommunityCalendar
Metro Weeklys Community Calendar highlights important events in
the D.C.-area LGBT community, from alternative social events to
volunteer opportunities. Event information should be sent by email to
calendar@MetroWeekly.com. Deadline for inclusion is noon
of the Friday before Thursdays publication. Questions about
the calendar may be directed to the Metro Weekly office at
202-638-6830 or the calendar email address.

THE DC CENTERS ASYLUM SEEKERS/

ASYLEES FORUM for refugees and others seeking
asylum meets every month at The DC Center. 7-9
p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

WEEKLY EVENTS
BET MISHPACHAH, founded by members of the
LGBT community, holds Saturday morning Shabbat
services, 10 a.m., followed by Kiddush luncheon.
Services in DCJCC Community Room, 1529 16th St.
NW. betmish.org.
BRAZILIAN GLBT GROUP, including others interested in Brazilian culture, meets. For location/time,
email braziliangaygroup@yahoo.com.

THURSDAY, MARCH 19

FRIDAY, MARCH 20

LEATHER AND KINK UNITED holds a meeting at

REEL AFFIRMATIONS and THE HUMAN

RIGHTS CAMPAIGN offer a dual screening of the

The DC Center. 8-9:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite

105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

The POLY DISCUSSION GROUP of The DC

Center holds its monthly meeting, 7-8 p.m. 2000
14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit
thedccenter.org.

QUEER FICTION CLASS, a writing workshop for

aspiring fiction writers, meets for the first of four

Thursday sessios, led by Sinta Jiminez. 6-8 p.m. The
Writers Center, 4508 Walsh St., Bethesda, Md. For
more information, visit writer.org.

THE DC CENTERS FALL PLANNING

COMMITTEE meets at The DC Center. 7-8 p.m.

2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information,

visit thedccenter.org.

WEEKLY EVENTS
DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice session at
Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van Buren St. NW.
7:30-9 p.m. swimdcac.org.

2014 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection,

Appropriate Behavior (see cover story), at 7 p.m.
and 9:15 p.m. 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW. For more
information, visit reelaffirmations.org.

WEEKLY EVENTS
DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice session

at Hains Point, 927 Ohio Dr. SW. 6:30-8 p.m. Visit

swimdcac.org.

GAY DISTRICT holds facilitated discussion for

GBTQ men, 18-35, first and third Fridays. 8:30 p.m.

The DC Center, 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. 202682-2245, gaydistrict.org.

PROJECT STRIPES hosts LGBT-affirming social

group for ages 11-24. 4-6 p.m. 1419 Columbia Road

NW. Contact Tamara, 202-319-0422, layc-dc.org.

SMYALS REC NIGHT provides a social atmosphere for GLBT and questioning youth, featuring
dance parties, vogue nights, movies and games.
More info, catherine.chu@smyal.org.

DC LAMBDA SQUARES gay and lesbian square-

dancing group features mainstream through

advanced square dancing at the National City
Christian Church, 5 Thomas Circle NW, 7-9:30 p.m.
Casual dress. 301-257-0517, dclambdasquares.org.
The DULLES TRIANGLES Northern Virginia social
group meets for happy hour at Sheraton in Reston,
11810 Sunrise Valley Drive, second-floor bar, 7-9
p.m. All welcome. dullestriangles.com.

METROHEALTH CENTER offers free, rapid HIV

testing. Appointment needed. 1012 14th St. NW,
Suite 700. 202-638-0750.

SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5 p.m., by

appointment and walk-in, for youth 21 and younger.
202-567-3155 or testing@smyal.org.
US HELPING US hosts a Narcotics Anonymous
Meeting, 6:30-7:30 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave. NW.
The group is independent of UHU. 202-446-1100.
WOMENS LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE for young
LBTQ women, 13-21, interested in leadership development. 5-6:30 p.m. SMYAL Youth Center, 410 7th
St. SE. 202-567-3163, catherine.chu@smyal.org.

SATURDAY, MARCH 21
BURGUNDY CRESCENT, a gay volunteer organization, volunteers today for Lost Dog & Cat Rescue
Foundation at Falls Church PetSmart. To participate, burgundycrescent.org.
CAPS SOFTBALL holds Early Bird registration
event for its summer season. Early Bird registration
is $50. Free and open to the public. Prospective
members encouraged to attend. 5-8 p.m. Nellies
Sports Bar, 900 U St. NW. For more information,
email capssoftball@gmail.com.
CASA RUBY, the nonprofit multicultural LGBT

center and safe space, holds a monthly meeting for

transgender women on the third Saturday of each
month. 2 p.m. 2822 Georgia Ave. NW, Suite B. For
more information, visit casaruby.org.

CHRYSALIS arts & culture group drives to sites

of September 1814 Battle of Baltimore, including

Fort McHenry. Carpool at 9:30 a.m. from Forest
Glen Metro Kiss & Ride lot. $20-$25 should cover
transportation and lunch. Return by 5 p.m. Craig,
202-462-0535. craighowell1@verizon.net.

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice session at

Hains Point, 972 Ohio Dr., SW. 8:30-10 a.m. Visit
swimdcac.org.

DC FRONT RUNNERS running/walking/social

club welcomes all levels for exercise in a fun and

supportive environment, socializing afterward.
Meet 9:30 a.m., 23rd & P Streets NW, for a walk; or
10 a.m. for fun run. dcfrontrunners.org.

DC SENTINELS basketball team meets at Turkey

Thicket Recreation Center, 1100 Michigan Ave. NE,

2-4 p.m. For players of all levels, gay or straight.
teamdcbasketball.org.

GAY LANGUAGE CLUB discusses critical languages and foreign languages. 7 p.m. Nellies, 900 U St.
NW. RVSP preferred. brendandarcy@gmail.com.
IDENTITY offers free and confidential HIV testing
in Takoma Park, 7676 New Hampshire Ave., Suite
411. Walk-ins 12-3 p.m. For appointments other
hours, call 301-422-2398.

SUNDAY, MARCH 22
ADVENTURING outdoors group hikes strenuous
10 miles in central Shenandoah National Park with
about 2000 feet of elevation gain. Bring lunch, beverages, sturdy boots, and about $20 for fees, plus
money for dinner on the way home. Carpool at 9
a.m. from East Falls Church Metro Kiss & Ride.
Craig, 202-462-0535. adventuring.org.
CHICK CHAT, a group for LBT women, holds

a group outing at the Walters Art Museum

in Baltimore. 2-3 p.m. 600 North Charles St.,
Baltimore, Md. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

WEEKLY EVENTS
BETHEL CHURCH-DC progressive and radically
inclusive church holds services at 11:30 a.m. 2217
Minnesota Ave. SE. 202-248-1895, betheldc.org.
DIGNITYUSA offers Roman Catholic Mass for the

LGBT community. 6 p.m., St. Margarets Church,

1820 Connecticut Ave. NW. All welcome. Sign interpreted. For more info, visit dignitynova.org.

FRIENDS MEETING OF WASHINGTON meets for

worship, 10:30 a.m., 2111 Florida Ave. NW, Quaker
House Living Room (next to Meeting House on
Decatur Place), 2nd floor. Special welcome to lesbians and gays. Handicapped accessible from Phelps
Place gate. Hearing assistance. quakersdc.org.
METROWEEKLY.COM

MARCH 19, 2015

13

LGBTCommunityCalendar
INSTITUTE FOR SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT,
God-centered new age church & learning center.
Sunday Services and Workshops event. 5419 Sherier
Place NW. isd-dc.org.

RIVERSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH, a Christ-centered,

interracial, welcoming-and-affirming church, offers
service at 10 a.m. 680 I St. SW. 202-554-4330, riversidedc.org.

LUTHERAN CHURCH OF REFORMATION invites all

to Sunday worship at 8:30 or 11 a.m. Childcare is available at both services. Welcoming LGBT people for 25
years. 212 East Capitol St. NE. reformationdc.org.

UNITARIAN CHURCH OF ARLINGTON, an

LGBTQ welcoming-and-affirming congregation,
offers services at 10 a.m. Virginia Rainbow UU
Ministry. 4444 Arlington Blvd. uucava.org.

METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH OF

WASHINGTON, D.C. services at 9 a.m. (ASL inter-

UNIVERSALIST NATIONAL MEMORIAL

CHURCH, a welcoming and inclusive church. GLBT

preted) and 11 a.m. Childrens Sunday School at 11

a.m. 474 Ridge St. NW. 202-638-7373, mccdc.com.

Interweave social/service group meets monthly.

Services at 11 a.m., Romanesque sanctuary. 1810 16th
St. NW. 202-387-3411, universalist.org.

MONDAY, MARCH 23
CENTER MILITARY, a program of The DC Center
for LGBT veterans, military servicemembers and
their families, meets on the fourth Monday of each
month to work on various initiatives. 7-8:30 p.m.
2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information
and to RSVP, contact Eric Perez, 202-682-2245 or
eric.perez@thedccenter.org.

WEEKLY EVENTS
Michael Brazell teaches BEARS DO YOGA, a program of The DC Center. 6:30 p.m., Green Lantern,
1335 Green Court NW. No cost, newcomers welcome. 202-682-2245, thedccenter.org.

DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds practice, 6:30-8:30

p.m. Garrison Elementary, 1200 S St. NW. dcscandals.wordpress.com.

The DC Center hosts COFFEE DROP-IN FOR THE

SENIOR LGBT COMMUNITY. 10 a.m.-noon. 2000
14th St. NW. 202-682-2245, thedccenter.org.

WASHINGTON WETSKINS Water Polo Team

practices 7-9 p.m. Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van
Buren St. NW. Newcomers with at least basic swimming ability always welcome. Tom, 703-299-0504,
secretary@wetskins.org, wetskins.org.
Whitman-Walker Health HIV/AIDS SUPPORT
GROUP for newly diagnosed individuals, meets 7
p.m. Registration required. 202-939-7671, hivsupport@whitman-walker.org.

TUESDAY, MARCH 24
WEEKLY EVENTS
ASIANS AND FRIENDS weekly dinner in Dupont/
Logan Circle area, 6:30 p.m. afwash@aol.com,
afwashington.net.
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/walking/social club
serving greater D.C.s LGBT community and allies
hosts an evening run/walk. dcfrontrunners.org.

THE GAY MENS HEALTH COLLABORATIVE

offers free HIV testing and STI screening and treatment every Tuesday. 5-6:30 p.m. Rainbow Tuesday
LGBT Clinic, Alexandria Health Department, 4480
King St. 703-746-4986 or text 571-214-9617. james.
leslie@inova.org.

OVEREATERS ANONYMOUSLGBT focused

meeting every Tuesday, 7 p.m. St. Georges
Episcopal Church, 915 Oakland Ave., Arlington, just
steps from Virginia Square Metro. For more info.
call Dick, 703-521-1999. Handicapped accessible.
Newcomers welcome. liveandletliveoa@gmail.com.
SUPPORT GROUP FOR LGBTQ YOUTH ages 13-21
meets at SMYAL, 410 7th St. SE, 5-6:30 p.m. Cathy

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MARCH 19, 2015

METROWEEKLY.COM

Chu, 202-567-3163, catherine.chu@smyal.org.

US HELPING US hosts a support group for black gay men 40 and older. 7-9
p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. 202-446-1100.
Whitman-Walker Healths GAY MENS HEALTH AND WELLNESS/STD
CLINIC opens at 6 p.m., 1701 14th St. NW. Patients are seen on walk-in basis.
No-cost screening for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. Hepatitis and
herpes testing available for fee. whitman-walker.org.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25
THE HIV PREVENTION WORKING GROUP of The DC Center holds a monthly
planning meeting. 6-8 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information,
visit thedccenter.org.

THE LAMBDA BRIDGE CLUB meets for Duplicate Bridge. 7:30 p.m. Dignity
Center, 721 8th St SE, across from Marine Barrack. No reservation needed. 703407-6540 if you need a partner.

WEEKLY EVENTS
AD LIB, a group for freestyle conversation, meets about 6:30-6 p.m., Steam, 17th and
R NW. All welcome. For more information, call Fausto Fernandez, 703-732-5174.
ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH offers free HIV testing, 9-5 p.m.,
and HIV services (by appointment). 202-291-4707, andromedatransculturalhealth.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice session at Hains Point, 927 Ohio Dr.
SW. 7-8:30 p.m. Visit swimdcac.org.

DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds practice, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Garrison Elementary,

1200 S St. NW. dcscandals.wordpress.com.

HISTORIC CHRIST CHURCH offers Wednesday worship 7:15 a.m. and 12:05
p.m. All welcome. 118 N. Washington St., Alexandria. 703-549-1450, historicchristchurch.org.
HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker Health. At the Elizabeth Taylor Medical
Center, 1701 14th St. NW, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. At the Max Robinson Center, 2301
MLK Jr. Ave. SE, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. For an appointment call 202-745-7000. Visit
whitman-walker.org.
JOB CLUB, a weekly support program for job entrants and seekers, meets at

The DC Center. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. More info, www.
centercareers.org.

NOVASALUD offers free HIV testing. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. 2049 N. 15th St., Suite 200,
Arlington. Appointments: 703-789-4467.

PRIME TIMERS OF DC, social club for mature gay men, hosts weekly happy
hour/dinner. 6:30 p.m., Windows Bar above Dupont Italian Kitchen, 1637 17th
St. NW. Carl, 703-573-8316. l

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MARCH 19, 2015

15

WARD MORRISON / FILE PHOTO

LGBT

Business

CAGLCCs Changing Face

LGBT business group hopes to expand focus, diversity of offerings under
new strategic plan

by John Riley

TS ALL ABOUT COMPATIBILity.

Thats the chief criterion that
the Capital Area Gay and Lesbian
Chamber of Commerce (CAGLCC), the
local LGBT business group for the D.C.
area, will be considering when choosing
a new executive director.
Were going through a period of
growth and change, says CAGLCC
President and Board Member John
Quattlebaum. We dont want just to
quickly replace our executive director.
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MARCH 19, 2015

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Were crafting a strategic plan for the

organization, about what we want to do
and where we want to be in the future.
We want to make sure we hire someone
who meets that criteria.
The organization will establish a
search committee to decide on an executive director to replace Mark Guenther,
who left in January after heading the
organization for five years. But first on
Quattlebaums agenda is hiring administrative staff to help ease his work load.
He works full-time as a wealth planning strategist with Wells Fargo, so
Quattlebaum has found himself stretched
thin when it comes to meeting the needs

of a business group with more than 430

dues-paying members.
Hiring a new executive director isnt
the only thing on CAGLCCs agenda for
2015. Quattlebaum would like to see
the group become more involved with
initiatives promoted by the national Gay
and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce,
such as national certification for gayowned businesses and supplier diversity, as well as establish a greater presence locally, not just in the District but
the greater Washington metropolitan
area, hopefully extending well into the
surrounding suburbs.
We want to encourage our members

to get involved through volunteering, increasing our exposure,

he says. We want to diversify the types of events we offer to our
members.
CAGLCC already has the market cornered when it comes to
establishing connections between its members or chances for
them to find vendors, suppliers or potential partners for their
businesses, with monthly wine-and-cheese-type gatherings on
the second Thursday of each month, and a women-specific
event on the third Wednesday of each month. But the Chambers
upcoming Mega Networking & Social Event is expected to dwarf
both of those events. Quattlebaum anticipates up to to 1,500
attendees, who will take over Town Danceboutique for two
hours on Wednesday, March 25. Admission is free, but there will
be a cash bar.
We hope people use this to help recruit vendors, connect
with customers, or just make new acquaintances with other
business leaders, Quattlebaum says.
CAGLCC also hosts quarterly events, the next one in April
focusing on smart networking and utilizing social media or
electronic communication to help boost business. There are
also plans in the works for a panel discussion and question-andanswer session on supplier certification, a May roundtable on
LGBT youth certification, and the chambers annual Pridelicious
celebration, which brainstorms and organizes a contingent of
area business leaders and company representatives to march in
the Capital Pride parade and set up a booth at the Capital Pride
street festival.
CAGLCCs Mega Networking and Social Event will be on
Wednesday, March 25 at Town Danceboutique from 6:30 to 8:30
p.m. For more information, visit caglcc.org. l

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17

Entirely
Appropriate
Desiree Akhavan sees filmmaking as a way to share her
experiences and connect to other queer outliers

Interview by Doug Rule

ESIREE AKHAVAN SEEMS LIKE A PERFECTLY HAPPY, WELLadjusted person. Yet she seldom goes shopping without feeling a little sad.
Its an experience Ive had many, many times, Akhavan explains. I
go shopping and I let a sales person trick me into believing I can purchase
happiness. Shes susceptible no matter whether shes shopping for clothes
at Ross, cosmetics at Duane Reade, or supplements at Vitamin Shoppe.
Suddenly its like, Oh, you mean Ive been doing everything the wrong
way? And if only I purchase the right tools, Ill be okay?
Many times in her life, Akhavan has been told shes doing something the wrong
way. Or that shes not right in some way. Although downright stunning in her film
Appropriate Behavior (see review, pg. 23), she was unceremoniously crowned the
ugliest girl in high school. Throughout her life shes been considered either too
radical for fellow Americans of Iranian descent, for example or too traditional
for queer students at Smith College. A New Yorker by birth, Akhavan was raised
in a non-religious household by parents who gave up their Muslim faith after fleeing
their native Iran 35 years ago. Akhavan is also a true bisexual she cant remember
a time she wasnt attracted to both men and women. What she can remember is
wondering if she had the courage to pursue a bisexual identity.
Akhavans experience of not fitting in has only fueled her desire to be a filmmaker and to share her life stories. A few years ago, she generated buzz for co-creating
the comedy web series The Slope, about a pair of superficial homophobic lesbians
in love. And shes currently developing two queer-themed projects for film and TV.
This Friday, March 20, Reel Affirmations will screen Akhavans debut film,
which had its premiere last year at Sundance. At that time, the mainstream press
started referring to Akhavan as the next Lena Dunham. Since then shes actually appeared in a small role in Dunhams hit HBO series, Girls. There are certain
obvious similarities between Girls and Appropriate Behavior, but at root is a style
and sensibility obviously shared by these two millennial, native New Yorkers. The
shows I love play with sadness in such a funny way, Akhavan says. They walk that
fine line between drama and comedy quite nicely.

METRO WEEKLY: I understand Appropriate Behavior started as your thesis project at

NYU. What inspired you to make it?
DESIREE AKHAVAN: I wanted to make a film that reflected my life that was true to
the themes and issues I was dealing with but also was a comedy about love and
the universal themes that films have been mining forever. So, a romantic comedy
that could speak to me and my experiences. Theres so little out there that I feel
reflects my point of view.
MW: Your point of view as a bisexual and a child of immigrants in America?
AKHAVAN: Yes, but even just my experience of New York, my perspective in comedy.
Those things are also kind of different. I think people get really caught up in the
outliers of being gay or being Iranian, but its more than that. The tone of the film is
really experimental in some ways. Its traditional in others. Nothing out there really
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VALENTINA FRUGIUELE

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I didnt set out to be this queer filmmaker, but the stories Im attracted to are STORIES THAT HAVENT BEEN TOLD BEFORE.
spoke to that perspective of the world, which is kind of a satiric
look at dating in New York right now.
MW: And Woody Allen was an inspiration?
AKHAVAN: Yeah, for sure. Definitely Annie Hall. I wanted to make
a film about a couple that you knew from the get-go wasnt going
to be able to stay together. And yet youd still find yourself rooting for them.
MW: Ive heard you comment you never thought about putting
somebody else in the films starring role.
AKHAVAN: No. It would seem disingenuous to hire a better-looking version of myself to do an impression.
MW: Is acting something you always wanted to do?
AKHAVAN: When I was a kid I really wanted to act, up until I
was a teenager. And then I met with some agents and it became
apparent that because of the way that I look, it would be a hard
profession for me to excel at. I mean its a very specific kind of
girl who walks into a room and lights it up and everyones like,
Weve got to cast her!
Im really glad I had that experience of people being like,
Youre too ugly to act. Because at the end of the day, its not
a job you have control over. You keep putting yourself in other
peoples hands. And I think I would have gone insane if I had
pursued that. But being in a position to enable yourself to do
whatever role you want to do is really exciting. The idea of auditioning and waiting for someone else to see potential in me and
give me a platform is not something Im interested in.
MW: Well I would never consider you unattractive. I dont see it.
But I gather you had that experience in school.
AKHAVAN: Quite a lot.
MW: Is that because you looked ethnically different to everybody
else?
AKHAVAN: I grew into my face and my body. I was just legitimately not attractive, but also I came from a community of people
who have very strict ideas of whats beautiful. The Persian community has one idea of beauty, and the New York prep school
community has one idea theyre different ideas, but theyre
very specific. And neither one is one I fit into.
MW: And where was it that they actually gave you a title?
AKHAVAN: It was my high school, as the Ugliest Girl at Horace
Mann. It was on the Internet, at the time when people were
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beginning to get accounts set up. And it was a really shitty, rinkydinky site that people could vote in on.
MW: Its the type of experience gay people can relate to similar
to being teased or bullied. As long as you can survive it, it makes
you stronger.
AKHAVAN: Yeah, completely. I think people find different ways
to digest that kind of experience. I instantly felt like I wanted
to take power of it and put it into my own narrative. It was after
that experience that I wrote my first play.
MW: Was there a particular moment in your life when you realized
you were bisexual?
AKHAVAN: I think you always know these things about yourself.
I always knew I had the potential to fall in love with a man or a
woman. I didnt know if it was something that was going to be a
part of my life until I was older. I wasnt sure if it was something
that I had the courage to pursue.
MW: Yeah, bisexuality is a more complicated concept, one mostly
unseen or unexplored in film or pop culture in general.
AKHAVAN: Its definitely weird, uncharted territory because its
not a tangible thing you can follow or explain. I think its easier
for straight people to wrap their brains around what it means
to be gay because you can care a great deal about the same sex
the way that they feel about the opposite sex. But when youre
a bisexual person, theres this implication that youre disingenuous, that you must be lying to someone, and that you dont quite
understand your own feelings, because you havent chosen
where your priorities lie.
MW: In the film, your brother calls your character a sexually confused narcissist. Have you had that term thrown at you before?
AKHAVAN: [Laughs.] No, but Im sure its what my brother actually thinks of me.
MW: So although not autobiographical, there are clear antecedents
in the films story drawn from your own life.
AKHAVAN: I take the kernel of whats fascinating, or distinct,
about my life and then try to elevate it into a narrative thats far
more interesting and cinematic than my own. Its not interesting
to have a diary entry. If I just shared my life, I dont think anyone
would give a shit. But taking those elements like the relationship I have with my brother, which is super-loving but also really
harsh. We like to put each other down a lot thats sort of our

To have survived war, and to make sacrifices so your children can live a very different life, is something
EVERY CHILD OF IMMIGRANTS IS AWARE OF.
way to communicate love, through insults.
So I have an older brother, who is a doctor. Hes very similar
to the character, but my parents arent like their characters at all.
I never was closeted with them. I never lived with someone and
lied about it. Those are not experiences that we had together, but
it fit really well into the story of Maxine and Shirin. What device
could we use to make this couple seem like they could never
be together? Shirin was closeted, while Maxine was a staunch
believer that her sexuality was the first and foremost quality of
her life that she had to be loyal to she identifies queer over
everything. Ive never dated someone like that. I dont think
anyone like that would be interested in dating someone like me
because they usually tend to be quite sensitive and dont like my
sense of humor.
MW: Because you would make fun of them, the way you make fun
of yourself?
AKHAVAN: Yeah, I make fun of myself, I make fun of the communities I belong to. I find humor in those things. I like dating
people with a really good sense of humor about themselves.
MW: Its a sign that someone is confident and comfortable in their
own skin and identity. Theres an example in the film, an intimate
scene in which Maxine, instead of saying I love you on the count
of three, opts for a joke Im thinking of transitioning to a man.
That was a clever way of playing with peoples expectations.
AKHAVAN: Thanks. I love that line, too. Its actually gotten me a
lot of trouble in the past year Some people are really offended
by it. I dont think the butt of the joke is the trans community, I
think Im the butt of the joke the expectations of romance. Its
a commentary on a lot of things. And its totally within realm that
she could have been gearing up to say that she wanted to transition. Thats something that wouldnt have been so far off base.
MW: Theres a concept the film jokingly calls lesbian orphan propaganda, but ultimately is a real thing gay people, particularly
older gay people, talk up: The whole notion of creating a second
family made of friends if the family we were born into rejected us.
What inspired you to include this?
AKHAVAN: That was a scene in which my character was being
particularly venomous. It is a thing a lot of people lose their
families. And you have to build your own, and thats not propaganda. It was a funny, mean thing for Shirin to say, but its not in

line with my beliefs. I dont think its propaganda I think its

real. The real conflict I wanted to show there was that Shirin is
in direct contrast. Shes trying to maintain the relationship with
her family. She cant cut it off, the way that Maxine has the benefit of. Thats the difference between being from an immigrant
culture and not.
Americans more easily cut off ties with their families in
my opinion, its what Ive noticed. Its as painful and difficult as
losing a limb, but its still something Ive seen happen. Whereas
with Persian families, or any other culture that comes here, you
will put up with anything just to be a good kid. Just to sustain
your relationship with your family. That whole scene was about
the fact that Maxine thinks its a possibility to cut out your family
and Shirin doesnt.
MW: Is it rare to see someone of Persian descent who doesnt
remain close to their family?
AKHAVAN: Im not even talking Persian. Im talking immigrant.
You put up with a lot. Your priority at the end of the day is to
please these people who went through hell to give you a better
life. And its an experience that is really specific to being the
child of immigrants that youre always, always aware of the
fact that sacrifices are made for you, and that you owe so much
to the people who got you to this world. And I dont think that
same feeling exists when your parents are from this country. I
dont think that dynamic will exist between myself and my children. To have survived war, and to have left everything you have
and make the sacrifices so your children can live a very different
life, a much more privileged life, is something that every child of
immigrants is aware of, from whatever culture they come from.
MW: When did your parents emigrate from Iran?
AKHAVAN: I believe it was 1980, during the Iranian revolution.
They went to France. They spent two years there and came to
America in 82 or 83.
MW: Back to the topic of creating a second family, I wondered: Do
you have that? I mean, some gay people pride themselves on creating a stronger bond with their friends, which I dont think straight
people tend to do as much, historically not anyway. I just wonder if
being bisexual might complicate that for you in some way?
AKHAVAN: I agree with that sentiment, and I think thats true. I
think the issue that Ive had in my life and that I wanted to porMETROWEEKLY.COM

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Who knows how a permanent, monogamous

partnership is going to happen for me, or whether
or not it will? I CANT BASE MY JOY ON IT.
tray in the film is that I dont fit into that community either. And
I never have. I went to Smith College, an incredibly gay school,
and I wasnt gay enough for it. And my values, and my humor,
and my life, just didnt ever fit into that. And it was to me just as
oppressive and just as social-climbing/hierarchical as the New
York prep school scene. Especially being bisexual, especially
being feminine, I just did not find a home there. And I think Im
really searching for my home, in general. And thats what this
film is about putting into words that search.
MW: Is that what drew you to Brooklyn, given its reputation as a
haven for creative types?
AKHAVAN: I couldnt afford rent anywhere except for in Brooklyn,
and thats how I found myself there. And I lived with other filmmakers, and found a community of filmmakers there that felt
like home for a while until it didnt. And that really led into a
very nomadic year of traveling and trying things out and seeing
what other countries I like. Its been a really interesting journey.
Especially because Im traveling with a film thats so personal.
This whole thing is incredibly self-indulgent.
MW: Do you like the nomadic lifestyle?
AKHAVAN: I like it for now. I dont think I could sustain this for
more than another year.
MW: I trust you didnt travel with the film to Iran, but do you ever
go there? Or still have family there?
AKHAVAN: I used to go in summers to visit my family cousins,
my grandmother and my uncle live there. But I havent been
back in years, and I dont think it would be safe to go there now.
Its against the law to be out and gay, so I would not do it.
MW: Are you, or is anyone in your family, political, or engaged at
all in that situation and trying to change it?
AKHAVAN: Yeah, I mean everybody was really involved in the
Green Movement, but now that was in 2009, and things are
shifting, and its like a different thing to be political now. The
Arab Spring kind of came and went. Iran wasnt really I dont
know, we got kind of overlooked in that experience. I know a lot
of people who are politically engaged and involved, but from my
perspective, which is a very distant one, it seems like a lot of that
hope got sucked out of the movement.
MW: Whats next for you?
AKHAVAN: I have two projects Im working on right now. One is a
feature film that Im writing with my producer in London. And
the other one is a television series that Ive been developing for a
while, and that I worked on at the Sundance Labs. Theyre very
different, but they both have queer themes. I didnt set out to be
this queer filmmaker, but the stories Im attracted to are stories
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that havent been told before, and thats what I think ties these
two projects together.
The television series is about a lesbian who comes out as
bisexual in her 30s and deals with the fallout of that lifestyle
change. The other one, I cant say what the plot is yet because
its an adaptation of a young adult novel.
MW: Is TV inspiring you a lot today?
AKHAVAN: Oh god, yeah. Im so inspired by everything. I really
love Louie, thats my favorite show. I also really love Broad City
its so crude and absurdly funny. I also really love Girls. It has
this sadness that makes me ache sometimes whenever they
have episodes especially with the parents, it really touches me on
a deep level. I feel like the shows that I love play with sadness in
such a funny way. They really walk that fine line between drama
and comedy quite nicely. Like Transparent does it too. Its very
exciting, as well as becoming more honest.
MW: One last thing. What about the future? Do you hope to have a
family and kids?
AKHAVAN: Yeah, I do. I would very much like to do that.
MW: How far in the future for that, any idea?
AKHAVAN: Oh, god. Who fucking knows? Things happen as they
happen. Ive been asking myself that a lot lately, because I just
turned 30. I just think its stupid to put plans I think you
should work towards goals, but to have expectations is only
going to break your heart a little because who knows how things
happen and when they happen? Who knows how motherhood or
how a permanent, monogamous partnership is going to happen
for me, or whether or not it will? I cant base my joy on it. I can
base my joy on being a really good friend, or trying to be the best
person I can, trying to be the best daughter I can, or trying to
make all the work I want to make.
I really do believe that if you keep checking in with yourself
and keep doing the things you want to do, things fall into the
place that theyre supposed to. Perhaps thats nave, and in 10
years Ill be sad that I didnt have a checklist of things to accomplish by 35, but I could never think strategically about having
kids at this stage.
Reel Affirmations presents Appropriate Behavior in two screenings on Friday, March 20, at 7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m., at the Human
Rights Campaign, 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Tickets are $10 for
general admission or $25 for VIP including one cocktail, one popcorn and special seating. In addition, a chefs tasting will follow the
7 p.m. screening courtesy of Tasteful Creations from Chef B. Call
202-682-2245 or visit reelaffirmations.org. l

Characters Welcome
Desiree Akhavans freshman effort is a sexy, funny exploration
of the end of a relationship

By Rhuaridh Marr

N LGBT CINEMA ALL CINEMA, REALLY, BUT PARticularly so in this genre there is a certain combination
of words that can easily spell disaster for any production: Written, directed by and starring. Especially on
a freshman attempt, a single person commanding three key
roles can be toxic. Vanity, inexperience, self-indulgence
any number of factors can reduce a good idea or witty script
into subpar dreck.
Not so with Appropriate Behavior (HHHHH). Desiree
Akhavan, in a stunning debut, wrote, directed and starred in
her first film, and the result is a feature bursting with humor,
interesting characters and enough charm to keep you hooked
through its ninety-minute runtime. Akhavan stars as Shirin,
the closeted, bisexual daughter of Iranian immigrants. The
film opens on her breakup with partner Maxine (Rebecca
Henderson), before following her as she meanders through
the months that follow, love-sick, vengeful, resurgent and
everything in between, interwoven with flashbacks to highlights of her relationship.
Akhavan has surrounded herself with competent actors
most notably Scott Adsit (30 Rock) with little waste in
terms of the people filling her frame. Every character feels
simultaneously real and stereotypical: the artsy best friend,
the over-achieving older brother whos Shirins antithesis,
the open, slightly butch and proud former lover, the various

Brooklyn natives who are all differing shades of hipster. All,

though, are fleshed out, even seemingly inconsequential characters, such as the slightly overbearing lingerie sales assistant
who offers support both literal and emotional to Shirin
while bra shopping. Shes on screen for a few minutes, but
her character has depth beyond.
Its Akhavan herself who deserves the praise heaped
upon her during the films festival run. Her character is
awkward, insecure, incompetent, but more than capable of
being sexy and confident when the mood calls which it
does, the highlight being a painfully awkward threesome.
Her personal pity party following the initial breakup would
be grating if Akhavan werent so likable youll want to
shake her and tell her to grow up (as does her mother), but
thats probably the point.
Yes, the whole thing does feel a little Girls-esque and,
indeed, Akhavan, guest stars as a writing student on HBOs
fourth series. Theres not much here that hasnt been done
before in other rom coms, particularly those set in New York,
especially those in the artsy borough of Brooklyn. Still, even
as a first effort, even with Akhavan writing, starring and directing (and yes, she does dip slightly into self-indulgence, but
well forgive it), and even with a body of work thats similar in
tone to compete with, Appropriate Behavior succeeds and
brilliantly so. l
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MARCH 19 - 26, 2015

SARAH SMALL

Compiled by Doug Rule

Stretching Boundaries

String quartet Brooklyn Rider moves beyond classical

TS UNUSUAL ENOUGH THAT GLENN KOTCHE WOULD WRITE AN

INSTRUMENTAL composition for Brooklyn Rider. That he titled it Ping
Pong Fumble Thaw is stranger still.
We asked many composers, mostly outside of what we think of as the classical
music world to write short pieces in which they reference an artistic inspiration
of their choice, the string quartets Colin Jacobsen explains.
Kotche, drummer of alt-rock band Wilco, wasnt inspired by table tennis. He
chose Germanys minimal electronic musician Jens Massel, drawing names from
Massels record titles that also work to describe the sounds youre hearing. And yes,
you essentially hear the sound of a ping-pong bouncing back and forth throughout.
Jacobsen, one of the groups violinists as well as in-house composer, expects
the quartet will play the amusing Kotche composition this weekend when it
returns to Sixth & I as part of a 10th anniversary concert presented by Washington
Performing Arts. The evening will also feature other compositions from the
Brooklyn Rider Almanac, including the world premiere of a piece by Tyondai
Braxton that didnt make the recording released last year.

SPOTLIGHT
AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE

All next week the Kennedy Center celebrates this

75-year-old company, which calls itself Americas
National Ballet Company. It launches Monday,
March 23, with the world premiere of a documentary by Ric Burns (Baltimore-born brother of Ken)
about the troupe, Americas first ballet, offered as
part of the free nightly Millennium Stage programming. Festivities then continue with ABTs annual
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run of performances at the Kennedy Center, spread

into two programs accompanied by the Kennedy
Center Opera House Orchestra. First is the midweek mixed repertory featuring George Balanchines
Theme & Variations as set to Tchaikovsky, Antony
Tudors Pillar of Fire with music by Schoenberg
and Agnes de Milles Rodeo with a score by Aaron
Copland. Second is the weekend-run of choreographer Frederick Ashtons romantic and magical take
on Prokofievs Cinderella, with sets and costumes
by David Walker. American Ballet Theatre at 75 - A
Documentary Film is Monday, March 23, at 6 p.m.

The project was inspired by the same

German artistic collective, Blue Rider,
that inspired the groups name. A century ago Blue Rider members, including composer Arnold Schoenberg and
painter Wassily Kandinsky, contributed to an eclectic cross-disciplinary
almanac of essays and prints as well as
music manuscripts.
The Brooklyn Rider Almanac is
similarly set to grow to include more
than just music. For example, several
choreographers will premiere works
set to compositions in the collection, performed live by the quartet,
at Colorados Vail International Dance
Festival this summer.
Obviously, Brooklyn Rider is not
your fathers string quartet even if
your father was a classical musician as
Jacobsens was. His mother was too,
and his younger brother, Eric, is the
quartets cellist. (Its kind of all in the
family.) The quartet has succeeded in
part because of the great chemistry
among all four original members, but
also because of mutual involvement
in other endeavors working to expand
the boundaries of classical music, and
music in general, including Yo-Yo Mas
high-profile collective.
Explains Jacobsen: Joining the Silk
Road Ensemble, which all four of us are
a part of, also really opened up our ears
and eyes to the world. Doug Rule
Washington Performing Arts presents
Brooklyn Rider Saturday, March 21, at 8
p.m. Sixth & I Historic Synagogue.
600 I St. NW. Tickets are $28.
Call 202-408-3100 or visit
washingtonperformingarts.org.
Performances start Wednesday, March 24, and run
to Sunday, March 29. Kennedy Center Opera House.
Screening is free; performances are $25 to $119. Call
202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

AMERICAN CENTURYS
BROADWAY HIT PARADE

The final musical show by Virginias American

Century Theater is a staged reading and singing
production featuring musical comedy standouts from
the 20 years of the company, which has always
focused on giving lesser-known or rarely performed

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25

shows their due. This parade is expected to march through selections from Jerry
Hermanns Dear World, Kurt Weills One Touch of Venus and the Rodgers and
Hart classic Babes in Arms. Opens Thursday, March 19, at 8 p.m. To March 22.
Gunston Theater II, 2700 South Lang St. Arlington. Tickets are $32 to $40. Call
703-548-3092 or visit americancentury.org.

BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA POPS:

SINGIN IN THE RAIN

Jack Everly leads the BSO in a performance accompanying a screening of what

the American Film Institute has named the greatest movie musical, 1952s Singin
In The Rain starring Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds. Expect a lighthearted
downpour of iconic dance and memorable songs. Thursday, March 26, at 8 p.m.
Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. Also Friday,
March 27, and Saturday, March 28, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 29, at 3 p.m.
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore. Tickets are $40
to $105. Call 410-783-8000 or visit bsomusic.org.

BLITHE SPIRIT

The 89-year-old Angela Lansbury is still going strong, now touring in a new production, directed by Michael Blakemore, of Noel Cowards classic comedy Blithe
Spirit. Lansbury won yet another Tony Award for playing eccentric medium
Madame Arcati, who unwittingly summons Elvira, the revenge-seeking ghost of
a novelists dead wife. The show also marks a return to D.C. for Lansbury after
getting her pre-Broadway stage start nearly 60 years ago at the same venue, with
long-forgotten comedy Hotel Paradiso. Now to March 29. National Theatre,
1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Tickets are $48 to $118. Call 202-628-6161 or visit
thenationaldc.org.

JAMES MURPHY

Four years after disbanding his great if underappreciated dance-rock band

LCD Soundsystem, the cowbell-loving, New York-based artist is still an influential figure in todays indie-music scene via his work as a co-founder/principal
of hipster label DFA Records (home to Juan Maclean and Holy Ghost!) and as a
producer-for-hire working with such hipster-favorite bands as the Yeah Yeah
Yeahs and Arcade Fire. But hes also a sharp, skilled DJ, spinning tunes steeped
in disco but strongly flavored by modern deep house including some from his
own repertoire. He returns to the 9:30 Club for another Friday night DJ party
after having created a stirring debut in the fall of 2013. Friday, March 27. Doors
at 10 p.m. Nightclub 9:30, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $35. Call 202-265-0930 or
visit 930.com.

JANE LYNCH

With Glee out of production, ending a successful six-year run, Jane Lynch, who
was high school coach and all-around glee club nemesis Sue Sylvester, is searching for her next big project. Meanwhile, shes touring the country with a cabaret
show, See Jane Sing! As Lynch explained in an interview with Metro Weekly:
Its me and Kate Flannery from The Office [she played Meredith Palmer]. I have
a five-piece band an amazing quintet and we sing these obscure standards,
and some beautiful three-part harmonies, because my friend Tim Davis, the vocal
arranger on Glee, also joins us. Tuesday, March 24, and Wednesday, March 25,
at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are
$89.50. Call 703-549-7500 or visit birchmere.com.

JASON EDWARD TUCKER: CODE

Robert Yi curated this solo exhibition of new works by gay local collage artist
and photographer Jason Edward Tucker. Drawn from three separate projects,
all the works in the show variously explore aspects of gay language, stereotypes
and codes. Opening reception is Saturday, March 21, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. On
exhibit to March 28. American University Museums Gallery 252 at the Katzen
Arts Center, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Call 202-885-1300 or visit american.
edu/cas/museum.

LEELA JAMES, LEDISI, RAHEEM DEVAUGHN

Its technically Ledisis show, with D.C.s own Grammy-nominated Raheem

DeVaughn the New Orleans R&B/jazz artists lead supporting act. But gritty,
big-voiced R&B singer Leela James should be the biggest draw and if anybody
could steal a show, its she. Two years ago, the L.A. native released Loving You
MoreIn The Spirit of Etta James. Certainly if any contemporary singer most
conjures thoughts of the late Etta, its the same-surnamed though unrelated
Leela. Meanwhile, Ledisi starred as gospel powerhouse Mahalia Jackson in last
years Selma. Talk about a show. Saturday, March 21, at 8 p.m. D.A.R. Constitution
Hall, 1776 D St. NW. Remaining tickets are $88.85. Call 202-628-1776 or visit dar.
org/conthall.

MALCOLM GETS

The latest musical theater performer to get Barbara Cooks Spotlight at the
Kennedy Center is this openly gay actor who has appeared on Broadway in
Merrily We Roll Along as well as the 2003 Amour, which garnered him a Tony
nomination. But Gets is probably best known as Richard Karinsky from the
90s TV show Caroline in the City. Five years ago, in a Kennedy Center revival
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of Terrence McNallys The Lisbon Traviata, he portrayed an openly gay opera

buff and devotee of Maria Callas which isnt far from the truth. I was kind of
obsessed with opera at a very young age, the Florida-raised performer told Metro
Weekly at the time. I was on the road to becoming a concert pianist but got bit
by the theater bug early, and then sort of found my way into the theater by playing the piano. Friday, March 27, at 7:30 p.m. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater.
Tickets are $45. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

THE ORIGINALIST

Molly Smith directs an Arena Stage world premiere of John Strands play about
one of the biggest enemies to the LGBT cause and civil rights in general: Supreme
Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Its hard to get excited about this one, although no
doubt four-time Helen Hayes Award winner Edward Gero will do Scalia justice.
The play is performed in the Mead Centers Kogod Cradle in a new three-quarter
thrust configuration. To April 26. Mead Center for American Theater, 1101 6th St.
SW. Call 202-488-3300 or visit arenastage.org.

WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA: THE FLYING DUTCHMAN

HHHHH
With more cohesion from director Stephen Lawless and more dramatic chemistry and tension, there is none of the remoteness that turned props (and ghostly
apparitions) into amusements the last time the Flying Dutchman was seen here
in 2008. Now, the potency of the narrative allows one the framework in which to
find the forlorn beauty and emotion embedded in Wagners searching score - an
appreciation of the operas more rarified themes remaining optional. And the plot
itself is accessible.
At the heart of this versions more effective storytelling is Eric Owens, who gives
his Dutchman a strange and striking presence. Befitting this Dutchman, Owens
sings with a deeply gratifying precision, his sound lustrously hewn. This time
the vessel is far more sea-worthy. To March 21. Kennedy Center Opera House.
Tickets are $25 to $300. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org. (Kate
Wingfield)

FILM
CINDERELLA

Cate Blanchett is the wicked stepmother, Helena Bonham Carter is the Fairy
Godmother and Derek Jacobi plays the king in Disneys latest take on the classic fairy tale, with Lily James in the title role and Richard Madden as Prince
Charming. Kenneth Branagh directs this live-action version written by Chris
Weitz. Now playing. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com.

TOMMY

The Whos 1975 rock opera starred the bands Roger Daltrey in the title role as a
deaf, dumb and blind kid who eventually becomes the leader of a religious sect
after defeating the Pinball Wizard, played by Elton John. Along the way, we meet
characters portrayed by Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner
and Jack Nicholson. If you havent seen Ken Russells eccentric film, from a story
by The Whos Pete Townshend, the American Film Institutes Silver Theatre has
got your ticket to celebrate the films 40th anniversary. Friday, March 27, 9:15
p.m., and Saturday, March 28, at 10 p.m. AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road,
Silver Spring. Tickets are $12 general admission. Call 301-495-6720 or visit
afi.com/Silver.

STAGE
FABULAS MAYAS

GALA Theatre presents an entertaining childrens play by Cecilia Cackley, with

bilingual adaptation by Karin Tovar, relating traditional Mayan fables and featuring shadow and hand puppetry by the experimental company Wits End Puppets.
To March 21. GALA Theatre at Tivoli Square, 3333 14th St. NW. Tickets are $10
to $12. Call 202-234-7174 or visit galatheatre.org.

MAN OF LAMANCHA

As prisoner Miguel de Cervantes presents his tale of knight errant Don Quixote,
his journey comes alive in a play-within-the-play in this Impossible Dream
musical from the team of book writer Dale Wasserman, lyricist Joe Darion and
composer Mitch Leigh. Alan Paul directs Anthony Warlow in the starring role
in this years Shakespeare Theatre Company musical offering. Man of LaMancha
is considered one of the greatest adaptations musical or otherwise of classic
literature. Considered production by Alan Paul. Now in previews. To April 26.
Sidney Harman Hall, Harman Center for the Arts, 610 F St. NW. Call 202-5471122 or visit shakespearetheatre.org/MWLaMancha.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

The 11th installment in Synetic Theaters wordless Shakespeare series is one

of the Bards best-loved comedies. Synetics Paata Tsikurishvili has set Much

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Ado About Nothing in the mid-20th Century Rat

Pack-era Las Vegas, so expect Sinatra-esque crooning tunes and chipper early rock songs. To March
22. Theater at Crystal City, 1800 South Bell St.,
Arlington. Tickets are $20 to $95. Call 800-494-8497
or visit synetictheater.org.

THE CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION

Rep Stage presents this sharp comedy from Annie

Baker about a group of small-town residents
enrolled in a community center drama class, in
which they play various seemingly harmless theater
games. What could possibly go wrong? Suzanne
Beal directs. To March 22. Rep Stage: The Horowitz
Centers Studio Theatre at Howard Community
College, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia,
Md. Tickets are $40. Call 443-518-1500 or visit
repstage.org.

CANTUS

Billed by American classical magazine Fanfare as

the premier mens vocal ensemble in the United
States, Cantus makes its debut at Wolf Trap as
part of its Chamber Music Series at the Barns. The
focus is on a program of songs we sing communally,
whether in celebration or mourning from the
religious and traditional (Ave Maria, the Hebrew
Burial Kaddish) to folk anthems (Danny Boy, the
Cuban Arroz con Leche) to even one American
musical standard (Youll Never Walk Alone from
Carousel). Friday, March 27, at 8 p.m. The Barns at
Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $35.
Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit wolftrap.org.

CHRIS LAKE

COMMUNITY THEATER

Just as with other DJ/producers who straddle the

progressive house/tech-house divide including
deadmau5 and Kaskade the L.A.-based, U.K.-native
Chris Lake has repeatedly lost his balance by incorporating elements from the faddish notice-me, herkyjerky style known as dubstep, an attempt to appeal to
EDM-loving kiddies. The result is that many of his
more recent singles are desultory, all-but unlistenable. But not all: For every noxious Goodbye, theres
Helium featuring Jareth, the kind of poppy, effervescent jam grounded in propulsive bass lines (here
including bass guitar) that Lake first made his name
with nearly a decade ago. Fortunately, the future looks
even brighter. Lake has said hes increasingly exploring a more deep-house sound. Expect him to preview
this change in direction this weekend. Friday, March
20, starting at 10 p.m. U Street Music Hall, 1115A U
St. NW. Tickets are $15. Call 202-588-1880 or visit
ustreetmusichall.com.

EVIL DEAD: THE MUSICAL

JESSICA HERNANDEZ AND THE DELTAS

TIME STANDS STILL

Peters Alley Theatre Productions offers a production of Donald Margulies stunning 2010 Tonywinning play chiefly about two war correspondents,
returning from covering the Iraq War and struggling
to make sense of this wild world and their places in it.
Aly B. Ettman and Aaron Tone play the lead roles in
a production also featuring Jim Epstein and Chelsea
Mayo and directed by Stevie Zimmerman. Now to
March 29. Peters Alley at Theatre on the Run, 3700
South Four Mile Run Dr. Arlington. Tickets are $20.
Call 703-933-1111 or visit petersalley.com.

The Greenbelt Arts Center offers a production of

the Off Broadway stage adaptation of Sam Raimis
cult classic zombie film featuring book and lyrics by
George Reinblatt and music by a team led by Frank
Cipolla. Jeffery Lesniak directs this community theater production, choreographed by Rikki Howie
Lacewell. The seats up front are designated the
Splatter Zone as, naturally, patrons will be splattered
in blood from the stage battles. And who wouldnt
pay more for that? To March 28. Greenbelt Arts
Center, 123 Centerway. Greenbelt, Md. Tickets are
$22, or $30 for the Splatter Zone. Call 301-441-8770
or visit greenbeltartscenter.org.

MUSIC
BIG DATA

An intriguing alt-dance/indie-rock hybrid, producer

Alan Wilkiss Big Data mines various genres and
works with an eclectic group of hip bubbling-under
artists to generate songs that are gritty but melodic,
edgy but accessible nothing but cool. Exhibit
A is last years modest rock hit Dangerous, featuring the band Joywave and a sauntering bass
guitar riff you could groove to all day long. New
single Get Some Freedom sounds like the second
coming of British band Muse, only the Uprising
march this time is led by a woman. That would be
Martina Sorbara, the lead singer of the dance band
Dragonette. Other promising songs to come from
Big Datas debut album 2.0, out next week, include
collaborations with Dominican-American synthpop act Twin Shadow, Jenn Wasner of Baltimores
hipster rock act Wye Oak and the Kiwi electro/
jazz artist Kimbra. Friday, March 27. Doors at 8:30
p.m. Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. Tickets are $16 in
advance, or $18 day-of show. Call 202-667-4490 or
visit blackcatdc.com.

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Sorry I Stole Your Man is a song as cheeky as it

sounds, with a doo-wop chorus occasionally serenading Jessica Hernandez, who is punky and spunky
and far from apologetic about anything. Musically
speaking at least, theres nothing to apologize for.
As demonstrated on last years debut Secret Evil,
Hernandez and her band create a joyous, entertaining sound rich with Southern rock, country and
blues as well as Motown influences from their
Detroit hometown, plus a little spice thrown in from
south of the border, courtesy of rock en espaol.
The captivating and powerful-voiced Hernandez,
who sings in English, will sometimes put you in
mind of Adele, other times the Gossips Beth Ditto.
No pop music lover to say nothing of at least one
previously attached straight man could possibly
resist her charms. Opening for J. Roddy Walston
& The Business. Friday, March 20. Doors at 8 p.m.
Nightclub 9:30, 815 V St. NW. Call 202-265-0930 or
visit 930.com.

JUSTIN TRAWICK AND

THE NINE SONGWRITER SERIES

Folk-rock songwriter Justin Trawick formed the collaborative 9 Songwriter Series in 2008 as a means to
book larger venues for shows featuring Trawick and
fellow local musicians, giving them a bigger audience
and opportunities to improvise and collaborate, and
giving audiences an easier way to discover a songwriter or band to love. Joining Trawick in the collectives
debut at the regions newest venue: Luke Shaffer,
Kevin de Souza, Victoria Vox, Cordell featuring Ryan
McMichael and Grace Nagia, Michael Clem, Andy
Zipf, Dear Creek and Hayley Fahey. Friday, March
27, at 7:30 p.m. Amp by Strathmore, 11810 Grand Park
Ave. North Bethesda. Tickets are $30. Call 301-5815100 or visit ampbystrathmore.com.

KEVIN EUBANKS

The longtime leader of the band on NBCs Tonight

Show with Jay Leno, this American jazz guitarist
and composer returns for an annual weekend run of
shows at Blues Alley. Thursday, March 26, through
Sunday, March 29, at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Blues Alley,
1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Tickets are $30, plus
$10 minimum purchase. Call 202-337-4141 or visit
bluesalley.com.

LEA SALONGA WITH

NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA POPS

Steven Reineke leads the NSO in a celebration of

the musicals of Boublil and Schonberg, most notably Les Miserables and Miss Saigon, for which Lea
Salonga won the Tony Award for Leading Actress in
a Musical in 1991. Joining Salonga in this Do You
Hear The People Singing? program are Eric Kunze,
Terrence Mann, Kathy Voytko and Marie Zamora,
plus the University of Maryland Concert Choir and
the Childrens Chorus of Washington. Friday, March
27, and Saturday, March 28, at 8 p.m. Kennedy
Center Concert Hall. Tickets are $20 to $88. Call
202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

NATALIA ZUKERMAN, JT PROJECT, JAMESON

RODGERS, SARA MCDONALD

The music industrys ASCAP Foundation presents a showcase of new or indie songwriters, similar in spirit to its annual Broadway Today and
Tomorrow series showcasing new composers. Both
series offer free concerts as part of the Millennium
Stage programming at the Kennedy Center. This
years Songwriters: The Next Generation series
features Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter/guitarist Natalia Zukerman, who will perform with
keyboardist/bassist Jacob Webb and saxophonist
Todd Schefflins jazz/soul/R&B group JT Project,
on Wednesday, March 25, and Mississippi-based
singer-songwriter Jameson Rodgers and Brooklynbased jazz singer-songwriter and French hornist
Sara McDonald, on Thursday, March 26, at 6 p.m.
Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free. Call 202467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC

Piotr Gajewski leads the symphony in a performance

devoted to three towering Russian Romantics,
capped by Tchaikovskys dramatic masterpiece
Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy. Also on the
program is Rimsky-Korsakovs Capriccio Espagnol
and Rachmaninoffs Piano Concerto No. 3, performed
by Haochen Zhang, winner of the 2009 Van Cliburn
International Piano Competition. Saturday, March
28, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 29, at 3 p.m. Music
Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North
Bethesda. Tickets are $37 to $84. Call 301-581-5100
or visit strathmore.org.

THE REBIRTH BRASS BAND

Formed in 1983, this New Orleans band has evolved

from playing the streets of the French Quarter to
festivals and stages all over the world and also
HBOs Treme in the process leading a revival in
the Crescent Citys brass band tradition. Friday,
March 20, and Saturday, March 21, at 8:30 p.m. The
Hamilton, 600 14th St. NW. Tickets are $37 to $42.
Call 202-787-1000 or visit thehamiltondc.com.

SAEED YOUNAN

Want to support an internationally known but thoroughly local DJ? Stop by Flash next Saturday night,
to hear the great D.C.-based progressive/tech house
DJ Saeed Younan, who first came to attention as the
lead half of house duo Saeed & Palash. He performs
a Birthday Bash set, Saturday, March 21. Doors at 10
p.m. Flash, 645 Florida Ave. NW. Cover is $20. Call
202-827-8791 or visit flashdc.com.

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THE ACA-CHALLENGE

The Alexandria Harmonizers presents this annual

contest featuring the regions best a cappella groups
competing for a grand prize of $1,000, though all will
go home $100 richer. On tap to perform this year
in addition to the Alexandria Harmonizers and its
contemporary a cappella group TBD, as well as last
years winner, Word of Mouth are The District,
GW Vibes, JHU Allnighters, Tomorrows Harmony,
UVA Silhooettes and Vox Pop. The audience gets to
vote in this contest, hosted by SingStrongs Jonathan
Minkoff. Saturday, March 21. Doors at 7 p.m. Lincoln
Theatre, 1215 U St. NW. Tickets are $25 to $41. Call
202-328-6000 or visit thelincolndc.com.

THE INSERIES: DON GIOVANNI

The InSeriess offers a new English adaptation of

Mozarts opera by writer Bari Biern and director
Tom Mallan, transplanting the work into an allAmerican, 1920s religious revival setting. To March
23. GALA Theatre at Tivoli Square, 3333 14th St.
NW. Tickets are $22 to $45. Call 202-204-7763 or
visit inseries.org.

COMEDY
MIKE LAWRENCE

This stand-up comedian has appeared on Conan on

TBS and John Olivers New York Stand-Up Show on
Comedy Central, which also premiered Lawrences
own Half Hour stand-up show two years ago. Friday,
March 27, at 6 p.m. Kennedy Center Millennium
Stage. Tickets are free. Call 202-467-4600 or visit
kennedy-center.org.

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GALLERIES
BEYOND BOLLYWOOD:
INDIAN AMERICANS SHAPE THE NATION

Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center presents this ambitious and colorful exhibition on the
second floor of the National Museum of Natural
History, exploring the heritage, daily experiences
and diverse contributions of Indians and Indian
Americans. Through Aug. 16. National Museum
of Natural History, 10th Street and Constitution
Avenue NW. Call 202-633-1000 or visit mnh.si.edu.

CONFLUENCE: CONSIDERING THE ANACOSTIA

Photographs of the Anacostia River are presented in

an exhibit at the Anacostia Arts Center and featuring
the work of National Geographic freelance photographer Becky Harlan, local gallery artist David
Allen Harris, wildlife and conservation photographer Krista Schlyer, and documentary-style photographer Bruce McNeil. The exhibit coincides with the
first-ever Anacostia River Festival, which will serve
as the closing event of the National Cherry Blossom
Festival and take place in the nearby Anacostia
Park on April 12. Open reception is Friday, March
20, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. On exhibit through May
1. Anacostia Arts Center, 1231 Good Hope Road SE.
Call 202-631-6291 or visit anacostiaartscenter.com.

FORDLANDIA: THE LOST CITY OF HENRY FORD

The Art Museum of the Americas presents the first

in a series on megalomania by British artist Dan
Dubowitz, who took photographs a few years ago
revealing what became of the large chunk of land
that Henry Ford bought in the Brazilian rainforest
just before the Great Depression. This was a delusion
of grandeur Ford was hoping to create a rubber-

producing community, solely focused on work

that may have flopped royally, but it did succeed in
encouraging other wealthy tycoons as well as poor
local gold-diggers to plunder the rainforest to try
other ways of making a profit. Dubowitz toured and
photographed the deserted Fordlandia a few years
ago, and the new photos are contrasted by those from
Fords minions taken in the 1930s. Now to May 1. Art
Museum of the Americas, Organization of American
States, 1889 F St. NW. Call 202-370-0149 or visit
AMAmuseum.org to schedule an appointment.

LISA ROSENSTEIN: SILENT LANGUAGE

Dance Place presents an exhibit of monochromatic

and dimensional mixed-media work by this artist,
who lives in the venues Brookland neighborhood.
Silent Language explores pre-written symbolism
for messaging, communication and interpretation.
To March 28. Studio 21 on the Arts Walk at Monroe
Street Market, 716 Monroe St. NE. Call 202-2691600 or visit danceplace.org.

MODERN SCULPTURE:
DIALOGUES IN THREE DIMENSIONS

While its galleries are closed for renovation and

expansion, the National Gallery of Art has set up
throughout its East Building a special installation of
modern sculpture from its renowned holdings. And
three times a week, the gallery offers a new 60-minute guided tour highlighting these works, allowing
patrons to engage with each other in open-ended
discussions about, in addition to the guide pointing
out connections between, the works on view, from
Alexander Calders monumental mobile Untitled
from 1976 to Andy Goldsworthys decade-old Roof.
The relationship between I.M. Peis East Building
and John Russell Pops West Building is also examined. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, at 1:30 p.m.

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National Gallery of Art East Building Information

Desk, 3rd Street at Constitution Avenue NW. Call
202-737-4215 or visit nga.gov.

ONCE THERE WERE BILLIONS

Once There Were Billions: Vanished Birds of North

America documents those species of birds weve lost
on this continent over the past two centuries, from
the puffin-like great auck to the Carolina parakeet
to the heath hen to the passenger pigeon, not to be
confused with the commonplace carrier pigeon.
Through October. National Museum of Natural
History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW.
Call 202-633-1000 or visit mnh.si.edu.

ORCHIDS:
INTERLOCKING SCIENCE AND BEAUTY

Orchids: Interlocking Science and Beauty is the

20th annual orchid exhibition presented by the
U.S. Botanic Garden and the Smithsonian Gardens.
Featuring several hundred colorful flowering plants
on any given day, the focus is on how new ideas,
technologies and inventions are changing the way
we study, protect and enjoy orchids. Through
April 26. First Floor in the Special Exhibits Hall,
National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street
and Constitution Avenue NW. Call 202-633-1000 or
visit mnh.si.edu.

PICTURING MARY: WOMAN, MOTHER, IDEA

The National Museum of Women in the Arts offers a

landmark exhibition bringing together Renaissance
and Baroque masterworks from major museums,
churches and private collections in Europe and
around the U.S., all depicting the Virgin Mary in
one form or another as the ultimate conception of
motherhood. The exhibition includes more than 60
paintings, sculptures and textiles from artists both
male Botticelli, Michelangelo and Drer and to a

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lesser extent female, including Artemisia Gentileschi

and Elisabetta Sirani. Through April 12. National
Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave
NW. Admission is $10. Call 202-783-5000 or visit
nmwa.org.

RANDALL LEAR:
RUMINATE MY RAINBOW TREES

A graduate of the MFA program at American

University, multimedia artist Randall Lear creates
whimsical works combining painting, sculpture and
installation, grounded in architectural space and
forms. To April 12. Adah Rose Gallery, 3766 Howard
Ave. Kensington, Md. Call 301-922-0162 or visit
adahrosegallery.com.

ROBERT CWIOK: ENVELOPING TIME

A painter and collage artist, Robert Cwioks work

consists of several discrete chapters woven with
strong elements of continuity emerging, evolving, fading away and reappearing. It often takes a
second or third look at his paintings to reveal the
details what the letters stand for, or what is inside
an envelope. To April 12. The Athenaeum, 201 Prince
St., Alexandria. Call 703-548-0035 or visit nvfaa.org.

SPROUT; MARY D. OTT

Spring cant come soon enough, and Touchstone

Gallery is helping everyone get in the seasonal spirit
with a show of spring-themed works by its member
artists featuring colors and patterns illuminated by
springs early light. The downtown gallery concurrently presents a solo show by Mary D. Ott featuring
new abstract paintings in a spectrum of colors, made
using embroidery yarn dipped in acrylic paint to act
as a fine brush. To March 29. Touchstone Gallery,
901 New York Ave. NW Call 202-347-2787 or visit
touchstonegallery.com.

THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964:

A LONG STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM

The Library of Congress commemorates the 50th

anniversary of the Civil Rights Act with a yearlong
exhibition highlighting legal and legislative victories
and shedding light on the individuals who shaped
the civil rights movement. Through Sept. 12. The
Library of Congresss Thomas Jefferson Building,
10 First St. SE. Call 202-707-8000 or visit loc.gov/
exhibits.

THE VISIONARY EXPERIENCE:

SAINT FRANCIS TO FINSTER

Baltimores quirky Visionary Art Museum offers

its 20th annual exhibition, this one championing
lifes grand Eureka! moments, held in common
by Earths most dynamic and intuitive evolutionaries, from inventors, scientists, Americas founding fathers, dreamers and saints. The show was
co-curated by filmmaker and publisher Jodi Wille
and AVAM founder and director Rebecca Alban
Hoffberger. Through Aug. 30. American Visionary
Art Museum, 800 Key Highway. Baltimore. Tickets
are $15.95. Call 410-244-1900 or visit avam.org.

ZEN, TEA AND

CHINESE ART IN MEDIEVAL JAPAN

Well-known expressions of Japanese culture have

their roots in Chinese arts and ideas, from Buddhism
to tea to ink painting. The Smithsonian Institutions
Freer Gallery of Art offers an exhibition featuring
Chinese and Japanese paintings, lacquer ware and
ceramics from the 13th through the 19th centuries.
Through June 14. Freer Gallery of Art, Jefferson
Drive at 12th Street SW. Call 202-633-1000 or visit
asia.si.edu. l

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games

Over the Moon

Ori and the Blind Forest is
a beautifully fresh take on
the 2D platformer
by RHUARIDH MARR

AMING IS A MEDIUM RIFE WITH TROPES

and recycled ideas. If a particular style, or method,
or setting is proven effective, it will be repeated
almost ad nauseum in countless other titles.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the two-dimensional
platforming genre (with first person shooters a close second).
After years of jumping on platforms and bashing enemies, weve
seen it all which makes it all the more special when a title takes
those conventions and turns them into something as fastidiously
crafted and beautifully enjoyable as Ori and the Blind Forest.
Crafted by freshman developer Moon Studios, its a
Metroidvania platformer, which in laymans term means youll
start with a limited skill set and be tasked with exploring and
upgrading your character over the course of the games duration.
Again, this isnt a new concept hence the name, a reference
to Metroid and Castlevania, both considered classic archetypes
of the various gameplay elements employed. Moving in just
two planes up, down, left and right any hope of originality
seems false, given the thousands of other titles that employ such
a mechanic.

Any yet, that sense of originality is precisely what Moon

Studios seems to have created here. Ori and the Blind Forest
enraptures in a way I havent experienced for some time its
a platformer that stretches every inch of its limited movement,
interwoven with a gorgeously depicted narrative and an achingly beautiful world to create an experience that, while clearly
drawing from several sources, manages to feel fresh and modern.
First, that story. If youve ever watched Disney Pixars Up,
the flawless opening scene is essentially recreated in playable
form for Oris prologue. Players will assume control of Ori, a catlike white guardian spirit who fell from the Spirit Tree, only to
be adopted by Naru, a bearish creature with no children of her
own. Youll frolic through a wonderful forest scene with Naru,
as mother and child happily play together. After an apocalyptic
event, which sees the Spirit Tree drained of the power it uses to
maintain the world, Ori is left alone and forced to start exploring
his world.
Its here where the real gameplay starts. Unsurprisingly,
Ori is far from the kickass destroyer of neer-do-wells he needs
to be. In fact, the only ability youll have in the games opening
moments is jumping over obstacles. If it seems oddly crippling
to have such limited interaction at the start of the game, its for
a purpose to experience Ori at his least capable only serves to
better exemplify the journey youll take him on over the course
of the games 5-hour length.
While navigating through the world, which is infected with
evil creatures, insidious fungi and barbed plants all of which
seem hell-bent on killing poor Ori youll come across Sein, a
fiery ball of light. Sein convinces Ori that he must travel to and
restore the Spirit Tree, in order to save the forest from further
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MARCH 19, 2015

37

destruction. Here, youll unlock Oris first ability: attacking

enemies. Sein and Ori form a crime-fighting duo of sorts Ori
handles the platforming and maneuvering, while Sein hovers alongside and dispatches enemies. It serves two purposes:
it keeps Ori pure in the sense that he isnt the one actively
fighting, while also making for more fluid combat. With Sein
in charging of throwing balls of hot light at oversized frogs and
spiders and acid-belching slugs, Oris movements are never
interrupted. If youre midway through a jump, or clambering up
a wall, you wont have to pause to attack. Keep bashing X, and
Sein will handle anything in your way.
Indeed, it could almost seem overly simplistic at first. Ori can
climb walls by repeatedly jumping up them, but hes limited to
one slightly long jump elsewhere. Sein is limited to just two balls
of fire at a time. Encounters with enemies dont require targeting, instead Ori merely has to be near them, at which point players will start tapping X to kill them while dodging any projectiles
or melee attacks. Dont be fooled, however, as things get much
deeper as you progress. Ori is able to absorb the knowledge of
other spirit lights, which have died and left behind miniature
spirit trees in their place. Through these, Oris skills expand to
double jump (I cant intimate how freeing it felt to finally unlock
this), the ability to slam down onto enemies, the ability to break
rocks and other blockades, a charged attack that damages any
enemies near Ori, as well as an ability known as Bash.
Bash is a game-changer. Literally. Ori can use it to lock on to
enemies, their projectiles, or falling objects such as rocks and
balls of fire. He can then fire himself in any direction, with the
object or enemy being flung in the opposite direction. It unlocks
a verticality to gameplay that previously relied on Ori climbing
walls and even then, only to a point. Locking on to something
and flinging yourself through the air, or up to secret ledges, or
beyond danger points, is a genius method of both travel and
waging battle. If a spider, for instance, continues to spit poisonous globs at you, lock on with Bash and send it back into its face.
If birds wont stop swooping and pecking at you, lock on and
throw yourself into the air, where you can do battle on your own
terms. When Ori unlocks the ability to power jump, and picks up
a feather that enables a gliding function, combining all three into
movement and attacks makes the game feel worlds away from
Oris initial state of managing a single jump and nothing more.
Youll gain most of your powers by playing Oris story, but
to really increase his abilities, youll have to explore and its
intensely rewarding. It helps that Oris world is stunning, drawing on inspiration from various animated sources, with the end
result looking like a (rather beautifully animated) childrens
book come to life. The various areas of Oris world each have
their own distinct style, from the browns and greens of the
swamp, to the reds and oranges of the lava-filled mountain, to
the deep purples of the dark woods and the vibrant blues and
greens of the forest. The art style, on both characters, objects
and backgrounds, is gorgeously rendered. If there are echoes of
recent Rayman games or Child of Light, thats only a good thing.
Scattered around this beautiful world are dozens of collectible items. Of course, it wouldnt be a good platformer
without collectibles, and Ori rewards your treasure-hunting
with upgrades. Collecting spirit light, gained from vanquishing
foes or finding special ability orbs, unlocks abilities, including
more advanced and powerful attacks, a triple jump, the ability
to breathe underwater, or even markers for other pickups to
appear on your map. I became obsessed with combing every inch
of every area, seeking out life orbs to unlock additional health
for Ori, or energy orbs to grant more charged attacks and save
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MARCH 19, 2015

METROWEEKLY.COM

points. Yes, energy for save points.

Ori doesnt utilize checkpointing at least, not for the majority of gameplay. Important events will grant a save, but for the
most part players are left to their own devices. In practice, its
an incredibly smart system. Smash energy crystals to gain their
power and you can then form a Soul Link, which will allow you
to save the game and access Oris ability tree. If you come to
a particularly challenging section, save right before it or, at
various points during it and you wont have to worry about
a lengthy traipse back from a distant save point should you
die. However, be warned: get too cocky, or too forgetful, and
itll punish you. More than once I found myself thrown back to
the other side of the map and its a huge map because Id
either forgotten to save or I felt Ori was powerful enough that I
wouldnt die as easily. Lesson learned.
In terms of difficulty, you wont find Ori too challenging, at
least for the most part. Many of its areas require thought and
planning, as you navigate worlds and complete puzzles, or hunt
for collectibles. Enemies can be tough particularly those that
shoot beams and killed me every... single... time but most are
easily dispatched. Similarly, if you die, itll more than likely be
a case of your own incompetence than a failure on Oris part.
The controls are tight, with a good balance between floatiness
and accuracy letting you place Ori wherever you need him to
be. That said, difficulty spikes dramatically so during the
games three boss levels. There are no bosses in Ori, per se, but
there are three tasks he must complete to help the Spirit Tree.
These culminate in three crushingly hard special levels which
mix vertical and horizontal gameplay and will be the closest
youll come to throwing your controller at the TV. The first, a
vertical climb through a giant tree as water rushes up beneath
you, was almost enough to turn me away from the game. When
I finally conquered it, though, that rush of adrenaline was more
than enough to keep me going. These sections, it seems, almost
require multiple deaths in order that players learn a set routine.
They demand perfect platforming, and if you dont deliver youll
be drowned, burned, crushed, spiked or generally murdered.
I havent even touched on arguably one of Oris greatest
strengths: its wonderful score. Cutscenes are narrated in a madeup language, which only adds to the fantasy element, and audio
such as Oris yelps and exertions are nicely captured. However,
Gareth Cokers score for the game is sublime. Every environment has a unique feel, thanks in part to the music accompanying it. Those tough end-stage levels are dramatically raucous.
Cutscenes are underscored with appropriately emotive swells.
Music is as much a part of the game as its art style and gameplay,
and is utilized to incredible effect. The soundtrack is available to
buy and Id urge that you do so.
Overall, Im more than a little in love with Ori and the Blind
Forest. Ive completed most of the game in two playthroughs
though I wont be getting the achievements for finishing in
under three hours (Im not that competent at gaming) or without
dying (I finished my first playthrough with 300 deaths). From
that emotional opening scene, to the games closing both of
which had tears stinging my eyes its a beautiful, exciting,
gloriously fresh experience. If this is what Moon Studios can do
for a 2D platformer, I cant wait to see what they create next. As
for Ori, if youre wavering over whether to get it, Ill state this:
Its twenty dollars. Yes, twenty. It terms of enjoyment factor, its
easily worth twice that amount. Buy it. Now.
Ori and the Blind Forest (HHHHH) is available for Xbox One
and PC. l

food

Empanadas de Cerezas

PHOTO COURTESY OF HEATHER FREEMAN MEDIA & PUBLIC RELATIONS

Very Cherry
Area restaurants are offering a nearly
month-long program of specials
celebrating the cherry blossoms
by DOUG RULE

HEF DAISUKE UTAGAWA REMEMBERS HOW

he used to celebrate the cherry blossoms around
the Tidal Basin in Washington.
Id go down there after the restaurant closed,
says Utagawa, then chef at Sushiko, in Chevy Chase. Id bring
three huge tubs of sushi and bottles of sak and a bunch of my
friends and wed go under the cherry trees and enjoy a picnic
late at night.
These days, Utagawa is too busy catering to the cherry blossom crowds at two restaurants as well as raising children to

hit the Tidal Basin. And of course wine or any other alcoholic
beverage is not on the menu, so to speak, on federal parkland.
Its a different era.
And ultimately, a better one. Over the past decade, increasing
numbers of people have been celebrating the blossoming cherry
trees, an official gift from Japan over a century ago, in an increasing number of ways and all over the city. That was the goal
of Diana Mayhew when she took over what had been a poorly
run, all-volunteer outfit 15 years ago. Mayhew has turned the
National Cherry Blossom Festival into a three week affair full
of activities and events, from a day of kite-flying to a fireworks
display to a parade. Twelve years ago the festival teamed up with
the Restaurants Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW)
to launch Cherry Picks, in which participating restaurants run
specials throughout the entire festival. Cherry Picks is one of
our favorites, Mayhew says. Its another thing we can do to
accommodate all of the people that come and give them lots of
choices of how to enjoy Washington. Give them a little taste...so
they come back again in the future.
When it began, there was at least one stipulation on restauMETROWEEKLY.COM

MARCH 19, 2015

39

rants in the Cherry Picks program, but RAMWs Kathy Hollinger

says participating restaurants now have total freedom to do as
they wish. No longer do they have to incorporate cherries! the
trade organization president says. I look forward to seeing how
creative our industry can be whether they create a cocktail, or
cook with a particular ingredient, or just use it as a way to launch
their spring menu.
Hollinger singles out CHEF GEOFFS, with four area locations,
as one of the longest-standing participants in the program, which
officially starts March 30 and ends April 12, but restaurants are
free to expand beyond those dates. And of course many restaurants plan to offer specials when the festival officially kicks off
this Friday, March 20. (RAMW runs a Spring Wine Fling all next
week, which is why Cherry Picks officially starts later.)
What follows is a peek into some of the Cherry Picks highlights around town.
At SUSHI KO, which Utagawa has owned since 1988, the
focus is on a special entre available only during the festival.
Madai Blossom combines kombujime seabream, cherry gele,
cucumber, tomato and melon water. Call 301-961-1644 or visit
sushikorestaurants.com. Meanwhile, Utagawa is also one of
the proprietors in the popular DAIKAYA, across 7th Street from
the Verizon Center. The two-year-old Izakaya upstairs offers
three Cherry Picks specials: the appetizer Cherry Blossom Rice,
a house-made caramel dessert with salted cherry blossoms and
the Hanami, a cocktail featuring a persimmon-infused shch
with salted cherry blossom foam. Call 202-589-1600 or visit
daikaya.com.
All three of Jose Andress JALEO locations will whip up five
cherry-inspired tapas, including a seared salmon with cauliflower pure and cherries as well as a pork belly confit with cherry

40

MARCH 19, 2015

METROWEEKLY.COM

sauce, plus a Spanish Garden cocktail made of gin, chrysanthemum syrup, orange jam, lemon juice and green chartreuse. Call
202-628-7949 or visit jaleo.com.
Another cocktail option comes from bartender Jimmy
Ponce at Penn Quarters NOPA KITCHEN + BAR. The Cherry
Picker uses a rosemary- and chocolate-infused oat vodka,
red currant syrup, lime juice, cherry herring and rose flower
water. Call 202-347-4667 or visit nopadc.com. Meanwhile, the
craft beer palace CITY TAP HOUSE will devote five of its tap lines
to Japans Hitachino Nest Beer to celebrate the blossoms. But
the venue has also created a blossoms-inspired three-course
meal: an appetizer of roasted foie gras terrine with almond
crumble, black cherry jam and arugula; an entre of Muscovy
duck breast with charred spring onion, sunchokes, tart cherry
gastrigue and parmesan gnocchi; and a dessert of Cherry
Clafoutis with vanilla, kirsch and chocolate gelato. Call 202644-9433 or visit citytaphouse.com.
CUBA LIBRE offers two cherry blossom-inspired Cuban dishes:
the entre Chuleta de Puerco, a Serrano ham-wrapped center
cut rib pork chop with sweet potato crema, roasted kale and
amarena cherry jus, and the dessert Empanadas de Cerezas with
goat cheese, sour cherries, toasted pistachio and sweet cherry
mostarda. Call 202-408-1600 or visit cubalibrerestaurant.com.
Finally, MASA 14, the hip 14th Street Latin-Asian fusion restaurant part of Richard Sandovals small local empire, offers
small plates Pork Kushiage with miso BBQ, Japanese mustard and scallion and Seafood Okonomiyaki, cabbage pancakes with shrimp, squid, cabbage, mayonnaise, bonito flakes
and nori. Wash it down with the Rosy Rickey, a seasonal
twist on the bourbon classic made with house-made cherry simple syrup. Call 202-328-1414 or visit masa14.com. l

tech

Googles self-driving prototype

Self-Driven
Autonomous cars are coming
and our incompetence as drivers
is to blame, apparently
by RHUARIDH MARR

MERICA LOVES DRIVING. ITS A FACT. ON

average, if you gathered ten Americans together,
eight would own a car.
We use our cars as much as we possibly can.
Eighty-six percent of us drive to work every day, rather than take
public transport, or burn calories on foot. If its convenience versus mass transit or a light sweat, we choose the air-conditioned,
music-filled, wonderfully private, four-wheeled metal box every
time.
That said, driving is increasingly becoming untenable, unliv-

able unbearable, even. If you live in one of the countrys ten

most traffic-dense cities and, unsurprisingly, here in D.C. we
do youll spend on average two days stuck in traffic over the
course of a year. Two days. Think of the Netflix binges you could
have crammed into those wasted hours.
If most of our driving is routine, to work, to the grocery
store, to the gym when its cold and you just cant be bothered,
wouldnt it be easier if the car could drive for us? Wouldnt
autonomy go a long way to making even the most tedious of
commutes a little more bearable? Thats a question being posed
by almost every major automaker.
Indeed, in just five years, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz,
Audi, Nissan, BMW, Renault, Tesla and Google all expect to
offer automobiles with some degree of autonomy, whether
maintaining a lane on the highway or winding through a city.
Like it or not, the future is autonomous, and the ramifications for
our roads will be huge. PricewaterhouseCoopers believes traffic
accidents will be significantly reduced, by a factor of 10. Morgan
Stanley is throwing some big figures around for autonomous
cars, forecasting annual savings of over one trillion dollars due
METROWEEKLY.COM

MARCH 19, 2015

41

Googles Prius test car

to lower fuel consumption, reduced repair costs and a boost in

productivity from drivers free to work in their cars on the commute to and from the office.
The idea that a car can adequately navigate the urban jungle,
or a bustling highway, or throw itself round country bends,
may seem like the stuff of science fiction, but its surprisingly
closer to reality than you might think. Astro Teller, the head of
Googles semi-secret research facility, Google X, spoke this week
at SXSW, offering insights into the search giants self-driving
car program, revealing that the companys employees have been
beta testing autonomous cars on their commutes. They retain
full control if needed, but essentially, Google was bringing its
employees to work with no input necessary once the car was on
the freeway.
However, as it transpires, humans arent exactly the best
monitors of an autonomous car. If a system requires that the
driver remains aware, its ultimately doomed, according to
Teller, calling us fleshy meatbags not a reliable backup for a
computer. His proof? Google asked that employees testing the
cars remain vigilant, monitoring the driving and checking for
bugs in software. That didnt happen. Once the system was activated, drivers would switch off. Teller declined to offer further
details, only saying that the result wasnt pretty.
The solution? Remove the need for the driver completely.
Most of Googles test vehicles are built from standard road cars,
such as Toyotas Prius, but the company has its own homegrown
autonomous car one that lacks any driver controls at all.
Instead, Google gives total control to the cars computer brain.
Drivers get in, input their destination, and sit back while the
car whizzes them to their destination and parks itself. As a concept, it certainly has its appeal.
And, as it transpires, Google isnt alone in condemning humans
as an inefficient method of car control. Tesla co-founder and CEO
Elon Musk this week sat down with NVIDIAs CEO Jen-Hsun
Huang to discuss his vision of self-driving cars. His answer? You
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MARCH 19, 2015

METROWEEKLY.COM

cant have a person driving a two-ton death machine.

Ouch. Right in our humanity. Musk, whose company makes
the all-electric Model S, talked with Huang at length about
autonomy. Musk imagined a world where humans actually driving cars would be outlawed as we were simply too dangerous
when behind the wheel. For Huang, future vehicles would look
dramatically different if no one ever crashed, safety features
such as airbags and heavy chassis would be rendered obsolete,
leading to a rethinking of basic car design. Still, its not a future
we need to worry about any time soon. Even if autonomy were
refined to perfection tomorrow, Musk opined that it would take
two decades before every vehicle on the road became autonomous, due to how many cars are owned, not just in America
but around the world. Still, when it happens, Musk is confident
about Teslas place in an autonomous world. We know what to
do, and well be there in a few years.
Even now, autonomous capabilities have come a long way in
the past few years. Cars now do a lot of thinking for themselves.
Cruise control systems can maintain a set speed, a specific distance, keep you from straying across lanes and even brake when
necessary. Parking sensors are now combined with surround
cameras to let cars park themselves, in both bays and parallel
parking some will even drive themselves back out of the space.
Cars can detect potential crashes and either brake before the
driver does to prevent it occurring, or activate security features
such as rolling up windows, tightening seatbelts, and moving
pedals out of the way to prepare for the inevitable crash.Right
now, in the right model, drivers can maintain a bare minimum
of control, as their car keeps a steady pace and interior temperature, activates the wipers and switches the lights on and off as
necessary. Is autonomy such a drastic next step? Perhaps, if all
control is removed. I know that I, for one, would hate to lose the
ability to throw my car round a few corners every now and then.
That said, if I can check email rather than crawl through traffic,
I say bring on the autonomous revolution. l

METROWEEKLY.COM

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43

NIGHT

LIFE
LISTINGS
THURS., 03.19.15

9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm Multiple
TVs showing movies,
shows, sports Expanded
craft beer selection No
Cover
ANNIES/ANNIES
UPSTAIRS
4@4 Happy Hour, 4pm-7pm
$4 Small Plates, $4 Stella
Artois, $4 House Wines,
$4 Stolichnaya Cocktails,
$4 Manhattans and Vodka
Martinis
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $6 Call
Martini, $3 Miller Lite, $4
Rail, $5 Call, 4-9pm $3
Rail Drinks, 10pm-midnight,
$5 Red Bull, Gatorade
and Frozen Virgin Drinks
Locker Room Thursday
Nights DJs Sean Morris
and MadScience Ripped
Hot Body Contest at midnight, hosted by Sasha
J. Adams and BaNaka
$200 Cash Prize Doors
open 10pm, 18+ $5 Cover
under 21 and free with
college ID
DC EAGLE
Eagle Hour: Men in any DC
Eagle shirt drink free rail
and domestic, 9-10pm
Blackout night, 9pm-close
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm
Shirtless Thursday,
10-11pm DJs BacK2bACk

JR.S
$3 Rail Vodka Highballs, $2
JR.s drafts, 8pm to close
Throwback Thursday featuring rock/pop retro hits

METROWEEKLY.COM

45

46

MARCH 19, 2015

METROWEEKLY.COM

scene
RuPauls New Season 7 Queens
Live Onstage at Town
Wednesday, February 25
scan this tag
with your
smartphone
for bonus scene
pics online!

PHOTOGRAPHY BY
WARD MORRISON

NELLIES SPORTS BAR

Beat The Clock Happy Hour
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) Buckets of
Beer $15 Drag Bingo
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm No Cover
TOWN PATIO
Open 5pm No Cover
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers
Shirtless Thursday DJ
Tim-e in Secrets 9pm
Cover 21+
FRI., 03.20.15

9 1/2
Open at 5pm Happy Hour:
2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
Friday Night Videos with
resident DJ Shea Van Horn
VJ Expanded craft beer
selection No cover

ANNIES
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
COBALT/30 DEGREES
All You Can Drink Happy
Hour $15 Rail &
Domestic, $21 Call &
Imports, 6-9pm Guys
Night Out Free Rail
Vodka, 11pm-Midnight, $6
Belvedere Vodka Drinks
all night Watch your
favorite music videos with
DJ MadScience in the
lounge DJ Keenan Orr
on the danceoor $10
cover 10pm-1am, $5 after
1am 21+
DC BEAR CRUE
@Town Bear Happy
Hour, 6-11pm $3 Rail,
$3 Draft, $3 Bud Bottles
Free Pizza, 7pm Hosted
by Charger Stone No
cover before 9:30pm 21+

DC EAGLE
Bear Nonsense: Bear Happy
Hour, 6-10pm Coat check
open Eagle Wings Charity
Auction benetting SAGE
and SMYAL, 10:30-11:30pm
SigMa on Club Bar
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm The
Boys of HUMP, 9pm-2am
Featuring VJ Tre and
Friday Night Videos
$5 Cover 1 free rail or
domestic drink, 9-10pm
$5 Smirnoff, all avors, all
night long
JR.S
Buy 1, Get 1, 11pm-midnight Happy Hour: 2-for1, 4-9pm $5 Coronas, $8
Vodka Red Bulls, 9pm-close
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
DJ Matt Bailer Videos,
Dancing Beat The Clock
Happy Hour $2 (5-6pm),
$3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm)
Buckets of Beer $15

NUMBER NINE
Open 5pm Happy Hour: 2
for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
No Cover
TOWN
Drag Show starts at
10:30pm Hosted by Lena
Lett and featuring Miss
Tatianna, Shi-QueetaLee, Epiphany B. Lee
and BaNaka DJ Wess
upstairs, BacK2bACk
downstairs Doors open
at 10pm For those 21 and
over, $5 from 10-11pm and
$10 after 11pm For those
18-20, $12 all night 18+
TOWN PATIO
Open 5pm No Cover,
5-10pm, $5 from 10-11pm
and $10 after 11pm (enter
through Town)
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers,
hosted by LaTroya Nicole
Ladies of Illusion with host
Kristina Kelly, 9pm DJ
Steve Henderson in Secrets
VJ Tre in Ziegfelds
Cover 21+

SAT., 03.21.15

9 1/2
Open at 5pm Happy Hour:
2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
$5 Absolut & Titos, $3
Miller Lite after 9pm
Expanded craft beer selection No Cover
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Drag Yourself to Brunch
at Level One, 11am-2 and
2-4pm Featuring Kristina
Kelly and the Ladies of
Illusion Bottomless
Mimosas and Bloody Marys
Happy Hour: $3 Miller
Lite, $4 Rail, $5 Call, 4-9pm
The Ladies of LURe
present BARE: Military
Appreciation Night, 10pmclose Free entry with
valid military ID Featuring
DJ Rosie and DJ Keenan
Orr , with the DystRucXion
Dancers Beer Pong and
Flip-Cup games Drink
specials all night $7
cover, 10pm-12am, $10
after 12am 21+
DC EAGLE
Mr. DC Eagle 2015 Contest,
10pm Centaur MC on
Club Bar

METROWEEKLY.COM

FREDDIES BEACH BAR

Diner-style Breakfast
Buffet, 10am-3pm Crazy
Hour, 4-7pm Freddies
Follies Drag Show, hosted
by Ms. Destiny B. Childs,
8-10pm Karaoke, 10pmclose
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm JOX:
The GL Underwear Party,
9pm-2am Clothes check
$5 Cover after 10pm $3
Bud Light, $4 Fireball Shots,
$5 Bacardi, all avors, all
night long
JR.S
$4 Coors, $5 Vodka highballs, $7 Vodka Red Bulls
NELLIES
Guest DJs Zing Zang
Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer,
House Rail Drinks and
Mimosas, $4, 11am-5pm
Buckets of Beer, $15
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on
any drink, 5-9pm No
Cover DILF Daddy Party,
9:30pm-close Featuring
DJ Douglas Sullivan $3
Miller Lite, $5 Titos and
Bulleit bourbon, 9pm-close

MARCH 19, 2015

47

TOWN
DC Rawhides host Town
& Country: Two-Step, Line
Dancing, Waltz and West
Coast Swing, $5 Cover to
stay all night Doors open
6:45pm, Lessons 7-8pm,
Open dance 8-10:30pm
DJ James Anthony spins,
10pm-close Kasha Davis
from RuPauls Drag Race,
Season 7 Meet & Greet
with Kasha, 9pm-10pm
Tickets for Meet &
Greet available online via
Flavorus.com Music and
videos downstairs with DJ
Wess Drag Show starts
at 10:30pm Hosted by
Lena Lett and featuring
Miss Tatianna, Shi-QueetaLee, Epiphany B. Lee and
BaNaka Doors open
10pm Cover $10 from
10-11pm, $12 after 11pm
21+
TOWN PATIO
Open 2pm No Cover,
2-10pm, Cover $10 from
10-11pm, $12 after 11pm
(enter through Town)

ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
Men of Secrets, 9pm
Guest dancers Ladies
of Illusion with host Ella
Fitzgerald, 9pm DJ Steve
Henderson in Secrets
DJ Don T. in Ziegfelds
Doors 8pm Cover 21+
SUN., 03.22.15

9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm Multiple
TVs showing movies,
shows, sports Expanded
craft beer selection No
Cover
COBALT/30 DEGREES
$4 Stoli, Stoli avors
and Miller Lite all day
Homowood Karaoke, 10pmclose No Cover, 21+
DC EAGLE
Barbecue and Beer Blast
$2 off pitchers of beer
all day
Mr. DC Eagle 2015 Victory
Party, 6-10pm
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Champagne Brunch Buffet,
10am-3pm Crazy Hour,
4-7pm Karaoke, 8pm-1am

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GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm $3
Smirnoff, all avors, all
night #SundayFunday
upstairs, 6-10pm Mamas
Trailer Park Karaoke,
9:30pm-close
JR.S
Sunday Funday Liquid
Brunch Doors open at
1pm $2 Coors Lights &
$3 Skyy (all avors), all day
and night
NELLIES
Drag Brunch, hosted by
Shi-Queeta-Lee, 11am-3pm
$20 Brunch Buffet
House Rail Drinks, Zing
Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie
Beer and Mimosas, $4,
11am-close Buckets of
Beer, $15
NUMBER NINE
Pop Goes the World with
Wes Della Volla at 9:30
pm Happy Hour: 2 for
1 on any drink, 5-9pm
No Cover
TOWN PATIO
Open 2pm No Cover

ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers
Decades of Dance DJ
Tim-e in Secrets Doors
8pm Cover 21+
MON., 03.23.15

9 1/2
Open at 5pm Happy Hour:
2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
Multiple TVs showing
movies, shows, sports
Expanded craft beer selection No Cover
ANNIES
4@4 Happy Hour, 4-7pm
$4 Small Plates, $4 Stella
Artois, $4 House Wines,
$4 Stolichnaya Cocktails,
$4 Manhattans and Vodka
Martinis
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $2 Rail, $3
Miller Lite, $5 Call, 4-9pm
Drag Show hosted by
Kristina Kelly Doors open
at 10pm, show starts at
11pm $3 Skyy Cocktails,
$8 Skyy and Red Bull No
Cover, 18+

FREDDIES
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour All Night Long,
4pm-close Michaels
Open Mic Night Karaoke,
9:30pm-close
JR.S
Happy Hour: 2-for-1, 4-9pm
Showtunes Songs &
Singalongs, 9pm-close
DJ Jamez $3 Drafts
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Beat The Clock Happy Hour
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) Buckets of
Beer $15 Poker Texas
Holdem, 8pm Dart
Boards

TUES., 03.24.15

9 1/2
Open at 5pm Happy Hour:
2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
Multiple TVs showing
movies, shows, sports
Expanded craft beer selection No Cover
ANNIES
Happy Hour, 4-7pm $4
Stella Artois, $4 House
Wines, $4 Stolichnaya
Cocktails, $4 Manhattans
and Vodka Martinis
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $2 Rail, $3
Miller Lite, $5 Call, 4-9pm
SIN Industry Night
Half-price Cocktails, 10pmclose

NUMBER NINE
Open 5pm Happy Hour: 2
for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
No Cover

FREDDIES BEACH BAR

Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm

TOWN PATIO
Open 5pm No Cover

GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour All Night Long,
4pm-close

JR.S
Underground (Indie Pop/Alt/
Brit Rock), 9pm-close DJ
Wes Della Volla 2-for-1,
all day and night
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Beat The Clock Happy Hour
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) Buckets of
Beer $15 Karaoke and
Drag Bingo
NUMBER NINE
Open 5pm Happy Hour: 2
for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
No Cover Safe Word: A
Gay Spelling Bee, 8-11pm
Prizes to top three
spellers After 9pm, $3
Absolut, Bulleit & Stella
TOWN PATIO
Open 5pm No Cover

WED., 03.25.15

9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm Multiple
TVs showing movies,
shows, sports Expanded
craft beer selection No
Cover
ANNIES
Happy Hour, 4-7pm $4
Stella Artois, $4 House
Wines, $4 Stolichnaya
Cocktails, $4 Manhattans
and Vodka Martinis
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $2 Rail, $3
Miller Lite, $5 Call, 4-9pm
Wednesday Night
Karaoke downstairs, 10pm
$4 Stoli and Stoli Flavors
and Miller Lite No Cover
21+
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm $6
Burgers Drag Bingo
Night, hosted by Ms.
Regina Jozet Adams
Bingo prizes Karaoke,
10pm-1am

METROWEEKLY.COM

GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm $4
Drafts all night long Boys
of HUMP upstairs, 9pm
JR.S
Trivia with MC Jay Ray,
8pm The Queen, 10-11pm
$2 JRs Drafts & $4
Vodka ($2 with College I.D./
JRs Team Shirt)
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
SmartAss Trivia Night, 8pm
and 9pm Prizes include
bar tabs and tickets to
shows at the 9:30 Club
$15 Buckets of Beer for
SmartAss Teams only
Bring a new team member
and each get a free $10
Dinner
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm No Cover
TOWN PATIO
Open 5pm No Cover

MARCH 19, 2015

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ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers
Shirtless Night, 10-11pm,
12-12:30am Military
Night, no cover with
military ID DJ Don T. in
Secrets 9pm Cover 21+
THURS., 03.26.15

9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm Multiple
TVs showing movies,
shows, sports Expanded
craft beer selection No
Cover
ANNIES/ANNIES
UPSTAIRS
4@4 Happy Hour, 4pm-7pm
$4 Small Plates, $4 Stella
Artois, $4 House Wines,
$4 Stolichnaya Cocktails,
$4 Manhattans and Vodka
Martinis

COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $6 Call
Martini, $3 Miller Lite, $4
Rail, $5 Call, 4-9pm $3
Rail Drinks, 10pm-midnight,
$5 Red Bull, Gatorade
and Frozen Virgin Drinks
Locker Room Thursday
Nights DJs Sean Morris
and MadScience Ripped
Hot Body Contest at midnight, hosted by Sasha
J. Adams and BaNaka
$200 Cash Prize Doors
open 10pm, 18+ $5 Cover
under 21 and free with
college ID
DC EAGLE
Eagle Hour: Men in any DC
Eagle shirt drink free rail
and domestic, 9-10pm
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 8pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm
Shirtless Thursday,
10-11pm Featuring music
by DJs BacK2bACk

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JR.S
$3 Rail Vodka Highballs, $2
JR.s drafts, 8pm to close
Throwback Thursday featuring rock/pop retro hits
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
Beat The Clock Happy Hour
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) Buckets of
Beer $15
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm No Cover
TOWN PATIO
Open 5pm No Cover
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers
Shirtless Thursday DJ
Tim-e in Secrets 9pm
Cover 21+ l

SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT AT WWW.METROWEEKLY.COM/SCENE

51

scene
Number Nine
Friday, February 20
scan this tag
with your
smartphone
for bonus scene
pics online!

PHOTOGRAPHY BY
WARD MORRISON

52

SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT AT WWW.METROWEEKLY.COM/SCENE

METROWEEKLY.COM

MARCH 19, 2015

53

I really hate the word diversity.

It is just something other. Something special, like its rare.

SHONDA RHIMES, Greys Anatomy and Scandal creator, accepting the Human Rights Campaigns Ally for Equality award. Its
diversityas if there is something unusual about telling stories about women or people of color or LGBT characters on TV,
she continued. I have a different word. I call it normalizing.

[The anti-sodomy law is] a community coming together and

having a moral standard.
Texas State Rep. JAMES WHITE (R-Hillister), speaking with San Antonio Express News regarding Texas anti-sodomy law,
which was rendered unconstitutional over a decade ago. White opposes legislation filed by a Democratic lawmaker who wishes
to remove the statute from Texas law. He believes that its not used to disenfranchise people, but rather deals with
a lot of public health standards and even decency standards.

We oppose gay adoptions.

The only family is the traditional one.
Fashion designers DOMENICO DOLCE and STEFANO GABBANA, speaking with Italian magazine Panorama. The designers, both
openly gay, criticized gay parents, gay adoption, and the use of IVF and surrogacy to have children.

Some kids greet each other with hugs and then just give me a hi and
sometimes Ive even been called an it.
Transgender teen JAZZ JENNINGS, speaking in her commercial for Clean & Clears The Real Me campaign, which is about girls
having the courage to show who they really are, and what makes them unique. Jennings came out as transgender as a child,
with her parents supporting her transition. Im proud to be who I am, says Jennings.

Religious liberty and forced

same-sex marriage cannot coexist.
THE FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL, in a statement, asking its supporters to set apart April 7th thru 28th, 21 days, for consecrated
prayer and fasting, part of the homophobic organizations campaign against a potential Supreme Court ruling
in favor of same-sex marriage.

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MARCH 19, 2015

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